HDTV PCI Card $299

[tji]

It's getting cheaper to get into the HDTV world.. With this HDTV PCI card, you can view "Off The Air" (i.e. using an antenna) Digital Television broadcasts. HDTV is approximately four times the resolution of a DVD (1920x1080). Check out HDTV Program Listings here (that site does not include all the Fox widescreen 480P programs, like The X-Files, and 24. )

You can view the HDTV on your monitor, or hook this card up to you HD capable television set. It also allows you to record digital broadcasts to your hard drive (like a Tivo), which is something no current HDTV set-top box can do.

They are doing a 'Power Buy' on the card, they already have over 50 buyers, so it has dropped to the $299 price at digitalconnection.com

Also, check out this site: http://www.feldoncentral.com/hdtv/ for some screen captures from HDTV programs.. They are scaled down to more easily fit in a WWW page, but they should give an idea of the quality and variety of HD programming available.

 

[Matrixxx]

How is this card in comparison to the Telemann HiPix card?

 

[tji]

It's very similar to the HiPix, I believe they are both based on the same "Janus" reference design. I have heard that the tuner in this one is more sensitive, and performs better in multipath environments.

But, I won't know until I get mine. Apparently they are shipping their first batch on Friday.

 

[Sesopedalian]

Interesting. Does it have to be by antenna, or can I get HDTV input from my DirecTV? Looking at the number of programs broadcast, it doesn't seem worth it yet. Also, I would expect an HUGE chunk of hard drive space would be needed to record HDTV!!!

 

[gimpyd00]

Anyone know if you could connect an Xbox to this with the high definition pack?

-gimp

 

[Pothead]

How does this compare to the Happauge HDTV Tuner card? Most of us got it for 50 from J & R

 

[badluck]

bump for others who might own this - we are considering buying one for work

 

[JahWren]

The Hauppauge WinTV-D is incapable of displaying full-resolution HDTV. It is also a very old design with little to no software support, it certainly lags Hauppauge's current product, the WinTV-HD.

Furthermore, the seller here is very reputable. At one point they were selling video cards using ATI chips but built by a 3rd party. When they found out that new drivers from ATI would not support those cards, they issued a recal and either refunded the buyers' money or swapped for a genuine radeon. You can count on digital connection to be very proactive in getting the manufacturer to update and add functionality to their software for the MyHD card. I wish they would do the same for Hauppauge, I own an WinTV-HD and it is the suckiest of all current HDTV cards because of poor software support.

As for programming, this card will not work with directv or dish (only the very rare Dish 5000 with HDTV modulator). But, there is tons of HDTV programming on right now if you live in a major metro area, ABC and CBS have almost their entire prime-time line-up in high-def. Even laggards like Fox use "low-res" high-def (850x480) in widescreen mode for most of their prime-time. Even that low-res stuff looks way, way better than regular NTSC.

 

[oLLie]

Originally posted by: Pothead
How does this compare to the Happauge HDTV Tuner card? Most of us got it for 50 from J & R

Haha the one from J&R is not HDTV.

Furthermore, the seller here is very reputable

Their website doesn't look very reputable... they don't even have a picture of the product their selling. Is $299 a good price? I thought the Hauppauge WinTV-HD was $299 too?

 

[BeerGod]

Cool, thanks!
This site explains HDTV capabilites a bit more

Cant wait to get this...

 

[TechDreamer]

I noticed a channel called HDnet in the above links, does anybody know if they are over the air? They have some nice shows listed. I would like to see "Bikini Destinations". This would be to research the benefits of HDTV. LOL...

 

[flint7]

Digital Connection is great... Too bad I have no way to receive HD or I'd be all over this.

 

[broadwayblue]

Originally posted by: TechDreamer
I noticed a channel called HDnet in the above links, does anybody know if they are over the air? They have some nice shows listed. I would like to see "Bikini Destinations". This would be to research the benefits of HDTV. LOL...

i believe they are directv (channel 199) only at this time.

 

[tji]

Originally posted by: broadwayblue

i believe they are directv (channel 199) only at this time.

Yes, HDNet is only available on DirecTV, channel 199. But, many electronics stores, like The Good Guys, use this as their HD Demo channel.

HDNet also shows a lot of NHL Hockey and Major League Baseball games in HD. HD Sports events are incredible. HDNet also did the Olympics in HD, and broadcast it on DirecTV 199 and Off The Air on NBC digital stations.

Today NBC announced that all their new shows next season will be broadcast in HD.

 

[tji]

Here are some more spec's for the card, and a picture of the actual PCI card: http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/myhd.asp

Also, here is a link to the manufactuer's information on the card (the english version of their site is not all that impressive..)
http://www.mitinc.co.kr/e_pccard.htm


gimpyd00: No, this does not work with the X-Box HD Pack. That enables HD output from the X-Box, this is another HD output source. They can both hook INTO an HD display. But this card supports VGA output, whereas the X-Box only supports component video. So, you can use this card to view HD video on your S-VGA monitor rather than buying an HDTV.

 

[burbz]

Originally posted by: JahWren
The Hauppauge WinTV-D is incapable of displaying full-resolution HDTV. It is also a very old design with little to no software support, it certainly lags Hauppauge's current product, the WinTV-HD.

True. However you can record HDTV with it if you get the confusing drivers set up properly. Then you can play the huge resulting MPEG stream back with an MPEG player (I used the Elecard player). Didn't work that well but it was fun. Here's an example of the quality you can get from an over-the-air HDTV broadcast if you're lucky enough to receive it properly.

Thanks to tji for this post, think I might go for one of these.

 

[tji]

One more note...

Digital TV broadcasts are not available in all areas. Almost all major metropolitan areas do have digital stations. But, if you are in a rural area, you should verify availability before ordering.

Here in the San Fran Bay Area, we have 13 different stations broadcasting digitally, including all the majors (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox. Even WB, UPN, and several independents).

A good place to check your local availability is TitanTV.com

 

[MrCodeDude]

That HDnet channel, since DirecTV and DiSH are now one company, does that mean that it works for DiSH too?
-- mrcodedude

 

[tji]

No, unfortunately it is not yet.

The DirecTV / Dish Network acquisition is still not finalized. It is going through some regulatory review, and there is a lot of opposition to it on the grounds that it would create a satellite monopoly. So, it's not a done deal yet.

If the merger goes through, you can expect to see HDNet on Dish. Also, there are rumors that Mark Cuban (Owner of HDNet, Owner of Dallas Mavericks, founder of broadcast.com) is in talks with Dish to bring HDNet in.

The Disk network does carry an HD channel that DirecTV doesn't: CBS-HD. They carry WCBS (New York) and KCBS (Los Angeles). Obviously, this is useful if you live in an area that can't get CBS-HD off the air.

Also, a new HD channel is coming out in the next month or two: Discovery-HD. But, it has not been announced if Dish or DirecTV will be carrying it.

Originally posted by: MrCodeDude
That HDnet channel, since DirecTV and DiSH are now one company, does that mean that it works for DiSH too?
-- mrcodedude

 

[DUKAT1]

I really like my accessdtv card. It seems to be very similar. Does anyone know how the data stream is encoded? What I really want to know is:
If I record a program on my hard drive, can I make a copy of the program and give it to someone who has the same card? With my accessdtv card, the encoding is done per the serial # of the card, and only a card with that serial # can play it! The only way to "share" recorded programs is to buy a 2nd card which is keyed to the first one's serial #, which enables the recordings to be interchangeble. Whew!

The two cards seem to be based on the same hardware, but with slightly different features. I will have to do some research on this card.

btw, I concur that Digital Connection is very reputable. And as for the question of hard disk usage, my experience is 8.1GB/hr.:Q
That's why I have many large hard drives.

 

[w9design]

Anyone have one of these that can comment on it?

Couple of questions. Does it support WinXP? The passthrough is going to screw up my DVI flat panel, correct?

Edit: Answered both my questions on my own. Yes, and yes.

 

[tji]

DUKAT1: This card is very similar to the AccessDTV. But, this one (like the HiPix) does not store the files encrypted or locked to that card. So, if you had one card in your PC, and one in a system driving your HDTV, you could share files between the two.

I have also seen reports that files recorded with the HiPix are playable with this card.

 

[Nefrodite]

Originally posted by: burbz

Originally posted by: JahWren
The Hauppauge WinTV-D is incapable of displaying full-resolution HDTV. It is also a very old design with little to no software support, it certainly lags Hauppauge's current product, the WinTV-HD.

True. However you can record HDTV with it if you get the confusing drivers set up properly. Then you can play the huge resulting MPEG stream back with an MPEG player (I used the Elecard player). Didn't work that well but it was fun. Here's an example of the quality you can get from an over-the-air HDTV broadcast if you're lucky enough to receive it properly.

Thanks to tji for this post, think I might go for one of these.

err sorry wrong again, the WinTV-D is nothing more then a digital cable tuner. it is entirely incapable of handling HDTV which is entirely different. otherwise that would have been a VERY hot deal instead of simply warm.

sorry to burst your bubble.

 

[mdXtreme3d]

Originally posted by: Nefrodite

err sorry wrong again, the WinTV-D is nothing more then a digital cable tuner. it is entirely incapable of handling HDTV which is entirely different. otherwise that would have been a VERY hot deal instead of simply warm.

sorry to burst your bubble.

incorrect. The WinTV-D is capable of receiving HD OTA signals, but it can only display in 480i (on the monitor or TV via S-Video, which looks damn good). It can also record the HD stream unalltered. There is no such thing as a "digital cable tuner" currently.

 

[w9design]

Bumpage on this deal.