External or Internal TV tuner?

[sabret00the]

Well this is a weird one,I have recently bought a Syncmaster 940BW LCD which has both VGA(DB15) and DVI(DB9) ports.Now I wud understand that a LCD uses much less electricity than a CRT.Having said that my Zebby cabinet uses a 500W PSU.Well I wud like to put forward 2 situations.Which one do u guys feel better.Using a internal video card which wud mean that the mammoth PSU runs all the time the TV is running.OR,using the DVI port to connect the monitor to the Cabinet and using a VGA cable to connect the monitor to an external TV Tuner,thereby running the LCD and only the TV Tuner and not the CPU while watching TV.

 

[sabret00the]

Now My Problem Is I'am Concerned With The Picture Quality Of External Tv Tuners?

 

[drvarunmehta]

I'd suggest going with the external tuner. Why run all the components of the PC just to watch TV when an external tuner can do it with the PC off? If you watch TV a lot, you could save a bundle on electricity bills.
Picture quality of external tuners is as good as if not better than that of internal tuners.
Plus you can always connect the external tuner to the PC via USB should you feel the need to record a programme.
Only downside of external tuners is that they're more expensive than internal tuners, but even then they are quite affordable.
IMO external components are preferable because if you load your cabinet with too many peripherals, it tends to heat up. An internal tuner is going to be right in the path of your graphics card's fan, so if you're an OC'er keep your cabinet as empty as possible.

 

[Chirag]

If u r gonna record shows/programmes then I suggest u to go for internal tv tuner coz they r good for recording if not then u may go for external coz u can watch t.v with pc off.

 

[drvarunmehta]

External tuners are perfectly good for recording.

 

[sabret00the]

Hey I was wondering which external tv tuner shud be pretty good within a bracket of say Rs.1000/- (eg:Techcom)

Chk out:Tech-Com SSD-TV-722 (External) TV Tuner Card
*www.techcomindia.com/itemdetail.asp?Cat=TV+TUNERS&CatID=102&prodid=617&ProdName=SSD-TV-722

FEATURES
ADOPTING DIGITAL ARISING FREQUENCY TECHNOLOGY,IT CAN SUPPORT 8 KINDS OF OUTPUT MODE: 640X480X60Hz
800X600X60Hz/75Hz
24X768X60Hz/75Hz
1280X1024X60Hz/75Hz

PREVIEWING ALL PROGRAMS IN 4,9 OR 16 PICTURES
PICTURE IN PICTURE FUNCTION,DISPLAYING TEH PICTURE OF TV PROGRAM ON THE STATUS OF PC.
SUPPORTS ALL TFT MONITORS
NO SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE REQUIRED
STORED UPTO 150 CHANNELS
CONNECT TO CAMERA/VCD/DVD/TV GAME PLAYER
BEST IMAGE QUALITY WITH 24 BIT COLOUR
JUST SIMPLY PLUG AND PLAY
SPECIFICATIONS

FULL SUBJOINING CHANNEL RECEIVING,COMPATIBLE WITH CABLE TV AND WIRELESS TV SIGNAL

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

RECEIVABLE CHANNEL: DS1-57CH, Z1-38CH (470MHz FOR FULL
SUBJOINING TV CHANNEL)
PRE-ADJUSTING PROGRAM MEMORY : 256
FRAME FREQUENCY: 60Hz/75Hz
LINE FREQUENCY: 31KHz-80KHz
ANTENNA: 75 OHM UNBALANCE MODE


Seems pretty good?

 

[drvarunmehta]

Seems good, but there's no way to know what the picture quality wil be like. This seems to be one of those tuners than dosen't connect to the PC and let you record stuff. If that's important to you look elsewhere.

 

[sabret00the]

Seems good, but there's no way to know what the picture quality wil be like. This seems to be one of those tuners than dosen't connect to the PC and let you record stuff. If that's important to you look elsewhere.

very imp point there but I dont need to record tv and anyways one of my friend uses a techcom tv tuner,actually he suggested me the brand!!

 

[TechGuru#1]

whatever it is- internal or external,dont buy any low end stuff from tech-com,frontech,pinnacle,etc
when u invest,invest wisely on a haupage or compro series!
so,that's it-folks!!!

 

[drvarunmehta]

If your friend has used it and can assure you that the image quality is good, I don't see how you can go wrong spending just 1000 bucks on this.

 

[sabret00the]

Bought the Tech-Com SSD-TV-722 (External) TV Tuner Card today.............it cost me Rs.1850/- (+4% VAT)

 

[ranjan2001]

How is the picture quality on 940BW, does normal 4:3 TV gets

stretched​

to 16:10 ratio or does it give u option to choose?

 

[satyamy]

My personal exp. "internal" & know it work better

 

[janitha]

@sabretoothe
How is the quality?
Further, is there any problem in connecting the PC to the DVI and at the same time Tuner to the VGA?

 

[varkey]

u shud have got a tuner based on the ATi Theater 550/650 Chipset. Its one of the best chipsets and will cost a lot more. abt 5k. but the quality is superb.

 

[sabret00the]

How is the picture quality on 940BW, does normal 4:3 TV gets

stretched​

to 16:10 ratio or does it give u option to choose?

Well as far as the this tuner is concerned it gives u options to choose from 8 screen resolution modes starting from 640x480 @ 60Hz to 1280x1024 @ 75Hz
I selected 1024x768 @ 60Hz and then did the "auto-adjust" feature on the LCD (common to all LCDs) and it adjusted the picture geometry.Working pretty good for me.Surprisingly the picture dosent look stretched at all.Infact I feel the 940BW offers better TV viewing due to the wide screen than my square 19" Syncmaster 955DF CRT does.

@sabretoothe
How is the quality?
Further, is there any problem in connecting the PC to the DVI and at the same time Tuner to the VGA?

No issues so far.
I'am kinda satisified so far as far as the features are concerned only thing missing is TV pause and Live Recording.

u shud have got a tuner based on the ATi Theater 550/650 Chipset. Its one of the best chipsets and will cost a lot more. abt 5k. but the quality is superb.

Bro just needed a card to connect to my open VGA port and watch decent quality TV,thats it.

 

[ranjan2001]

I selected 1024x768 @ 60Hz and then did the "auto-adjust" feature on the LCD (common to all LCDs) and it adjusted the picture geometry.Working pretty good for me.Surprisingly the picture dosent look stretched at all.

Howcan that be 1024x768 will get streached u may not feel it but onlu notice when u see anything round & it appears oval.
I a tsting another older model of techcom & it has the same oval problem, its minor thing but it does streach.

only thing missing is TV pause and Live Recording.

The dealer told me it has recording but even I cant find recording facility in this model or the one i am using.

Bro just needed a card to connect to my open VGA port and watch decent quality TV,thats it.

Are u able to switch to computer & TV mode, I am having problem doing that, how does this switching mode works

 

[premsharma]

u shud have got a tuner based on the ATi Theater 550/650 Chipset. Its one of the best chipsets and will cost a lot more. abt 5k. but the quality is superb.

I second your opinion. If internal ATI or Compro are the ones best.

 

[ranjan2001]

Perm
is it true that all internal card require that the Pc must remain on, or are there any model which lets you record & play without using the comp?

 

[premsharma]

Well as far as the this tuner is concerned it gives u options to choose from 8 screen resolution modes starting from 640x480 @ 60Hz to 1280x1024 @ 75Hz
I selected 1024x768 @ 60Hz and then did the "auto-adjust" feature on the LCD (common to all LCDs) and it adjusted the picture geometry.

Screen resolutions and 4:3 or 16:9 & 16:10 are two different things though they are inter-related. Native resolution of wide TFT is 1440X900. Does your tuner allow you to set that resolution??
__________

Perm
is it true that all internal card require that the Pc must remain on, or are there any model which lets you record & play without using the comp?

In case of internal, PC has to run and now a days 965 boards has only 2 pci slots, so you can put a TV tuner card & another sound card, moreover it will block your graphic fans flow. You should take these things into consideration for internals. Moreover in case of internals you always have risk of surge/ shocks through cable endangering ur whole PC. I don't know whether this is also aplicable to CAS & DTH reception.
__________
I presume, both internal as well external have their merits & demerits. No one can be said to be superior to other. The actual utility will depend, which one will suite you. Now the externals /USB also have good recording feature too. Picture quality etc is also very same with internal & externals. I am not talking of Techcom, Intex etc. I am talking about high end tuners such as ATI theater, Compro Videomate Gold, hauphage etc.

Quality will depend upon Audio & Video encoders inbuilt into the chip. Mostly from philips. Only highend tuners will have these.