Are TV tuners for pcs hard to configure for NZ? Recommended brands?

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Are TV tuners for pcs hard to configure for NZ? Recommended brands?

link2007

54 posts

Master Geek

#29179 27-Dec-2008 19:22

I ask because i see a lot of threads that are having problems with decoding, sound.....etc

So, are there any reliable tuners out there? Pinnacle? Hauppauge? any of them good?

sbiddle

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#186300 27-Dec-2008 19:36

The issue isn't the tuner, it's the software. Building a PVR isn't something for the faint hearted or for somebody who doesn't have time to tinker. Once you have a stable setup then things do work well.

As for tuner cards it's pretty IMHO it's hard to go past Hauppauge. Both the Nova T 500 and HVR2200 do a good job.

attilathegorilla

213 posts

Master Geek

#186312 27-Dec-2008 21:07

My combo is a cheap Hauppage hybrid TV tuner with software encoding (HVR 1200)- and DVBViewer, which costs around 35 bucks, works like a charm with Freeview NZ and very easy to configure, though you need to fiddle a little with the EPG. DVBViewer only works with digital feeds, but there some free ones out there that do analog if needed, so that shouldn`t be an issue.

What do u wanna watch?

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link2007

54 posts

Master Geek

#186316 27-Dec-2008 21:23

i already have cyberlink 8 which has the h.264 codec, would any usb dvb-t stick do the trick?

attilathegorilla

213 posts

Master Geek

#186317 27-Dec-2008 21:42

U Mean PowerDVD? That`s not a Tuner software, it`s just a way of making sure the necessary codec is installed on your system. You will still need a NZ Freeview capable TV tuner software, if Freeview is indeed what u wanna watch.

If honest work and justice are not enough - we'll get a lawyer.

link2007

54 posts

Master Geek

#186320 27-Dec-2008 22:06

so what tuning software do i need? dvbviewer?

sbiddle

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#186321 27-Dec-2008 22:24

link2007: so what tuning software do i need? dvbviewer?

GB-PVR, Media Portal or DVBViewer.

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link2007

54 posts

Master Geek

#186325 27-Dec-2008 22:39

none of these software comes with the tv tuners? and those three software works just the other?

lchiu7

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#186336 28-Dec-2008 07:18

sbiddle: The issue isn't the tuner, it's the software. Building a PVR isn't something for the faint hearted or for somebody who doesn't have time to tinker. Once you have a stable setup then things do work well.

As for tuner cards it's pretty IMHO it's hard to go past Hauppauge. Both the Nova T 500 and HVR2200 do a good job.

Just personal experience but the Nova T 500 works well. However I had problems with the 900H (USB) which kept on being "lost" by the system. Every now and then gbpvr would not be able to see it and would record 0 byte files. Had to disable and enable it in the control panel and rerun the gbpvr config program to get it back. Showed sub (gbpvr author) a bunch of logs and he couldn't work it out so I ditched it for the Nova T which works fine and has two tuners also which is helpful on the occasion there are actually two programmes on at the same time I want to record (albeit pretty rare)

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