Internal ATSC tuner for Windows 10?

[bizzybody]

What is a good PCIe x1 ATSC tuner that has drivers for Windows 10?

I got a vixs puretv-u card (NTSC/ATSC combo) from an HP. DriverMax found and installed drivers (apparently from Microsoft's driver library), which Windows 10 didn't reject. Device Manager shows it as functioning but no TV software I've tried can see it.

The newest drivers from HP are for Win 7 x64 and their installer claims my computer doesn't meet "minimum requirements". There doesn't appear to have ever been anything but bare drivers released for the ViXS cards, HP relied on Windows Media Center for using the TV tuners and the various analog inputs.

So it's looking as if I want to pipe some free OTA prolefeed into my Windows 10 box, I need some newer hardware. What's out there and *good*?

Alternatively, if someone has figured out how to make the ViXS cards actually function in Windows 10, that would be nice to know.

[usually_quiet]

For a PCI-e slot
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_quadhd.html
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1265.html

[bizzybody]

I got a list from Hauppague

These ATSC products will work under Windows 10:


External devices:

· Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One

· WinTV-dualHD

· HVR-850 (discontinued)

· HVR-950 (discontinued)

· HVR-950Q (discontinued)

· HVR-955Q

· WinTV-Aero-m (discontinued)

· HVR-1950 (discontinued)

· HVR-1955





Internal devices:

· WinTV-quadHD

· HVR-1150

· HVR-1250 (discontinued)

· HVR-1265

· HVR-1600 (discontinued)

· HVR-1800 (discontinued)

· HVR-1850 (discontinued)

· HVR-2250 (discontinued)

· HVR-2255 (discontinued)

[usually_quiet]

The Win-TV HVR-1150 is still in production, but it fits in a PCI slot rather than a PCI-e x1 slot, so I didn't mention it.

Among the discontinued internal models, only the Win-TV HVR-1250, Win-TV HVR-1800, Win-TV HVR-1850, Win-TV HVR-2250, and Win-TV HVR-2255 are PCI-e x1. Some discontinued models can still be found at a reasonable price, others are hard to find or are selling for far more than the original price.

[Edit]I should have mentioned that the newer discontinued models (Win-TV HVR-1250, Win-TV HVR-2250, and Win-TV HVR-2255) are likely to have have better ATSC tuners than older models. I have owned a Win-TV HVR-2250 for a few years and am pleased with its performance. The Win-TV HVR-2255 is very similar and was only recently discontinued. Sellers are asking very high prices for them.

[bizzybody]

I did some searches on eBay for a few. Quite high prices. :P At least I have a list of models to keep looking for a bargain on.

I did score a DVI KVM for 1/5 of retail so that's one more piece to what I'm wanting to put together. If only it was possible to get a ViXS PureTV card working with anything later than Vista. There are drivers that install and Windows 7, 8 10 will accept, but no TV software can see the tuner. 'Tis broken and nobody seems to care about fixing it.

[usually_quiet]

I did some searches on eBay for a few. Quite high prices. :P At least I have a list of models to keep looking for a bargain on.

I did score a DVI KVM for 1/5 of retail so that's one more piece to what I'm wanting to put together. If only it was possible to get a ViXS PureTV card working with anything later than Vista. There are drivers that install and Windows 7, 8 10 will accept, but no TV software can see the tuner. 'Tis broken and nobody seems to care about fixing it.

If the ViXS PureTV card worked with Vista's Windows Media Center, it has standard BDA drivers, and should work with NextPVR for ATSC tuning, assuming the drivers really installed correctly and the card itself isn't broken. Do you know how to use Device Manager to check to see if there were problems with the driver installation?

[bizzybody]

Yup, no problems reported in Windows 10 or 7. HP, Compaq and other OEMs put those ViXS cards in a huge number of PCs running Vista with Media Center, never provided any other software for them aside from drivers for Vista and I've found some XP drivers too. The one I have, I pulled from a working Compaq el-cheapo system that didn't have a PCIe x16 slot. I saved the TV card and the front panel connector part for it. Had it worked I was going to 3D print a 5.25" bay insert for that.

ViXS has a newer chip that is apparently supported by newer than Vista but it doesn't seem to have much use by OEMs or on boards for the retail market.

[usually_quiet]

The ATSC tuner in your ViXS card is at least 8-9 years old. Maybe its a good thing that it didn't work. Failed recordings and blocky video resulting from an older less sensitive tuner takes the joy out of using a TV tuner card.

I had a couple of cards of similar vintage. Reception was better with my much newer Hauppauge HVR-2250 card. Reception was better with my dual ATSC tuner AVerMedia Duet card from 2011 too, but that model was not robust. Early death was a common problem with them. I had two of them (not at the same time) which both died after less than one year of use.