Trying to decide on a TV Tuner Card, PCI/PCIE, WITH abilitiy to record HDTV to HDD Options

[slickgrunt]

Hail atomicans!

The topic title and description pretty much say what I'm after, so I'll go a little more in depth. My brother is wishing to upgrade his rig further by being able to capture HD TV content (1080p capable) on his computer; reason being is sometimes he is unavailable to watch TV and wishes to record it to watch later. He has plenty of storage etc. there is really no budget in mind, but I prefer the less expensive than the very expensive; so lets assume ~$100. I don't expect it to be mind blowing, but able to meet it's requirements. Has to have its own HDTV Antenna plugin too.

THUS any help on deciding will be utterly appreciated, as this a field I do not quite look in to :D

[LogicprObe]

I think a PCIe card would be best suited to this.
I'm a bit of a Compro fan since getting one of these.

http://www.comprousa.com/en/product/e700f/e700f.html

Being a dual tuner, it's a bit more than $100 though.

[aliali]

I am quite happy with my Leadtek PxDVR3200 H PCI-E card.
http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overvi...p;pronameid=377

http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search...res=1&pos=2
for prices.
Only issue with this particular model is it is a bit long so wont fit my top PCI-E slot as the rear of the card fouls the ram slots on my GA-P35 DS3 R mobo.
I chose this one as I wanted the analogue in and the hardware Mpeg 2 encoder.

If you don't need analogue in or analogue Tv reception then a PCI-E PxDTV1300 T would suit, and it is a nice short card.
http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overvi...p;pronameid=432

http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search...00+T&spos=3 for prices.

For a PCI card the DTV1000 T should suit.
http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overvi...p;pronameid=220

http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search...00+T&spos=1 for prices

[osama_bin_athlon]

yeh the Leadtek DTV 1000 S, or, DTV 1000 T, are great value at only $45 odd, I've had much more expensive cards and they've been nothing but problems (thinks DVICO)
;)

[slickgrunt]

Oh alright, less than $100 sounds more than satisfying! I'll look in to it fellas, post my feedback later when we decide and test it out! :D Thanks for the help

[slickgrunt]

Out of the four my bro chose to get the PCI-E PxDTV1300 T. I haven't seen it in action yet, but lately he seems to be very happy with it - but his feedback is that its very simple to use, quick installation and straight in to it, so my thanks osama. Thanks for your advice, too, Logicprobe :)

This post has been edited by slickgrunt: Oct 13 2009, 09:53 PM

[LogicprObe]

No worries...........please share if there's any problems.

[Knobby_Numbat]

HAve you thought about an external USB style? Handy if swapping between computers. My mate has one of these and it seems pretty good:
http://www.digitalnow.com.au/product_pages/TinyTwin.html

[LogicprObe]

The externals are good too......but not as neat as the internal.

[Voightkampff]

The DTV1000T and DTV1000S are great cards. They're cheap, simple, they come with a decent remote and the software isn't too bad. I'd recommend using Windows 7 Media Center for any PVRing anyway. (NB: It's woth the upgrade! Vista and XP can't grab the program guide from the broadcast signal like Windows 7 can).

One thing to watch out for, the newer DTV1000s are a bity shaky in terms of driver support under linux. They used to be the best linux card around, but then they went and changed chipsets and the whole thing went to hell. Still, they're great under Windows.