TV Tuner

[RWB]

Had a hard time figuring which forum to put this in, I like this area better though :respect:

So I wanna buy a TV Tuner, I like having one on my laptop. But I have a 20" LCD at home I wanna start using for TV. Sadly my TV won't fit in my apartment, just not enough room for another 32" TV. So I make due.

I was thinking about making a MythTV type thing, but all my foray's into Linux have ended in shame. I don't want to mess with it anymore. So WinXP it is. I want to be able to use a remote control, and of course have a damned good picture on my 20" LCD :thumbup

Been looking through Newegg... but it's just so hard to choose! Any help would be appreciated.:thumbup

[Park_7677]

I've had the ATI All-In-Wonder since the 9800 series. They are great cards with a lot of features. TV picture is just as good as a real TVs. The remote is wonderful; I can use it anywhere in the house.

However, the software is a lacking. ATI keeps updating it but it still has the same look and feel as it did when I first got it years ago. Also, getting it to install the latest drivers is also sometimes a bummer. However, once that's out of the way it's nice. TV as your wallpaper is cool even though I hardly use it :D

You probably don't want a full video card upgrade too so just the TV would do http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815116312

[RWB]

I have no idea where to put this, it's kinda off topic... but I am curious about HDTV vs LCD. My LCD is quite good, is there an HDTV thing I could buy that would make the LCD an HDTV?

Basically, when Halo 3 comes out, I'll want an HDTV, can't get anything big becuase of the apartment so my 20" LCD will have to do. It's the Dell 2000FPW, has DVI, VGA, S-Video, and a couple other connectors. Kinda hoping that perhaps I'd be able to play Halo 3 on the LCD with good quality image as an HDTV.

What forum would I put that in for a better responce, lol, we've like Digital Media, Convergence, and Graphics forums it kinda fits under :P

[RWB]

Thanks man, I think that'll do. I was looking at another ATi card by power color, can't recall what it was that made me think it wasn't for me, but this one seems nice.

[TheSmJ]

Beyond TV is what I've been using for nearly a year now and I have no complaints. It's very stable and plays well with other apps- such as recording a show while playing a game. There's a 21 day trial on snapstream.com if you want to see what it's like before you put money on it.

A few times a year it's on sale too for either a free FireFly remote (which I have - it's very handy to have) or a big discount. Look around.

As for the tuner, I'm using an old STB branded bt878 based tuner card I bought from someone here for $5. For a card made back in 1998 and supported only by 3rd party drivers, the picture quality is just as good as any of the more modern and expensive cards.

[Enverex]

Hehe, I just set up MythTV on my old PC thrown together from old parts the other day, very cool. Can use anything to control it too (Joystick, TV Card remote, etc).

[deicist]

You can output HDMI (the HDTV connector) to um....whatever the PC digital video connector is called (DMI? I have acronym confusion) easily enough, they're basically the same thing. You just need a converter because the physical connectors are slightly different from what I remember. And HDTV with regards screens just means that the screen can support HD reolution (which yours can) and has the right connector (which yours does, with a converter)

I'd go into more detail, but this isn't in convergence so I'm slightly offended :P

ps: not really.