[mythtv-users] Tuner Card

[R. G. Newbury]

On 02/04/2012 11:44 AM, Simon Hobson wrote:
> Robert Walton wrote:
>
>> I'm new to this. I've got Mythbuntu running on a machine. I need a
>> tuner card. I'm going to be connecting antenna TV. In the future, I
>> might go back to satellite TV.
>
> As Richard says, you need to consider a) what type of signals you
> get, and b) what type of interfaces you have.
> Then visit
> http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hardware_Device_Information and see
> what's available for that combination.
>
> Just an FYI, mostly it's not a case of "what does MythTV support ?".
> Mostly, if a device is supported in Linux (see above link) then Myth
> will use it.


ATSC Antenna OTA is the easiest thing to set up.

And the *easiest* piece of hardware to set up is the SiliconDust 
HDHomeRun. The original unit is a router-sized box with two separate 
tuners which talks to your computer over a network cable. That is, just 
plug in the power wart, plug it into your router, and plug the TV 
antenna into a splitter and then into the box (twice). Around $130.00.

Available in NorthAmerican and EU/Au/NZ flavours.

Extremely easy to use. It shows up in mythtv-setup automagically as you 
scroll through the tuner types, and is trivially easy to set up. You 
will have more difficulty with deciding what channels you want in your 
Schedules Direct lineup!

The new HDHomeRun PRIME is a three tuner unit, with cable-card intended 
for encypted digital cable only. Not usable in Canada unfortunately, and 
deprecated by some cablecos in the USA.

I have been using an HDHR for almost 5 years now. Extremely pleased with 
it. Two tuners means you can record 2 different channels at once. Note 
that if you split the antenna signal into 3, and route one to the TV you 
can watch one channel live, and record 2 at once.



For another 'almost-as-easy' to set up unit Hauppauge make a number of 
USB stick tuners. Most are single tuner units but have both analog and 
digital tuning capabilities. I am using an HVR-950 (since replaced by 
the 950Q). It is a more expensive unit per tuner ($100). The HVR-1950 is 
a bigger unit with builtin analog encoding for NTSC...which is no longer 
needed in NA, unless you are recording from an analog cable feed. USB 
easy to install.

They also make twin tuner PCI cards which are often somewhat tricky to 
install as you must find, extract and install the firmware.

Check out silicondust.com and hauppauge.com

Geoff