Best DV-T or HDTV Laptop TV Tuner (UK)

I've been looking for a tv tuner for my new vostro for College, but have had no idea about how good these things are - and which to go for.

The ones I've looked at are:

August PC/Laptop USB Freeview/HDTV Receiver
Hauppauge WIN-TV HVR-900TV USB 2.0 Analogue & Digital TV Tuner
Tecknet T-03 Hybrid DVB-T Digital mini stick USB2 TV tuner with HDTV and Radio
and
Pinnacle 230100173 PCTV Hybrid Tuner Kit for Vista US

I know ther last one isn't HDTV, but honestly I don't entirely mind. HD isn't going live on free-to-air "Freeview" services in the UK for a while, but I'd like to be future proof.

So which of those would be best, money being no object, and if i've missed any, would you suggest others?

Also, is there any better software to use or should I just use the ones that come with?

 

UKDVDR has a selection of DVB-T tuners. I've got the Freecom one. It was a bit of a fiddle to get it to work with Vista, but it's now fine (I had to find the link to a new player software). I don't think you need a hybrid tuner unless you are somewhere without reasonable DTV coverage.

Note that unless you live within sight of a transmitter (in which case the supplied stick antenna should be OK), you will need to connect any of these tuners to an external aerial.

John

 

I'll be in University at York, in Halls of Residence - individual rooms won't have their own link to a "building" external antennae.

Does this mean a tv tuner is a waste of time?

Can you get the OnAir GT in the UK?

What are the best of the USB Stick tuners, for example your FreeCom, or the DVT-900 from Hauppauge?

 

Anyone else able to offer any knowledge?

 

It looks like DVB-T in York is provided by Emley Moor (54km south westwards) and Bilsdale (47km northwards) transmitters. Neither is very close but both are on high ground. You might possibly be able to pick up something if you have an upstairs room facing one of these and you use an amplified indoor aerial.

I don't think the different brand of DVB-T receivers is likely to affect whether or not yet get a signal. My Freecom receive got zero signal until I connected it to the household antenna (which has an amplifier) and reception became very good from a transmitter 47km away.

I would recommend you hold back on your purchase until you have evaluated reception conditions in York.

John

 

Thanks john, much appreciated - I know that people with standard TV's setup in these halls of residence, and that works, but does a tv tuner require a stronger signal to work?

 

The standard TVs that people are using are probably analogue so you will get a mediocre picture with a mediocre signal. Digital TV is an all-or-nothing business. Either the signal is good enough to give a decent picture or you get nothing. The test would be is anyone picking up digital TV (Freeview) though a set-top box. If that works then your USB TV stick will work with the same antenna.

Alternatively, as you had originally proposed, the solution is a hybrid tuner. These are more expensive but cover the weak signal scenario. However, I suspect that you will still need a better aerial than that bundled with the tuner.

John

 

Whilst it probably isn't future proof (not sure about HDTV), the Digital TV DVB-T USB Adapter/Dongle/Stick Freeview receiver & aerial for PC and Laptop from amazon has the highest average review rating of any pc tv tuner, and has som good looking features. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Adapter-Dongle-Freeview-receiver/dp/B000OF1EJM/ref=sr_1_10/203-7601972-6238367?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1189941072&sr=1-10
It's also only £10 (+ p+p) which seems very good value
I'm in the same boat as you- looking for a tv tuner for a vostro, so I would be very grateful for anyone else's opinion on this. It's probably a question of getting what you pay for, but there is a limit (£60 is a bit steep on my budget) and maybe cheap and throwaway is a better option, in case something marvellous happens with technology in the next few years.

 

That looks to be a good price. The different tuners probably all have the same hardware inside. The important point with all these tuners is that they need a decent signal to work and the supplied antenna is unlikely to be enough unless you live within sight of a transmitter.

John

 

I had a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T USB2.0 Freeview Stick for about a year and the mini antenna that comes with it picks up most of the channels including normal council TV, music channels, radio channels, news channels and quiz channels. Bearing in mind I live in the north east and I put my antenna next to the window.

With the indoor aerial that comes with the tuners, you should at least get the BBC channels but you might have a hard time getting ITV, E4, C5 and so on.

 

The one I found is no longer avaliable for some reason, although if you can find it elsewhere (ebay??) then it's still a good deal.