Recommended TV viewing software for ATI Theater HD 750 tuner card

[MJPollard]

(Not sure where exactly this should be posted, as it doesn't seem to fit in any of the specialized categories. Moderators, please move this thread to a more appropriate forum if you deem it necessary.)

I recently purchased Diamond's ATI Theater HD 750 PCI-E tuner card for a new PC I'm building, and I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for TV viewing software. Specifically, I'm looking for an app that will allow me to view TV broadcasts (cable, in my case) in a window on the desktop, ala ATI's MMC (which, I believe, does not work with this card) which I'm currently using on my current ancient system that's equipped with an ATI AIW Radeon 8500DV. I'm not thrilled with the software included with the new card, especially since it does not appear to be able to display in a window.

(Note that I do not plan to use this card for video capturing, simply for TV viewing. I'm planning on using a different solution for my video capture needs.)

So, does anyone have any recommendations for me? I've looked at several listed here on VideoHelp, including ChrisTV (which I tried to use with my AIW 8500DV, but I couldn't get it to work, which makes me leery that it'll work with the HD 750), but I'm not certain that what's listed here will fit my exact needs. For reference, the OS I'll be using initially is 32-bit Windows XP SP3, with plans to move up to 64-bit Windows 7 in the near future. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

[jagabo]

Windows Media Center?

[MJPollard]

Windows Media Center?

Does it play TV in a window on the screen ala MMC? I could never get a straight answer on that (or most of the solutions I looked at, for that matter; all of the screenshots I saw had video playing full-screen).

[usually_quiet]

Windows Media Center?

Does it play TV in a window on the screen ala MMC? I could never get a straight answer on that (or most of the solutions I looked at, for that matter; all of the screenshots I saw had video playing full-screen).

Yes, Windows Media Center gives the option of using a resizable window or full screen. If you want to use QAM, you will need to get Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows XP's MCE doesn't support QAM. Vista Home Premium only supports it if the TV Pack is installed, but that is only made available to manufacturers of pre-built certified Media Center PCs.

If you must use XP and want QAM tuning, GB-PVR or its successor NextPVR offer it and are free. I tried GB-PVR and it is not as easy to set up as Windows Media Center. I haven't tried NextPVR.

[jagabo]

Windows media definitely will run in a window in Win 7:



That's a ATI 650 USB2 and analog cable.

[MJPollard]

unusually_quiet and jagabo: Good to know. I'm currently still on analog cable (until Comcast finally decides to shelve it in my area), so that shouldn't be a problem. And if I need to use a cable box, I'll just keep the window set to channel 3. My future plans are to upgrade to W7HP (probably via the Family Pack upgrade), so I should be covered.

Just for my own reference, are there additional solutions that would also do the job, possibly freeware or shareware? (I've already downloaded GB-PVR and NPVR -- thanks, UQ -- and will be looking closely at them.)

[usually_quiet]

unusually_quiet and jagabo: Good to know. I'm currently still on analog cable (until Comcast finally decides to shelve it in my area), so that shouldn't be a problem. And if I need to use a cable box, I'll just keep the window set to channel 3. My future plans are to upgrade to W7HP (probably via the Family Pack upgrade), so I should be covered.

Just for my own reference, are there additional solutions that would also do the job, possibly freeware or shareware? (I've already downloaded GB-PVR and NPVR -- thanks, UQ -- and will be looking closely at them.)

MediaPortal looks like it might be worth trying. I tried DScaler for watching TV and capture, and it worked, but it is limited to analog channels and analog video input.

[usually_quiet]

I forgot to mention a few things regarding QAM.

QAM takes more work to set up no matter what software is chosen. The procedure for scanning channels using Windows Media Center is outlined here http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/win7mcqamsetup.html but some channels may still have to be added manually. Also, the channels have to be manually mapped to a guide, since the channel/frequency assignments vary.

Cable providers change the QAM frequency assignments without notice, so be prepared to repeat QAM set up from time to time.

When Comcast begins the digital transition in your area, you will find you have lots of clear QAM channels. At some point after the transition is completed, they will drastically reduce the number of QAM channels. You will most likely have approximately the equivalent of basic cable available in clear QAM, with some local channels in both SD and HD versions. This is official policy.