$30 tv tuner cards and other questions

[prouton]

QAM is not very important for me since I'm not sure if I even get it with my comcast cable or if it costs extra money.

QAM isn't a service or add-on product. It's the method used to place multiple signals on one physical cable. Yes, your cable company uses it.

When selecting a tuner card, make sure it features hardware MPEG encoding for the analog tuner/signal. Otherwise, you're not going to get to use the analog tuner in GB-PVR. The digital side is already encoded in MPEG-2 format by the broadcaster.

[Gabe3]

QAM isn't a service or add-on product. It's the method used to place multiple signals on one physical cable. Yes, your cable company uses it.

When selecting a tuner card, make sure it features hardware MPEG encoding for the analog tuner/signal. Otherwise, you're not going to get to use the analog tuner in GB-PVR. The digital side is already encoded in MPEG-2 format by the broadcaster.

So I shouldn't even need an antenna to get free HD? I'm thinking of getting the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600. However I read this: "QAM is only supported on product codes 74021 and 74041 (found on the tuner label)". Are the chances I get a 74021 or 74041 pretty good?

[sgilani]

Yeah, if your cable company passes through your HD locals in the clear using QAM, then you don't need an antenna.

Check out this website, and you can check if your local provider does or not:

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

As for the model stuff, yeah some of the early ones that came out didn't have a QAM tuner. Here's one from NewEgg, $92 shipped white box, and it is model 74541 and has QAM on it.: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815116010

[Gabe3]

Yeah, if your cable company passes through your HD locals in the clear using QAM, then you don't need an antenna.

Check out this website, and you can check if your local provider does or not:

http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/hdhomerun/channels

As for the model stuff, yeah some of the early ones that came out didn't have a QAM tuner. Here's one from NewEgg, $92 shipped white box, and it is model 74541 and has QAM on it.: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815116010

I typed in my zip code on that site but don't really understand what I should be looking for.

this one is $10 cheaper and does not include the FM tuner and "MCE" remote but it does come with a remote. I noticed it says "ClearQAM" in the title and the one you linked just says "QAM" I'm guessing they are the same thing?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815116007