Re: Recommended Tv Tuner for Vista 64 bit?
Hi, Paul.
Recommendations? No. Suggestions? No. Experiences? Read on...
For a few years, I watched TV on my computer with WinXP and ATI's AIW cards,
up through the AIW 9600 about 3 years ago. Then WinXP x64 arrived - and
I've not been happy with TV on my computer since. :>(
First, ATI never produced 64-bit drivers for the AIW - or for either 32-bit
or 64-bit Vista. Well, their DRIVERS work, but not the "capture drivers" or
whatever is the proper name for the TV portion of the cards. (I'm an
accountant, not a techie.) In other words, all the graphics functions
worked fine with all 4 versions: WinXP x86, WinXP x64, Vista x86 and Vista
x64. But the TV portion worked ONLY on WinXP x86.
After rebuilding my system for Vista Ultimate x64 RTM last December, I had
to replace the AIW 9600 because my new mobo had only PCI and PCI-express
slots, no AGP. I got another ATI graphics card, the Radeon X1600 Pro
PCI-Express. It works well with both x86 and x64 versions of Vista - but no
TV, of course.
I live between Austin (30 miles) and San Antonio (50 miles), Texas, and do
not subscribe to cable TV. My omnidirectional TV antenna picks up about a
dozen analog channels well enough for us to watch them regularly. I've
connected the cables that the house builder intended for cable TV to that
antenna, and the AIW cards received the same signals about as well as our TV
sets.
Early this year, I went looking for TV Tuners for my Vista x64 - and found
nothing that seemed "right". I bought two: the Hauppauge HVR-1600 and the
Pinnacle PCTV-HD pro stick. Each was on sale for $100 at the time I bought
them. The HVR-1600 plugs into a PCI slot; the Pinnacle plugs into USB and
comes with its own small external antenna (like a car radio antenna). I've
tried them both with that small antenna, but now have them both connect to
that antenna in the attic. They both work - but not as well as I would
like. I've gotten bogged down in all the abbreviations and terms (NTSC,
ATSC, digital, analog, etc.), but no matter what combination of antenna,
card, software, etc., my experience boils down to this...
I can use either or both of these tuners with Vista's Media Center (MCE).
Both come with software to do things that MCE won't do - such as the remote
control on the Pinnacle - but NEITHER works with its own software in Vista
x64. A few weeks ago, while I was booted into Vista x86 for some other
reason, I tried to use the tuners with their own software - and they worked!
But neither works yet in x64.
In Vista x64 and MCE, I've not yet figured out how to watch those analog
channels, which still come in strong on my TV sets. Both tuners insist that
they can see about 18 digital channels, but can get only about 6 well enough
for me to watch (4 bars or better) - and half of those channels have
programming that don't interest me at all. Even the strongest channels,
though, are inconsistent. I can usually watch NBC and CBS from Austin, but
ABC, FOX and PBS are a sometime thing. The digital pictures are beautiful,
of course, except when they are missing altogether - or skipping like a bad
cell-phone connection.
So I can't recommend either of these tuners for Vista x64, at least until
Hauppauge and Pinnacle get their 64-bit drivers and application software
working. (Of course, if you have cable TV, your experience may be much
better than mine.) Suggestions: Keep looking - and waiting. And please
post here when you find something.
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta in Vista Ultimate x64)
"p.lo" <plo@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:3914CEDE-B180-451E-9008-EBD06F7CE2BF@microsoft.com...
> I'm looking to change/upgrade my older TV tuner from WinXP MCE 2005 to
> something that is supported by Vista 64 bit Media Center.
>
> Any suggestions from users out there who have managed to install a TV
> tuner
> in 64 bit would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
> Paul