HDTV Fringe reception, and comparing 3 HDTV Tuner Cards

[slugbug]

I used to have a good link to a website that showed coverage areas for virtually all of the broadcast tv stations out there. It actually showed a circle where you 'should' be able to get the signal if you had a good tower, antenna and amplifier. I've been looking for something similar regarding the HDTV stations that are available.

Also, has anyone done comparison testing of the various HDTV tuner cards out there, specifically testing for which has the best fringe reception over the air? My goal is to eventually put up a very tall tower, a preamp and amplifier system, and a rotor. We live in the Dayton, Ohio area, and in the past I have gotten stations from Columbus, Cincinnati, Kentucky and Indiana. With a rotor system I could probably pull in two dozen stations. I've never seen any studies done showing which HDTV tuner cards are best for fringe reception.


I am also considering the purchase of 3 HDTV Tuner Cards, all of which have been proven to work fully with gbpvr. (see gbpvr.com for details, if you have no idea what this is - basically, it's a free PVR program that I think is better than the $70 WinDVR 3) Here are the cards:

Kworld atsc-110 - $85

Dvico Fusion HDTV lite - $99 (gold is ~$150, out of my price range)

ATI HDTV Wonder - $85

If anyone has compared 2 or 3 of these cards, I would greatly appreciate an email at fuzzhead72@yahoo.com with your experiences. Whatever I end up with will probably be my "tv" for the next 4 years, so if I can avoid problems, it would be really helpful.

[redwudz]

I'm using a MyHD MDP-130 card now. I previously had a DVICO Fusion Gold. Not a lot of difference in reception for weaker stations between the two. The Fusion might have a small edge, but the MyHD seems to be more stable and a little easier to set up.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx may be what you are looking for to find available stations. If you are trying to get more distant stations, you might have to tell them you live in a different location so they list the ones further out. Most any UHF long range antenna will work, it doesn't have to be specifically for HDTV.

For the cards you listed, I would try the Fusion card. But do a search for some reviews to get the best recommendations. I bought my Fusion card from http://www.digitalconnection.com/ They have the Lite card for $89US presently.

And you need to check Fusion often for updates. They do add them regularly.

[elister]

Having owned both Fusion5 RT Gold and a used MyHD MDP-100, Fusion wins. Mostly by the fact that the Fusion tunes into channels much better than the MDP-100. I could also never get the MDP-100 to capture analog properly, it wouldnt capture to MPEG2 in the way my ancient ATI All in Wonder 8500DV card did.

[ttyner]

I have the Fusion RT Gold after trying a friends ATI TV Wonder. The Fusion is clearly superior.
I live 40 miles from the antenna farm for Houston and was always getting dropouts with the ATI card & an antenna at about 30 feet in the trees. I had planned to put a super antenna on my 70' tower but with the Fusion card I have a beautiful picture with no dropouts still using the 30 year old antenna.

I suggest yoiu hold off buying for a whhile, save your pennies and go with the Fusion RT Gold. It's
$50 more but it saved me more than that from what I expected to do.

Good Luck.

[ebenton]

I haven't tried this or looked at their websites, but you might try checking Directtv.com or Dishnetwork.com. They promote over-the-air antennas for local stations and they might have a link to some website where you can check the footprint of local HD TV stations.

[edDV]

The only easy way to get an indication of signal power at your address is the antenna color code (and direction) provided at www.antennaweb.org for your address. It is a function of distance to the transmitter, channel frequency and transmitter power factored by togographic obstructions.

[yoda313]

I give a big thumbs up to fusion. I have the slightly older fusion hdtv 3 gold t model. Works like a charm. Though recently I got cable so I've been doing more analog recording than hd recording. However the hd recordings are beautiful.

[vhelp]

Well, I have two HDTV receiver's and although both do a swell job, I can't say
for sure which does a better job at receiving hd content via antenna.

I have an:

** Hisense, USDigital USDTV DB-2010
** Pro Brand, Digital Stream HD3150Plus DTV receiver

On the Pro Brand, the signal strength feature is a digital readout and its update
is instant -- no lag time, while on the Hisense, its an analog readout and there
is a slight noticable lagtime in its update.

So far..
When I want to adjust my station(s) for best reception, I use the Pro Brand as
the gauge, and adjust the antenna accordingly. Then, I just hook up my Hisense
and re-scan in the channels. Both seem to pull in stations equally well. I can't
say for sure if there is any noticable difference at this time.

Last, although the Pro Brand is a better model/brand/unit, I still prefer my
Hisense in the long run. IMHO, the picture quality is sharper and more defined.
Plus, I can hack it to allow me to capture from it, in component 480i while on
my Pro Brand, I can't hack it, and I'm stuck with s-video, not that its bad.

Also, with the Hisense, it allows you to capture from it, in Letterbox and Anamorphic
modes. I can't seem to do that in the Pro Brand.. no matter what the settings are
set to.

-vhelp 4013