QAM tuners

[Ken C]

I've been using a MyHD130 for cable QAM channels few some time now. But, it just went belly up (I think). So, time for something new. First, any good review sites out there for QAM tuner cards ? And, second, if you were to buy one today, which one would that be ?

How about Andy (Opus4) reviewing ALL the cards available and posting the results !! All those in favor, say "AYE" ....

[fyodor]

It seems that people are very happy with the hdhomerun. Mine works great, certainly. It is also the best supported, working with virtually all the major software packages. Their tech support is extremely helpful and responsive, too.
The one downside is it doesn't do analog tuning.

Originally Posted by Ken C

I've been using a MyHD130 for cable QAM channels few some time now. But, it just went belly up (I think). So, time for something new. First, any good review sites out there for QAM tuner cards ? And, second, if you were to buy one today, which one would that be ?

How about Andy (Opus4) reviewing ALL the cards available and posting the results !! All those in favor, say "AYE" ....

[Protoman]

I have a pair of HVR-1800s and they do a great job at both HD and SD analog. From what I read on these forums, people seem to really like the HDHomeRun, and honestly I was thinking about getting it myself at one point.

The things that turned me off from it was that it is a network device, and that it also has several more points of failure. For example, the HDHR needs its own power source, and in some cases (depends on how you set it up) also needs to go through a switch or a router, which is another point of failure.

This is why I opted for internal tuner cards. I started with one HVR-1800, just in case I could not get QAM to work with it or did not get any HD channels. The first card I had to RMA since the QAM tuner was broken, but the OTA and analog worked great. A call to Hauppauge and no questions asked other than did you try OTA, and a week later got a new card which worked great with QAM. In fact, I liked it so much and Hauppauge support was AWESOME that I bought a second HVR-1800. The analog tuners on them are just beautiful too, compared to my PVR-500 analog tuner and also compared to my STB connected via S-Video. The pictures being compared were displayed on a 50" 720p Plasma, as well as a 19" LCD computer monitor @ 1024 * 768, just for reference.

The bottom line is that which ever tuner you choose for HD you will like it. The questions you will need to answer is do you want external device(s) or internal card(s), and do you want analog tuner(s) or do you already have analog tuner(s)? Also, Another consideration also is how important is battery runtime on your UPS for you, when/if the power goes out do you shut everything down, or do you check to see what shows are recording and schedule a shutdown after that if poosible?

Also, like Fyodor stated HDHR is supported by many of the other brands of PVR systems. I am not sure how well supported the HVR-1800 is for other PVR systems, but I have been using Sage for the passed 3 years and don't plan on changing that anytime soon. Plus, if I did I think my gf would kill me.


Whatever device(s) you choose you should be happy with it.

Thanks,
Protoman

edit: You asked if I could by a QAM tuner which would it be... It would be the HVR-1600, and only because my only free PCI-e x1 slot free is next to my video card, otherwise it would be a HVR-1800.

[Addict]

Good information!

Is there anything different (aside from inputs/outputs and PCI/PCI express) between the 1600 and 1800? Meaning...from a hardware perspective would they perform the same?

I've got an older PC I'm using and it doesn't have PCI express.

[visiontim]

Well I have an ATI 650 and an HVR1600 and neither was as reliable or picked up as many channels as my HDHR does. I'm running this through a 4 year old D-link router that is not even gigabit. I get two streams recording at once with no problems at all.

[Protoman]

You asked a good question about the spec differences of the HVR-1600 and HVR-1800. I hope this this will suffice as an answer. Reference: http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2034&Itemid=232&limit=1&limitstart=1

************************* Copy and pasted from above address.

Hauppuage

WinTV HVR-1600 / WinTV HVR-1800
Comments
True ATSC and NTSC combo cards. No analog image quality issues, unlike PVR-150 family. Easy to find in retail stores.

Tech Specs
The HVR-1600 design is made entirely of Conexant chips. The Conexant CX23418 is the TV broadcast decoder, MPEG2 encoder, and PCI bus interface chip all rolled into one. The CX23418 combines the hardware encoding engine of the CX23416 with the broadcast decoder and bus interface of the CX25843 into one chip [see the PVR-150 series in the next section for more]. The Conexent CX24227 ATSC demodulator is used for digital TV reception.

The HVR-1800 is similar to the HVR-1600 with slight differences: Conexant doesn't have a single chip PCI Express solution yet, so the HVR-1800 uses the Conexant CX23417 MPEG2 encoder which is an evolution to the CX23416 used on the PVR-250/350/150/500 series. Secondly, it uses the CX23887 PCI Express Video and Broadcast Audio Decoder for A/D conversion and PCIe interface duties.

*************************

The HVR-1600 and the HVR-1800 do use slightly different chips, but only because of the PCI-e x1 and the PCI differences.

Thanks,
Protoman

[morfinx]

I also like my HVR-1800

[Ken C]

Thanks, guys. Looks like the HVR 1600/1800 and the HDHR are the favorites.

I'm currently using 4 - 150's so PCI slots are hard to find. I like the network approach of the HDHR. And it's a dual tuner. Not so fond of the channel setup procedures, looks like a real PIA.

This could get interesting ... Let's say I get a HDHR. So, now there are four analog tuners and two digital tuners. There is a distinct possibility of seven simultaneous video streams on the network. Sure hope the LAN doesn't explode !! At least it's a gigabit network ...

[bhyman1]

Do the HVR-1600 and 1800 tune both QAM and regular cable TV at the same time, or do they get setup as one or the other?

[morfinx]

Originally Posted by bhyman1

Do the HVR-1600 and 1800 tune both QAM and regular cable TV at the same time?

Yes.

[Protoman]

Originally Posted by bhyman1

Do the HVR-1600 and 1800 tune both QAM and regular cable TV at the same time, or do they get setup as one or the other?

They are dual tuners. One tuner is QAM/OTA (ATSC) and the other is Analog Cable (NTSC). One card will allow one digital channel AND one analog channel to be recorded at the SAME time.

Their little brother the HVR-950 is also a dual tuner, but is it EITHER OTA Digital or Analog Cable.

[bhyman1]

Originally Posted by Protoman

They are dual tuners. One tuner is QAM/OTA (ATSC) and the other is Analog Cable (NTSC). One card will allow one digital channel AND one analog channel to be recorded at the SAME time.

Their little brother the HVR-950 is also a dual tuner, but is it EITHER OTA Digital or Analog Cable.

Ahh, thanks for clearing that up for me.

[kevine]

I guess it should also be mentioned the 1600 has a blaster/ir receiver/remote and 1800 does not.

The 1800 has an FM Tuner and the 1600 does not.

[morfinx]

Originally Posted by kevine

I guess it should also be mentioned the 1600 has a blaster/ir receiver/remote and 1800 does not.

The 1800 has an FM Tuner and the 1600 does not.

The 1800 retail box does come with a MCE remote.

[kevine]

Originally Posted by morfinx

The 1800 retail box does come with a MCE remote.

If you buy that 1 but you pay extra for it. There are actually 4 flavors:
1. model 01129: WinTV-HVR-1800 MC board only, with NSTC/ATSC/QAM support, FM radio. No remote control. English only.
2. model 01176: WinTV-HVR-1800 MC board only, with NSTC/ATSC/QAM support, FM radio. No remote control. French/English for Canada.
3. model 01128: WinTV-HVR-1800 MC-Kit, with WinTV-HVR-1800 model 1129 board, NSTC/ATSC/QAM support, FM radio and MCE remote. English manual only.
4. model 01121: WinTV-HVR-1800 MC-Kit, with WinTV-HVR-1800 model 1129 board, NSTC/ATSC/QAM support, FM radio and Media Center remote kit. English/French manual for Canada.

2 the only difference being the Canadian version/manual.

If you are adding to an existing system and have the remote, get the 1 without the remote for less.