I was wondering if External Tv Tuners could be as good as as internal one?
I just installed a graphics card into my computer that I've been building myself. Only I realized I used the only PCI express slot for my graphics card so there isn't any room for an internal TV Tuner I had my eye on (Hauppage HVR2200)
So I wonder, is an exteral/USB TV Tuner going to have any significant disadvantages? I don't mind paying a little extra for a better external device.
If an external Tuner is going to be either a) impractical or b) stupidly expensive in comparison. then how can I get an internal TV Tuner if I don't have space? Is there any way to get additional PCIe space into my computer?
I read somewhere else that I would really need a PCIe to get a tv tuner into the computer. I want my computer to be able to get Freeview if I get a tuner so I thought I would ask the question here. Although could I get an analog tuner that would work in a PCI slot? (really a last resort as I want to ditch my massive TV to replace with a tv capable computer, I just bought a new lcd screen for)
So are there any significant disadvantages to using an external TV Tuner? and if so what other options do I have?
Bascially I'm a complete novice but i'm plodding along with building my own system, details are listed in my signature.
The ASUS M2A-Vm motherboard you have has 2 PCI slots, 1 PCIe x1 and 1 PCIe x16. I assume the Graphics card went into the PCIe x16 slot so the PCIe x1 slot should still be available for the HVR-2200. Be aware that putting a tuner card in the PCI slot right beside the Graphics card can cause interference (I learnt the hard way). So the HVR-2200 is a good bet because it is at the far end of the MoBo.
I can't comment on external tuners as I haven't tried any.
Edit: There are PCI cards such as the HVR-3000 or 4000 that will do the digital tuning side well, but they don't have hardware mpeg2 decoding. By the look of your signature block you still have one free PCI slot, and I cant emphasise enough if you go for that option don't install it right beside the graphics card.
“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996
I am running a AVerMedia AVerTV DVB-T Volar USB tuner as my primary for Freeview in my HTPC without any issues at all. I don't see any downsides to running an external USB TV-tuner, unless there are bandwidth issues recording multiple streams (not tried it so not sure).
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