# Internal TV Tuner Card



## gkiran (Sep 22, 2008)

Hi,
    I am planning to buy a new PC, replacing old one. I need an internal TV Tuner card and my requirements are 
Should detect most of the channels with good quality video & audio
Pause facility to be present
I should be able to record any channel, at a specified time schedule
FM Radio must be  recordable
I should be able to take snap shot of any TV Program

I was considering Pinnacle & Leadtek PVR series cards. Please suggest me good internal TV Tuner cards.


Thanks in advance.


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## desiibond (Sep 22, 2008)

Pinnacle TV Tuner kit for vista.


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## gkiran (Sep 22, 2008)

desiibond said:


> Pinnacle TV Tuner kit for vista.


My OS will be Win XP, not Vista. I hope this Pinnacle TV Tuner is compatible with Win XP too. Are there any other alternatives ?


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## gxsaurav (Sep 22, 2008)

Don't worry, it will work fine. Vista certification means it will work fine in Vista Media center


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## satyamy (Sep 23, 2008)

humm.
almost all the TV Tuner now a days have all the facilities you are mentioning in their softwares
if its cost is 1500/- or more
The best in Industry is Pinnacle


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## Quiz_Master (Sep 23, 2008)

Yes! Pinnacle is the best!
I am a user of Pinnacle PCTV Sterio... So far pretty much satisfied. It detects all the channels (Some cheap ones like Frontech don't), have sterio output (hehehe) and the PVR software is pretty good.
Go for pinnacle.


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## gxsaurav (Sep 23, 2008)

Since u r running Windows XP, Pinnacle is your only option for a TV Tuner card with a nice software bundle (TV Center). If you were using WIndows Vista, then Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP MCE would have been better.


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## desiibond (Sep 23, 2008)

One thing that should be considered is that you need to search for a digital card. Most of the cards are analogue which means that when you connect satellite tv, there will be a loss of quality like color loss etc. 

Look for a digital TV tuner card. It will cost a little bit more but worth if you have satellite tv connection.

Pinnacle is the best when it comes to driver support and TV Center Pro software rocks.

I saw winfast tv application and it was confusing and cheap looking.


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## axxo (Sep 23, 2008)

do you say that if i connect these analog cards to setop boxes like tata sky / dish the quality would be low? And what kinda cards that can I use to get max quality for connecting pc to tata sky?


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## desiibond (Sep 23, 2008)

something like this: *www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/uk/...igital+PVR+(DVB-S_DVB-T)/PCTV+Sat+Pro+PCI.htm


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## amrawtanshx (Sep 23, 2008)

I hav Pinnacle PCTV 50i ..
And when I record via local cable the quality is horrible .

So cant I eXpect better qualtiy from Cable ... Or Do I need to switch to Tata Sky/Dish/Big


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## gkiran (Sep 23, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the reply. I was in the impression that Pinnacle does not have FM Recording and scheduled program recording. I will find out a suitable model. 

Normal (Analog) TV Tuner card cannot be connected to DTH (Dish / Tata). You need to have digital TV Tuner. Correct me if  I am wrong.


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## desiibond (Sep 24, 2008)

^^ You can connect normal analogue card to cable using RCA to cable's port converter.

But there will be loss of quality as the digital to analogue conversion happens.


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## myhotdog (Sep 24, 2008)

what baout hauppauge's wintv HVR 1600 for digital cable


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## desiibond (Sep 24, 2008)

WinTV-HVR-1600 model 1178 doesn't have any RCA but the svideo ports may be compatible with the settop box

Better take a printout of this *www.hauppauge.com/images/hvr1600_connector-b.gif to the dealer of say tata sky who has very good idea of connectors etc.


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## saqib_khan (Sep 24, 2008)

desiibond some ques for u.

Is this analog card: *www.prolink.com.tw/style/content/C...mer_id=1470&name_id=36169&rid=17006&id=105801

If i buy this card, i'll need my rf out of dishtv to connect to tv tuner card.

So, u say, that there will be quality loss in this process.

I also have a "IF OUT" in my dishtv, so from this , digital signal comes out, and if i buy pinnacle tv card which u suggested earlier, i will get digital signal on my pc, & the quality will be good when compared to analog card.  Correct me where u think i m wrong.

Currently, the wire from dish goes to "IF IN" connector in my STB & i use rf out for viewing tv in my pc. The "IF OUT" is the same connector in the image u've shown & is labelled as ATSC/digital cable tv.So, i should use this "IF OUT" to connect to that pinnacle card. And i will get digital signal. Am i correct.

So, i hope u understood what i mean.


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## myhotdog (Sep 24, 2008)

why you wanna waste your money in this digital world on an analog tv tuner card. its useless to buy analog tuner in this world of HD video


saqib_khan said:


> desiibond some ques for u.
> 
> Is this analog card: *www.prolink.com.tw/style/content/C...mer_id=1470&name_id=36169&rid=17006&id=105801
> 
> ...




you can use coaxial cable which works fine



desiibond said:


> WinTV-HVR-1600 model 1178 doesn't have any RCA but the svideo ports may be compatible with the settop box
> 
> Better take a printout of this *www.hauppauge.com/images/hvr1600_connector-b.gif to the dealer of say tata sky who has very good idea of connectors etc.


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## saqib_khan (Sep 24, 2008)

But there's no place to insert coaxial cable in it.

*img186.imageshack.us/img186/1740/4386qp5.th.jpg


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## myhotdog (Sep 27, 2008)

this is for coaxial you just need a different kinda plug


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## gxsaurav (Sep 27, 2008)

look for hybrid TV Tuner by Pinnacle or Leadtek


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## ranjan2001 (Oct 5, 2008)

The post is in wrong section of *"Reviews"* nevertheless I will post in my requirement too.

X64bit Vista Ultimate (card should have x64 drivers)
20inch LCD 1680x1050 @ 60Hz
4gb ram

I need an internal digital TV tuner card which can display & record natively @ 1680x1050.

I will set up a home theater with my creative 4.1 speakers later buy 7.1 speakers.

My main requirement will be watching & recording music shows via tatasky STB, recording should have excellent quality stereo sound.

It should have TV pause facility & ability to set timer to record the show from multiple channels when I am not at home, for eg: 1-2PM record sregma, 9-10Pm record sab tv & so on, so when i return home I can watch the 3 programs of my choice from different channels. Will the tatasky STB let the card select channels???

I don't need a MCE card as I don't see its usage in my scenario but I am open to learn its feature if they are useful in my case.

Mpeg & divX recording ability

My budget can range from 3000 to 5000/- hope I can get some good card in that budget.


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## axxo (Oct 5, 2008)

*www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/image/winfast_dvt1000t_2s.jpg
This card is in my next buy list hope it could perform most funcs that you have asked for. However its not possible to record independent channels via tata sky stb without your presence to change it manually.


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## ranjan2001 (Oct 5, 2008)

AXXO
Its indeed possible to remotely control the channels change, I read it on this blog thats why I am interested but I am not aware if its possible with a specific card or with the card you mentioned. 

*techblog.saurabhkumar.com/2007/05/intelligent-television-viewing-my-pvr.html


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## axxo (Oct 5, 2008)

ranjan2001 said:


> AXXO
> Its indeed possible to remotely control the channels change, I read it on this blog thats why I am interested but I am not aware if its possible with a specific card or with the card you mentioned.
> 
> *techblog.saurabhkumar.com/2007/05/intelligent-television-viewing-my-pvr.html



...that's gr8 never knew that before . Atleast I'm not sure if one such TV card exist already, but you may be in luck to find out one.


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## myhotdog (Oct 12, 2008)

what is price


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## myhotdog (Oct 23, 2008)

i think no one buy


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## tusharlad (Nov 5, 2008)

I want to have a TV tuner card with my New DELL XPS 1530 M .
Dell is supplying "AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid NanoExpress DVB-T " for Rs 3315 with this lappy.
Should I be able to watch Digital as well as Analogue TV. I also intend to record some programmes from Discovery and National Geographic. Is it possible with this card ?

Dell's tech person did not have clear idea about recording. He was telling that I would need a set top box for recording and may not be posible with the normal cable connection.

Pic. of vard and details ragarding it are attached. Please advise whether I should go for it or not. what about value for money ?

*Key Features *
Watch live Analog/Digital TV on your notebook PC* with Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. 
Super-adaptive 2/4-line comb filter for two dimensional chrominance/luminance-separation 
Hardware sharpness filter 
MPEG-2 720x480 compression 
VBR, 2~9Mbps (compliant with Windows Media Center specification) 
10 bit video decoder 
Digital audio processing 
Hardware VBI slicing 
Audio/video input support 
Worldwide audio decoder 
DVB-T over-the-air digital TV support 
ExpressCard54 device with PCIe bus interface


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## tusharlad (Nov 9, 2008)

Please reply and give your suggestion ? My decision depends upon ur 's advices.


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