Buying Guide : TV Tuner for TFTs Wide Screen [19 or 20"]

[premsharma]

I know this topic had been discussed every now & then but still there are some confution. Guide for choosing a external TV tuner for say 19" or 20" wide TFT would be great, if someone can come up with. Following factors could be taken care off:

USB interface for TV Tuners - Is there any bottle neck in flow of data

Resolution: What is resolution these Tuners can offer or should offer?? Tjhis is most important part to think of new tuner for TFT. If resolution is same old as your old TV tuner, we don't have think of buying another one.

VGA Connectivity: Most of Tuners comes with VGA connector at one end & S-

Video at other. How about connecting DVI output from graphic card to TV tuner [s-video or composite video].

DVI Interface: Is it available in Tuners ???

DTH /CAS compatibility: I suppose tuners are compatible with set top boxes.

These are just basic points and other features like recording, time shifting, Audio encoding etc can be deliberated as USB tuners also provide these features.

Some good brands like ATI Theater 550 Pro, Hauppauge WinTV, Compro VideoMate [Action Pro External TV Tuners] ,Pinnacle, PixelView etc can be compared and suggested.

So please come up with comprehensive guide. Great thanks in Advance ...

[sysfilez]

Go for hauppauge or compro. dunno whether they r available or not in india market.

[premsharma]

compro is available at arround 3800+

[Sourabh]

Check my article on TV tuners here

http://laptoplogic.com/resources/detail.php?id=46&page=2

It primarily discusses USB based tv-tuner for laptops.

It will answer almost all your questions except the tuners which convert your LCD into TV directly. Those are named as set-top box based tv tuners in the article (not to be mistaken with DTH and Tata Sky services)

If you want to know anything else, post it here.

[premsharma]

I have seen that article and still has few more doubts. You mean there is no problem / bottleneck of audio /video data flow in external USB tuners. I am planning it for a desktop with 19" wide TFT monitor. How is USB tuner connected to TFT for video & audio ? Can't we make use of DVI connectivity of TFT & Graphic card.

i.e. are they same like other external TV tuners, where VGA and Audio from PC also pass through tuner so that both PC and TV can be used. If they are same, is there any DVI connectivity in these tuners. What about resolutions?

I have tentatively selected Videomate & ATI theater etc. Please suggest exact model numbers. Great thanks...

[ranjan2001]

Prem the usb port is capable of delivering A/V too & there is no bottleneck as the usb 2.0 is faster.

I have lenovo usb speakers mounted below my monitor & the audio works via usb hub, In sound devices I see a choice between my creative sound card & usb speakers to select.

[assasin]

afaik xternal tuners with DVI is not available.
a usb tuner is not directly connected to ur TFT.u'll haqv to connect it to a USB port in ur pc,install drivers and pvr software and then u can view tv.usb tuners r mainly for laptops cuz u cannot use internal pci ones in laptops.

[premsharma]

afaik xternal tuners with DVI is not available.
a usb tuner is not directly connected to ur TFT.u'll haqv to connect it to a USB port in ur pc,install drivers and pvr software and then u can view tv.usb tuners r mainly for laptops cuz u cannot use internal pci ones in laptops.

That is clear to certain extent that DVI is not available in external TV tuners. I also think that USB tuners are for laptop. Bye the way what happens, if anyone like me wants to buy a high end TV tuner external and not intrested in internal. When I say high end, I am talking about High resolution & stereo or 5.1 sound and DVI interface.

Do you mean to say that there is none like this in external TV tuners. I have seen many such high resolution TV tuners on comro site with some features like DVB-S series & DVB-T series, but really do not understand what this means and which one is suitable ??

[assasin]

The xternal tuners ur talking bout r not available in India,and will cost a bomb when they become available.
If u wanna buy 1 now then order in any online store which ships to India.
but why do u want a tuner with DVI interface?theres more or less no diff in pic quality in D-Sub and DVI xcept in games and that too at high res and with a high end card.

[premsharma]

So which one should I go far : ATI Theater Pro, Hauppauge WinTV, Compro VideoMate ,Pinnacle, PixelView etc. I think ATI Theater is only internal. If you can guide with model no. , would be great.

[assasin]

the 1st thing that u need to decide is what u wanna use the card for i.e do u only plan to watch tv or u even wanna capture live tv.
if u wanna view only tv,then buy xternal tuner,as u wont need to switch on pc.
if u wanna capture then u'll hav buy internal.make sure u hav a pretty powerful pc if u wanna capture live tv in divx/mp4 format in windows vista,or wanna use media center in vista.
as far as model is concerned,it depends on ur budget and wat models ur dealer can arrange for u.the main prob is that not all models r available in the Indian market.better go 4 Compro,if possible a digital tuner.

[ranjan2001]

Does it mean that external tuners don't have recording facility for live tv? or may be they dont offer gud quality as the internal might do?

[assasin]

^^^ xternal tuner cards other than usb tuner dont hav recording facility.if u wanna use ur tuner 4 recording buy internal.

[premsharma]

Does it mean that external tuners don't have recording facility for live tv? or may be they dont offer gud quality as the internal might do?

External USB tuners have recording facility and as good as internal. That is not a problem. Even they have FM on them.

My interest is different, i.e. not intrested in recording live TV much but if available of good quality in external, won't mind. Why I don't want want to go for internal is simply because no protection for cable surge and don't want to fry my CPU by connecting cable to it through internal card.

I al also not worried about whether PC is required to be switched on or not for watching TV. Infact I want to use both of them. See here is what I meant: Switch on your PC and now your TV Tuner by remote and TV screen overlays your monitor and you listen to TV sound. Now you are watching TV while PC is on and PC display is behind TV display. Now consider that you want to get PC display on monitor and same time TV sound [in other way you want to work on PC while listening to cricket commentary], you can do this if your TV tuner remote has PC/TV button to switch between these modes. While say typing on computer say you learnt from commentary that Dada has hit six to Murali and you immediately want to see the replay, just press this sw PC/TV and you get TV display on monitor and TV sound was ofcourse already there.

I had Zenith TV tuner, which had this feature and now I have seen host of cheap TV tuners like Intex etc, these people even don't know about it forget alone of having it on their tuners.

Compro Videomate, PixelView, ATI Theater, Pinnacle are all available here in India though at little higher prices because they are available through ebay.in

ComproVideomate products are available in India through Mediatechindia.com and thier products can be reached for specifications at www.comprousa.com

However difficult to decide, which one could be better suited to me.

[ranjan2001]

My requirement is almost the same except that I also want live recording of programs when I am not able to watch, but this stupid STB is not letting me do all that.

MY vendor is ready to give me 2 tuners to try, they have got one specially for LCD 1680x1050 & they claim this will give me a better image quality but even he is not sure how will it work with STB, I tried 1 but could not get it running so I have put that on hold.

[premsharma]

Which is one .. specially for LCD 1680x1050 , can you name it
__________
My requirement is almost the same except that I also want live recording of programs when I am not able to watch, but this stupid STB is not letting me do all that.

MY vendor is ready to give me 2 tuners to try, they have got one specially for LCD 1680x1050 & they claim this will give me a better image quality but even he is not sure how will it work with STB, I tried 1 but could not get it running so I have put that on hold.

As far as your STB requirements, just have a look at compro videomate site, they mention it of capable of recieving DTH & STB signals. So you can see whether it suits you. I don't understand why STB would not allow you connecting TV Tuner.

There are STB tuners also specifically capable of reording as sland alone and you don't need PC but I think we don't need that type. We need a good tuner which has all the features, we are looking far and to be used with PC and it has to be second TV device in addition to conventional TV. I don't want to replace TV completely with this type of setup.

[goobimama]

Just as we sort of on the topic, I need to control my Media Center in Vista. I don't have a remote. I need a TV tuner just to control the Media center and nothing else. I don't have a TV so I won't need the tv recording and all that. And if there's another way other than using a TV tuner, then please let me know, price is not reeeeeeaaaly a factor...

[ranjan2001]

Which is one .. specially for LCD 1680x1050 , can you name it
__________

This is what I was talking about, Advance LCD TV box
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3536/lcdtunerou6.th.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3536/lcdtunerou6.jpg)

Now there website is running so u can read details about the product
http://blscomputer.com/1680-lcd-tv-box.html

[assasin]

@goobimama dude i'm using vista media center to view and capture tv.my tuner card is PCTV 100i.as far vista media center remote is concerned i'l get it within 4-5 days.xpecting it 2 cost bou 400-700 bucks.since price is not a fctor 4 u,try to get a higher quality tuner.

@ranjan2001 i dont understand why u ppl r creating such a ruckus over stb and analog tuners.U CAN CONNECT UR STB TO ANALOG TUNER THRU COMPOSITE VIDEO/S-VIDEO IN OF UR TUNER CARD.in this way u can watch tv using a analog tuner.i've poted this a lot of times.the only drawback of this system is u wont be able to use the remote of ur tuner and u'll hav to use remote of stb to change channels.

@premsharma i'm using a inter tuner card for over a year and hav faced no such probs of cable surge.u can use a internal tuner without any fear of frying ur cpu provided u dont hav a very bad luck.:D
xternal tuners provide only limited level of multitasking.u cant watch tv when ur using ur pc.this level of multitasking is allowed by internal and usb tuners.

[ranjan2001]

Assasin, I tried 2 times & failed so I am not sure may be I was doing something wrong in connecting but the signal was not available to the LCD, hence I just want to be sure that they work with STB & should allow pausing live TV &recording a particular channel from 9-10 Pm on a particular day when I am not there.(I don't think they do)

[premsharma]

This is what I was talking about, Advance LCD TV box
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3536/lcdtunerou6.th.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3536/lcdtunerou6.jpg)

Now there website is running so u can read details about the product
http://blscomputer.com/1680-lcd-tv-box.html

This seems same as comprovideo mate & pixel view. They have little bit of more features. How is this brand and what is its tentative cost?

[assasin]

Assasin, I tried 2 times & failed so I am not sure may be I was doing something wrong in connecting but the signal was not available to the LCD, hence I just want to be sure that they work with STB & should allow pausing live TV &recording a particular channel from 9-10 Pm on a particular day when I am not there.(I don't think they do)


hav u selected the video source in the pvr as composite/s-video.
on which tuner did u try.i've connected a stb (tatsky) to my PCTV 100i thru both composite and s-video and it worked like a charm.
as far as signal not coming to LCD is concerned,it comes from gfx card/onboard gfx.its not depedant on ur tuner.
as far as xternal tuners r concerned i dont know whether it'll work,but internal will work.

[ranjan2001]

I dont remember the brand which I tried but it was external tuner & I dont have tata sky , I have the regular CAS STB which is supplied by citicable in delhi.
Once I have some time I will try again.

Prem I have not tried that but my dealer told me that they will provide support & assure that it works with STB , but I need to find time to get it going.

I did not ask the cost but should be within 4-5K, just a guess.
You can mail them & ask.

Their delhi service center is
615,Hemkunt Chambers,
Nehru Place
New Delhi-110 019
Tel :- 09313992593

[assasin]

since it was a xternal tuner with which u tried,i think it wasnt a true LCD tuner,so u didnt get any signal in ur monitor cuz the scanning freq didnt match.

[ranjan2001]

That is what even I suspected

[premsharma]

since it was a xternal tuner with which u tried,i think it wasnt a true LCD tuner,so u didnt get any signal in ur monitor cuz the scanning freq didnt match.

That is what we have been deliberating for i.e. what is true LCD Tuner?

[ranjan2001]

Thats why my dealer asked me to try this one as its meant for widescreen LCd specifically.

But I am having too many other issues to handle , once I am free I would try it for sure.

[premsharma]

Yes I had that bad luck once, which fried everything. I am not saying multitasking. Yes I can't watch TV while working on PC but i am talking about Listening TV while working on PC. Haven't you heard about it or you are saying that it is not possible on present breed of Tuners.

I had one External Tuner from Zenith, which lasted 6 years, When I bought, it was prices 5000. TV tuners were very new then. This tuner had that fantastic feature of PC/TV button of remote. Enquired with Zenith, they says they have stopped making now such tuners.

So what I am looking is very different from all you, exept that I also want it for 19" wide LCD monitor with better resolution & sound.
__________
[QUOTE=ranjan2001]I did not ask the cost but should be within 4-5K, just a guess.

If it is 4-5 thousand, it is better you go for Compro Videomate or ATI Theater, They are all within this range. ATI theater series are known to be top class in internal TV tuner cards. They have only internal I beleive. i don't think you should consider any other brand except ATI, Compro, PixelView and they are vista compatible too and are available in India at almost at same price what others brands are trying to sell by saying specific LCD tuners.

[ranjan2001]

Where in India are they available I inquired at Nehru place for many days from different shop, but none had them. Can u tell where specifically its available & what support service is available.
I remember Fortune marketing at NP use to deal in Compro earlier but now they dont.

I am not sure about the price but will let u know on Saturday, my usual day of visiting Nehru place.

[assasin]

That is what we have been deliberating for i.e. what is true LCD Tuner?


afaik a true lcd tuner is one which provides video out in the native format required by lcd monitors.

[ranjan2001]

You maybe right thats why it did not work as it did not support my native resolution of 1680x1050

[premsharma]

@Ranjan2001 see this what i got reply from them and this was from mediatechindia.com [email: webenquiry@mediatechindia.com]

Dear sir,
Thanks for the query.
Action Pro External TV Tuner will cost you for RS. 3850/-
You can check the specifications on www.comprousa.com

We have our branch at Delhi.
Tel – 011 - 32578081


And the same tuner is sold for 5000 on ebay.in. Same Seller on ebay have all the high end tuners from Videomate, ATI & PixelView. This ebay seller is also from Delhi, so I guess this authorise dealer of mediatech is also on ebay.

Better you go to him directly and not through ebay, because there is price difference of almost 1000 bucks.

For other models you check the price. I could have decided anyone of them, because they seems plenty good but I am looking for a strange feature of listening to TV while working on PC. No body is ready to confirm whether any one of these compro baby have that or not.

If U are in Delhi, you should be the better person to do little research & market survey. But don't look beyond compros, Pixelviews, ATI or Pinnacles.

[ranjan2001]

I am looking for a strange feature of listening to TV while working on PC. No body is ready to confirm whether any one of these compro baby have that or not.
This should be surely possible on any of the tunner, I have one in our office 5 yrs old internal tuner even that has this feature that while working on another software the speaker sound the Tv commentry & we work in phtoshop, any 4s or 6s or an appeal we press alt+tab to switch to another window.

So this is a standard feature, u dont have to be in the TV mode if you dont want to, & on wide screen u can even have both windows, which means watch TV as well work regularly.

I will inquire on saturday when I go to NP

[premsharma]

I don't want that way. i want this button to be on remote as well as on TV tuner box. I wanted to use otherway round from remote. At far from PC and watching TV while some job like download or Video encoding is going on PC, just by that button on remote, without leaving bed, i will be able keep track on progress of job i had put on PC.

This is the way I am use to for past 6 years or so. I really loved that Zenith tuner but it has turned bad now & beyond economical repair. Any information from your side on this from ATI & compro Videomate would be great.

[ranjan2001]

humnmnm...............so u want to be lazy, alrite.

Need to check if any of the models we discussed have this feature or not.

[assasin]

i've used one xternal tuner,dont remember the make but it didnt hav that fuct.

[Rollercoaster]

Just as we sort of on the topic, I need to control my Media Center in Vista. I don't have a remote. I need a TV tuner just to control the Media center and nothing else. I don't have a TV so I won't need the tv recording and all that. And if there's another way other than using a TV tuner, then please let me know, price is not reeeeeeaaaly a factor...

that was my problem some time ago. but sadly, the IR remotes that come with tv tuners have the reciever on the tv tuner board and those dont work with media center or any other app in windows as it is not accessable by the OS

I then needed a wireless key/mouse set so i bought Logitech s510 media remote (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/GB/EN,CRID=2162,CONTENTID=10711) (a cordless mouse, keyboard and a media remote) it works really nice with media center.

another option is to buy a media center kit from Microsoft and get their actual media remote (but that is costly)

another option is to look for utilities on the net that can process(and fwd it to windows) signals from the onboard IR reciever of the tv tuner. but this one is a 6itch

@to all others
guys i recommed a internal tv tuner as it offers the most features and control. i have been using tv tuners for more then 5 years without a hitch. my home even got hit by lightening once but only the lan card got fried. the tv tuner separates the cable and the reviever from each other so even of u have surge trouble then also only the tuner will fry. a external tuner is only usefull for use with laptop, but watching tv on a laptop is realy not comfertable.

i have used pixelview play tv pro, pinnacle 50i, pinnacle 50e, pinnacle 110i and tata sat. reciever(thru video/audio in only)
__________
I am looking for a strange feature of listening to TV while working on PC. No body is ready to confirm whether any one of these compro baby have that or not.
this is simple with internal tuners. u can use any capture software to listen to only the audio or see only the video stream from ur tuner. like for eg linking the tuner video to the yahoo messenger webcam or recording audio only in virtualdub etc. i have done that many times

[premsharma]

this is simple with internal tuners. u can use any capture software to listen to only the audio or see only the video stream from ur tuner. like for eg linking the tuner video to the yahoo messenger webcam or recording audio only in virtualdub etc. i have done that many times

Sorry you are saying something else. No software is required for that feature and that can only be available in normal externals. Not very many people are aware of that feature here. Thus I will try at my own if I can find any such tuner.

[Rollercoaster]

that is available in external tuners cause u can just plug in the audio out to the line in(or mapped via software). there is not much more to it.

all i ment was that the same is easily possible with internal tuners

[assasin]

personally i think that internal tuners r the best in all respect.

[vivekbabbudelhi]

oh man

a lot of confusion is in the air
i dont know you you dont know me
but we are a front isnt it


i too had same problems as discussed above
mind it different people different needs so are

different solutions
i believe there is no universal solution


i too wanted a tv tuner box for my sync master940bw
i didnt wanted a pc based so i opted for a tv box

instead because internal or usb based suck a bitc$$$

sons a$$
every time you want to watch tv you have to turn pc on &

thats a whore


as of my googling i found a lot of standalone boxes from

compro,pixelview etc for lcd monitor but when i went to

nehru place i cant find any
except
1 techcom lcdtv tuner box ssd-tv-722 for 1575rs
2 avermedia lcdtv tuner box for rs 3500

so what do you think no choices at all for standalone

boxes
so i purchased techcom lcdtv tuner box ssd-tv-722 for rs

1575 inc taxes from computer empire
dirt cheap ist it

now let me explain you one by one what you can do with

it & what can't


1 its a standalone box so you dont have to turn pc on to

watch tv
2 it features
inputs 1 rf or cable in
2 svideo in
3 composite video in
4 stereo audio in
5 vga in db-15

outputs 1 vga out db-15
2 stereo audio out
3 composite video out
4 remote controller
5 audio out via rca (l+r channel)

set up

1 connect vga in of tuner to vga out of pc & vga out of

tuner to vga in of monitor & cable in of tuner
now you can watch tv on your monitor directly without a

pc on


when you turn pc on you can watch tv as well as your

windows desktop by picture in picture function on remote

controller in a same frame
windows desktop in background and tv channels as scaled

down window on front both work simultaneously its great

because it dosent runs through pc so it dosent frags

your cpu's a$$ & memory take a note here

but if you want to record you have to connect composite

video out of tuner to composite in of pc only if you

have a VIVO CARD thats it
if you dont have vivo card you cant record shows with a

damn standalone tv tuner

remember different people different needs so are

different solutions


2 with tata sky or cas connect composite video out of

set top box to composite video in of tuner thats it do

audio yourself


regarding resolutions it has svga 60/75 hz
vga 60/75 hz
xga 60/75 hz 1024x768
1280x1024 60/75 hz

picture quality from rf decoder chip or from cable is

just good at most when cable signal is excellent mind it

cable signal is important or get a rf booster for

yourself to get rid of noise

picture quality from composite video & svideo in is

excellent
dth owners & vcd / dvd players take a note here its best

for you worth price



but if you want better go for avermedia at 3500 bucks

i have connected it to samsung sync master940bw 19" lcd

via vga out db-15 of tuner & audio out of tuner to aux

in of altec lansing mx5021
and through rf cable input
some may find techcom a fuc#i## thing
but thats enough for me as of now

any more queries ???

[premsharma]

First Let me explain that i am not a laymen and i don't need so point by point elaboration. Let me remind you that I have been using such TV tuners for 6 years now with CRT. Presently using Intex TV tuner with TFT.

You have not understood anything, what we have discussed in previous threads. Ofcourse everybody know that PIP [picture in picture feature] but I do not want that. i am looking for a starnge feature, which only Zenith Tuners had earlier.

We were discussing it at higher levels like DVI input, 12 bit audio encoding etc and you have brought it down to cheap Techcom etc. Who said compro is not available in India. It is available with mediatechindia.com and they have dealers at Delhi or else you can buy online. Same way ATI theater pro 550 is also available.

[Rollercoaster]

err. what was this thread about? :-p

[ranjan2001]

Well while u guys posted , I got myself the tech com today for demo, my cablewala came & set it with my cas STB & its working fine separately.

AS of now he has set it independently so I can watch TV without switching on the comp, if I need the comp then I switch the mode & I can use the comp & listen to the TV audio only by pressing a button on the remote (Prem u wanted this same feature na) for some reason as of now I cant get PIP but I know it will work too, so that means small TV image on my desktop along with recording facility in the background, when I am using the comp.

Now this one is not mentioned as specifically as LCD tunner, checking the site I found that this one seems to older model SSD-TV-712 but works fine on my 20 inch widescreen, though seeing the image quality from 1meter distance is not that great.

The same can be attached via graphic card too, but I dont know will that give a better image quality or not, I will try now & let you know.

If you want me to test something let me know before I give this back, its on loan for demo 3 days, monday I may return, but as of now I think I will buy this one as it seems to work fine.

but if you want to record you have to connect composite
video out of tuner to composite in of pc only if you
have a VIVO CARD thats it
if you dont have vivo card you cant record shows with a
damn standalone tv tuner
What is a VIVO card, cant I record tv using my XFX 7600GT??, it does have a S-video connector at the back which I have connected to the graphic card & the card shos TV as detected, now How do I record? what softwaredo I use to record as this does not come with any CD, though my XFX card has some CD for doing so I guess.

UPDATE
I can switch to from TV to comp by switching the display this keeps the sound from the chanels or switch the power off & I see computer but I cant go back & forth once I am on my desktop neither I can use PIP function, how does this gets operated?

[vivekbabbudelhi]

lord
why chilli is burning hot

hey prem i didnt addressed my post to you did i read it

again forbidden i have not mentioned you or anyone there

so why do you take it at your heart

i didnt even knew that you have initiated this thread
and
regarding why i had point by point elaboration
get it man you dont own think digit forum i had this for

everyone each and every person whether layman or a geek

or hardware designer who visit this forum indian or

american
everyone is not a damn genious or a whiz nor everyone

has million dollar bucks to get expensive



even if you feel i own an apology i give it to you dear
be happy man

regarding " higher levels like DVI input, 12 bit audio

encoding etc "

have money & want best go for a lcd tv with srs audio

chip & hdmi & in built recording hard disk with direct

to dvd burning it would satisfy rock bottom
what is a fuc$i$$ tv tuner its a cheap thing whether its
ATI theater or compro
tv tuners are bought for saving some money

[sabret00the]

I had discussed something similar in this thread http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38962

[ranjan2001]

Vivek
What is a VIVO card, cant I record tv using my XFX 7600GT with this model?

[vivekbabbudelhi]

hi rajan

VIVO is Video In Video Out feature
its an interface in graphic cards it provides video

input from external source like playstation, dvd , vcd

player to your pc via your graphic card only through

composite/s video input for recording or other purpose

its just same as that of internal tuners have this av

capability to record from external sources like

vcr/vcd/dvd

some cards are
agp
powercolour radeon 9600xt bravo
asus ax800xt
powercolour radeon x800xt

pci e
asus extreme n5900
asus extreme ax 600xt
msi rx600 xt vtd128
gigabyte gv rx16t256v rh
gigabyte gv rx19x512vb rh (x1900 xtx gpu)

mostly as you can its popular with ati cards ati calls

it AVIVO technology
you can find more cards at theitdepot . com under

graphic gards category video editing cards

regarding xfx 7600gt i dont know its vivo or not you can

check with site most probably its having a tv/hdtv out

port

[ranjan2001]

Ok that is now clear &I checked that 7600 GT does not have any such facility, neither the techcom external tuner which I got yesterday has this facility.

So I need to look for some internal tuner which has the capture facility, Prem in another thread referred to compro card & I will try those ones & post my comments.

[premsharma]

OK guys, we have been styruggling here and digit have listened to us. They have run a review on TV tuners in this month [Apr 2007] digit. The toppers in all the catagories are Leadtech Winfast, Compro, AverMedia etc. All your queries are anwered. Though no products of ATI theater Pro, are there in the tests. God knows why? I think they are pretty good tuners from ATI.