HD Tuners Any Recommendations

[mike1961]

Hello - are there any HD tuner cards available yet in the US? What I would really love is a dual tuner like the WinTV 500 but one for HD. Also, does anyone know if one can specify the quality of the stream when using HD?

Thanks,
Mike

[stanger89]

Dvico Fusion 5
Avermedia A180
Vbox Cat's Eye

No you can't pick the quality, the bitstream is captured so all recordings are identical to live.

[dbfresh23]

Just so you know, the tuners Stanger listed are OTA cards, meaning you need an antenna - not for cable. So don't expect to see anything other then HD Locals with them.

[stanger89]

Other than that, there's the R5000.

[jchiso]

My main encoding server houses two HD OTA tuners (in addition to three analog tuners) on an ATX motherboard. The HD tuners are a DVICO Fusion 3 Gold and a KWorld ATSC-110. Quality settings are not available for digital streams; programs are captured in their full, native resolution video and discrete digital audio.

[mike1961]

I guess I'm wondering if there are any available yet to capture DirecTv satellite cable in HD?

Thanks,
Mike

[lovingHDTV]

That would be the R5000 mentioned above

[mike1961]

Am I correct in seeing the R5000 is around $500 and you can't use the DirecTV STB either so you have to buy an STB as well? Is it worth it? The other problem I can see is if one mixes HD with standard STB's on DirecTV it becomes a problem because Sage can't disable individual channels for different video sources.

Thanks,
Mike

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Am I correct in seeing the R5000 is around $500 and you can't use the DirecTV STB either so you have to buy an STB as well?

Not sure what yo mean by "can't use the DirecTV STB", you can use a modded STB just like a normal one AFAIK. They'll also mod leased boxes, but you have to mark them such as the do the mod a little differently.

Is it worth it?

Only you can decided if being able to make pristine non-DRM incumbered digital recordings of every channel you subscribe to is worth it.

The other problem I can see is if one mixes HD with standard STB's on DirecTV it becomes a problem because Sage can't disable individual channels for different video sources.

IIRC there are at least 2 different DTV lineups for my area, the national one, and the "local" one. Just select one for the SD tuner and the other for the HD tuners.

[briands]

Originally Posted by jchiso

My main encoding server houses two HD OTA tuners (in addition to three analog tuners) on an ATX motherboard. The HD tuners are a DVICO Fusion 3 Gold and a KWorld ATSC-110. Quality settings are not available for digital streams; programs are captured in their full, native resolution video and discrete digital audio.

I ordered the Kworld by mistake (since it is NOT listed under Supported Tuners I did not want to take a chance. However, I managed to select it from the slim pickins at Newegg. Seems I might be in luck anyway if you are having success. Should be getting the card today and wanted to know how to go about the installation. What drivers do you use? I assume you install the card. Install the drivers, (but not BTV) from the disk. Then fire up Sage and set up the new tuner.

Did I miss anything?

Does Sage use it as an NTSC tuner as well?

Is there a way to prevent Sage from automatically using it? WAF dictates that I need to make sure the everything is in order before I let it touch any of the critical programming.

[jchiso]

I have used that tuner (KWorld ATSC-110) in three systems without issue; installation was smooth in each, whether used standalone or with the Fusion tuner. It will not work under Sage as an NTSC tuner, as it does not have an onboard hardware encoder.

I installed drivers from the website that were there at the time (late December). I did not install the BTV app or the remote app.

I don't understand what you mean by "prevent Sage from using it". Just set it up and then remove it as a source until you are comfortable with it.

[briands]

Thanks for the details. I'll try to get it installed and test it out this weekend.

[IVB]

FYI: I'm quite irritated with my Fusion 3 Gold as I cannot get XP to recognize all 5 "hardware" pieces. I've been unable to get it to record through Sage for a few months now. I can get 4 of the 5 drivers installed & working, but not the 5th.

I'm strongly contemplating buying a hardware card and tossing this software card.

[mike1961]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Not sure what yo mean by "can't use the DirecTV STB", you can use a modded STB just like a normal one AFAIK. They'll also mod leased boxes, but you have to mark them such as the do the mod a little differently.

What I mean is I currently have four D10-100 Direct TV standard boxes. If I switch to high definition, I believe I will need a different STB because the D10-100 does not support Hi-Def. Then I think I'm back to that D11 which has that USB in the back which becomes a real headache to get Sage to change channels via the USB and not use infrared. What do you mean by a "modded" STB? Ideally, I would love a HI-Def STB with a simple serial in the back otherwise it's a headache to get the USB to work and I don't want to use IR.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mike

[briands]

To get the HD from the box, you will need a modded box. There are no supported HD input cards for Sage (or any other consumer software).

The linked hardware mod uses USB for control as well as pure digital signal transfer.

Don't look for the price, just send your credit card number...