HDTV Tuner Cards, Chips, USBs, etc.

Hey, I live in Canada and I was just wondering what the best HDTV Tuner I can get would be. I don't really want to pay over $100 but its not a big deal if its just a little bit. My plan is to hook it up to my notebook and then through windows media center, use my Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender to play it through my monitor. I know I could just buy a cable to play it through my monitor but I want to be able to do things on the computer while while I'm watching TV.

Thanks in advance!

 

Anyone...?

 

Is there really no one here that can answer my question?

 

TV tuners have a slight lag that will make it near impossible to play your Xbox 360 through your laptop, if that's what you're trying to do.

 

That latency is due to the limitation of the network. For the best performance from this setup you should install a high performance lined connection with a 100 Mbps minimum. However, if you choose wireless, you need 802.11a or 802.11n to achieve the best wireless performance.

I'm sure there's a plethora of people here that can answer your question. But needless to say, there a lot of threads here to cover. That said, it sounds like you've already got the right idea to hook your tv up to your computer. In addition, you can use WMC to control your entire AV center--the sole purpose for many who purchase a multimedia computer.

Another thing to keep in mind is that WMC can also serve as your DVR--so you can have the ability to time shift programs to watch at your convenience. Although, I'd recommend partitioning a predetermined amount of disk space to keep the amount of content under control. Otherwise, you could end up filling your computer's entire hd.

One more thing to keep in mind is that with WMC you can control up to two tuners at once! That means you can receive shows from a variety of digital or analogue sources simultaneously. As well as watch/record them as you like.

 

thank you for the post, and thats what im trying to do but i just dont know which tv tuner would be the best for what i need it for. i would prefer one with a remote but i dont even have the slightest idea of what is a good one and what is a bad one.

and i didnt know you could have 2 tuners running at once! thats pretty cool.

thanks again

 

and thats not what im trying to do, i already have my xbox 360 hooked straight up to my monitor. what im trying to do is hook up a tv tuner to my notebook and then watch tv through windows media center on my xbox because it can also be used as a windows media center extender.

 

Sorry for the late arrival, I use:

Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950Q

works great ... as long as you dont try using it in a USB 1.1 port

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr950q.html

 

Thanksssss!!

 

anytime