HD TV Tuner card

[Lost]

So i've been looking around and didn't see any topics that dealt with HD TV Tuner cards. Im currently looking for an HD Tuner card so that i can watch and record TV shows on my computer in HD, that has two tuners on it. Anyone know of good brands or even anyone who makes them? The only thing that i could find was card that was made like two years ago, trying to find something more current. Thanks.

[Snowknight26]

Do you have a DVR? If so, you can just use firewire.

[Lost]

I have a DVR in the other room but doesn't have a big enough HD to record what i want on it. Thats why im looking to just record on my computers HD. I also have a Nvidia graphics card and was wondering if by getting an ATI would somehow mess something up.

[Snowknight26]

I'm saying that if your DVR has firewire and your computer does too, you can record straight from the DVR.

This guide is created to help you capture ATSC HDTV MPEG-2 broadcast from STB's on your 32-bit Windows PC.


Pre-requisites:
Windows 2000, XP 32-bit Home/Pro, any 32-bit Vista PC
PC must have firewire IEEE 1394 port
Rent Set Top Box from cable service provider like Comcast or Cablevision or buy your own, you must rent a box that receives High Definition signals and includes a Firewire port
A standard Firewire cable or a 4pin to 6pin Firewire cable to capture to a laptop
Once you have all of that, here are the steps to setup your "capture box":

Make sure Windows PC is on. Make sure STB is on and in full working order (that is, you can surf all the channels you are paying for)
Install STB drivers from here (follow all of its directions): http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre ... id=3818890
Physically connect the firewire cable to both Windows PC and STB
ONLY INSTALL drivers for 2 devices: Tuner Panel and the Tuner itself. You will see 1 or more "unknown device" with a yellow warning icon next to it in your hardware device properties. Do not worry about it, you already have enough setup to capture HDTV.
Copy the CapDVHS.exe to C:\Program Files\CapDVHS (or whatever the heck you want to name it): http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre ... id=3818890
Create a shortcut on your desktop/start menu/navigation place to CapDVHS.exe
Double click on CapDVHS.exe to open the program.
Select Tuner under Capture Device pull down box.
Select directory you want to save the capture to.
Click on Rec. button to begin recording, you will see the stream information under the Data tab including size and bitrate.
Click Stop button to stop recording.
Notes: Premium Channels outside of Over the Air broadcast channels are protected by 5c Content Encryption. It is easily checked for using CapVHS. If 5c Encryption is enabled, when you push record you will not get any statistics on the Data Tab. Also, under VLC Media Player, you can open a the Capture Device (Set Top Box) to do a preview of the channel you are capping. Under VLC Media Player go File > Open Capture Device and then select the Capture Device, most like a Motorola Cable box. Select a free channel and you should get a picture. Select a Premium channel and most likely the picture will stop. On occasions cable providers will turn off this encryption leaving some or all of the premium channels open to being captured.