HDTV and Digital Cable Tuning with HTPC

[Cyclonite]

I'm currently in the process of bumping down all my machines, and I'm going to have a third rig that wont be doing much. I'd like to turn it into a media PC. I have a few questions, as I'm hoping to be able to remove one of my set-top boxes in the process.

1. Is there a tuner card available that can pick up the same stations my cable provided set-top box provides. This includes the upper HD channels.

2. With this in mind, what is the best bang-for-your-buck PVR HD tuner card? I assume PCIe would be better than PCI. If there's something a little above the "bang-for-your-buck" category, I may be willing to pay.

3. I'm going to need a decent sound card with this, preferably with optical digital output. Any recommendations? Nothing super expensive.

4. Current specs on the system I'll be using are:

Athlon64 3000+
1 GB DDR
160 GB HDD
6600GT 128MB

Are these sufficient for what I want to do? The video card has a little dongle with component output.

Thanks for your help!

[Thrax]

You need an HDTV tuner that supports cableCARD, and you need to gently remind your cable TV provider that as of early July, the FCC mandated cable companies must provide cableCARDS upon request. ;)

[Cyclonite]

Hmmm. Is this similar to "renting" their set-tops? Or do I purchase the cableCARD from the cable company?

//Edit: Scratch that. I can't seem to find a cableCARD ready tuner, anyway. Maybe I'll have to go with OTA local HD stations. Blegh.

[Zuntar]

OOooo.. me is watching this thread closely, I have been thinking along the same lines as you Cyclonite. There aren't that many cards that are HD digital.

[Cyclonite]

Well, I've spent a good portion of the morning looking for something. I can't seem to find anything that will do what I want. At least, anything that's available now. There's a lot of talk about soon to be released products, as well as Vista Media Center not supporting home-built CableCARD systems. They have to be certified OEM products.

I'm going to keep looking, but now I'm kind of bummed.

[Gargoyle]

There's a lot of talk about soon to be released products, as well as Vista Media Center not supporting home-built CableCARD systems. They have to be certified OEM products.

That's my understanding. It is a bummer. DRM wins again :(

Have you seen Engadget's CableCARD experience with the ATI tuner (http://mediapcs.engadget.com/2007/05/22/get-your-vista-cablecard-coverage/)?

[Cyclonite]

Just read through that. Crazy! Heh.

I think my project has collapsed more quickly than I expected it to. I really wanted to get rid of that awful Scientific Atlanta box.

[edcentric]

I read a review somewhere, now I can't find it. They ended up using two tuner cards (one with two tuners) so that they could get the range of channels.
It is still not a practical project yet.

[bschie]

If you are going to do HD signals to a TV. You might want to consider a card that has HDCP. There are a couple from both Nvidia and ATI that have HDCP and HDMI out to eliminate the need for a DVI >> HDMI adapter. The only reason you need a cablecard is because you want to completely eliminate your cable box. In my opinion, just get a normal HD cable box and run the cable directly into one of the many HD tuners on the market today. Doing this will enable you to use your computer as the DVR. Many of the HD tuner cards come with software to record stations.

I am currently in the process of building myself a HTPC.

Also I am thinking that the A64 3000+ with only 1 gig of mem and only 160 gigs might be the bare min for a HTPC. I've seen 1080p eat up systems.

[Cyclonite]

I may just go to a dual-tuner card with PVR capabilities. I've been thinking about what I actually record, and it's typically local HD stations and some basic cable items.

I really just want to get rid of that outrageous DVR cost Brighthouse tacks on my bill every month. I happen to have the extra components lying around, so all I need is the tuner and sound cards.