Help - Please help me select a TV tuner

[geekette]

Please help, I've been racking my brains with this.

I am looking to turn my DELL Laptop into a PVR. Here's my details.

TV: I get currently just watch OTA ATSC tv, but I may someday get satellite or cable, and I'd like this to be compatible. Right now, I get my signal through a DTV Converter box.

My computer: DELL Laptop (a couple years old)

OS: Windows XP (don't have Media Center)


I'm thinking of buying a:

- Hauppauge Media MVP, to connect PC to TV. Anyone have any better suggestions? I definitely want something with a remote.

- Hauppauge 1193 WinTV HVR-1500 Notebook Express Card, to capture TV signals. This is the one I'm really not sure about. I want to be able to record shows and watch live TV at the same time.

Finally, I'd like to get the cheapest products that will still be effective. So if anyone can suggest any non-Hauppauge items, please do.

Thank you in advance.

[geekette]

Anyone? Or maybe someone can direct me to an earlier post?

[sub]

OTA ATSC, or QAM is pretty straight forward, and pretty much any Hauppauge card ot stick will do the job. Unfortunately analog is more of a problem - GBPVR will only give you analog for devices with a hardware MPEG2 encoder, and most of these are PCI cards. About the only Hauppauge external device (aka laptop connectable) that does ATSC/QAM + hardware encoding analog, is the HVR-1950.

- Hauppauge Media MVP, to connect PC to TV. Anyone have any better suggestions? I definitely want something with a remote.

The MediaMVP was great in the old days, when everyone was doing analog tv, but its not well suited to digital tv. It cant play high definition files, or the AC3 audio format usually used in ATSC.

[geekette]

Thanks Sub. Can you suggest a better device to connect my computer to my TV?

[JonnyCam]

What type of TV are you using?

Popcorn Hour or other NMT
http://www.popcornhour.com

MVPMCX2 gives you a gbpvr client on NMT devices.
http://forums.gbpvr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=39

[forzaKGB]

You can order a A-100 refubrished for an affordable amount:
http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/i...urbished_1

[geekette]

Hey Jonny and Forza - Thanks for the suggestions, they're look good. Are there any cables that would allow me to hook my laptop, both video and sound, to my TV?

Right now, I have a Toshiba TV with a Built-in VCR/DVD Player. It's a bit older, not HD, only 28 inches.

I'll probably upgrade in the next year, so I'd like something that would work with a newer TV as well.

Thanks again!