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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > TV Tuner Cards > [Solved] What tuner type to buy

[Solved] What tuner type to buy

Forum Graphic & Displays : TV Tuner Cards [Solved] What tuner type to buy

Best answer from Wolfshadw.

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Hey gang, I hope you can help me.

I'm looking at putting a TV tuner in my PC to hook it to my TV. I currently get Comcast's absolutely lowest cable package. This includes to major networks like NBC, FOX, CBS, etc a few cable channels like Discovery and some local access channels. That's it, no ESPN, MTV, History, etc. The advantage is I don't need a rooftop antenna. I currently plug the coax direct from the wall to the TV, no set top box needed. I also get the local feeds of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and PBS in HD (I believe over the air, not from Comcast).

So what type of tuner do I need: combo, hybrid, dual, ATSC? I'd like to only have to plug one coax into the TV tuner (that way I only have to split the coax once: one to modem one to TV tuner) and I would like to keep my local HD options. Brand/model suggestions would also be awesome.

I've search these forums, but never found anything quite answering this question.

Thanks for the input, Tom's Hardware forums are the best.

Intel Core2 Duo (about 4 years old)
ATI X1350 video card
2gb RAM
Win7 Premium x32

Reply to ericmtnbkr
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Best answer

You'll want a TV Tuner that accepts both ClearQAM signals from Comcast and ATSC digital Over-The-Air broadcasts from your local channels. Something like this Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1850 should do the trick.

-Wolf sends

------------------------------ All Purpose System Specs: GA-H55M-S2V Intel CoreI5 760 8 Gig RAM NVidia Geforce 8800GTS-640 Windows 7
HTPC System Specs: ASRock 760GM-GS3 AMD Athlon II X2-240 G.Skill 4 GB (2x2GB) Radeon HD4670 Ceton InfiniTV4 TV Tuner
Reply to Wolfshadw

So you just want to have the signal on one PC, right? Hauppage is usually the goto brand for PCI TV tuners. Are you using a PCI or PCIe slot in your PC? The PCIe slot will be shorter.

There are also network TV tuners that will share the DVR functions for all PCs on your network. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6815345006 That one's nice for having a CARD slot in case you did get a cable box, but the one's without this slot would be cheaper.

Reply to kinggraves

Wolfshadw wrote :

You'll want a TV Tuner that accepts both ClearQAM signals from Comcast and ATSC digital Over-The-Air broadcasts from your local channels. Something like this Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1850 should do the trick.

-Wolf sends




Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like I will have to split my coax, one into the ClearQAM in and one into the ATSC in. Am I correct in that thinking? Also, I noticed the requirements call for a sound card. I don't have a discrete card, only on-board sound. Any idea whether this will be a deal breaker and I'll need to purchase a sound card as well, or will I be able to wire the tuner to the on-board sound.

Thanks again, Tom's really has one of the best forums on the interwebs!

Reply to ericmtnbkr

ericmtnbkr wrote :

Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like I will have to split my coax, one into the ClearQAM in and one into the ATSC in. Am I correct in that thinking? Also, I noticed the requirements call for a sound card. I don't have a discrete card, only on-board sound. Any idea whether this will be a deal breaker and I'll need to purchase a sound card as well, or will I be able to wire the tuner to the on-board sound.

Thanks again, Tom's really has one of the best forums on the interwebs!



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6815116037

I'd recommend the 2250, as it has 2 tuners built in for a little more. I believe the only difference between 1850 and 2250 is the second tuner (handy if you need to record or watch a second channel, with a single tuner you can only watch the one you record), but I own the 2250.

The second coax is for the FM antenna, they only need one coax in from the cable, even the dual tuner model. Your onboard sound should qualify as the "sound card".

Reply to kinggraves

well you can go for anyone which accepts both ClearQAM signals from Comcast and ATSC digital signals.

Reply to pamella04
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