tv-tuner

If you want to watch HDTV on a media center PC, you generally have two choices. You can get a CableCard tuner for handling encrypted high definition cable, or you can get an HDTV tuner that handles over the air and unencrypted (ClearQAM) cable signals.

AverMedia's AverTV Combo PCIe x1 M780 tuner is one of the latter. But so far, it's only been able to pick up over the air signals, but no ClearQAM.

Now it looks like the folks at AverMedia have issued a driver update that adds ClearQAM support for the tuner. The driver comes in x86 and x64 varieties, and works only with Windows Vista.

[via Chris Lanier]

It's been a while since ATI first announced the ATI TV Wonder USB CableCard tuner for Windows Vista. But for the most part if you want a CableCard tuner in your PC, you've had to buy a preconfigured machine from someone like Niveus or Okoro.

Now Sony is selling the ATI TV Wonder as a standalone box for $299. That doesn't mean you can just plug this puppy into any old machine and get your high definition cable. You'll need a certified Windows Vista PC. But this does open up the possibility of adding CableCard support to your low-end Windows Home Premium/Ultimate machine instead of buying a $3000 media center.

[via Engadget]

It's no secret that Sony and Microsoft have big plans for their Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. As video game systems, both consoles are already in millions of homes. But they each contain plenty of advanced features that make them good building blocks for complete home entertainment systems.

Sony has already announced plant to launch a TV-tuner add-on for the PS3 that will turn the system into a PVR complete with a hard drive, electronic program guide, and the ability to watch and record live TV. Now it looks like there's talk that Microsoft may issue an updated version of the Xbox 360 with an HDTV tuner as well.

The new unit would reportedly have an HD-DVD drive built in. Right now you need to buy an external device if you want to use your Xbox 360 to watch HD-DVD movies. Sony's PS3 has an internal Blu-Ray drive, which is one of the reasons the video game system launched at a significantly higher price than the Xbox 360 (or any other video game console in history). But with the cost of next generation DVD players coming down, it's getting cheaper to build HD video support directly into a gaming console.

Maybe one day we'll stop calling them game consoles and begin referring to them as entertainment systems. Even though I don't play games very often, for the right price, I'd be willing to buy a single box that can watch and record TV, play music, movies, internet video, and video games.

[via Slashdot]

AMD has released 3 new ATI HDTV tuners capable of picking up over-the-air high definition signals.

The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB is a $149 external tuner that packs two TV tuners and the ability to handle over the air HDTV and analog signals as well as unencrypted ClearQAM cable and FM radio.

The TV Wonder 600 PCI and TV Wonder 600PCI Express are, as their names would suggest internal tuners meant to go inside your PC. Each card has 2 tuners, which can handle OTA HDTV, ClearQAM, and FM. Both cards go for $99, or about $50 less than the TV Wonder 650.

[via Engadget]

If you're in the market for an HDTV tuner for your PC, you might want to head on over to Woot. Today the bargain site is offering a Pinnacle PCTV HD tuner for $50, which is about as low a price as I've seen.

The PCTV HD can pick up ATSC/NTSC signals. In other words, you can use it to record high-def digital TV from an over-the-air antenna, or you can use it as a standard definition tuner for analog cable. The PCTV HD also supports FM Radio and ClearQAM, which means you should be able to pick up unencrypted HD signals from your cable provider.

The card comes with a remote controll, FM antenna, and an A/V input adapter.

Pinnacle has introduced the latest in its line of USB HDTV tuners. And it looks like they're running out of names. First there was the PCTV HD stick, then the PCTV HD Pro stick, and now we're looking at the PCTV HD Ultimate stick. Where do they go from here?

So what's the Ultimate stick got that the Pro doesn't?

• Clear QAM support for recording unencrypted digital cable television
• No software installation necessary, just plug it in and fire up your TV viewing application of choice
• Includes enough built-in flash memory for storing 2 hours of video

Like previous PCTV sticks, the PCTV Ultimate lets you record over the air ATSC high def programming as well as standard definition NTSC cable or broadcasts.

The PCTV Ultimate stick will set you back $130 when they launch in October. A desktop version will also be available for $80. We're guessing there won't be any flash storage in that version.

[via Engadget]

Remember ReplayTV? Once upon a time the company was about as well known as TiVo, which is to say not very. While TiVo eventually became synonymous with "personal video recorder," ReplayTV stopped making set top boxes a few years ago.

Last year the company emerged from the ashes to relaunch as a desktop software maker. ReplayTV PC Edition is a complete desktop PVR solution that lets you turn your computer into a video recorder. There were just two problems:

1. A ton of other companies already had a stronger foothold in this space
2. It's not really a complete solution if you still need to buy hardware to make your PC record TV shows.

Point number 2 is a problem for pretty much anyone who sells desktop PVR software, Microsoft included. When I tell people how easy it is to turn their computer into a PVR, the first question they ask is "great, but where do I plug my cable box in?" And there's the rub. You don't, unless you get a TV tuner. For a computer geek that's hardly a deal breaker. But until TV tuners begin coming preinstalled on all computers, ReplayTV, BeyondTV, SageTV, and other PVR packages will have a limited audience of people who are savvy enough to buy hardware to go with their software.

Does the fact that ReplayTV is getting ready to launch what looks like a standard USB 2.0 HDTV tuner change any of this? Probably not. But it does give the company a way to package an all-in-one solution. Buy a retail package with the ReplayTV hardware and software all in one box. We're guessing this tuner will probably work just as well with BeyondTV, SageTV, or free software like Media Portal or MythTV.

It's probably worth noting that the ReplayTV HD looks an awful lot like the Hauppauge WinTV HVR 950 recorder with a red and white paint job. So you can probably expect it to sell for about $100.