HDTV on PC question

[spooky]

I have digital cable here, they also have HDTV using their tunners, but you need to connect the tunner using RGB cable, are there any video capture card for PC that will allow me to connect RGB cables for capturing?

Thank you

[Abbadon]

Hi,

HDTV requires a powerful computer and if you plan to record real time video and audio, massive storage.

Now, due to the price, I have not even planned to buy a capable card, but check this one:
http://www.oohvideo.com/pdf/reeltime2.pdf

I have no idea of the price, but considering the size of the board, it must be pretty expensive.

keep in mind there is no RGB input, I think you need a second card to do that

Another option, and this is just a theory, it is to use a low budget card and a cable adapter from your box the S-Video in port and using a capture software configure the RGB option.

[Abbadon]

Hello again,

Here is another product:

http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/myhd.asp

(I have not tested any of the posted products, so take my word with a big grain of salt)

[maxpower2078]

I have a question about the programming, I am reading about the antenna and broadcast info. Does this mean, if you buy this card and the appropriate antenna you can get HDTV broadcasts for free. I know they would only be from the local channels and so forth such as abc, cbs, fox and so forth, but is that what they mean?

[BJ_M]

the reeltime 2 card is a OEM product that is playback only ... and expensive ...

the MtHD MDP 100 has been replaced by the 120 and is a very inexpensive card that works well ..

i think you mean component cables - not RGB , anyway .

[DeadLamb]

[quote="maxpower2078"]I have a question about the programming? quote]

yep, if you have an HDtv card and a live in an area where you can get a digital signal your cpu is then sort of like an old school 1970's tv running off rabbit ears So it's not just a HDtv program here or there and the rest of the time dead air.. You get everything on that Tv card they send out, HDtv for some stuff, mostly just plain TV but a digital signal for the rest and it's all day, just like back in the days before cable/DSS, but again, the bulk of the shows are not whoop ass widescreen HD programming.. That's really just in prime time and for some sports.

It all depends on where you live and if the market is a good one for digital broadcast or not.. For example Sacramento, where I am, is very good.. We have every one of the networks up and running on digital broadcast so that's NBC, CBS, ABC, UPN, WB, FOX, PBS and every now and then even get Telamundo.. heh

as for the first poster, looking to capture off RGB.. I don't think any analog card could keep up with a capture of HDtv signal by way of RGB anyways.. If that is what you are looking to do, go from cable box to TV card in the cpu by way of RGB.. By the time it's out of the tuner I don't think you can capture the HDtv feed in it's TS format anymore.. I mean it's already been decoded by the tuner right? Ya need to go firewire out to the cpu if I rem right but that is a whole other issue..

again, as I have said before, you don't encode HDtv the same as analog when you "record" it.. you are just grabbing the raw TS stream at 8 gigs and hour or whatever and saving it as is..

[maxpower2078]

Thanks for the info Deadlamb, here are the channels available in my area,

Seattle-Tacoma, WA 12
KTWB-TV WB 22.n 25
KSTW UPN 11.n 36
KCTS-TV PBS 9.n 41
KCKA PBS 15.n 19
KBTC-TV PBS 28.n 27
KWPX PAX 33.n 32
KING-TV NBC 5.n 48
KVOS-TV IND 12.n 35
KCPQ FOX 13.n 18
KBCB IND 24.n 19
KWOG IND 51.n 50
KHCV IND 45.n 44
KTBW-TV IND 20.n 14
KONG-TV IND 16.n 31
KOMO-TV ABC 4.n 38
KIRO-TV CBS 7.n 39

I am really thinking about this one. I am looking at this http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hd.html wintv-hd card is this a good card? I see you have a different one, but I have the pvr-250 and have been having good luck with it. But then there is the antenna and they say an outside one is the best? Any suggestions in that area?

[DeadLamb]

wintv-hd card is this a good card?

hard to say.. Don't know that many who have tried all the cards.. If ya hit http://www.avsforum.com/ and dig around in the HTPC area and HDtv area they will have more reviews of the different cards.. In fact I think they even have a few thread that are just for reviews of cards..

For the few I know who have tried out the card, they did not like the Win-HD due to chunky software, few also had issue with the ATi one also being it's new and has chunky software.. Of course to be fair, that sample group is only like 5-8 people maybe and not really indicative of the quality of the product.

The win-HD is a little older tech where the Fusion HD card that is also at the http://www.digitalconnection.com link in the other post is just a little newer with newer drivers and so on.. The Myhd card also seems like it's really well liked. It's a hard call to make being there is not really any way to "test" the cards and see the one a person might like..

I bought my fusion HD II card off a friend for less then $100 so it was a no brainer in that case.. Not like he had other for me to pick from so it was just "I'll take it!!"

as for antenna's, much like any antenna for anything, bigger always tend to grab more signal. It's just come down to if a person needs that or not. I myself can run just a small silver sensor indoor atenna but then I live only 25 or so miles from the main towers for that feeds all of sacramento.

[edDV]

Hi folks,

As for spooky's original question, none of the cards mentioned above will input a Y, Pb, Pr HDTV analog component feed from a cable box. They are all designed for over the air DTV reception only. Some of these cards have component HDTV outputs, others rely on a companion graphics card for outputs.

As for component HDTV inputs, such cards may exist but not in the consumer price range. Not that I've found anyway.

[handyguy]

Are lcd computer monitors HDTV screens?

[misterchuckles]

Hey everyone,

I'm also stuck with a similiar dilemma. I have a MyHD MDP-100 HDTV card, thinking that I could capture Comcast broadcast channels, but they render HD content on channels 802 through 890 and the MyHD capture software only recognizes channels 0 through 125 (which is really annoying!). I could get HDTV rabbit ears, but I'd like to avoid them. The only thing I can think of is somehow sending the Y, Pb, Pr HDTV analog component output from the cable box to the MyHD capture card, which has a RG59 cable input.

Is there a component-to-RG59 converter or anything out there that might do this? Perhaps someone has a better suggestion? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Chaz

[edDV]

not for HDTV there isn't
cable HDTV is sent in a differnt modulation scheme.

all you can do with that card is bring in analog S-Video and audio in standard definition.

[likwid8]

A simple DVB-S card connected with a rg-6 cable captures HDTV. Unfortunately Bev encrypted the Nagra 2 signal so no software freely available for it. But yah no need to buy an expensive HDTV card, DVB card does it for you, aswell as get all the HD channels, not just your local ones. Aswell as captures non-HD channels in digital format. SO you get 2 for the price of 1. And much cheaper.


For this setup you need a dish, rg-6 cable and a dvb card.

P.S. DVB card is less than $80 USD. Go Ebay!!!!!

[Heywould3]

ati HDTV card http://www.ati.com./products/hdtvwonder/index.html