Laptop TV Tuner Recommendation
Jan 21, 2007, 2:22 pm
#1
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Laptop TV Tuner Recommendation
I am looking to get a TV Tuner card for my laptop and can't figure out what would be the best product. I do not want a USB one because I want to minimize size and do not want anything else on my desk when im using it. I live in the US so it needs to work here, but I use it a lot in Europe (western) and would like it to work well there. Any suggestions?
Gary
Gary
Jan 21, 2007, 3:57 pm
#2
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Some questions:
If not USB, how do you want to connect it? PCMCIA card?
Do you want to receive analog (NTSC in the US, PAL in Europe)?
Do you want to receive digital (ATSC in the US, DVB-T in Europe)?
I'm not aware of any products that work both in the US and Europe, but maybe there are.
If not USB, how do you want to connect it? PCMCIA card?
Do you want to receive analog (NTSC in the US, PAL in Europe)?
Do you want to receive digital (ATSC in the US, DVB-T in Europe)?
I'm not aware of any products that work both in the US and Europe, but maybe there are.
Jan 21, 2007, 4:10 pm
#3
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Some questions:
If not USB, how do you want to connect it? PCMCIA card?
Do you want to receive analog (NTSC in the US, PAL in Europe)?
Do you want to receive digital (ATSC in the US, DVB-T in Europe)?
I'm not aware of any products that work both in the US and Europe, but maybe there are.
If not USB, how do you want to connect it? PCMCIA card?
Do you want to receive analog (NTSC in the US, PAL in Europe)?
Do you want to receive digital (ATSC in the US, DVB-T in Europe)?
I'm not aware of any products that work both in the US and Europe, but maybe there are.
I definitely want it to receive Analog and as for digital it would be preferred to have the US ATSC standard (since I spend more time here in the US). I doubt there are any that do ATSC and DVB-T.
Gary
Jan 21, 2007, 4:41 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 704
There's nothing out for the ExpressCard right now... and I don't know of any for the PCMCIA slot, but I'm sure they exist.
This is pretty small but it's USB... http://hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hvr950.html
I have this... http://hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvrusb2.html works great with Windows Vista.
This is pretty small but it's USB... http://hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hvr950.html
I have this... http://hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvrusb2.html works great with Windows Vista.
Jan 21, 2007, 8:16 pm
#5
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I have a Pinnacle HD Pro Stick. It being USB is not a big deal - because you need an antenna hooked up for it to work (which it comes with). I know some people who have PCMCIA tv tuners - and the cards have internal tuners - but most also use a mini-external antenna to really make it work. The HD Pro Stick, remote, and antenna are all prety small, so worth carrying around in exchange for HD.
Jan 22, 2007, 7:22 pm
#6
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Yes they do make PCMCIA DVB-T cards, Freecom do one, Morgan Computers in the UK (and others) sell them. I think they are available cheaper from other sources and I am just a customer and have no other connection to Morgan.
Feb 9, 2007, 4:50 pm
#7
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After reading this thread, I was thinking of buying one of the Freecom PCMCIA ones but had a worry over the spec of the laptop needed to run it. If I have;
a Toshiba Satellite Pro A120SE with Intel Core Solo T1350 (1.86GHz) processor, 256MB DDR2 RAM with Intel 945GM Express graphics - up to 128MB shared.
will the Freecom run given that it requires;
PC: Pentium-III 800MHz, 128MB RAM, 1GB free hard disk space, Windows XP SP1, Graphic Card (supports Microsoft DirectX 9.0 or above)
As I'm unsure.
a Toshiba Satellite Pro A120SE with Intel Core Solo T1350 (1.86GHz) processor, 256MB DDR2 RAM with Intel 945GM Express graphics - up to 128MB shared.
will the Freecom run given that it requires;
PC: Pentium-III 800MHz, 128MB RAM, 1GB free hard disk space, Windows XP SP1, Graphic Card (supports Microsoft DirectX 9.0 or above)
As I'm unsure.
Feb 9, 2007, 5:29 pm
#9
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Well I bought one of these which was still sealed in it's box when I got it (so I don't think the shop swapped any memory out).
I was also curious as to what was more powerful a core duo or a pentium III, cos it's a long time since I last had to worry about this sort of thing.
Edit: I just found this review on Amazon which slates it, so I may go for a cheaper USB one instead.
I was also curious as to what was more powerful a core duo or a pentium III, cos it's a long time since I last had to worry about this sort of thing.
Edit: I just found this review on Amazon which slates it, so I may go for a cheaper USB one instead.
Last edited by Jimmie76; Feb 9, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Feb 9, 2007, 11:19 pm
#10
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I'm going to glom on here and ask what I hope is a related question....
The satellite guy is coming to install satellite tv for us in 10 days (things move slowly here). I've never had satellite before so don't know exactly how it works. The order guy said that there would be two "boxes" that would each control two rooms, for a total of four TVs in four rooms.
One of those "TVs" I would like to be my laptop. What kind of PCMCIA card or USB thingy would I need to connect the signal from "the box" to my laptop? Would those mentioned in this thread work?
(Mods, if this turns out to be unrelated feel free to move/split into its own thread
)
The satellite guy is coming to install satellite tv for us in 10 days (things move slowly here). I've never had satellite before so don't know exactly how it works. The order guy said that there would be two "boxes" that would each control two rooms, for a total of four TVs in four rooms.
One of those "TVs" I would like to be my laptop. What kind of PCMCIA card or USB thingy would I need to connect the signal from "the box" to my laptop? Would those mentioned in this thread work?
(Mods, if this turns out to be unrelated feel free to move/split into its own thread
)
Feb 10, 2007, 8:14 pm
#12
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I'll take a shot.
I think the only thing you'll be able to do is capture the analog output from the sat receiver. I've never heard of a computer peripheral that acts as a sat receiver, so you'll connect the output of the receiver to the input of your capture card and use the sat receiver to tune to what you want. So, yes, any of the analog capture devices mentioned should work, and there are others you can look at.
You might be able to get an IR device that connects to the laptop to allow software to change the channels on the sat receiver so you can tune to the channels unattended. Or, if the receiver has a serial input for control, you may be able to drive it through the receivers serial port.
Do some research. Maybe there's other stuff out there. And I've never tried anything like this. I suppose you could try DBSforums or AVS Forums.
-David
I think the only thing you'll be able to do is capture the analog output from the sat receiver. I've never heard of a computer peripheral that acts as a sat receiver, so you'll connect the output of the receiver to the input of your capture card and use the sat receiver to tune to what you want. So, yes, any of the analog capture devices mentioned should work, and there are others you can look at.
You might be able to get an IR device that connects to the laptop to allow software to change the channels on the sat receiver so you can tune to the channels unattended. Or, if the receiver has a serial input for control, you may be able to drive it through the receivers serial port.
Do some research. Maybe there's other stuff out there. And I've never tried anything like this. I suppose you could try DBSforums or AVS Forums.
-David
Last edited by LIH Prem; Feb 10, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Feb 10, 2007, 8:19 pm
#13
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Thank you sir. I was probably unclear. I am assuming the receiver box will be on the desk here and indeed what I would want to do is pipe he output to the computer instead of a tv.
I'll do some research
I'll do some research
I'll take a shot.
I think the only thing you'll be able to do is capture the analog output from the sat receiver. I've never heard of a computer peripheral that acts as a sat receiver, so you'll connect the output of the receiver to the input of your capture card and use the sat receiver to tune to what you want.
You might be able to get an IR device that connects to the laptop to allow software to change the channels on the sat receiver so you can tune to the channels unattended. Or, if the receiver has a serial input for control, you may be able to drive it through the receivers serial port.
Do some research. Maybe there's other stuff out there. And I've never tried anything like this. I suppose you could try DBSforums or AVS Forums.
-David
I think the only thing you'll be able to do is capture the analog output from the sat receiver. I've never heard of a computer peripheral that acts as a sat receiver, so you'll connect the output of the receiver to the input of your capture card and use the sat receiver to tune to what you want.
You might be able to get an IR device that connects to the laptop to allow software to change the channels on the sat receiver so you can tune to the channels unattended. Or, if the receiver has a serial input for control, you may be able to drive it through the receivers serial port.
Do some research. Maybe there's other stuff out there. And I've never tried anything like this. I suppose you could try DBSforums or AVS Forums.
-David
Feb 10, 2007, 8:36 pm
#14
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-David
Feb 10, 2007, 8:44 pm
#15
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