TV tuner/Video capture HDTV also?

TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
edited March 2005 in Internet & Media
I have played with a couple of the cheaper cards. Looks ok! I actually use it all the time for ESPN or sports etc... Was working on a clients box and she has a ati all in wonder 9800. TV picture off my cable in my house on her computer was much nicer so of course now.... I have upgrade fever. (long sigh....)

I have a new pci-e MB but the pci-e ATI all-in-wonder is like $230.

Whats the best seperate solution? That isnt based on the video card also? I want a tuner and also want to record/video capture stuff. Wouldnt mind HDTV capabilities but unless I'm reading wrong all the HDTV ones I have seen want you to use a HDTV antenae to receive the signal not a cable input. Or am I missing something? anyone tried the HDTV tuners?

Anyone used the USB based solutions? That would be slick as I coule move it around IF IT WORKED GOOD.

Tex

Comments

  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited March 2005
    I've had a couple USB video capture boxes and can honestly say that in the <$100 price bracket all you're really paying for is a mid-fi analog input. You can watch TV or hook up a game console for playing but I wouldn't recommend actually trying to record anything.

    The All in Wonder is a nice solution (I have two) and it will produce good noise-free recording and newer models will apply some antialiasing technologies (SMOOTHVISION) to the signal. Unfortunately as you stated this isn't a viable option.

    I have a friend with a 1394 capture box from Pinnacle (I think it was around $300). It appears to work well though we've never tried to capture from the YPbPr input.

    If I were you, I'd find a local retailer with a no-questions-asked returns policy (Frys) and try out a few cards/external boxes then return the ones you don't like.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited March 2005
    Most the USB solutions I see used all say they replaced it with an internal solution. Not a good sign...

    I may just go ahead and bite the bullet on a all-in-wonder pci-e video card.

    No Fry's in Colorado. One of the only things I miss from texas actually.

    Tex
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited March 2005
    I use a USB TV tuner on one of my machines. My only problem with it is it's rather CPU intensive, and depending on what you're doing the audio won't sync up quite right with the video. IMO, you're always better off with a PCI solution.

    This STB TV tuner works really damn well for the $5 I bought it for! I'm using WinPVR as the controlling software, which is very buggy, but the picture quality itself is fine. I’ll have to start looking for better software later, but for $5, I can’t complain.

    On another machine I have an ATI TV Wonder Pro. Software and hardware work great. No complaints whatsoever. If you have the money, I'd get the HDTV version. You only need to use the antennae if you want to receive HDTV signal and you don't already have HDTV cable service.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited March 2005
    TheSmJ wrote:
    ... You only need to use the antennae if you want to receive HDTV signal and you don't already have HDTV cable service.

    NO, the ati HDTV wonder is not compatible with cable or satellite HDTV broadcasts. You can only use it to recieve free "over the air" HDTV broadcasts from major metropolitian areas. In chicago i could recieve like 6 channels---cbs, nbc, abc, wgn, fox, pbs. And not all of their programming is in hdtv all of the time. However the ati HDTV wonder will work great as an analog tuner/capture card from a source like a digital cable box.

    I have also checked out almost all of the hauppauge wintv cards. See this thread here http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25095. One of the models looked promising, but it appears that it has been discontinued and suppport as well as software for it are non-existent. I think it has something to do with the FCC mandated digital flag technology that "encodes" HD broadcasts and is suppose to ensure no copyright infringements. All newer hd recievers are suppose to have this "feature." Apparently, you won't be able to view flagged broadcasts unless your reciever has this "flag" technology. I don't think the hauppauge wintv-hd has the flag technolgy, and that is why they flew off the shelves when first released and are hard to come by now. But i think they will be useless in may of 2006 when all broadcasts become HD/flagged. If i had one, i would be ripping everything i could in HD untill the FCC switches over to this flagged crap.

    Maybe things will get better in may of 2006, and engineers will know exactly what they are working with. Then we might see some hardware HDTV tuner/capture cards worth a damn--but don't hold your breath. It seems like the tv companies and hollywood have invested interest in keeping HDTV hard to capture digitally. They don't want a bunch of HD replicas floating around with no difference in quality over the original. It will be intersting to see what happens in the future when some norwegian teenager hacks the flag...
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited March 2005
    Thats sorta what I got from the HDTV specs on cards and why I dodged the bullet for them now.

    I am SOOOOOO glad some one with hdtv experiance psoted here.

    Tex
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