LEADTEK WINFAST "DELUXE" TV2000XP TV/FM MULTIMEDIA CARD - RETAIL BOX (UPDATE: NOW $42.00 shipped!) @ Newegg!

[Apex]

Originally posted by: UncleWai
I am not sure the word inferior does justice to the leadtek tv card. Yes it uses a less advanced chip than the Asus TV tuner, but it still handles what it does very well. We are talking about analog signal here, and for Rossman, he is going to use the card with an antenna. The limiting factor for him will be the antenna signal, so it is much more suitable for him to get the leadtek card for a better cost/performance ratio. Nothing beats 57 bucks for a stereo sound tv card with remote and fm tuner.
Here's a snapshot of the winfast tv2000xp I just made. I am using a four way splitters.

Snapshot

True, with antenna, reception will be key. However, the video quality is definitely better on the 880TV. I've used a 878 and a 880 card back to back, and the difference is noticable. Whether or not it's worth $30 for someone on antenna input is debatable.

 

[iLoveDivX]

is there any way i can get cable tv on my computer with this card if i DON"T have cable tv/satellite normally?

 

[jebus]

Is the Expert version of the Leadtek card even being sold? I did a quick search and didn't find it anywhere.

 

[psloan]

OK, I picked up this card. Working wonderful. But I have a question. When I set up a show to record the dang pvr pops up and shows the show while it is recording. If I wanted to watch the show, I would not have recorded it. I have hunted high and low, but can't find a way to stop that from happening. Any hints? Can it be done?

--pat

 

[corinthos]

Update bump

 

[a2k]

Just ordered one. Thanks!

 

[RossMAN]

Is anyone here using this card with rabbit ears/antennae for TV reception?

 

[yepper]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Is anyone here using this card with rabbit ears/antennae for TV reception?

I just ordered the card. I also ordered the GE MAX TV Antenna
(stolen from the chubby site) because I'm sick of rabbit ears and I'M NOT TAKING IT ANY MORE.



There's a 6 ft. and a 3 ft. version. A 6 footer in the attic or a 3 footer on top of the entertainment center should be much better than rabbit ears.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: iLoveDivX
is there any way i can get cable tv on my computer with this card if i DON"T have cable tv/satellite normally?

Uh, not without either subscribing or pirating it. Maybe I misunderstand you, but you need the signal feed to display or use it...

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: yepper

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Is anyone here using this card with rabbit ears/antennae for TV reception?

I just ordered the card. I also ordered the GE MAX TV Antenna
(stolen from the chubby site) because I'm sick of rabbit ears and I'M NOT TAKING IT ANY MORE.



There's a 6 ft. and a 3 ft. version. A 6 footer in the attic or a 3 footer on top of the entertainment center should be much better than rabbit ears.

I used to get cable and this WAS over 10 years ago so maybe things are better? I was very disappointed with the signal quality of cable and I'm in a major metro area (Berkeley, CA in the middle of everything). I used to call the cable company and complain and sometimes they did improve things one way or another. I got a much better picture from my rooftop antenna, even before I got a replacement non-ghosting antenna, which was GREAT! Of course, you get a ton more channels with cable, but even the best cable signal channels didn't compare with most of my rooftop antenna versions. I have the card but haven't installed it yet mainly because I'm busy and haven't made up my mind or moved on the issue of how I'm going to supply signals. I think I'm going to go up on my roof and put a splitter right at the antenna and have one of the cables go directly to the Winfast. It may degrade my regular TV/VCR signals, but I'm hoping not too much. Or maybe I should resort to a signal boosting amplifier, or try spliting the signal at my TV/VCR complex one-more-time.... I read that every time you put a connector on a TV signal it drops the signal 5 db.

I used to call the cable company and complain and sometimes they did improve things one way or another.

 

[ZippyDan]

im assuming this card doesnt do HDTV/have component inputs/outputs

trying to find a tuner that does... dont necessarily need HDTV decoding, but i am interested in price difference between cards that have it and cards that dont...

~Zippy!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: jacky72
beware this card does not work well with G400 dual head setup. cpu usage is always above 90% if u max the window on the 2rd CRT (1280x1024). once u move it to the main CRT (1280x1024), it drops to 20%. did anyone try it with a 9700/9500? does it work well with dual monitor setup?

That's because hardware video-overlay acceleration is only supported by Windows on the primary display, and has to be emulated in software (YUV conversion, scaling, etc) on the CPU for secondary displays.

I noticed the same thing playing back .mpg video files in W2K on a multimon setup involving three Matrox Millenium (1) PCI cards. Only one of the displays supported hardware video overlay. This is more of a limitation of the driver architecture in Windows, not the hardware itself, because all three cards that I was using at the time were identical.

This may be a fixed problem with some newer video cards/drivers/DirectX versions, I don't know.

 

[Accreta]

How easy is it to record your favorite shows with this? Can you access a "TV Guide" which will show you all of the channels in your area? Is this as easy as TiVo to use?

 

[GoodToGo]

This is an excellent card. I bought it for $59.99 two weeks ago. Quality of TV is good. Recording is very good but also has a lot of options as in format and also you can schedule recordings for your show weekly, daily or whatever. All in all, for $56, its a gem.

 

[WarSong]

just received my card. it's pretty cool. too bad receiption in my apartment is teh sucks...

 

[TheMouse]

anyone know of a good card w/ hardware mpeg2 encoding?

 

[a2k]

Just got my card installed last night. Very sweet! Great deal.

Anyway, I tried recording a 1 hour program using MPEG-2 on good quality, and the file's about 2 gigs! I'd like to get the file as small as possible and have it still look decent when outputed to a TV. What settings are you all using to record, and what file sizes/quality are you getting?

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[TheMouse]

 

[TheMouse]

is the mpeg2 encoder hardware?

 

[corinthos]

Just got mine too, and I'm very satisfied with it. IMO, this package is better than the WinTV 401 package... better remote, better hardware and software bundle, more fully-featured and well thought out user interface, and everything works without a hitch for me!

I kinda considered getting the XPERT version which has better image quality, but I don't know if it's worth the extra dough, especially
when I'm just using a TV antenna for channels... haven't tried the capture functions yet so maybe it'll be good enough quality for me
anyway...

 

[joemamma]

i can tell you without even looking at the model or its specs, for 60 bucks i'm positive the mpeg2 encoding is software....

 

[pecel]

Compusa has PCTV Pro Internal PCI TV Card
for $39.99 after rebate

Which one is better?
this one or the pinnacle?

Thanks.

 

[daimon]

Pinnacle tech support is the worst. I HAD the pctv pro, and it's a POS.
NO updated driver, etc. I vowed to never buy anything with the Pinnacle
name on it. Get the Winfast, and save yourself a load of headache.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I got my TV2000XP today. As usual, Newegg's service is unsurpassed, and I really like the card a lot.

 

[RadioactiveMagpies]

Compusa has PCTV Pro Internal PCI TV Card

the PCTV card is the worst computer produect I have ever purchased in 20 years.