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Helpful Hints for HD PC tuners
Helpful hints if you are considering a PC tuner.1. If you have a desktop computer, get a PCI-e card if possible. The trend is away from PCI cards. Also PCI cards have become more expensive than PCI-e cards over the last several months. Go
here
for a list of available cards.Get a dual or combo card, that way you can record two shows at the same time or watch one while recording another. It also saves card slots.
2. Get at least a 1 TB drive if you plan to record many shows. Cost per GB keeps going down, especially for larger drives. Even external 1TB drives are now below $100. Here's some low priced drives.
3. Upgrade to Windows 7 (Home Premium or Ultimate) and use Media Center. It supports clearQAM (digital cable) and cablecard tuners. Both internal (PCI-e) cards and external (USB connected) cablecard tuners are available now for Windows 7, and they support up to 4 tuners per cablecard. Tuner apps included with tuners are generally not up to the standards of Microsoft Media Center. Go
here
for more on cablecard tuners. and here for Windows 7 upgrade options.
4. Graphics/video cards have come way down cost wise over the past months and many now have HDMI connections as well as HDCP (for blu-ray support). You’ll want to replace your motherboard graphics with a PCI-e video card specifically built for HD graphics support. Go
here
for suggestions on low cost graphics cards.
5. Monitors and HDTV’s have also come down in price. You’ll want at least 1366x768 resolution for smaller monitors (under 26”). For larger screens 1680x1050 would be a minimum, but try to go with full 1080p (1920x1080) especially if you are planning to watch blu-ray movies.
Here's
more info on monitors.
Have more questions? Go to the HD PC tuner Q&A page
here.
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