Sorry, I am inundating the boards today with HTPC components.

I was considering what sort of TV tuner to install on my new HTPC, I am sick of cable so thought I would go for the new Freesat stuff. To prevent me needing to install a new box next to the many I already have I went looking for a freesat tuner for a PC and found this: http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/prod..._novahds2.html

Dont know if this will interest any other members here.

Ive just sold my SkyStar HD tv card as even tweaked it wasnt possible to get full frame rate watching the football

1gb 800mhz ram, e6400 core2duo cpu and it still wasnt maxed on either core but it just doesnt flow right

think its cos you need to decode the high def and blend the frames to give off a progressive image its just alot fo hardwork for a software ran process

for standard definition its totally fine though

i dont think its possible for any TV cards at the minute to read the EPG data.

I'd honestly advise against a PCI based TV card and stick with a reciever. I was told this before i purcashed one and i really wish i'd listened

I have a freeview card atm, and it has no problems with the EPG though?

Satellite epg is different to freeview terrestrial. It isnt available yet but work is in progress on the new Mheg-5 system used.
Personally I dont think pci cards are comparable to sat receivers, but everyone has their own preference. Not sure that you'll get many recommendations for pci in these sat rooms though?

Why do you think they are not comparable to proper receivers?

I was planning to use it through Vista's media center, which I think downloads its own EPG from the internet.

What are the major concerns with these tuners before I go and buy one?

for HD im not sure but dont get a SkyStar HD as you'll regret it

i'd defo go for a reciever over a PCI card though. my tv produces better images than a pc monitor can due to it being able to handle interlaced images correctly without having to blend them.

honestly you can do so many more things with a reciever and its alot less hassle and more conformtable to use

in the PC forum there is a DVB section your best of asking these questions there. alot of the stuff is DVB-C based but they'll be able to help you make your decision

Ahh right - could some kind mod move this over to the other forum please?

It all depends what you want to do. If you want a tool for ripping streams, hacking data, logging, altering and modifying type testing, then maybe the pci card will be the best tool to suit. If you want something to watch tv then you cant beat a decent sat receiver imho.
I'm biased perhaps because I think vista & media centre are poor. I have the equivelant of a htpc yet no sign of vista or media centre, and i bet my system does more than most or would certainly impress many.
A shortcut icon on the desktop links to a networked Dreambox so even my 3 year old can use it. Any channel she wants by lan streaming, and that works all over the home on any pc too, including wireless.
The main dreambox has pvr functions, more stable and suitable than using a pc. Any recorded movies I want to keep permanent I simply transfer to the 'htpc' which is also used as the file server, so like I currently have 900gb of on-demand stuff thats accessed from any room by just using WMP11. Even accessing the movies is very easy for the kids as I have shorcut folders for genres and then inside are the folders with icon pictures showing each movie, so you dont even have to be able to read to choose what you want but its going off subject...

Anyway, its all very simple yet high tech, fast, stable and functional. In my view I could never do the same by limiting myself with a pci card. But every item has its use and its fans so it just depends what you are looking to do. If you dont want to do more than basic 'watch tv' i'd say you are best to consider a dedicated sat-receiver for satellite viewing.

I pretty much dont want to do anything more than watch TV with it, I have no interest in hacking it etc.

I will try vista out on it, but I also plan to use LinuxMCE, if the hardware is supported. Which ever suits me the most I will keep on.