TV Tuner for the PC

[Guest]

Hey folks, I know there have been a lot of discussions already on various TV tuners but searching I wasn't able to find exactly what I'm looking for. Hopefully someone out there is a little more knowledgeable than I and can set the record straight on what the information I've gathered.

A little background:
Before the switch to digital broadcasting I had a TV tuner card in my old computer. I was able to screw a coaxial cable into the back of the computer set up the channels from my cable provider and then watch and record TV as I pleased.

With the conversion to digital it seems that things have gotten a little more complicated. What I would like to do is record HDTV from my computer without having to go through a set top box provided by the cable company. From what I have gathered many channels are now encoded so most TV tuners require that the set top box decode them first. So for instance if I was to install the Hauppauge WinTV HVR 2250 I would not be able to watch or record many channels as they would be encoded and not the OTA or QAM format. Am I correct in this line of reasoning?

From what I have found the best option to watch and record TV directly from my computer is with the Ceton infiTV card. By getting a CableCARD from my TV provider it should be able to decode all the encoded channels and I should be able to watch and record everything that would be broadcast on my TVs. Am I correct in this line of reasoning?

I know there are a few other TV tuner/ PVR devices that are external but I would prefer to keep mine inside the PC. Also this card has 4 built in tuners I don't really need that many, are there cards that have a similar function but with less splits?

Again sorry to rehash a topic that has likely been covered already, I just want to make sure I have the correct information before I shell out the cash for this card.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[popatim]

You're reasoning is correct. Without a cable card you are limited to recording only the non-scrambled channels. I've read that some cableco's scramble all their channels.

You also want to compare the monthly cost of a cable card to the cost of renting thier dvr.

Here's a couple other cable card tuners here but the ceton is the only internal one I know of.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116072
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815345006

 

[Wolfshadw]

Popatim is correct; as you are in your reasoning. As an owner of the Ceton InfiniTV4 tuner card for almost two years, I've been extremely happy with it.

While it is extremely rare for me to actually use all four tuners of the card (it's only happened once), I do like the ability to network unused tuners to other devices. If you have multiple computers on a wired network, you can assign tuners to these other computers and then they can watch/record TV as if they had a tuner card installed. I generally do this on Sundays when there are multiple sporting events at the same time. My HDTV displays the primary event while my computer (same room/small apartment) displays the secondary event (muted).

Additionally, there is the cost savings. With Comcast in my area, having four DVRs would cost me $51/month (first one free + $17 ea. for the other three). My cablecard, on the other hand, only costs me $2/month. Even if I only required one extra DVR, the upfront cost of the card was paid off in 18 months ($300 when I bought mine).

-Wolf sends