Getting a TV Tuner

[Not Kuno]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good one? I want one not really for watching tv, but mostly for playing gaming systems and such.

[Kaisha]

On the same subject, can anyone recommend one that *doesn't* use the PCI-E 1x slot?

When I went hunting for one a couple months ago, they all used that damn slot, and I'd rather not have one of those sitting directly below the fan of my 8800GT.

I'd kill for one that was USB (to use with the laptop as well) and didn't break the bank.

[Reality]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good one? I want one not really for watching tv, but mostly for playing gaming systems and such.

I recently did some research on PCI-E 1x TV Tuners that had both an ATSC (Digital) and NTSC tuner, since I wanted to watch TV on my 24" LCD as I just sold my 32" 720p CRT to a friend for 50 bucks (It weighed 170lbs, I needed it out of my house, huge eyesore)

Anyways, after doing some digging, I found the one which I'm currently using and enjoying very much:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815100014

Works in Vista 64bit, which is nice for me, comes with a media center remote + IR dongle (and an extra IR blaster cable)

Another one I'm hearing nice things about is the newest Hauppauge HD-PVR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...age%20hd%20pvr

Here's a thread on OCForums from a guy who actually bought it
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=564856

Good luck

[Kohan]

I'd kill for one that was USB (to use with the laptop as well) and didn't break the bank.

There is a USB adaptor that's used frequently within the gaming industry:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADAPTEC-GAMEBRID...d=p3286.c0.m14

A fair forewarning to you: its packed-in video software is awful, and you shouldn't use it. Instead, download DScaler and research gaming-related tweaks (you'll likely have the most success Googling high speed titles, as in: dscaler "guitar hero"). You'll need to do some filter modifications to get it running smoothly as possible.

[Not Kuno]

I recently did some research on PCI-E 1x TV Tuners that had both an ATSC (Digital) and NTSC tuner, since I wanted to watch TV on my 24" LCD as I just sold my 32" 720p CRT to a friend for 50 bucks (It weighed 170lbs, I needed it out of my house, huge eyesore)

Anyways, after doing some digging, I found the one which I'm currently using and enjoying very much:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815100014

Works in Vista 64bit, which is nice for me, comes with a media center remote + IR dongle (and an extra IR blaster cable)

Another one I'm hearing nice things about is the newest Hauppauge HD-PVR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...age%20hd%20pvr

Here's a thread on OCForums from a guy who actually bought it
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=564856

Good luck

I'm no good at computer lingo stuff.. will that work for stuff that use A/V cables? Namely gaming systems and such. I don't see spots for that in the back unless I need to buy some other cable or something.

[Reality]

The one I have (the AverTV card) comes with a dongle cable for S-Video input, but not component

[Not Kuno]

I was eyeing getting something like this, which is usb.

http://www.amazon.com/ATI-Wonder-650.../dp/B00138H420


Only question left is, will I be able to play FF and watch whatever at the same time?

[Kohan]

I was eyeing getting something like this, which is usb.

http://www.amazon.com/ATI-Wonder-650.../dp/B00138H420

Only question left is, will I be able to play FF and watch whatever at the same time?

I wouldn't really say that's the "only question left," for a very important reason: if this device isn't capable of coverting data fast enough, most of your games are going to be unplayable on your PC. For example, if a game is running at 60FPS and it's only being processed and displayed at 15FPS, you're going to have issues. Playing games through a USB TV tuner is very different from watching television with one.

When a GameBridge--the device I have experience with--displays video on a PC, it's interlaced, and you do have to use a program like DScaler to partially eliminate that. Does this ATI device to deinterlacing? I don't know, although the filters mentioned on the Amazon page make it sound that way. Then again, the reviews on Amazon and elsewhere don't look very favorable.

Unfortunately, I can't help you more; I tried Googling about this device and its use with games, and couldn't find any helpful results.

[Not Kuno]

Damn. All this stuff is so confusing. >(