Best tuner for SD / Analog only ??????

[though]

hello all,

i searched around and didn't see anything mentioned. i am looking for an SD/analog tuner for my sagetv with the best picture quality. i already have the HDHR for the digital channels and it works great, but i need something for analog as well that provides the best pic quality. i have both a PCI slot and a PCI Express x1 slot available and am running XP.

thanks in advance, i value this board and the opinions on it...

[tmiranda]

Nobody sells analog only tuners, all of them are hybrid analog/digital. I've been eyeing the Hauppauge 2250.

If you really want an analog only tuner you can always look on fleeBay for something like the Hauppauge 250 or nVidia Dual TV. I like the Dual TV since it has two tuners with only 1 cable connection.

[matt91]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

I've been eyeing the Hauppauge 2250.

I've read a little about this, but not much.

Sage is smart enough to know to only use two of the tuners at a time, even though there might be four shows to record?

[though]

i assume the $99 hauppage is better than a $19 kworld for SD pic quality???

[gjvrieze]

Originally Posted by though

hello all,

i searched around and didn't see anything mentioned. i am looking for an SD/analog tuner for my sagetv with the best picture quality. i already have the HDHR for the digital channels and it works great, but i need something for analog as well that provides the best pic quality. i have both a PCI slot and a PCI Express x1 slot available and am running XP.

thanks in advance, i value this board and the opinions on it...

I am very fond of the ATI 550Pros. Can be found on eBay for decent pricing, has good quality, works well with Server 2k3....

[though]

Originally Posted by gjvrieze

I am very fond of the ATI 550Pros. Can be found on eBay for decent pricing, has good quality, works well with Server 2k3....

SD/analog pic quality is excellent on these?

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by though

i assume the $99 hauppage is better than a $19 kworld for SD pic quality???

Always no to kworld. They are usually nothing more than software encoders and therefore are the lowest form of tuner.

[though]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Always no to kworld. They are usually nothing more than software encoders and therefore are the lowest form of tuner.

ok, so the ATI units are the way to go????

[QueOnda]

Originally Posted by though

ok, so the ATI units are the way to go????

Most ATI analog are software based encoders (meaning they will use your CPU cycles). Hauppage and others (maybe some ATI) which are hardware based encoders don't use any of your CPU cycles.

[evilpenguin]

If I were buying for analog today i'd go with the Hauppauge HVR-2250. Its a good value, dual QAM/ATSC/NTSC tuners so your not locked in analog land if something changes, Sage has a great track record with Hauppauge cards, and the drivers are pretty solid.

[though]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

If I were buying for analog today i'd go with the Hauppauge HVR-2250. Its a good value, dual QAM/ATSC/NTSC tuners so your not locked in analog land if something changes, Sage has a great track record with Hauppauge cards, and the drivers are pretty solid.

well damn.... sounds like i can just get rid of my HDHR and go for the 2250. sounds like a great card if it works like it's supposed to!

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by though

well damn.... sounds like i can just get rid of my HDHR and go for the 2250. sounds like a great card if it works like it's supposed to!

I use both. The advantage of the HDHomerun is that it has 2 coax inputs so that both of your tuners can do different things (one I use for OTA for the local 24 hour weather channels that are not available via clear qam and the other I use for Clear QAM tuning). The disadvantage of the HDHomerun is no analog. You also have to be aware that the HVR2250 only allows you two use 2 analog, 2 digital or 1 analog and 1 digital. You can not use 2 digital and 2 analog at the same time. So in the case of trying to add 1 analog along with your 2 digital tuners (of the HDHomerun), adding a 2250 will actually reduce the amount of tuners available. I recommend running both at the same time.

[though]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

I use both. The advantage of the HDHomerun is that it has 2 coax inputs so that both of your tuners can do different things (one I use for OTA for the local 24 hour weather channels that are not available via clear qam and the other I use for Clear QAM tuning). The disadvantage of the HDHomerun is no analog. You also have to be aware that the HVR2250 only allows you two use 2 analog, 2 digital or 1 analog and 1 digital. You can not use 2 digital and 2 analog at the same time. So in the case of trying to add 1 analog along with your 2 digital tuners (of the HDHomerun), adding a 2250 will actually reduce the amount of tuners available. I recommend running both at the same time.

thank you for the reply. sounds like i just better hold onto the HDHR! how is the analog quality on the 2250 ?

[evilpenguin]

The ATI capture cards probably have better analog quality by a *small* margin, but I'd take the features of the 2250 over that any day.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

The ATI capture cards probably have better analog quality by a *small* margin, but I'd take the features of the 2250 over that any day.

Couldn't have said it better myself (granted I have not owned an ATI capture, but have recieved files captured from one). It is better to future proof yourself with a card that can do both then a card that can only do old "dying" analog.

[gjvrieze]

The ATI 550pro, is a hardware mpeg2 encoding card, NOT a software based card like the old All In Wonders....

[gjvrieze]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

Couldn't have said it better myself (granted I have not owned an ATI capture, but have recieved files captured from one). It is better to future proof yourself with a card that can do both then a card that can only do old "dying" analog.

The 550pros mixed with HDHRs is a great combo, very well supported in Sage, I must add...

[SJL]

Hello all,
I came here to start a new thread, and someone beat me to it with the same topic. I find myself in a similar boat, looking for the best NTSC tuner for basic cable. I love the picture quality of my Avermedia m780s, but whether it was a java, sage, or driver update, the system has become unstable and WAF is extremely low right now. I ordered a HD Homerun 1st and I'll remove the ClearQam Avermedia tuners from Sage to see if the system is stable with just the analog. If not, I need to find at least two tuners. I have concerns about the 2250, as my experience with the 1600 connected to basic cable was horrible. It looked fine on a 27-inch tv, but terrible on the 50 HD. I know we're being limited by the quality of the source, but the m780s, IMHO, have a far superior picture (1600 picture was fine with Qam and svideo off the cable box, just not connected to cable and tuning directly). Still working with Sage tech support on this, but studying for the CCIE right now so I don't have time to play with the TV right now and just need this to work. Does the 2250 produce a better picture than the 1600 tuning cable directly? Is there anyone who's had a similar experience with NTSC cable on Hauppage and can point me in the direction of a card with better picture quality to save me some time? Thanks in advance for the help!

[thatdude90210]

As someone already pointed out, the ATI 550pro (and 600pro, and 650pro) cards are have hardware encoders. There were a couple of issues with the 550pro. One is that the picture was a little soft, and the other was the sound volume was a little low. Both of those issues were corrected with the 650pro, and likely the 600pro.

The 650 have analog and digital tuners, but the digital part isn't supported by SageTv. There was a post here a while back by someone who got digital working in SageTV, but I recall that took some workaround.

Anyway, the 650pro and the HDhomerun makes for a great analog digital combo for SageTV.

[gjvrieze]

Originally Posted by thatdude90210

As someone already pointed out, the ATI 550pro (and 600pro, and 650pro) cards are have hardware encoders. There were a couple of issues with the 550pro. One is that the picture was a little soft, and the other was the sound volume was a little low. Both of those issues were corrected with the 650pro, and likely the 600pro.

The 650 have analog and digital tuners, but the digital part isn't supported by SageTv. There was a post here a while back by someone who got digital working in SageTV, but I recall that took some workaround.

Anyway, the 650pro and the HDhomerun makes for a great analog digital combo for SageTV.

I amp my analog cable and it is 99% with the 550Pro for me, but good info!