Please recommend a DVB-T Freeview card

[dancingmatt]

Hi guys

I want to get a TV tuner for my PC, ideally dual tuners but can be single, got to be digital though so I can pick up Freeview. I have Windows MCE so I'm not really bothered about bundled software, although I think it has to have BDA drivers for the EPG to work?

There does seem to be a couple of dual tuners out which cost around £70 for a PCI-E card, and then there are very cheap single tuner USB sticks.

What would you guys recommend?

Thanks

DM

[directhex]

on PCI, they're all much of a muchness (using one of two common chips). i have two hauppauge nova-t and a technotrend 1500t

on PCIe or USB, they're variable

[Funkstar]

For use in MCE they have to have BDA drivers or they simple won't work, never mind the EPG

Personally i'd stay away from USB devices, the drivers can be really really horrible. Some of the tiny tuners you get in them can be pretty rubbish too.

Having said this, i have a Nova-T 500 which is actually two USB tuners and a USB host controller on a PCI card. Work pretty well in MediaPortal. Although the box isn't 100% stable right now, i don't think that has anything to do with the card.

[dancingmatt]

That Nova-T 500 is the new dual digital card isn't it? I had heard it was coming out, had wondered whether it was any good. It does sound like a bit of a hatchet-job of Hauppauge to put it all together, why they used the USB tuners I dunno.

Have you seen any good prices for it? I think it's about £70 or £80?

I also read the dual tuner PCI-E Cinergy T2400 (or something like that) was a bit ropey.

Ideally I'd rather pay a lot less, I could get two USB tuners for about £45/50...

DM

[Funkstar]

I got my Nova-T 500 from the for sale forum on here

There is no easy way to get two tuners on one PCI device. I don't know what the problem is, could be to do with the way the BDA driver system works. Some dual tuner cards actually have a USB connector at the back and you have to have a cable plugged into a USB socket for it to appear. How *that* is a hatchet job.

here is a good example:
http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/ENG/Prod...alDigital.aspx

The other advantage of using USB components is that they are a lot smaller and use less power. This means the card can be used with a low profile PCI bracket.

[this_is_gav]

Black Gold duallies, for the love of God, Black Gold duallies!

[directhex]

black gold cards are IDENTICAL to later-model hauppauge wintv cards, other than pcb bling

just get *any* cheap single-tuner pci cards. they're all essentially the same, the only difference being drivers (and you can use each others' drivers, as long as you pick the appropriate one) and software (which doesn't matter if you plan on using MCE)

[BigBry]

Hauppauge Nova-T 500 is a smashing PCI dual tuner card. Works fine in several systems I've put together, including S3 and Hibernate modes).

An alternative PCI card is the Pinnacle dual tuner card that Scan sell here

[akatsuki]

Ive been looking for a tv card as well and i have to say the Pinnacle PCTV Dual DVB-T Pro PCI has the best features (for me). It can record MPEG-2, MPEG-1, MPEG-4 and DivX, this will save time converting the recording later.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSit...-T+Pro+PCI.htm

[RavenNight]

Steer clear of the Compro's the support is rubbish, my T200 just about works but only after weeks of emailing their techpeople and using some really old drivers (their latest ones stop the card working at all). It also claims to support HD but just doesn't.

[directhex]

Ive been looking for a tv card as well and i have to say the Pinnacle PCTV Dual DVB-T Pro PCI has the best features (for me). It can record MPEG-2, MPEG-1, MPEG-4 and DivX, this will save time converting the recording later.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSit...-T+Pro+PCI.htm

that's due to bundled software (which the OP isn't interested in), not the card

DVB-T comes down as MPEG2-TS, any other formats (including player-friendly MPEG2-PS) must be converted from the source material

[BigBry]

Steer clear of the Compro's the support is rubbish, my T200 just about works but only after weeks of emailing their techpeople and using some really old drivers (their latest ones stop the card working at all). It also claims to support HD but just doesn't.

I've never had any problems with the T200 and I've used them in literally dozens and dozens of builds, I think they're fantastic value for money and I can get BBC HD Freeview through them.

[Funkstar]

It also claims to support HD but just doesn't.

there are no official HD DVB-T streams. Unless you are really close to the Crystal Palace transmitter of course. It is also the Compro software that dermined HD support as opposed to the drivers or the card itself.

All DVB card do is tune to the analogue channel frequency and pull the digital multiplex out of that. this digital stream contains multiple channels worth of audio/video streams along with EPG data and perhaps STB firmware updates and sends it to the software. It is up to the software to decode the video and audio.

Because of this simplicity, appart from some very esoteric cards, every DVB-T *card* can support HD and MPEG-4 broadcasts, it is up to the software (Windows MCE, MediaPortal or the proprietary software) to deal with the data.

[dancingmatt]

And since I am near the Crystal Palace transmitter, that is exactly why I'm looking to get a card. Thanks for all your help - had no idea a Pinnacle card existed. Looks like the Nova-T 500 or the Pinnacle then since they're both just under £60. That's near the price of 2 USB tuner sticks and I'd rather have the one internal card than two USB ports being used up.

Will the remote with either work with MCE 2005 (since I bought it OEM and so don't have a remote or IR receiver)? That would be a bonus, if I could get my way around music and pictures etc. as well as changing TV channels and recording shows in MCE...

DM

[BigBry]

Will the remote with either work with MCE 2005 (since I bought it OEM and so don't have a remote or IR receiver)? That would be a bonus, if I could get my way around music and pictures etc. as well as changing TV channels and recording shows in MCE...

DM

From the Scan website re the Hauppauge card;

Also The included Hauppage remote control does not operate under Media Centre. Media Centre requires Microsoft certified remote control

Now I thought it did work with MCE and Scan had posted to say this. I can't find anything in the old Scan posts on this but it may be worth asking Scan directly in their part of Hexus.

I'm pretty certain the Pinnacle doesn't have an MCE compatible controller.

[Funkstar]

i don't actually think it does work with MCE, works natively with MediaPortal though