need your help picking a card for a htpc

[cfuk]

As the title says i need some help in getting the right card for a htpc. I'm getting a shuttle soon to use as a HTPC, but i don't know if i have the right cards. I have a FX5200 and a AVer TV Studio card. Will they be ok?

Thanks

[backlund]

That avertv card is garbage for picture quality. Go with a Hauppauge 150, or I'd even recommend an ATI theater 550 card (there's about 10 different versions of the exact same hardware) as it is a decent card from the get go, and could considerably improve in due time.

[cfuk]

where can you get the ati cards from? i don't know if it's worth going for a freeview card

[backlund]

If you live in the UK, I believe they're coming out today for PAL. If you need NTSC, zipzoomfly.com has the best price ~ $85

[cfuk]

i'll have to keep my eyes open for a pal version

[backlund]

When it comes to HTPC, you want the best TV card possible. Believe me, the wife will complain if things don't look great!

[cfuk]

well i want it so i can record as well and a good picture would help lol

[ArcticFox]

If you can, pick up a GeForce 6200, it has an onboard vpu and its tvout is supposed to be superb.

[cfuk]

i'll have a look for both thanks

[backlund]

I'm planning on picking up one of those too, in a few months when the price hopefully drops. My HTPC doesn't have PCI-ex so I need the AGP version, which is about twice the price. Hopefully the AGP version will go down soon.