New HTPC - best TV Tuner card for NZ

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paragonOfGeek

95 posts

Master Geek

#82211 24-Apr-2011 15:42

I am thinking (very seriously) of building a HTPC and looking at the various options for the tuner. I am leaning towards the Hauppauge WinTV HVR-4400 HD.

I want to run MythTV / Mythbuntu, from some reading that I have done there seems to be fairly decent support for Hauppauge products in Myth. I will use my existing box to start off with:

Antec 900 (Black)
Athlon X2 6000+
ATI HD4850
6GB DDR2
2320GB storage..etc

Not particularly flash but will happily do the job i suspect.

But once I have the whole thing working I will probably get a smaller box, and some more modern components.

Any comments / suggestions are welcome (encouraged even).

Deev8

481 posts

Ultimate Geek

#462133 25-Apr-2011 13:11

You could have a look at this thread Best TV card for NZ it's just over a week old and it might give you some ideas.

paragonOfGeek

95 posts

Master Geek

#462167 25-Apr-2011 14:48

Thanks Deev8, I did read that the other day.

The only cards discussed is the HVR-2210 and HVR-2200.

I guess I'm looking for the "best" and also good value cards that will do the job.

mm1352000

1149 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#462208 25-Apr-2011 16:42

"Best" tuner kinda depends on what variant of Freeview you would like to receive and what interfaces (PCIe, PCI, USB etc.) that you have available, which you haven't mentioned. Are you sure that the 4400 is supported in Linux? The Linux TV wiki is always a good place to start when it comes to that sort of info, and the 4400 page there says it isn't supported, although the Hauppauge forum says that support is possibly on the way...

I'd recommend at least twin tuners - it is really worth it.

If you're interested in DVB-T then a Hauppauge 2200/2210 would probably be a good option, although anything with the same NXP saa7164 (relatively common) would do. You may be able to find cheaper USB tuners, particularly those based on the AF9015.

DVB-S dual tuners tend to be harder to find than DVB-S2 [8PSK] tuners. The Tevii S480 and TBS6980/6981 are widely available in NZ. TBS has excellent support and seem to have an ongoing commitment to Linux support, although their drivers are not completely open source. Not really sure about Tevii...

paragonOfGeek

95 posts

Master Geek

#462211 25-Apr-2011 16:48

well I will be using this with DVB-T when Taupo get freeview terrestrial in June / July...so I will be looking to set this up in late July at this stage.

At the moment I am looking into / planning what I'm going to do.

As for the interface PCIe would be my preference but PCI would be ok also.

mm1352000

1149 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#462219 25-Apr-2011 17:01

Okay. Well like I said, the 2200 is a good option for the price, support (both Hauppauge and users), and NZ availability. You could start from the list here which I think is probably pretty accurate but not complete.