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View Full Version : all in one tv cards

npoon
Jul 14th, 2007, 08:47 PM
i am interested in using my monitor to watch tv and was thinking of doing it via an all in one card, or can i do it via usb? if so, will the monitor still work if the computer is turned off? can anyone recommend a good one to buy.
Whitedart
Jul 15th, 2007, 03:11 PM
i am interested in using my monitor to watch tv and was thinking of doing it via an all in one card, or can i do it via usb? if so, will the monitor still work if the computer is turned off? can anyone recommend a good one to buy.

Are you asking if you can watch TV using the usb tuner if the computer is off?

I haven't used the usb tuners, but can say that you can not watch TV with computer off using an internal card tuner. I very much doubt that a usb tuner will function with the computer off.

Further I understand that the usb tuners are sluggish if you plan to record any program from the tuner.
ppl4golf
Jul 15th, 2007, 03:53 PM
.....Further I understand that the usb tuners are sluggish if you plan to record any program from the tuner.

Not quite true, there are USB hardware encoding TV card available (eg Hauppauge USB2 PVR) which works well recording. For TV cards that don't have hardware encoding for analog signals, recording can be hit and miss.
ppl4golf
Jul 15th, 2007, 03:57 PM
i am interested in using my monitor to watch tv and was thinking of doing it via an all in one card, or can i do it via usb? if so, will the monitor still work if the computer is turned off? can anyone recommend a good one to buy.

Cheapest is to get a internal TV card with remote, if you want to record programs, get one that does hardware encoding. Furthermore, if you want ATSC (over the air digital channels), look into a hybrid card. The price difference between them is not that big.
dryang
Jul 15th, 2007, 05:11 PM
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=&webid=598523&affixedcode=WW

is the above a good one?
dryang
Jul 15th, 2007, 05:23 PM
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=A0754966
ppl4golf
Jul 15th, 2007, 08:50 PM
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=&webid=598523&affixedcode=WW

is the above a good one?

No hardware encoding...PVR150 is much better.

PS - this very same card was under $30 at one time :~)