Which TV Tuner card for DVB-T?

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fraseyboy

134 posts

Master Geek

# 21350 23-Apr-2008 21:13

My current Theatre 550 Pro, after working well for over a year, has decided to splatter my TV reception with static and other horrendoes things.

Thus, the time has come for a new TV card.

Seeing as Freeview is now DVB-T I figure it may as well be a DVB-T card. I am aware of how hard these are to set up and I've pre-installed some things.

But I need to decide what card to get.

So... What DVB-T TV Tuner card is best for under say... $200NZD? I don't care about other features really. It can be Hybrid or Dual or whatever. I just want it to be able to get me DVB-T from my rooftop aerial with good reception.

Some options:

- AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid
- Hauppauge WinTV HVR3000
- Compro VideoMate DVB-T300
- Hauppauge WinTV NOVA T500
- Asus MyCinema-P7131
- Hauppauge Wintv HVR 1700 PCI-E

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1846 posts

Uber Geek

# 126038 24-Apr-2008 08:44

I have a Nova-T 500 and it works flawlessly but i am replacing it with a HVR2200 as it is PCIe so it can fit in my case with another PCI card already in there. (note though, i think i broke the Nova-T trying to fit it into the case so that was a push for me to buy a new one) It's been like going back to black and white with having to stick with analgoue after seeing what HD looks like on the TV before the new TV card gets in.

Both are dual tuner cards, which in my opinion is a must have feature, and both are failry highly regarded.

As for your comment about how hard they are to set up, i think you've been misled, if anything they're easier to set up i thought. Scanning channels is faster, they come pre-named off the stream, and there are a bunch of other bonuses.

All i needed to install was my coreAVC codec pack, the monogram AAC decoder and ffdshow and i've been running without any troubles since.

Jumps on the bandwagon of DVB-T, you won't be disappointed.

fraseyboy

134 posts

Master Geek

# 126068 24-Apr-2008 10:34

Oh really.

I've read lots of threads about how hard they are to set up. Also, I suspect I may need a new graphics card as a 7600gt might not be able to do H.264.

I get lots of reccomendations for the Nova T 500 HD, but people say the drivers are a bit screwed up since they are really USB drivers and have bugs.

Having a PCI-E tv tuner card would be good. The only other PCI card I have is my sound card and I got 2 other slots after that, but still it would be good to have them free.

mentalinc

1752 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 126070 24-Apr-2008 10:41

You will almost certainly need a new hard to do hardware decoding of the h264. if you have a decent CPU you may be able to do it with software encoding.

They are not so much as hard to setup just time consuming if it doesnt go well.

CPU: Intel 3770k| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X |MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB | GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 | Monitor: Qnix 27" 2560x1440

fraseyboy

134 posts

Master Geek

# 126073 24-Apr-2008 10:51

I got a Core 2 Duo E6300 OC'd a bit... Well I'm planning to upgrade to a 8800gt pretty soon, so that should be fine.

The HVR2200 looks good actually. I might get that.

JimmyH

2639 posts

Uber Geek

# 126526 26-Apr-2008 22:23

Mentalinc, I note from your profile that you are using the HV900. How are you finding it?

I ordered one, and they rang on Thursday to say that they were out of stock - and I could either have one reserved for me and wait about three weeks until the next batck arrives, or take an HVR3000 card for the same price (ie a PCI card instead of the USB).

I thought the USB option was slightly better as it would be simpler to shift between boxes, and potentially install on a laptop as well if I had to do any trips. I need to confirm Monday, so am very interested in any accounts of how well the HVR900 works.

mentalinc

1752 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 126528 26-Apr-2008 22:51

I have had no issues with it at all.
I agree with the USB thing - can move it around with me on different computers.

It is only 1 tuner so can only watch/record from 1 MUX at a time which is the downside.

CPU: Intel 3770k| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X |MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB | GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 | Monitor: Qnix 27" 2560x1440

fraseyboy

134 posts

Master Geek

# 127028 29-Apr-2008 11:54

BTW, I bought an HVR2200 from Computer Lounge, but they aren't in stock until the 7th of May :(

By then I will have an 8800gt, so thats a plus.

Rofl. I also managed to find out why my current TV card has bad reception. I was plugging the TV antennae into the FM socket >_>

AceVPD

116 posts

Master Geek

# 127285 30-Apr-2008 13:03

I ordered one too and they told me 2-5 of May. Come on, I'm hanging out for FreeviewHD!

Redwood

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

# 127749 1-May-2008 23:20

Avermedia AverTV Hybird is a good option too. You don't need any other third party software or codec. Just install the driver and AP(the program) from the box, then scan chanel. Very easy. You can record TV in H.264 format as well.

mentalinc

1752 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 127775 2-May-2008 07:24

Redwood: Avermedia AverTV Hybird is a good option too. You don't need any other third party software or codec. Just install the driver and AP(the program) from the box, then scan chanel. Very easy. You can record TV in H.264 format as well.

Are you sure?
What CPU usage do you get? anything over 20% suggest you need hardware acceleration compatible codecs

CPU: Intel 3770k| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X |MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB | GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 | Monitor: Qnix 27" 2560x1440

askelon

635 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

# 127787 2-May-2008 08:49

Ive got 2 ASUS P-7131's in my comp. Running with Mediaportal. They work great although I do notice they get pretty hot. But then again everything in my case is a little on the hot side - need to cut a hole in it and run a 120mm fan over the vid/pci cards :)

Nirodha

80 posts

Master Geek

# 128107 3-May-2008 04:22

I can report that the InnoDV TVideo 650 works well under Vista SP1 32 bit using DVBViewer and an ATI HD 2600 XT. It doesn't handle the decoding itself, but if one has a HD capable graphics card, or motherboard HD chipset, or a powerful CPU decoding wont be an issue.

It's one of those cute little USB 2.0 hybird analog/digital tuner boxes, that comes with a near useless indoor antenna, but a rather useful IR sensor and remote, and some trashy PVR software. It also includes ports and cables for external audio and video input and recording.

I got it for about $80 several weeks ago and have been quite happy with it - once I tossed out the trashy included PVR software and substituted it with DVBViewer, and hooked it up to an outdoor antenna that is.

Here's a URL for more info:
http://www.innodv.com/products/tvideo_650.html

And, here's a URL for the shop, in Auckland, where I bought it:
http://www.xpcomputers.co.nz/views.asp?hw_id=1867

kind regards

amigo

161 posts

Master Geek

# 129457 8-May-2008 19:36

askelon: Ive got 2 ASUS P-7131's in my comp. Running with Mediaportal.

I've just been looking at the Asustec My Cinema-P7131 Dual card and was wondering if it would go alright with MediaPortal and Freeview. I assume the card will be much the same as yours except with two tuners? Does the remote work fine with Media Portal?

The reason why I've been looking at this particular card is that I wanted an dual hybrid card so I could get HD Freeview and Prime analogue, plus dual tuners. Are there any other similar cards that anyone can recommend with these features?

Thanks

fraseyboy

134 posts

Master Geek

# 129485 8-May-2008 20:32

AH FLIP :(

"Hi,

The ETA for the Hauppauge TV Tuner Shipment has now been delayed again.

Both NZ suppliers have now just shifted there dates to the 15th/16th of this month. Obviously Hauppauge are have issues supplying stock into this part of the world. This is something we have never encountered before from this supplier so we expected their delivery dates to be on time as listed from their website.

We are doing everything we can to locate stock though other means and channels.

Sorry for the long delay."

Email I got from computer lounge. OH NOES!

mcraenz

1091 posts

Uber Geek

# 129490 8-May-2008 20:40

I've got an HVR-2200, seems to be running great, no analog support for it (yet) in MediaPortal TVServer. But the analog side has hardware MPEG2 encoding which is a bonus.

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