TV-Tuner for NP8660?

Hey guys, I'm about to order a NP8660 next week and I was thinking of getting a TV-Tuner (intern, extern?) but I don't know if I need one.

I want something so I can connect the laptop to a TV so I can see the desktop on the TV
I also want to record games on my Wii, when I'm playing a game I want to record it and then send that file to the laptop so I can put it on youtube.

I don't know if a TV-Tuner can do that? If not, what would? Also if it does then what would be the right TV-Tuner for the NP8660? I don't think I can get an intern one because there is no option on the website I'm ordering from.

 

I too was wondering how one could go about hooking a wii up to the NP8660 so that games could be played on the laptop screen.

 

In order to connect the notebook to the TV (so you can use the TV as a monitor), you simply use the HDMI connection to hook it up.

As for hooking up a Wii to the notebook, for that you will need a tuner, or some other video input device. Be warned that most tuners will have a 1-2 second lag with video game consoles, so you won't be able to actually game on it. So if you would like to play Wii games on it, make sure the tuner you get doesn't have the lag.

Personally, I have an eVGA inDtube, and when I hook up my Gamecube, there is no lag to be seen. I know some other video input devices have no lag, but (correct me if I'm wrong) I heard that the quality is reduced.

 

I don't think my TV (or the TV downstairs) has a HDMI port (lame ehh? xD) Is there any other way? Something like a TV-out?

Where can I check if a TV-Tuner has lag? As for quality, as long as it's still decent quality so you can still see most of the stuff (Guitar Hero 4 is one of the games I want to record once it's available)

I don't really want to play Wii-games on my Laptop screen but only record it so I can put them on youtube.

 

I may be mistaken, but instead of an S-Video port, the NP8660 has HDMI. What input ports does your TV have?

To see if the tuners have lag, just look through reviews. Some devices were made for video game consoles, but quality is reduced. I can't comment on other devices besides the inDtube (which has very decent video quality).

I suppose if you just want to record, you could use RCA splitters and play on your TV while it's recording on the notebook. If the tuner has no lag, then you can simply play on the notebook, and record at the same time.

 

The tv has an S-Video port.

What is RCA splitters?

 

S-Video will only get you 480i/480p, so remember that besides videos, it's pretty much unusable as a monitor. I think you're actually going to need a converter box to hook it up then. I've seen a couple before, and I'll show you them once I find them.

By RCA splitters, I was referring to those RCA Y cables (like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882339070). They are normally used to hook up a mono source to stereo speakers (or stereo source to mono speakers) but they work fine in splitting the signal into two allowing you to display the same thing on two screens. So you have one side going to the TV, the other going to the computer. I use it with a satellite receiver by splitting audio into the TV and a transmitter, and although there is a slight drop in quality, it's not very noticeable.

Of course you could always play on the notebook screen and record from there, but again that means you need a tuner that doesn't suffer lag.

 

So the best is to get a RCA Y cable, then how do I record on the notebook, with a program while i'm playing?

Already asked this but I still don't know what I should get: What would be the best to get if I want to play Wii-Games on my TV (and use the TV-screen, not the notebook screen) and still record them on my laptop? (Example: Guitar Hero)

Sorry for these newb questions and thanks alot for the help.

 

Well, when you buy a tuner, it will come with an application with recording ability, or if you have Vista, you can just use Windows Media Center.

Well, from my experience, the eVGA inDtube works great with my Gamecube. No lag, so you can actually play on the computer and record it at the same time. You're definitely going to need some sort of video input device. And like I said before, I can only comment on the inDtube. Perhaps other members have experience with other devices.

So the two ways you could do it.
-Get 3 RCA Y Cables and split the signal into the TV and into the computer's TV tuner
or
-Using a tuner that doesn't lag, hook the Wii up to the computer, and then output it to the TV using HDMI. (this may require getting a converter box since your TV doesn't have HDMI).

The only thing I'm not sure about is what difference will be made in quality if you split the video signal with these cables. I split audio without any trouble, but I haven't tested video. However,if it's for Youtube, you'll have to reduce quality anyway, so it may not be a problem.

 

I'm going for the 3 RCA Y cables I think.

Is the: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-900 any good? Seems to be the most popular and best rated here.

 

The WinTV had some problems, it was the first tuner i got. Now im using the Avermedia Hybrid Volar Max usb TV Tuner which is amazing.

 

I have no experience with the Hauppauge, but my eVGA inDtube is a great piece of hardware. The software it came with, however, is terrible and the updated one is even worse (crashes after 2-7 seconds of TV). If you have Windows Media Center, you're fine. If not, then you'll have to find some other software (like for me, KMPLayer).

 

I used to have a Hauppauge with WinTV...the software was really bad. Windows Media Center is really great, but the format need conversion I think (.dvr-ms)