TV Tuners

Hello all, i just got my new M1710 in the mail and it looks great so far, anywho when i was ordering it dell gives you the option of their own model of tv tuner, but to me i thought it was a bit pricey, like 180$ i think, so my question to you all is should i buy this tuner from dell or can i get another for a cheaper price that is good quality with all the drivers and stuff i need to run it, i know how great at searching the web you all can be so if you could help me out i would be very grateful!

 

Yea 180 is too much. You can get a good one for around 100-120.

I heard the happauge model on the dell site for 120 somthin got really good revews. Look on the dell site and search the model and theres a review of it on one of the notebook websites. You can also check out newegg. They will have the cheapest prices.

 

ATI's USB 2.0 tuner is a good deal, and delivers nice image quality. Dell's is overpriced at $180.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16815100142

 

^^
That isn't a very good piece of hardware. Read the negative reviews, all have the same complaint of poor sound quality and poorly made cables.

This is slightly more expensive but it's name-brand and well-made. It's worth the slight price increase:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815116311&ATT=15-116-311&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

 

Check this one out:

http://laptopmag.com/Review/Hauppauge-WinTV-PVR-USB2.htm

I am in the market for one as well and am pretty sure I will get this one.

 

^^
That one is pretty good. However, it is awfully big. It would probably perform better than the ATI, but it isn't near as portable. Portability in a TV tuner, however, isn't usually an issue.

 

Congrats on your M1710.

Im thinking on one too for my M1710. In my opinion, the ATI 2.0 looks like the best posted.

 

Either one is fine. I really dont care about the size because it is just sitting on my desk the whole time.

 

so does this jsut hook up to the laptop through usb? for example, on the Hpdv8000t, there is a card that is the tunner, so this is able to take its place?
Also, im assuming that you still need coaxal (something liek that) cables to hook up to the cable television

and do u need MS WMC to use the usb tunner?

-as you can tell, i dont know much on this topic...so please bear with me!


regards

 

is it easy to install if you dont get it directly from dell?

 

It's external, so it won't make a difference.