TV tuner and remote control questions

[k900]

Hey guys, I'm looking to turn my TV into a PVR. I've searched and read a lot of the posts here and have heard good things about ATI's cards.

I'm looking for a tv tuner card and a remote control. Is ATI the way to go? Do they come with a remote control?
One reason I like the ATI is because someone said it could read menu+ which is included in most cable television signals. Is this a feature of most cards or specific to ATI? I would prefer to be able to have it not hooked up to the internet but still get tv listings.

Also, I have read something about a new phillips chip, what is the benefit of this chip and should I get a card with it?(which one?)

Also, does anyone have a link to any guides on turning your pc into a PVR? I have read the pcworld guide and it was useful but I was wondering if there were others that did not come up on my google search.

Thanks,
Kevin

*Edit* I forgot to add that I would like to output this to a TV using component video signals, however composite would be okay because I don't have that good of vision

Also, what is the difference between the ATI TV Wonder and ATI TV Wonder VE?

 

[gwlam12]

i heard ati had bad drivers and people saying "Stay away from ati"


ati tv wonder VE doesnt have s-video or something.

get a leadtek or asus tv tuner.....

you can find them at newegg.com

sorry, dont know exact names. trying to name them off the top of my head. but yea, from what i recall from ppl around here, and unless things have changed, ATI isn't great with drivers and the tuners i mentioned above have better videos. not sure what pvr is, but if it is what i think it is, the software should come with your tv tuner.

 

[DarkKnight]

My leadtek tuner comes with a remote and works great. The card has good reviews on newegg.com. another card u should check out is that FlyVideo 3000 card. It uses the new phillips chip and from the reviews I read on the card, the chip gives better image quality and there is less CPU utilization. here is to link to one review I found on the card I don't think that card is at newegg, but i'm sure u can find it somewhere else. I would have probably gotten this card if I had heard of it before I bought my Leadtek, but the leadtek is still a great card and it's cheaper too

 

[Baileybbk]

I have an ATI AIW 9700. Great TV & Great Remote! It came with Guide+ which is really nice. Only used the DVR feature once, seemed fine.

 

[sodcha0s]

k900

I have the ATI AIW8500DV and it is an exceptional card. It will do everything you want and then some. I recently built a dedicated system for home entertainment and used this card. It comes with an RF remote control that features a d-pad so you can control the mouse pointer with it if you need to. The back of the card has CATV in, DVI-I out, firewire port and a connector for an input/output adapter. The adapter has s-video in/out, composite in/out, stereo audio in/out, s/pdif out and an additional dv/ieee 1394 port for digital camcorder. It has the ability to be used as a Tivo unit, digital vcr and will record in all standard formats, including mpeg1, mpeg 2, avi, wmv and many others. You can capture images from any video source with a click of a button. And it does come with guide plus software which displays the menu+ scheduling. Anand did an extensive review on the card last year sometime and gave it high honors. Check the archives. If you want to build a PVR, it is the only thing you will need to buy. Oh, and it plays 3d games as well...

BTW, ATI's drivers have come a long way and have matured a great deal in the past year so don't be concerned with that.

Here is a link to Anands review.
You can still buy this card at Newegg.

edited for structure

 

[gwlam12]

the only thing you should probably concerned about for an all in wonder is that if you upgrade your video card, you lose your tv tuner as well.

 

[gwlam12]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s

BTW, ATI's drivers have come a long way and have matured a great deal in the past year so don't be concerned with that.

wow, i didnt know when i said the things i mentioned above, it was stuff i heard about a year ago when i was doing research on video cards.

 

[k900]

thanks for the responses. This is going to be a dedicated media center, and I already have an old geforce ddr video card so I was thinking I would just get a tv tuner card as opposed to an AIW to make it cheaper.

I'm pretty sure I'm goign to get TV LEADTEK WINFAST "DELUXE" TV2000XP TV/FM MULTIMEDIA CARD - RETAIL BOX from newegg. DarkKnight seems to think highly of it and it's only $53 shipped including a remote.

Does anyone know if its possible to turn your tv on and off with this remote? Or with an ATI or another brand is that possible?

Thanks for all the help

-Kevin

 

[gwlam12]

well i cant reallly respond to your quesiotn directly, but my msi tv@nywhere tv tuner can be turned on and off with a remote. like, when i press the on button with the remote, the tv software on my computer turns on and i can start watching stuff. same thing when i press it to turn off, the software shuts down. i would assume that it would work the same for the leadtek tv tuner. but this is just a temporary response for you until someone who actually owns the card can come around and answer the question for you