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Any HDTV 1080P tuner cards out there?

T

Thomas Jefferson

n00b
Joined
Dec 12, 2004
Messages
34
NO 1080i please.

I'm looking for something like this:

The ability to watch 720p and 1080p broadcasts, as well as watching crappy 1080i broadcasts if I must, but maybe the card can upconvert if there is such a card.

The ability to watch standard cable NTSC SDTV broadcasts and terrestrial NTSC.

Maybe FM tuner if it has it. That'd be nice for scoring prizes off the radio.

Possibly a cablecard thingy, so I don't have to pay for a box from my cable company.

The ability to record everything, even up to 1080p.

TV-OUT and HDTV-OUT.

Don't care if it's PCI or PCIE or external even.

Thanks. I've searched the net and all I've found are crappy 1080i cards from generic companies. ATi has a 1080i tuner, but bleh. 1080i.
 
You do realize there is no such thing as 1080p OTA HD, right?

And no cable card support in XP. We might get it in Vista, but even then you'll probably have to buy a complete system, instead of just buying a PCI card with a cablecard slot.

You're looking for the holy grail of HD cards, we could only dream of getting those features in a single card. :)

Best bet now would be something like an ATI 550 or nVidia DualTV for regular TV, and a Avermedia A180 or VBOX DTA-150 for HD.

VBOX has a new card coming out that is dual tuner, and each tuner can support SD or HD signals. I think there's another card out that has similar features, but I can't think of it right now.
 
Uh... No...

The best HDTV Tuner card out there (IMHO so I don't get flamed) is MyHD 130

What you're looking for doesn't exist.
 
ATI HDTV Wonder is the best for 1080i or any HDTV Broadcast. I have been using it for the last 2 years with my 24" Dell ultra sharp. HDTV cannot get better than this period!
 
1080p broadcasts dont exist yet so there are not cards that go upto 1080p yet.
 
zainali said:
1080p broadcasts dont exist yet so there are not cards that go upto 1080p yet.
Click to expand...
:shakes head:

Thats not true, i've seen one- Sadly not in america
 
No joke. Are you?

I'm thinking about going with the ATi 650.

1080p broadcasts aren't around yet, that's obvious, and most broadcasts are 720p anyway. I want the option for the future...

Right now I've got an ATi All-In-Wonder Pro 8MB from ten years ago and it still works great for watching and recording TV. I'm looking for a similar card that will last for a long time, and give me 1080p when it comes around.

I'd hate to be stuck in loserville with 1080i when everyone else has double the horizontal resolution.
 
The 650 isn't so hot right now, wait a bit on that one (if you have to have it) for the drivers to mature some.
 
From what I understand, the only way 1080p will ever be OTA is if its compressed somehow, like mpeg4. 1080p requires double the bandwidth of 1080i, and that kind of bandwidth just isnt available/feasible, for whatever reason (most likely, $$$). Let's also not forget the fact that IF someday 1080p is available, most tv content will still be 720p/1080i.

So go ahead and buy a hd tuner card now, and sleep soundly at night with the realization that should 1080p ota ever materialize, youd still have to drop more cash on a new hd tuner card.
 
when FIOS becomes readily available, 1080p broadcasts will prolly be available :) Right now i got a MYHD130 and i watch SD cable and HD OTA channels like abc,cbs etc. However it all still sucks because i view it on a freaking 17 12x10 VGA only monitor.

westinghouse 37 lcd here i come. :D
 
I got the TV but no tuner card :( . I got the westinghouse 32inch LTV32w6, and it's freaking gorgeous (on it right now). Since i bought this and the upgraded HTPC, haven't had the funds but the tuner is next on my list.
 
I'm about to get 2 ati 650 tuners in the mail today. I think these card will be the last we see before cable cards come out for PCs so it is the final stop gap. I mainly got them for better SD content and I'll probably buy fusion QAM capable tuners for my HD content but I need to get a better antenna and mount it outside b/c my tv top one only gave me one solid channel with no choppy video/sound.

On the 1080p front I don't think you'll have to worry about the quality so much b/c I've heard that you only see the difference on >60in televisions. However if you buy a nice projector that does 1080p then maybe you have something to worry about. I'll be plenty happy with 1080i.
 
Thomas Jefferson said:
No joke. Are you?

I'd hate to be stuck in loserville with 1080i when everyone else has double the horizontal resolution.
Click to expand...

Are you really serious with all this 1080i is crap and all that? I dont get it.How is it that 1080i is so bad?

And 1080p isn't really twice the resolution.
 
valve1138 said:
Are you really serious with all this 1080i is crap and all that? I dont get it.How is it that 1080i is so bad?

And 1080p isn't really twice the resolution.
Click to expand...

He's crazy. 1080i + inverse telecine = 1080p with all of the resolution. 1080i signal feeds look great to me on a 1080p display.
 
CrimandEvil said:
The 650 isn't so hot right now, wait a bit on that one (if you have to have it) for the drivers to mature some.
Click to expand...
I actually installed one this weekend in my pc and didn't have any problems.
 
strikeout said:
when FIOS becomes readily available, 1080p broadcasts will prolly be available :)
Click to expand...
Probably not actually. The issue is the local affiliates, which are the gatekeepers on broadcasts. Currently CBS (central) sends the signal to CBS (local) who decide how to broadcast it (1080i or 720p). CBS local then sends this signal out OTA and also to CableCo (local) who might also recompress it (HD Lite) and send it out.

There are no plans to have 1080p OTA signals afaik. There isn't enough bandwidth for it without switching to mpeg4, which would require a whole other digital transition and isn't very likely. To get 1080p from another source (FIOS) would require either the TelCo to make a deal with the central network, which the local affiliates won't let happen, or possibly one of the premium channels to offer it (HBO, SciFi) which again, isn't very likely.

As has been said here 1080i + deinterlacing = 1080p. The reason most people think 1080i looks crap is because of sports broadcasts (which do look bad.)

And back to the OP saying his 10 year old card still works fine. That's true, but it's a 10 year old card based on 30 year old technology. <rant> why couldn't the states have settled on dvb-T/S/etc </rant>
 
IanG said:
The reason most people think 1080i looks crap is because of sports broadcasts (which do look bad.)
Click to expand...
I think FOX's 720p sports broadcasts look pretty bad. Especially compared to the 1080i broadcasts of CBS and ABC.
 
jebo_4jc said:
I think FOX's 720p sports broadcasts look pretty bad. Especially compared to the 1080i broadcasts of CBS and ABC.
Click to expand...


I've been watching the Pat's on CBS all season and it looks really damn good on my 50" Sony XBR Wega set. I dont think real life looks that good. :p

I do have an nVidia 7600GT doing all the post processing (i.e. inverse telecine) though with the Purevideo codec so it may be due to that.

I have heard the argument several times how the "p" resolutions are better for sports though. Not sure if I've seen any yet. The Pats are almost always on CBS.
 
valve1138 said:
I've been watching the Pat's on CBS all season and it looks really damn good on my 50" Sony XBR Wega set. I dont think real life looks that good. :p

I do have an nVidia 7600GT doing all the post processing (i.e. inverse telecine) though with the Purevideo codec so it may be due to that.

I have heard the argument several times how the "p" resolutions are better for sports though. Not sure if I've seen any yet. The Pats are almost always on CBS.
Click to expand...
I think we are in agreement here. CBS's 1080i PQ is fantastic.
Fox's 720p is not on the same level
 
valve1138 said:
I have heard the argument several times how the "p" resolutions are better for sports though. Not sure if I've seen any yet. The Pats are almost always on CBS.
Click to expand...
The problem with 1080i is that sports are high motion, so you can end up with a lot of jaggies as the image changes mid-frame. Some people rally notice it (and hate it) others don't.
 
IanG said:
The problem with 1080i is that sports are high motion, so you can end up with a lot of jaggies as the image changes mid-frame. Some people rally notice it (and hate it) others don't.
Click to expand...
hm
never noticed it myself, but now that you said it I probably will next time
 
IanG said:
The problem with 1080i is that sports are high motion, so you can end up with a lot of jaggies as the image changes mid-frame. Some people rally notice it (and hate it) others don't.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see what you mean. I'm not seeing this at all. And I've been a video editor for quite sometime, I could see errors down to the field, so I spot just about everything. Plus I've got 20/15 vision with my glasses on (I gots me some big ass pupils, lol)

I wonder if it's the whole nVidia setup I have?
 
jebo_4jc said:
I think we are in agreement here. CBS's 1080i PQ is fantastic.
Click to expand...

It really is. I think they do a fantastic job on their NFL broadcasts. I have ZERO desire to ever go see a live game in person. There's no point with the great TV coverage and cheap beer available right in my own home :D
 
valve1138 said:
Ah, I see what you mean. I'm not seeing this at all. And I've been a video editor for quite sometime, I could see errors down to the field, so I spot just about everything. Plus I've got 20/15 vision with my glasses on (I gots me some big ass pupils, lol)

I wonder if it's the whole nVidia setup I have?
Click to expand...
It could be. It might also have something to do with the cameras and processing equipment they use now. Maybe they 'record' it at 1080p30fps and then interlace it for broadcast, rather than recording @ 1080i60fps. *Shrug* I'm not a video technician, I only know what I've seen with my own (pretty crappy) eyesight.
 
valve1138 said:
It really is. I think they do a fantastic job on their NFL broadcasts. I have ZERO desire to ever go see a live game in person. There's no point with the great TV coverage and cheap beer available right in my own home :D
Click to expand...
Watch the World Series tomorrow night on FOX and pay attention to the PQ. (I know it may be hard for you assuming you are a Red Sahcks fan, but hey you should cheer for the Cardinals to beat the team that roughed up the entire AL all year) :)

Or, watch the Cowboys vs Giants tonight on ESPN's 720p broadcast. I think 720p vs 1080i makes a bigger difference than I ever expected.
 
jebo_4jc said:
Watch the World Series tomorrow night on FOX and pay attention to the PQ. (I know it may be hard for you assuming you are a Red Sahcks fan, but hey you should cheer for the Cardinals to beat the team that roughed up the entire AL all year) :)

Or, watch the Cowboys vs Giants tonight on ESPN's 720p broadcast. I think 720p vs 1080i makes a bigger difference than I ever expected.
Click to expand...


I'll check out the baseball if I have the time. I actually find baseball quite boring :p

I dont have the ESPN HD channel package dealy from Time Warner. There's only one Pats game on it this year, so I'll order for a couple days and cancel it. Plus TW refuses to get the NFL Network at all, so fuck 'em!
 
valve1138 said:
I'll check out the baseball if I have the time. I actually find baseball quite boring :p

I dont have the ESPN HD channel package dealy from Time Warner. There's only one Pats game on it this year, so I'll order for a couple days and cancel it. Plus TW refuses to get the NFL Network at all, so fuck 'em!
Click to expand...
I think only Dish Network has the NFL currently, right?
 
DirectTV has both Sunday Ticket, and NFL Network, Dish has NFL Network and I know Comcast does have it as well.

- Josh
 
annaconda said:
ATI HDTV Wonder is the best for 1080i or any HDTV Broadcast. I have been using it for the last 2 years with my 24" Dell ultra sharp. HDTV cannot get better than this period!
Click to expand...

Too bad you are watching HDTV on a small screen.
 
jebo_4jc said:
Or, watch the Cowboys vs Giants tonight on ESPN's 720p broadcast. I think 720p vs 1080i makes a bigger difference than I ever expected.
Click to expand...

I watched this, and....the PQ was pretty bad. Maybe it was over compressed for directv......
 
Espn's broadcast's don't look nearly as good as fox or cbs imo. I've been watching HDTV over Directv for almost 5yrs now and CBS has always had the best overall sports broadcast of hdtv imo.

Personally HD NET is the best looking HD channel you can see that Mark Cuban owns that show's a lot of 1080i/720p content and it looks like it has the least amount of compression. HBO also look really nice as well as the NFL Sunday Ticket games that are broadcast on Directv.

I look forward to more HD channels and programming becoming the norm as well as widescreen tv's becoming the standard in both tv's and pc computer monitors. North America is so behind in both area's as Japan has had widescreen tv's and hd for over 10yrs now. :(
 
^^I agree, HDN always looks the best. DiscoveryHD can be pretty amazing too. TNTHD is hands down the worst, most of the time its stretched content. Some ESPN stuff doesn't look bad, you'd think for MNF they'd pull out all the stops.

We get the 3 networks OTA, so they generally look pretty good.
 
AOM said:
Espn's broadcast's don't look nearly as good as fox or cbs imo. I've been watching HDTV over Directv for almost 5yrs now and CBS has always had the best overall sports broadcast of hdtv imo.

Personally HD NET is the best looking HD channel you can see that Mark Cuban owns that show's a lot of 1080i/720p content and it looks like it has the least amount of compression. HBO also look really nice as well as the NFL Sunday Ticket games that are broadcast on Directv.

I look forward to more HD channels and programming becoming the norm as well as widescreen tv's becoming the standard in both tv's and pc computer monitors. North America is so behind in both area's as Japan has had widescreen tv's and hd for over 10yrs now. :(
Click to expand...
You do realize that it's not the channel or the network but the providor that does the compression right?

And that DirectTV isn't really true HD? Some call it HD Lite. In order to give you a better picture they don't give you the full hight and width of the image.

Also DirectTV plays around with compression some days ESPN will have more while CBS doesn't. OR they'll even take away channels like TNTHD on sunday to give more bandwidth to Sunday Ticket.

Shit like that just pissed me off to no end, and which is why I'll do OTA HD any day of the week, its always true HD and looks friggen awsome.

- Josh
 
UMDivX said:
Shit like that just pissed me off to no end, and which is why I'll do OTA HD any day of the week, its always true HD and looks friggen awsome.

- Josh
Click to expand...

This is interesting, I hadn't heard about this before. After doing some cursory research, it looks like directv has been lowering the quality of SDTV to free up bandwidth for the hdtv broadcasts. This makes sense to me, as I've personally been appalled at the quality of most of the SD lineup. As far as the HD channels go, I personally haven't seen a huge PQ difference between OTA and HDN/discoveryHD channels. I should note this is on the e50a10 (720p) and hr10-250 hd tivo.

Also, I just dug up that ESPN is 720p native and as such shouldn't have PQ problems. Big thumbs down.
 
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