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Author Topic: TV tuner card advice needed  (Read 3456 times)

wildcatknh

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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
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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

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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.
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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

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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.

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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

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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.
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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

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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.
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CountryBumkin

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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).
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wildcatknh

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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.
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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
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