INTERACT FORUM

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: TV tuner card advice needed  (Read 3461 times)

wildcatknh

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
TV tuner card advice needed
« on: January 12, 2016, 06:08:27 pm »
Okay guys ... I'm looking for some advice.  I've finally decided to cut the cable cord and plan on using MC21 to view my OTA local HD network channels.  I have not yet purchased a TV tuner card for my home theater media PC so ... any advice or suggestions on a tuner card would be greatly appreciated.  Is there anything I should look for in particular?  Anything I should avoid?  Internal card vs. USB tuner?  I don't know much about tuner cards and about the only brand name I'm somewhat familiar with is Hauppauge.

My media PC is not at all top shelf, but anything I play through my MC setup just this side of 4K video is smooth as a ribbon.  So I don't expect to have any issues viewing OTA broadcast thru my MC setup.  Just bought a Mohu Leaf 30 Indoor HDTV antenna.  My network broadcast towers are about 15 miles away and all in the same general direction so I expect a very strong signal.

Current PC Specs:
Hardware about 5 years old
Windows 7 Pro SP1 (soon to be upgrading to Win 10)
AMD Athlon X4 3.1 GHz processor
Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics (1GB memory)
8GB RAM
Logged
HTPC - Win10 Pro, AMD Athlon II X4 645 3.1GHz, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 970, MC23
XBox One X | LG OLED 55B7A | Sony STR-DN1080 AVR

RoderickGI

  • MC Beta Team
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 8186
Re: TV tuner card advice needed
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2016, 06:32:32 pm »
It would help if you said where you are located. Country at least, maybe area as well, since at least in the USA, OTA broadcasts can vary a lot.

People will then know if you need an ATSC or DVB-T tuner, what other specs are required and so on. Plus they could point you to local knowledge sources, such as local frequencies and channel lists, etc.
Logged
What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

wildcatknh

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
Re: TV tuner card advice needed
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2016, 07:01:51 pm »
Thanks ... didn't think to add that.  I'm about 15 miles outside Cincinnati, OH in the US.

Logged
HTPC - Win10 Pro, AMD Athlon II X4 645 3.1GHz, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 970, MC23
XBox One X | LG OLED 55B7A | Sony STR-DN1080 AVR

RoderickGI

  • MC Beta Team
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 8186
Re: TV tuner card advice needed
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2016, 07:34:44 pm »
Excellent. I am in Australia, so I will leave it to our friends in the USA to advise, since it is best to get advice from people actually using the tuner cards.

I hope it goes well.
Logged
What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

JimH

  • Administrator
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 72446
  • Where did I put my teeth?
Re: TV tuner card advice needed
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2016, 01:54:08 am »
Take a look at network tuners like those from SiliconDust and Cetoncorp.  You could read the reviews on Amazon.
Logged

CountryBumkin

  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 3352
Re: TV tuner card advice needed
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2016, 07:17:36 am »
If you going to use Over-the-Air source, I would go with the Hauppauge brand http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/prods.html . It's well proven/tested.

I have two now (the 2250 and the USB stick 950Q) both work very well. No issues with either. The 2250 is a dual tuner internal card (now called the HVR-2255 model).
Logged

wildcatknh

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
Re: TV tuner card advice needed
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2016, 03:39:20 pm »
Thanks guys.  I was pretty confident with Hauppauge ... but hadn't heard about the network tuners before.  I'll do some more reading on them.
Logged
HTPC - Win10 Pro, AMD Athlon II X4 645 3.1GHz, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 970, MC23
XBox One X | LG OLED 55B7A | Sony STR-DN1080 AVR
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »