TV Tuner Help & Questions

I am interested in purchasing a TV tuner as I enter university this fall. Keep in mind that I am a complete novice when it comes to TV tuners.

Here are my questions concerning this topic:

1. What is a TV tuner?

2. How does it work (USB or card)?

3. Do you need internet access to operate?

4. What is the most recommended brand of TV tuner for both an HP dv6000 and a Dell Studio XPS 1640 (I need to buy two)?

5. What price range do the recommended brands go for?

6. Could you please provide a link to a TV tuner from both www.dell.com and www.hp.com.




Thanks. I appreciate it.

 

1) A tv tuner is a device (USB, PCI or Expresscard 54) which allows you to watch Cable (or digital/hd/antenna - granted it is an ATSC TV Tuner) on your PC, Laptop and on Mac's with a few of the compatible devices.

2) As said above:

• USB 2.0
• PCI
• PCI-e 1x
• Express Card 54 slot on newer laptops

3) The only internet access you will need would be to download the newest drivers for your TV tuner, but this is optional since most of em will be picked up and installed by Vista.

For them to operate, no, you do not need internet.

4) I trust hauppauge for my PC (Using their PCI PVR150 MCE Bundle w/ Remote)

I saw that HP has a very good "Media Center Compatible" tv tuner that comes in both NTSC and the slightly more expensive NTSC + ATSC. I would go for the 2nd one since it is future proof and stations are starting to switch over to the "Over the air" broadcasting which uses ATSC.

Dell has an AverMedia tuner for their laptops. I cannot say that I have heard anything about them so I dont really have much to say on these except that they do give em in NTSC + ATSC compatible.

5) I have seen the HP ones on eBay anywhere from 86 bucks to 120 bucks shipped to the USA.

I have never looked for the Dell ones, but I do know that you can find them in their Accecories Store and possibly on eBay.

6) Sure!

Dell :
eBay

Dell Site:
Dell

HP:
eBay

HP Site:
HP

Cheers!

 

i own this TV Tuner... like it

 

Wow. Thanks for the great response. So the link to the Dell website one seems good. Will I just be able to plug in and watch? Will I be able to watch San Francisco Giants games in Pittsburgh, PA?

 

most should be plug and play

however, to see what channels you are getting:

OverTheAir: http://antennaweb.org ... 10miles for a small antenna, 40 miles for a large outdoor antenna... then check the online tv guides to see what stuff those channels are broadcasting

Cable/DirecTV: if you have a NTSC/QAM tuner, plug it in and scan... i have comcast, and comcast will be disabling analog(NTSC) broadcast on basic cable above channel 30... i get most of the basic cable on QAM anyways(QAM is unencrypted digital broadcast by cable companies... usually broadcast in 480i, better quality than analog if you don't have interference... they DO broadcast local news channels(FOX, ABC, CBS....) in 720p/1080i during prime time)