best digital tv tuner card...

rykoryko new york
edited March 2006 in Hardware
Ok, I currently have comcast digital cable which has hdtv channels around the 120-190 range. I can't view these channels b/c i don't have a hdtv-ready tv, but I want to upgrade my analog tv tuner which i have been using for 2+ years so i can at least view some hdtv on my dual 17" lcds.

Here is what i have found so far...

ati hdtv wonder
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-310&depa=1

hauppauge wintv nexus-s
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-618&depa=1

hauppauge wintv-d
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-116-610&depa=1

will i even be able to recieve hdtv channels through my cable box with any of these cards?

I know the ati is for "over the air" hdtv signals such as regular(non-cable) stations like cbs, nbc, abc, fox, etc... is it the same for the 2 hauppauge's? Are there any work-arounds?

From what i can tell, the the wintv-nexus-s is for digital satellite tv like directTV. Can anyone confirm/deny this? What about the wintv-d? Will the wintv-d work with a digital cable box instead of a digital satellite box?

Thanks....

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2004
    I'm curious about that myself. In the meantime I just rent an extra cable box for about $3 a month and leave my (old) Hauppage WinTV card on channel 4 (the cable output channel in my area, yours might be channel 3).
  • rykoryko new york
    edited December 2004
    Yeah it's ch.4 here...recently switched from ch. 3 b/c cbs (ch. 2 in chicago) installed a new hdtv broadcast antenna that totally screwed cable reception on the default ch. 3.

    I have a 2nd cable box in my pc room, so i am ready to go once i pick a card...

    Also, pretty soon i will be upgrading the living room tv to a dlp xga projector, so i will need 2 of these hdtv/digital tuner cards...one for my office pc and one for my htpc. But first i would like to find the best one before i setup the whole living room system. So i will basically use my office pc to test out a good option for my htpc.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited December 2004
    hello...is there anybody out there???
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited December 2004
    I dont really know much of anything about the HDTV stuff. I understand there is a diffrence between "digital cable" and "HDTV" sometimes, so you might want to double-check with your cable provider before you spend the dough on a TV card which may or may not work.

    I suspect MediaMan could clarify, though.

    Like Prof said, going through a converter to your analog TV card would be an option, but then your computer can't change the channel on it's own, which sorta blows if you want to do something like record a show VIA DVR using your PC.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited December 2004
    TheSmJ wrote:
    ...Like Prof said, going through a converter to your analog TV card would be an option, but then your computer can't change the channel on it's own, which sorta blows if you want to do something like record a show VIA DVR using your PC.
    This is what i am doing now with my creative DVCR analog tuner card! I can get so called "digital cable" just fine on my pc, but i want the real HDTV channels (120-190 or so) that are currently blacked out. And the DVR/PVR thing isn't a problem b/c my analog tuner card came with an ir blaster that can change the cable box channels according to it's recording programming. :thumbsup: I really like my current tv tuner card, but i want real HDTV!

    What digital/hdtv pci tuner card is going to allow this? Is the only option to go and purchase a projection/lcd/plasma hdtv ready TV so i can recieve these comcast digital cable "true" hdtv signals? It can't be.....there has got to be a tuner card that is compatible with cable box hdtv signals.

    BTW, the people at comcast are complete morons.....i tried calling their customer service line and it was ridiculous. No help there.

    I have also considered dumping comcast cable for a hdtv satellite service such as voom! if i absolutely have to. But only as a last resort if i can't figure out this comcast crap...

    Is there a digital tuner card that can recieve both cable hdtv and satellite hdtv? Is it just me or is there a severe lack of products in this area?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2004
    Hauppauge has an HDTV card. You're still limited on the channel range, though.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited December 2004
    Your not gonna get the blacked out channels indicating your not paying for hdtv. You need comcasts hdtv box thing which is sort of like a decrambler or decoder. You need that to even get access so you gotta pay for the hdtv and then you get the box from comcast. But even then you need a hd capable tv/tuner or in your case a hdtv PC card that is capable of handling hdtv.

    Bottom line is you need the card AND the comcast box which you get when you pay for the hdtv which they have blocked.

    The hdtv card in the pc does not unlock the hdtv channels your not paying for anymore then a regular tv card unlocks HBO, CINEMAX and other channels your not paying for.

    Tex
  • rykoryko new york
    edited December 2004
    I understand that.... but from what comcast has told me all they need to do is flip a switch and the current box i have will switch to HD programming. Of course my bill will be affected, but i want to be ensured that whatever tv card i purchase, it will be compatible first.

    I have sifted through a bunch of documentation, and figured out that the wintv-nexus-s is for Europe and Asia only, so we can cross that off the list...wierd since newegg only ships to the states.

    so it is between.....

    ATI HDTV Wonder, $185 - $50 mail in rebate @ newegg

    Hauppague WinTV-D, $108 if newegg ever gets them back

    Hauppagge WinTV-HD, $299 direct from hauppauge
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited December 2004
    Comcast in Dalllas said they have to also supply a hdtv box. The regular one doesnt work.

    I had internet and not comcast TV at the time I asked. BTW ..... They screw a little filter on out at the box to block the TV which one could (cough...cough...cough...) remove and get free regular cable TV for free if you had comcast internet.

    I had it for four years in dallas area.

    Tex
  • rykoryko new york
    edited December 2004
    ok, i found some specs for the 2 wintv cards...
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited December 2004
    Man i just looked at a a bunch of the hdtv pci cards on on ebay and the catch-22 seems to be they do regular cable or digital cable and receive OVER THE AIR HDTV broadcasts with the included antenae.

    Seeming to indicate they are not all handling the cable hdtv signals. Some other brands that are much more expensive do the cable too.

    Where the h*ll is mediaman when you need him?

    This is from ATI's TV al in wonder for example but matchs most of the other descriptions.

    TV Signal from amplified antenna or cable required for TV function. Version included for:

    NTSC (North America, Japan and Latin America)
    HDTV signal from antenna (included) required for HDTV function. Version included for:

    ATSC (North America). Product does not receive satellite or cable HDTV transmissions.

    Tex
  • redchiefredchief Santa Barbara Member
    edited March 2006
    so now 15 months later, is there a card with hardware compression, that has the ability to hook directly to Time warner ( no filters) and tune in digital cable tv channels?
  • rykoryko new york
    edited March 2006
    nope not yet....however once windows vista is released, CableCard ready tv tuner cards will start to appear which might make things easier for us.

    i suspect they will be castrated though and not really allow you to do what you want with your media. i mean why else would they wait untill vista's drm can lock down the cards?

    It's pretty unfortunate really, because all i (and many others want) is a way to transfer media between any device i see fit. I don't want the content distributers telling me what i can and can't do with my media. unfortunately, the content companies are using this as a way to sell and re-sell the same content to you multiple times. for example, if you want hd content you will have to pay for it, if you want sd content you will have to pay for it, and if you want mobile content you will have to pay for it--even if the content is all the same show! this is total bs if you ask me. i should be able to record any content (hd or sd), convert it to compatible mobile format (mp4), and use that on my mobile devices anyway i see fit. the rise of the video ipod and other similar media players have pushed content companies to try and sell downloadable versions of tv shows that aired only hours earlier. gee, $1.99 for a tv show on itunes when i could just use my old analog tv tuner to capture and watch (and burn) however and whenever i want. no thanks itunes.

    unfortunately when cable cards come out and they impose ridiculous restrictions on what you can and can't record, and/or once they finally close the analog hole around 2007, itunes will be the only choice for mobile content.

    go f*** yourself hollywood...i think i'll read a book instead---untill that too is considered potential lost profit for big content companies and therefore deemed illegal.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited March 2006
    Talk to these guys
    http://www.digitalconnection.com/Default.asp
    They handle all things digital video.
    I don't have such a setup, but a friend of mine does.
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