PDA

View Full Version : Need a built-in tv tuner in tv if i have an hd tuner on pc?

madamd
09-15-06, 08:17 PM
My question is do I need to buy a tv with a built-in hd tuner if I plan on running my cable and hd ota antenna through the hd tuner/pvr I plan to buy for my computer? And does anyone have any recomendations for a hd tuner/pvr? I have been looking at the ADS Tech PTV-380-ef. As you can tell i am kind of new to the hd/media center crowd, so I appreciate any help. Thanks, MADAMD
Cholly
09-16-06, 12:38 PM
From what I've been able to determine, this card supports OTA HD only. The cable input appears to be analog only. Also, the card provides no HD output for an external TV. You would need a dual output video card in your PC that has a DVI output to go to your TV.
Spend the extra money and get a TV with integrated HD tuner. If you're getting a big screen TV and your cable provider has an HD package, you'll need one of their set top boxes, so you can get away without the HD tuner.
I have three HD TV's. Two do not have integrated HD tuners, and therefore require set top boxes. The third is a Sony 55 inch rear projection LCD receiver. It has ATSC tuner, and I'm able to receive local OTA stations usiing an Antennas Direct LaCrosse antenna. It also has a CableCard slot, so I could use that for cable digital reception (including HD), but I'm usintg an HD DVR from my cable company and feeding its output to the HDMI input on the TV.
madamd
09-17-06, 08:58 PM
Where can I find a good, quality card with only analog input and output? That is all I really care about, my friend talked me into looking at hd cards but I personal dont think to technology is there yet for hd cards. I have read too many reviews that had to many cons.

Thanks, AMD
Cholly
09-18-06, 10:42 AM
Where can I find a good, quality card with only analog input and output? That is all I really care about, my friend talked me into looking at hd cards but I personal dont think to technology is there yet for hd cards. I have read too many reviews that had to many cons.

Thanks, AMD

Check the ATI web site, also newegg.com for info. You need to decide if you want to go with Windows Media Center Edition or not. I have an ATI All-in Wonder 9600 that works quite well. A current generation All-in-Wonder card would be a good choice.
Mark Lamutt
09-18-06, 12:14 PM
If you stick with XP, then go with the MyHD MDP-130 card. It's a completely hardware based OTA and QAM cable HD recording solution, that now has add-on software to provide season pass (record new epiodes only) functionality. But, there are no BDA drivers available for it, and will never be, so you have to stick with XP or older to use it.