The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    What is the best picture quality TV tuner for laptops?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by TripleH, Apr 4, 2006.

  1. TripleH

    TripleH Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    257
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Hello all,

    I hope this is the right section on the boards for something like this. I have a laptop that I would like to get an ext. tv tuner for, but I want the best picture quality possible since I will be using it on a 23'' widescreen LCD. I dont think the LCD is HDTV, since its not an actual LCD tv, but I see that Viewsonic sells an HDTV card that retails for $320CDN. Now, the thing is, don't I need an HDTV capable monitor to run my tv at HDTV? So Im guessing it would be a waste of money?

    Here is the link

    http://www.viewsonic.com/products/accessories/tvvideoprocessors/nextvisionn6/

    Other than that, the other two cards Im considering are.

    Hauppauge USB2.0 and Pinacle PCTV 100e, they are both considerably cheaper at $130CDN.

    I skipped out on the ATI as it has gotten terrible reviews. Are both of these cards above stereo sound? Also, do these guys running off USB drain a lot of cpu resources? Will onboard video be good enough for it?

    Thanks
    HHH
     
    TripleH, Apr 4, 2006
    #1
  2. TripleH

    TripleH Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    257
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    :) Just tried the Hauppauge USB, what a piece of garbage. Returning tommorow.
     
    TripleH, Apr 5, 2006
    #2
  3. mc squared

    mc squared Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    What about it is garbage? I was considering getting one, since it is well-reviewed.
     
    mc squared, Apr 6, 2006
    #3
  4. jday

    jday Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I bought the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR USB2 Media Center Kit today. I haven't done any recording with it yet, but what I've tried works good with good TV viewing picture quality.

    I just want to note that there are 2 different WinTV-PVR USB2 packages (one specifically for Windows MCE). Setup was very quick and easy. I hooked it up between my cable and my Inspiron E1505. The only issue I had was I kept getting an error message dealing with DEP (date execution prevention) for one part of the system. I went to Windows Update and found there were 3 updates specifically for MCE. I installed them, rebooted my computer and the DEP messages went away.

    Since I have to move some furniture around to get to all the connections on my TV/cable setup, I simply hooked the tuner directly to the cable coming out of the wall and not through my cable box. Eventually, I will do that and see how difficult that is.
     
    jday, Apr 6, 2006
    #4