TV Signal and Your PC – A Supplement to BYOB Podcast #13

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TV Tuner Hardware

Now that we understand the signal types and where they come from, we can finally look at the hardware we need to get that signal into our PCs. There are three basic types of TV Tuners for computers. These three types are PCI/PCI-E Cards, USB Tuners and Networked Tuners. Within those three types, there are three types of tuners depending on what signal you need to capture and what country you are in. Let’s talk about the tuners first.

• Analog tuners output raw video and if you want to record the video then it needs to be converted to MPEG.
• Hybrid tuners can be configured as either an analog tuner or a digital tuner.
• Combo tuners have one analog AND one digital tuner so you can watch one and record on the other.

Here in the United States we no longer get analog signal (for major networks) so we would want a device with a digital tuner. You can get a card with a single tuner or with two tuners but you have to make sure both tuners are digital. Remember in the US we no longer need a NTSC tuner. We want ATSC tuners.  For those of you outside the US, you would want to get tuners that match your signal.

Companies like Hauppauge, AVerMedia and SiliconDust make dual tuner devices but again watch out as one of those tuners may be for NTSC. I always recommend at least two tuners.

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PCI and PCI-E Tuner Cards

The internal TV tuner cards are very straightforward. You open your case, install the card and then connect your TV signal to the exterior of the card. These cards are available in combo and hybrid models here in the US. Once installed you can use the card and watch TV either through the software that came with the card or through another program like Windows Media Center. Newegg has 28 internal card tuners for sale as of the date of this broadcast but only two were digital only.

The new Ceton InfiniTV card has four tuners built in and will use your CableCARD for premium cable content. You can record or share (via Extenders) these four channels. For example, on Wednesday, Dave can watch The Unit from his office PC while his wife watches Survivor from the Xbox on the living room TV. Since Dave still has two available tuners he can record High School Musical 3 on Disney and Dog the Bounty Hunter with Windows Media Center for viewing later.

http://www.cetoncorp.com/products.php

As a side note, with his Windows Home Server, WMC can automatically move those recordings to his WHS for viewing over the network. As long as the shows are not Copy Protected he can watch them from any WMC PC connected to his network.

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USB Tuners

TV Tuners for USB, also called tuner sticks, connect to your signal and then to a USB port. They usually cost from $60 to $100 and are suitable for laptop connections. Newegg has 13 USB stick tuners for sale as of the date of this podcast but just four were digital only.

Networked Tuners

The PCI and USB tuners only work with the PC to which they are connected. Networked tuners allow you to access the tuner from any PC that is on your network. This means you can connect to the tuner with your laptop in bed at night and then connect to the same tuner in the morning from your desk without any hardware. Networked tuners attach with an Ethernet cable to your network and are available to any PC once you set it up. If you have a dual tuner networked device like the SiliconDust HDHomeRun or the AVerMedia HomeFree Duet, you can actually watch two shows at once. For example, on Wednesday, Dave can watch The Unit from his office PC while his wife watches Survivor from her laptop. In addition, if they wanted to go out to dinner, they could use Windows Media Center and record both shows for viewing when they got home. Is that sweet or what?

The new HDHomeRun Prime will function in the same way and allow you to get cable channels with your CableCARD over your network for up to three PCs.

SiliconDust is almost ready to release their CableCARD version of their popular network tuner. The HD HomeRun Prime will allow you to view CableCARD premium channels on three different PCs. I am very excited about this new tuner. I think I will need to add another shelf.

http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun/prime/

Actually, I will need another shelf since my cable provider is SDV. This means I will need TWO Tuning Adapters for the Prime. Bummer.

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So let me wrap this up

If you are interested in watching and recording TV on your PC then you need to determine what signal type you can get in your area. Once you determine your type, you can then choose a digital or analog TV tuner combination that suits your needs. Once decide on the type you then decide on the form factor which is either internal, USB, or networked. If you want to use a CableCARD, you must either use the Ceton card or wait for the HDHomeRun Prime network tuner. After all of these choices you must decide on the software for watching and recording. If you have Vista, or preferably Windows 7, then you can use Windows Media Center. Finally, if you have any Xbox 360’s you can use them to pull that TV signal from the attached PC and view the signal through the Extender.

For more on Windows Media Center and your TV signal check out this article on TV recording.

https://moviesgamesandtech.com/2010/09/21/windows-media-center-2010-fall-television-and-homerun-tuners/

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TV and Cable Signal References

General References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_tuner_card

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television

Cable Companies SDV

http://www.charter.com/customers/support.aspx?supportarticleid=1868

http://www.timewarnercable.com/TerreHaute/learn/cable/sdv/default.html

http://www.multichannel.com/article/453819-Comcast_Tees_Up_Switched_Video_Rollouts.php?rssid=20061

http://www.bigbandnet.com/index.php/switched-digital-solutions.html

Television Standards

http://www.atsc.org/cms/

http://www.dvb.org/technology/fact_sheets/index.xml

Hardware Links

http://cetoncorp.com/

http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun/prime/

http://hd.engadget.com/2008/05/19/hands-on-with-the-cisco-tuning-adapter-sta1520/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD

Timothy Daleo