HD - FTA - PVR - PC Tuner card?

firstmode · #1 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 04:02 AM

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Is this possible? Are there any products out on the market for FTA - HD - PVR? I am really looking to get the most out of my HDTV.

What OTA HDTV PC Tuner Card do you guys recommend?

The Media Center 2003 system I am looking to build will compliment my Dish network NON-HD PVR. I am looking to get 2 tuner cards with XP media Edition 2005. I have most of the computer parts, just want to get a couple of hard drives, the XP Media Center Remote and Sensor, etc. I know where to find that stuff, but I am not sure the products I need to buy.

The setup I want is to have 2 tuners in my XP media center box:

1st Tuner = OTA HDTV Digital PC Tuner card that lets me record and schedule shows off of my OTA UHF/VHF setup.

2nd Tuner = FTA HD PC Tuner card that will hook up to a 36 inch Ku-band dish and standard LNB. I want to be able to record content, I know I cannot really schedule anything, but I mainly just want a tuner, even if I do not record, then lets me watch HDTV-FTA.

Guys, If the FTA-HD PC Tuner card is not possible yet, I totally understand. But what is the best HD-OTA Tuner Card I can buy right now?

timmy1376 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 08:44 AM

There is nothing that will do them both, but I have had both a MyHD card for OTA HD and a Twinhan card for FTA. The twinhan will do FTA HDTV, and the MyHD will do OTA with an antenna. Some HD card will do QAM, which is what the cable companies use.

I am not totally sure, but I do not think Media Center XP supports the Twinhan... someone will correct me if I am wrong.

iammike · #3 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 09:02 AM

I have 2 MyHD cards. I really like them, but I'm not sure how compatible they are with Media Center. They are only for OTA broadcasts. Most DVB PC cards support FTA HD, but the only regular HD channel on KU is PBS. There's more on C-band, and both KU and C have wild feeds from time to time. What I do on the FTA HD is record it using MyTheatre and a Twinhan card, and then play it back through a MyHD card on my front projector.

iammike · #4 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmy1376

Some HD card will do QAM, which is what the cable companies use.

I am not totally sure, but I do not think Media Center XP supports the Twinhan... someone will correct me if I am wrong.

The MyHD 130 card does QAM too. I think you're right about the Twinhan, but I don't use Media Center so I can't confirm.

firstmode · #5 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 11:18 AM

The MyHD MDP-130 Card works with both High Definition ATSC (Over-the-Air Digital HD from Antenna) and NTSC (Regular Cable or Over-the-Air from Antenna) video and audio. The MyHD uses Hardware decoding.
OTA (Over the Air) only. Does Not work with dScaler.

MDP-130
by Macro Image Technology - Drivers
Overview

• MDP-130 is a PCI-based card for enjoying both Digital and Analog TV on a PC at a low cost.

• MDP-130 receives ATSC, clear QAM, NTSC and Cable TV programs.

• MDP-130 can display the programs on an existing PC monitor and/or a high quality HD display monitor.

• MDP-130 supports record and playback of HD broadcasting programs with time-shifting capability.

• MDP-130 also supports digital video output (DVI-D) using optional MDP-130DVI adaptor.
(MDP-120DVI not suitable & cannot connect)

Main Features

• Receives digital TV(ATSC), digital cable TV(clear QAM), analog TV(NTSC) and analog cable TV

• Records digital TV and analog TV broadcasting programs
- Transport stream capture
- AVI capture
- Still frame image capture

• Video output with RGB or YPbPr(Component)

• Audio output with Dolby Digital 5.1-channel via S/PDIF

• Supports D-VHS through IEEE 1394 interface(Windows XP only)

• Supports scheduled recording

• Supports aspect ratio conversion

• Supports EPG for digital channels

• Supports time-shifting (digital channels only)

• Provides external S-video, composite and analog stereo audio input

• Plays transport stream and DVD

• Supports an infrared remote control

• Digital video output (DVI-D) using optional MDP-130DVI adaptor
(MDP-120DVI not suitable & cannot connect)

Specifications
Section Item Specifications
Antenna input signa Input frequency
57 MHz ~ 860 MHz (VSB,QAM,NTSC)

Antenna impedance
75 ohms

Connector type
IEC 169-2, female, F type (VSB)

Symbol rate
10.76 MS/s (VSB)

Demultiplexer
Stream format
MPEG-2 transport stream

Data rates
Max. 40 Mbps

PID
Controls up to 32 PID

Video
Algorithm
MPEG-2 Main Profile @ High Level (HDTV)
MPEG-2 Main Profile @ Main Level (SDTV)

Decoding format
All of ATSC digital TV standards

Display format
HD : 1920x1080i, 1280x720P, 1024x768P
SD : 704x480P, 704x480i

Audio
Mode
Dolby AC-3

A/V Input
VGA
Analog RGB input through DSUB-15

CVBS input signal
Composite Video Signal through DSUB-15

Audio input signal
Analog Stereo Signal through DSUB-15

A/V output
Video output signal
RGB or YPbPr, 1 Vpp with 75 Ohm termination

Video connector
DSUB-15

Audio output signal
Analog : 2 channels (L,R - Analog Stereo)
Digital : S/PDIF (5.1-channel AC-3)

Audio connector
3-pin header (Analog), 1 x RCA (S/PDIF)

Function
Free-to air
Yes

Multi-lingual
Yes

Select screen size
16:9 / 4:3

On screen display
Yes, 24 bpp and 8-bit Blending

Frame Buffer Memory
SDRAM
16Mbytes

PC & Software Interface
PCI bus
PCI bus Specification 2.2 Compliant
33MHz or 66MHz operation

OS
Microsoft Windows 98 SE/ME/2000/XP

Other
DirectShow filters

firstmode · #6 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 11:18 AM

The Fusion HDTV3 QAM HDTV tuner card is a software HDTV decoder card, FusionHDTV3 Gold works either with free to air digital TV (8VSB ATSC Over-the-Air Digital HD from Antenna) and unencrypted digital cable TV (QAM) broadcasting channels. Compatible with both High Definition and NTSC (Regular Cable or Over-the-Air from Antenna) video and audio.
Works with dScaler, so this is a good choice if you need a card to work with S-Video input de-interlaced with this popular program.

Fusion HDTV3 Gold QAM
Buy it - $174.95
(8VSB/64QAM/256QAM reception support)
Includes Remote control
Specifications -Dvico drivers

FusionHDTV3
• HDTV reception and display
• High resolution - crystal clear picture quality
• Record HDTV stream on HDD
• Provides the best VGA compatibility
• High resolution still screen capture
• ATSC 18 formats compliant
• DVD/MPEG4(DivX) Conversion
• Running on Windows ME/ 2000/ XP
• Latest CX23881 chip set
• No cable connection for Analog TV audio
10bit A/D
• More buffer for better compatibility
• Low profile for slim PC
• Ulead Media Studio7SE DVD bundle for DVD writing

8VSB/64QAM/256QAM reception support
FusionHDTV3 Gold works either with free to air digital TV(8VSB) and
unencrypted digital cable TV(QAM) broadcasting channels.

Highly Cost Effective
Full SW solution with minimum HW support
Using Conexant CX23881 and latest 4th Generation VSB tuner
Using Dvico's own HDTV decoder solution

High resolution, crystal clear picture quality
Provides ultimate picture quality experience on PC
(Please download demo to check the superb HDTV quality on your own system)
Good and crispy picture quality even on LCD and low resolution monitor

Dvico's proprietary HDTV SW decoder
Dvico's own dual HDTV software decorders for both non-DxVA and DxVA VGAs
Provides the best VGA compatibility with non DxVA full software decoder
Provides low CPU consumption with DxVA SW decoder
Dvico's own AC3, AAC Audio decoder

DVHS Supporting
Direct capture, playback and recording with DVHS
Direct DVHS transport control
Requires normal 1394 OHCI card
Requires Windows XP or later version for DVHS support

HDTV Recording
Record the digital TV contents directly on HDD and playback later
No 2G/4G limitation with recording
Cut on the fly cutting stream files directly on APP software

Minimum Requirement
Pentium 3 750MHz CPU (with ATi RADEON series with DxVA VGA, nVidia MX440, FX series)
Pentium 4 1.6GHz with DDR266 or faster memory for non DxVA VGA
Windows ME/ 2000/ XP or later version of Windows
-> To check your system for HDTV performance please download demo(Click!)

Fusion Remote (Included)
Fusion HDTV supports remote control unit

Remote Control Included

Specifications:
Item Specifications
Features and Specs - ATSC(Digital)/ NTSC TV reception
- Display at digital broadcasting at full resolution up to 1920x1080i
- Use Graphics card for display
- DVI output with DVI enabled graphics card
- HD to DVD/DivX conversion
- Still Image capture: BMP, JPG, TIF, GIF, PNG
- 4th Generation QAM/VSB demodualator from LG
- Conexant Fusion881 as Analog TV and PCI interface chip
- 69 terrestrial digital (8VSB) / digital cable(64QAM / 256QAM) / analog channels
- All 18 ATSC formats compliant
- Dolby Digital ™ AC3 audio output
- Japanese BS/CS digital stream play including audio(AAC)
- Dvico’s own dual HDTV software decoders for both non-DxVA and DxVA VGAs.
- Good picture quality on LCD monitor
- DTV personal video recording with EPG(TitanTV) and recording reservation.
- Direct DVHS capture/ recording/ playback with OHCI card
- Playback recorded transport stream files
- Cut-on-the-fly feature, cut the transport stream files.
- High resolution still capturing.
Input/Output - TV antenna reception port
-1 inside stereo connection jack to sound card for analog TV(WidowsME) Windows2000,XP does not need this.
- 1 Composite(using dongle cable), 1 S-Video Video Input
- Direct audio stream output to sound card(HDTV)
Compatibility
(DxVA VGAs) - Pentium3 750MHz or faster with 128M memory
- Celeron 900Mhz or faster with 128M memory
- Equivalent AMD Athlon or latest CPUs
- All ATI Radeon series VGAs
- nVidia MX420,440,FX series VGA
- Runs on WinME/2000/XP or later
- Ultra-DMA66 enabled main board and HDD for recording
- Requires one PCI slot

Compatibility
(non DxVA VGAs) - Pentium4 1.6GHz or faster with 128M memory
- Equivalent AMD Athlon or latest CPUs
- All Nvidia MX series VGAs and ATI Radeon series VGAs.
- DDR266 or faster memory
- Runs on WinME/ 2000/ XP or later
- Ultra-DMA66 enabled main board and HDD for recording
- Requires one PCI slot
Compatibility (DVHS) - Running on Windows XP or later only.
- 1394(Firewire) port
Drivers - Conexant CX23881 drivers
- Dvico’s own tuner driver
- Dvico’s own full software HDTV decoder
- Dvico’s own DxVA software HDTV decoder
Application Software - FusionHDTV
- TV viewing and recording, simple cut editing
- HD2MPEG converter: Converts HD stream to DVD or DivX
- SignalChecker
- Signal strengh checker

firstmode · #7 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 11:34 AM

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/prod_digital.html

model 542
WinTV-NOVA-S PCI (European DVB standard)
Watch DVB digital satellite TV in a window on your PC (software decode)

Record and playback digital TV using MPEG-2

Listen to digital radio and receive digital Teletext from satellite

Suitable for DVB data services

Internal PCI plug-in board

model 907
WinTV-NOVA-S USB (European DVB standard)
Watch DVB digital satellite TV in a window on your PC (software decode)

Record and playback digital TV using MPEG-2

Listen to digital radio and receive digital Teletext from satellite

Suitable for DVB data services

Plugs into your PC's (or laptop's) USB port for easy installation.

model 717
WinTV-NEXUS-S (European DVB standard)
Watch satellite DVB TV in a window on your PC or to an external video monitor (hardware decode)

Record and playback digital TV with MPEG-2

Listen to digital radio and receive digital Teletext from satellite

Suitable for DVB data services

Optional Conditional Access module

Internal PCI plug-in board

model 909
WinTV-NOVA-T PCI (European DVB-T standard)
Watch Freeview digital TV on your PC, in a window or full screen. Digital TV offers sharper pictures and clearer sound!

Record Freeview digital TV to disk in DVD quality. Playback to your PC screen!

Receive instant Interactive Teletext.

Includes remote control.

WinTV-NOVA-T MCE (European DVB-T standard)
Watch Freeview digital TV on your PC, in a window or full screen. Digital TV offers sharper pictures and clearer sound!

Record Freeview digital TV to disk in DVD quality. Playback to your PC screen!

Receive instant Interactive Teletext.

Includes remote control.

firstmode · #8 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 11:36 AM

Home >> Products >> PVR for Media Center >> WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit

Use the 'MyTV' button in Windows XP Media Center Edition to watch and record TV.
Dual TV tuners and dual hardwre MPEG encoders. Watch one TV channel while recording another. Or record two TV channels at once!
Use the 'MyFM' button in Media Center to listen to FM radio.
Pause TV with instant replay, and use Media Center's electronic program guide to automatically record your favorite TV shows to disk!
Includes the Media Center remote control, so you can control all Media Center functions via a remote control.

WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit has these great features:

Plug and play TV tuner suppport for Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Live TV from the built-in 125 channel cable ready TV tuner, plus composite/S-Video and audio inputs to connect to a cable TV set top box or satellite receiver. Pause live TV with instant replay, fast forward and rewind.

Built-in dual hardware MPEG-2 encoders. Record up to two TV channels at the same time to disk using from 1-2 Gigabytes of disk space per hour of recorded video. While recording, the WinTV-PVRs' hardware MPEG encoder does all the work, so your PC continues to run at full speed.

Includes a Microsoft certified Media Center remote control Control all Media Center functions, plus includes an IR transmitter to control the channels on a cable TV set top box or satellite receivers

Includes A/V cable set to connect to a second A/V input such as a satellite receiver or cable TV box.

dbx-TV stereo audio decoder, for great TV sound.

WinTV-PVR-500's dual hardware encoders
Plug-and-play TV tuner suppport for Windows XP Media Center Edition. Just plug the WinTV-PVR-500 MCE into an open PCI slot in your PC, install the Media Center driver, and you can watch TV with Media Center's MyTV button! Media Center allows you to watch or record two TV shows at once, and WinTV-PVR-500's dual TV tuners and dual hardware MPEG encoders supports this dual channel capability.
WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit allows you to upgrade your unerless Media Center PC by adding dual TV tuner sand a Media Center remote control. Record your favorite TV shows to your hard disk, or pause live TV and create your own instant replay!

The WinTV-PVR-500 uses dual hardware MPEG-2 encoders, so you don't slow down your PC while recording. With MPEG data rates from 2 to 8Mbits/sec, you decide how much hard disk space your videos will consume (the lower the data rates, the less disk space your videos will consume, but with lower video quality). You can record one or two TV shows at the same time without slowing down your PC!

The Media Center remote control can be used to control all Media Center functions, such as MyTV, MyRadio, MyMusic, MyPictures and more! And the built-in IR transmitter will enable Media Center's MyTV function to control a satellite or cable TV set top box!

System Requirements

System requirements: Pentium® III processor 1.2GHz or faster, 128MB RAM and 10GB disk drive minimum recommended

Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 or later

Available PCI slot

Sound card

Included in this package

WinTV-PVR-500 PCI board with 125 channel cable ready TV tuner,and hardware MPEG-2 audio/video encoder

Media Center remote control transmitter and receiver ('beanbag')

WinTV-PVR Media Center Installation CD-ROM includes:
WinTV-PVR-500 driver for Windows XP Media Center Edition

Model numbers

model 00253: WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit with NTSC TV tuner, hardware MPEG encoder and Media Center remote control

model 00254: WinTV-PVR-500 MCE-Kit with PAL TV tuner, hardware MPEG encoder and Media Center remote control

Notes:
* TV reception requires an antenna or cable TV connection.

firstmode · #9 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 11:46 AM

TwinhanDTV Sat
Digital satellite TV, digital radio & Internet for your PC!

TwinhanDTV Sat is a professional digital satellite TV card which allows you to watch high quality digital TV simply on your PC. A great deal of practical functions such as instant recording,time-shifting,EPG,teletext…are easy to use by an amiable interface. In addition, TwinhanDTV Sat brings “Internet via satellite” into your PC, and you can surf on web at high download speed!

TwinhanDTV Sat-Express
Ideal Satellite TV Solution !

Here comes an ideal satellite TV card for you! TwinhanDTV Sat-Express adopts high-tech silicon tuner that efficiently reduces the board size to adapt to your mini PCs. Besides the smaller size, the state-of-the-art chip tuner technique can filter the snowy and drill effect that always happens while watching TV and offers a better TV-watching experience. If you are a fan of satellite TV, TwinhanDTV Sat-Express is ideal choice for you!

TwinhanDTV Sat-CI
Watch & Record Satellite TV on PC

TwinhanDTV Sat-CI is the first satellite TV card with designed-in common interface slot, which allows you to receive both free-to-air and scrambled channels. In possession of strong core competence in source integration, TwinhanDTV Sat-CI is compatible with most of CAMs currently on the market. (Detailed list, please see below.) Plus the powerful recording function, the TwinhanDTV Sat-CI card will be your best choice for watching satellite TV.

"the VP-1030A scans for channels quickly and automatically" "the card is very capable, and while very effective and easy to use." "Time shifting was downright impressive--VisionDTV software gives the option to define the size of the time-shifting buffer." "the card itself works superbly and serves brilliantly as an addition to your
existing PC-based home theatre setup."
-- by CHIP, December Issue, 2004(Malaysia)

TwinhanDTV StarBox
Your own digital entertainment set !

Having trouble with installing digital TV tuners? Now you could have a better solution! Cordially presented b TwinHan, StarBox is a professional satellite TV USB device. You could watch digital satellite TV on your notebook with friendly plug-n-play installation. Would you like to experience the charm of satellite TV? StarBox would be your first choice!

firstmode · #10 (**permalink**) 11-08-2005, 11:49 AM

TwinhanDTV Mini Ter
TwinhanDTV Mini Ter is the downsize version of TwinhanDTV Ter and could be easily installed in your mini PC. At the same time, you can do many useful functions such as recording,time-shifting,capture…through the control panel.

TwinhanDTV USB-Ter
TwinhanDTV USB-Ter is the first digital TV box that no needs extra power supply. No matter where users are, only with a notebook and TwinhanDTV USB-Ter could let users enjoy high quality digital entertainment!

TwinhanDTV Ter-CI
TwinHanDTV Ter-CI is the first DVB-T card in the world which supports pay channels. Now you can enjoy high quality scrambled digital TV easily on your PC. Simply insert CAM and smart card from your content provider, you can enjoy more scrambled channels. More than your STB, TwinhanDTV Ter-CI can record you favorite program into your PC and you never miss it.

TwinhanDTV MagicBox
TwinhanDTV MagicBox is the upgrade edition of TwinhanDTV USB-Ter. It enhances the sensitivity of signal receiving & video quality. Also, MagicBox is first and present the only mobile TV box which has passed Microsoft WHQL certificate. With small & exquisite appearance, MagicBox is the most fashionable digital TV solution!