PC components required for home theater

[john_72]

I would like to upgrade my desktop PC (described below) to serve as a highly functional home theater PC. Please recommend a TV tuner card that will allow me to pause/record while watching. I will be taking all signals over the air with an antenna. I assume this means two receivers. Do I need capture cards as well or is their function served by the tuners on the TV card? Noting that I am not into games (yet), will I need a graphics card or will the graphics integrated into the mother board be enough? should both tuners be digital or should one be analog?

My computer:
Processer: Intel I5-3750K
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 PRO4
8 GB RAM
HD #1 w/Ubuntu linux (1000GB)
HD #2 w/Window 7 home preferred (500GB)

Thanks, John

 

[Wolfshadw]

Pretty much the Gold Standard for Over The Air (OTA) TV Tuner, is the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250. With dual tuners, you can watch one program while recording another. You won't need an additional capture card. The TV Tuner card will allow you to pause, rewind, and replay.

The integrated graphics (Intel HD2000/3000) *should* be enough for watching/recording OTA digital broadcasts, but in the event you're not happy with the result, any low-end graphics card (HD6450/GT620) would handle the job, easily.

-Wolf sends