Best TV Tuner Card for win 7

[Tamiarasu]

which tv tuner card is best for win7?whether internal or external?

 

[kinggraves]

Internal - PCI or PCIe slot? HD channels? For only one device or network shared device? Do you have a cable box Cable Card?

 

[Vinnie H]

Internal - PCI or PCIe slot? HD channels? For only one device or network shared device? Do you have a cable box Cable Card?

This is not my thread but I am facing the same decision so in case anyone can help:

Internal, either PCI or PCIe; yes, HD channels; one device; no cable box.

 

[ronintexas]

I use SiliconDust HDHomerun Prime - it is a cable card digital tuner (3 tuners) that works over ethernet to all computers on the network. They have the ATSC/Clear QAM versions as well.

They will be releasing the 4 tuner version shortly.

Ceton also has a good 4-tuner version - both PCI and USB - the difference is they must be dedicated to a PC - if sharing tuners isn't a priority - these tuners are great.

Hauppauge also makes good tuners - both cable card and ATSC/Clear QAM - again, they do not share tuners. They have 2 tuners in their cards/usb devices.

So which one is best?

1) If sharing tuners across a network - go with SiliconDust.
2) If not sharing tuners - do you need 4 tuners? Ceton
3) If not sharing tuners - do you need 1/2 tuners? Hauppauge

The second question - is this for over the air, cable, or digital cable. All 3 companies will support all 3 methods, however, the ATSC/Clear QAM are about half the price of the Digital Cable Card tuners.

Last question - internal vs. external. If you have a good power supply that has enough voltage to support the card, and good ventilation in your computer, the internal cards support a "cleaner install" - in that less wires and devices outside the PC. The cards generate a good amount of heat. The external devices either through ethernet or USB will not tax system resources for power or generate additional heat in the computer case.

A lot to think about...