Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | bstclee - 6/2/2010 18:55
I got my Fiber optic line installed in the house. They offer cable tv and 15 "local" channels (better than the 3 I receive now via a digital antenna) and I am wondering if I should get a card to watch it via the computer. I spend more time on the computer than in front of the tv. I know nothing about the whole cable tv boxes and converter this and that. I found a few tuner cards via google. From what I could figure out this one should work - Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600. If anyone has any info on any better one please tell me . TIA
I was in a somewhat similar situation. I have a Dell Inspirion that I got from Wal-Mart and wanted to use it to watch Sat TV in my kitchen besides other computer tasks. I purchased a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 9500 from BestBuy. They were not very familiar with the device and basically said "try it and bring it back if you are unhappy".
This is a USB device that plugs into any USB port. The device is about the size of a USB jumpdrive and has a CoAx connector on it as well as a mini USB. This connector can be connected to a CoAx cable coming from my Sat Receiver or another CoAx source. The kit also included an adapter cable to allow other sources (RCA jacks and S-Video) to be used. There was also an antenna that could be used for Direct reception of TV through the air.
This device cannot be used in place of a Sat receiver but can connect to an output from a Sat receiver.
The device came with some special WinTV software. This software is pretty versatile and allows all kinds of things such as the ability to record TV on the computer's hard drive, scheduling etc.
The device does work for me but has some drawbacks. The instructions clearly state some limitations which are true. The device requires a fair amount of computing power from the computer and they state that at times the picture quality may suffer. The indoor antenna is also only appropriate for powerful Digital stations which are within 10 miles. I have no stations that close and thus receive no direct off the air programs.
With my setup, I have a DISH Sat receiver in the living room where it is physically close and connected to my HD TV. This works fine. The CoAx out port is run down to the basement and up into the kitchen. When I watch a program on the computer in the kitchen there are some limitations.
First of all the quality is not HD which is due to the output from the Sat receiver and the CoAx connection. Secondly and most annoying is the delay that is introduced by all the computing that the computer must perform to produce the picture.
At first thought, this wouldn't seem to be a problem. So what if the picture on the computer is 10 seconds behind the picture in the living room? The problem comes about when switching programs or attempting to view the Sat Guide. When I push the Guide button on the Sat Tv remote, I am used to seeing a very quick response on the HD TV in the living room. I then can view the Guide, make changes etc.
When I push the various buttons on the Sat Remote in the kitchen, the action takes place just as quickly, it's just that I don't see the results of my button pushing for 10 seconds or so. This seems like a minor issue but it is annoying. Since I don't see any change, I often push a button again. This stacks up my requests with undesirable consequences.
I haven't tried the recording aspect of the software but I assume that it works. Since my DISH receiver has recording abililty of its own I just use that. If I did record on the Computer, it could be shown elsewhere but the picture quality would not be the same as the HD recording capability of the Sat receiver.
Your situation might be different but I assume the computing power and delay in processing the signal might come into play. The device you mention must be a different model but from the same company.
Would I buy this device again? I'm not sure.
Edited by tedbear 6/4/2010 04:40
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Watching cable TV via computer
