tv recording

doors666

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Hi Guys,

I am planning to get a tv recording/vieweing/pausing card for my htpc. I am a total newbie in this and need your help and recommendations. I currently have cable tv with humax set top box which just has a cable in/out and composite video and 2 ch audio outputs. I might upgrade some day to dth and want it to be able to handle that.

Requirements

1. Record tv shows, with scheduling if possible.
2. Remote control with around 15ft range. it should also support logitech harmony remote. This should be able to control the htpc like the mce remotes right? The htpc is in the rack and the card will be on the backside. Hope that doesnt mess up the remote operation.
3. Should have cable input. Composite with audio inputs also will be good.

Questions:
1. How is the quality and resolution of viewing/recording thru the card as compared to watching directly on the tv.
2. Can I watch a different channel and record a different channel. I suppose it wont be possible with set top boxes for cable as well as dth.
3. What resolutions can it support.
4. What happens when HD broadcasting becomes a reality? Will it still be usable.
5. What formats can it record in.
6. What is it that the tata sky plus box can do that I cant do with the card? just want to know if there are any limitations.

Thanx guys, as always, you are a great help.
 
Simply speaking, the Hauppage cards would work the best for your scenario. You would basically take the analog out from the Tata Sky set top box and give it to the TV Tuner card and then connect the output of the Tuner to your monitor or TV.

I got the HVR2250 which is their best with the MCE kit. The remote is a cool addition - although the relative who got my piece from the US did not get the USB receiver, so I have not been able to use it. But I can mention that the remote looks to be of good quality and is quite chunky and presentable.

If your universal remote is a learning one, then it should be able to learn the functions of this remote as well.

The rest of the Pinnacle cards and other local brands I have really not had good experiences with. I have also tried the Avermedia card once but had to give it back after adverse experiences.

All said and done though, I do believe that there is a difference in picture quality between just giving the output of the set top box to the TV and connecting it via the TV Tuner card. The original, unprocessed image of the Set top box is the one I seem to prefer.
 
Forgot to mention, you cannot watch a channel and record another if you are using a set top box.

Resolutions, recording format and size are the things we have great control over with the TV tuner card as opposed to Tata Sky Plus. In the latter the recording cannot be taken out and viewed - which is probably its biggest disadvantage. Whereas here you could copy stuff onto your USB and take it anywhere - if you fancy that.

You can use any resolution that you display card supports and that which your TV/monitor can show.
 
Any idea about the cost here in india. This will support both pal and ntsc I guess.

How good is the software that comes with the card for viewing pausing tv etc. Can I use any other apps for this or do I have to use the one that comes with the card.

any idea if this works with linux also.

I currently have hathway set top box, the cable for this also carries the analog signal, right now I plan to use analog cable to feed the card as I want to be able to record a different show than the one being watched. So from the set top box, I will be watching tv normally, but at the same time, the htpc will record a show that coming on some other channel. Basically I am watching cricket and recording a soap for wife or vice versa, this is the whole idea for this card as of now, and the remote for htpc... one stone, two birds :)
 
honestly, why would you go to all these pains instead of just getting a tata sky+ ? anyway the quality will be whatever tata sky can provide
 
honestly, why would you go to all these pains instead of just getting a tata sky+ ? anyway the quality will be whatever tata sky can provide

tatasky cant record to my hard disk and its remote doesnt control my htpc.:) anyway, I am still on hathway and honestly, whenever I saw tatasky picture in showrooms, i wasnt impressed. colors looked really dull as compared to the hathway (both analog and digital).
 
honestly, why would you go to all these pains instead of just getting a tata sky+ ? anyway the quality will be whatever tata sky can provide

Well, its very simple really. Today you are with Tata Sky so you go with their Plus option. What if tomorrow Airtel or somebody else comes up with HDTV with your favourite channels at an unbeatable price.

That is when the TV tuner option will be of great use.

Plus as I mentioned, there is no way to take out recorded files from Tata Sky and recordings will be overwritten once space is filled up. I would not want that.
 
Any idea about the cost here in india. This will support both pal and ntsc I guess.

How good is the software that comes with the card for viewing pausing tv etc. Can I use any other apps for this or do I have to use the one that comes with the card.

any idea if this works with linux also.

I currently have hathway set top box, the cable for this also carries the analog signal, right now I plan to use analog cable to feed the card as I want to be able to record a different show than the one being watched. So from the set top box, I will be watching tv normally, but at the same time, the htpc will record a show that coming on some other channel. Basically I am watching cricket and recording a soap for wife or vice versa, this is the whole idea for this card as of now, and the remote for htpc... one stone, two birds :)

Well - I have tried to get this in Chennai. But no luck absolutely. Only Avermedia is available and at around 7K you get similar functionality, but after seeing Hauppage I would not prefer them.

The Hauppage set I got was for around $120 - it was a good deal at Newegg.

I believe many Linux distributions do have drivers for Hauppage cards. You might get lucky with this. Especially if you try Debian based distros like Ubuntu.

The multiple channel recording really will not work with a TV tuner card unless you have two set top boxes because the set top boxes are digitally locked. Or so I understand.
 
hmmm ya, i guess since i don' particularly want to take the TV shows out, and I delete them after watching them, the tata sky+ is adequate. Sky are at the forefront of HD broadcasting in the UK and stuff, one of the reasons i'm sticking with Tata Sky is my hope that they will be the leader in HD transmissions when it hits the mainstream (yes i know about Sun Direct). Even if I do have to switch.....it's just 5000 bucks (for the tata sky+)!

Well, its very simple really. Today you are with Tata Sky so you go with their Plus option. What if tomorrow Airtel or somebody else comes up with HDTV with your favourite channels at an unbeatable price.

That is when the TV tuner option will be of great use.

Plus as I mentioned, there is no way to take out recorded files from Tata Sky and recordings will be overwritten once space is filled up. I would not want that.
 
hmmm ya, i guess since i don' particularly want to take the TV shows out, and I delete them after watching them, the tata sky+ is adequate. Sky are at the forefront of HD broadcasting in the UK and stuff, one of the reasons i'm sticking with Tata Sky is my hope that they will be the leader in HD transmissions when it hits the mainstream (yes i know about Sun Direct). Even if I do have to switch.....it's just 5000 bucks (for the tata sky+)!

That is the reason why I am also sticking to Tata Sky. But just to be extra safe, I have not gone for the Plus and am using a TV tuner card:)
 
That is the reason why I am also sticking to Tata Sky. But just to be extra safe, I have not gone for the Plus and am using a TV tuner card:)

when hd comes, then I will get dth, till then i will stick to my cablewallah. I just pay 250 a month and don't really fell like paying more money for less channels, with an upfront investment, infrastructure setup, not comparable after sales support, and not so significant gains in quality. Come to think of it, these guys arent putting any effort in getting my business:lol:

What type of cable runs from the dish to the set top box? Will it change when hd comes. I just want to figure out if my current regular cable tv cable will need replacement.
 
What type of tv system do we follow here in india, I thought it was PAL, I see ATSC / ClearQAM / NTSC mentioned with the tv tuner cards on newegg.
 
when hd comes, then I will get dth, till then i will stick to my cablewallah. I just pay 250 a month and don't really fell like paying more money for less channels, with an upfront investment, infrastructure setup, not comparable after sales support, and not so significant gains in quality. Come to think of it, these guys arent putting any effort in getting my business:lol:

What type of cable runs from the dish to the set top box? Will it change when hd comes. I just want to figure out if my current regular cable tv cable will need replacement.

If you have got regular cable TV then the Hauppage model I mentioned would suit you perfectly. It will help you see one channel while recording another because it has a built in analog splitter.

But with regular cable TV are you happy with the results? Do you use an LCD or a Plasma TV?
 
If you have got regular cable TV then the Hauppage model I mentioned would suit you perfectly. It will help you see one channel while recording another because it has a built in analog splitter.

But with regular cable TV are you happy with the results? Do you use an LCD or a Plasma TV?

i have a pv8. I have a digital setup box also. the cable carries analog as well as digital signal and uses mpeg2 and has the epg etc. even analog cable quality is pretty good, but the sound on that is mono and noisy at times. i dont know the digital bandwidth of the cable though, or the dth's bw, so cant really compare.

the idea is to fork the cable so that it goes to the setup box as well as the tv tuner card. i can watch the tv using the set top box and record the analog signal in the htpc so that I can record a different channel. I will probably use a splitter in the av out of the set top box also and connect it to the tv tuner card. that way if i am recording/pausing the same show (read cricket match:)) that i am watching, i can get better quality.
 
i have a pv8. I have a digital setup box also. the cable carries analog as well as digital signal and uses mpeg2 and has the epg etc. even analog cable quality is pretty good, but the sound on that is mono and noisy at times. i dont know the digital bandwidth of the cable though, or the dth's bw, so cant really compare.

the idea is to fork the cable so that it goes to the setup box as well as the tv tuner card. i can watch the tv using the set top box and record the analog signal in the htpc so that I can record a different channel. I will probably use a splitter in the av out of the set top box also and connect it to the tv tuner card. that way if i am recording/pausing the same show (read cricket match:)) that i am watching, i can get better quality.

Oh, interesting. Good luck with your quest. A good TV tuner card makes sense in your setup I guess.
 
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