External TV Tuner

I'm looking at getting a external tv tuner instead of bringing a TV to school with me next year. Could anyone reccommend me some good external tv tuners?

I realize that picture quality isn't going to be as good as on a traditional tv.

 

School You don't mean uni (college) then?

These external tuners need an aerial. Those little portable ones supplied are... well to be frank, crap. Unless 'school' has main aerial cables hooked up I don't see your plan working. Regardless, I see many Americans on the forum using the hauppauge usb tuner. No need to buy fancy PCMCIA ones. USB is plenty fast enough - most important is signal, signal and signal (and dual core for the TV software)

 

Go here http://www.antennaweb.org to see how far the stations are from the stations. I just got the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick, and the quality is absolutely stunning. It's much better than my old TV. I get good reception in the middle of my basement with the supplied antenna, and I'm about 3 miles away from the station. So, if you're less than 3 miles away from the stations, then you aught to be able to get good signals.

 

Yeah, I meant college.

And the kind of tv tuner I would want to get is one that I can hook a coax and possibly RCA connectors into, no antenna would be needed right?

 

I have the Hauppauge HVR-950. Yes, if you have cable service you can connect the coaxial cable into the tuner. Which I have tried to see what happens. The picture quality isn't great when watching in full screen. It really looks best the more you minimize it.

As for the RCA connectors, I'm not sure how you can use them. My tuner came with an additional cord. On one end it has a firewire-looking end which plugs into the side of the tuner. The other end has 3 wires; an S-video, a female RCA and a composite input jack (which fits an earphone jack). I've tested the waters. Video came through. I tried everything to get the audio to come through but it wouldn't work.

Where this little gem excels is with HD signals using an antenna. The first time I saw an HD channel transmit on my laptop it happened to be a National Geographic program. It knocked my socks off! I pressed the record button right away. Every now and then I play it back to remind myself what this little tuner is capable of bringing in.

BUT as you have read ... Location! Location! Location! From reading others experiences, location is relative. The closer to where the signal is being transmitted would *seem* HD nirvana but I've read someone's post in NYC that they were unable to get good reception. Hard to imagine in such a major city but the buildings can block I guess? Another person had *great* success getting signals in NYC. There have been people in very rural areas that can't believe how many and how great the signals are. Here I am in suburbia getting only 1 great HD channel and 7 - 9 (depending on the day and scanning for channels) that are horribly snowy.

Also worth mentioning is that HD is not broadcast 24/7. At least not in my area of suburan New Jersey. But late at night those 2 or 3 HD channels are a thing of beauty!

Good luck to you on your tuner decision.

Malinda

 

Pinnacle I think has what you want.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/PCTV/PCTV/