Final Words
A TV Tuner card is a nice addition to any multimedia PC, and the NVIDIA DualTV MCE is a cut above most tuners because of its ability to record two sources at once. We especially like the fact that they do the signal splitting internally, rather than having two CATV inputs. The card is easy to install and sets up in a few minutes with Windows MCE. Of course, part of the advantage is that MCE practically sets itself up by auto scanning for the TV signal and then downloading the program guide for your specific area and cable service, letting you watch and record your favorite shows in no time.Not only is it nice to be able to record and archive as much video as your hard drive will allow, but having control over details like video quality are nice as well. On top of this, with a PC TV Tuner, the video that you capture can be edited and manipulated in limitless ways for projects ranging from home movies, show movie montages for creative purposes, or simply editing out commercials or unwanted scenes from your recordings. You can also burn the completed content to a DVD if you so choose. This is something that is just not possible with a service like TiVo, at least not without using a PC to do all the extra stuff.
Something we see as a bit of a drawback is that the DualTV MCE is marketed towards Windows XP MCE users to fully realize the card's potential, and you will need to purchase this version of Windows separately. However, the DualTV MCE does work with free (and not so free) TV tuner applications like SageTV, BeyondTV and Yahoo Go! for those without Windows MCE. The fact that the DualTV MCE is only marketed toward people with the Windows MCE is a bit odd, and we feel that they should perhaps offer a bundle package with the card and MCE, and even better would be the inclusion of a standalone application for viewing/recording in other versions of Windows.
As always, price will play a big role in which TV tuner is right for you, so lets look at this aspect for a moment. Right now, the DualTV MCE is being offered at the list price of $169 on the NVIDIA store website. This about twice as much as the ATI Theater 550 Pro, which is on the market for around $80. You could technically have two of these cards installed and recording at the same time to simulate what the DualTV MCE does, but it may be less than practical given the space it would take up on your motherboard (especially if building a small HTPC box). The Theater 550 Pro is an excellent TV tuner solution for those only needing to record one channel at a time, but we think the freedom of being able to record/watch an extra source makes the DualTV MCE worth the extra money.
For those who want to do some gaming but don't want any extra PCI slots used up in their system, one of ATI's AIW cards might be the right choice. The prices range from about $100 to $400 depending on what kind of graphics performance you want, but you will still only be able to record a single TV signal with these cards. You also run into the potential problem of losing the TV recording aspect if you have to upgrade your graphics card -- and given the rate at which GPUs are updated, that will probably happen within 18 months or less.
Separate TV tuner cards will ultimately be more versatile than an AIW when building a multimedia system, because they can be used in both gaming and non-gaming systems. This fact along with the dual recording capabilities of the NVIDIA DualTV MCE make it one of the best choices for those interested in buying a high quality TV tuner solution, especially for those with Windows MCE. About the only other competing dual-tuner solution we'd consider right now is the Hauppauge PVR-500. In terms of cost, online prices are slightly cheaper than the DualTV, but we expect similar pricing from the NVIDIA card once it hits the retail market, and at that point it's basically a tossup.
It's nice to know that there are alternatives to the cable companies' standard recording "services" like TiVo. These TV tuner cards provide the same service with more flexibility for those with computers, without an added monthly subscription fee. We predict that more people will be interested in integrating their TV and PC in the future, and cards like the NVIDIA DualTV MCE make this an attractive prospect for PC owners in the present.
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nullpointerus - Sunday, May 21, 2006 - link
I think we're digressing. There are cards made and marketed to run cheapo bundled PVR apps, and there are people who buy and use those cheapo apps. And that's the audience I think this article was written for - in contrast to the more in-depth review Anandtech readers expected. That's as simple as I can make it.SaidiaDude - Friday, May 19, 2006 - link
No ATSC support (HDTV over the air)? Mpeg4?LoneWolf15 - Friday, May 19, 2006 - link
Yes...IF you purchase MCE. That locks me into a solution I don't want. What if I want to use SageTV, BeyondTV, Meedio, or (my personal favorite as its closed-source-but-free) GB-PVR? I could do this with one Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500, or I could buy two WinTV PVR-150's. It appears I can't do it with one of these cards, meaning I'm possibly stuck facing Microsoft DRM, a limited choice.
EDIT: I finally noticed at the end of your article that this can be used with other solutions. This is very unclear; do I still need Windows MCE even with SageTV/BeyondTV? Or can I get the drivers to work with XP Pro? You're running a site dedicated to enthusiasts, not novices; we want to know these things up front, not on the last page.
Your screenshots for each tuner were of different images, making it hard to make a true analysis of quality. I know it makes the article look pretty, but it hurts the comparison. And while you posted the power draw of these cards, you said nothing of CPU usage. I know all the cards have hardware encoders, but it's certainly possible that one might do a better job than the other. When I had a HTPC, I built it on a low-temperature low-budget CPU (Celeron 1.3GHz) and relied on the card to do the work for me (Hauppauge WinTV PVR-150), and it worked. I'm sure many would like to do the same (though maybe slightly higher-end than mine).
Side note: You may not know this by the way, but many people with TiVo have found hacks that let them do the things you say are not possible with a TiVo. I don't have one myself, but I can use my ReplayTV to transfer shows to a PC and archive them, and/or convert them to DVD with software. There are plenty of sites showing how to do this for serious DVR users, like the ones who read Anandtech. After all, you're talking about a part that someone can build a HTPC with; entry-level users will buy a pre-made Media Center PC, or a DVR, and leave it at that.
jelifah - Saturday, May 20, 2006 - link
From the article:That's an outright lie. If you install TiVO Desktop on your computer you can pull shows from your TiVO to your computer AND you can place mpeg videos from your computer on to your TiVO.
Once you have the .tivo file on your computer you can watch them for free, or purchase Sonic DVD and burn them to DVD. Or just get a simple 'hack' that converts them to mpeg.
I'm not trying to be harsh, but to say it's "just not possible" is utter fallacy. And to even act like it's complicated would still be stretching the truth.
nullpointerus - Saturday, May 20, 2006 - link
Um...society seems to have forgotten this at the moment, but for something to be a lie, it has to be a falsehood AND known as such by the teller. That's offensive, so I would suggest that you just resign yourself to saying, "That's not true," instead of saying, "That's an outright lie."http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lie">http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lie
As much as we like them, AT's writers are not omniscient. ;)
JarredWalton - Saturday, May 20, 2006 - link
I've edited this to reflect the intended meaning. You can't edit/record/etc. your TiVo movies without a PC. The standard TiVo + subscription gets you a box that records movies, and that's it. It's nice enough, but given the cost and the added flexibility a PC gives - and you'll be using a PC anyway with TiVo if you want to do anythin extra, right? - if you're interested in editing recordings and saving them to DVDR, it's generally a lot easier to just skip TiVo and go straight to a TV Tuner card.JarredWalton - Friday, May 19, 2006 - link
Getting screenshots of the same image is rather difficult, unless you want to record a show using some other device (i.e. VCR) and capture that. I agree that different shots could have been used, though. Anyway, BeyondTV and SageTV do work, even though the card isn't advertised for such use. That's one of the odd things about the "DualTV MCE" - why is it MCE? Still, MCE is actually a pretty decent OS.GoatMonkey - Friday, May 19, 2006 - link
No. I use Beyond TV runs on XP Pro. I don't see any reason that using this card would make any difference. The MCE in the name of some of these cards is just a marketing thing.
To test I suppose you would really need a recorded video playing back from another computer outputting to coaxial, or have all of the devices installed in different computers side by side and grab screenshots of the same moments in the shows. Plugging a S-video cable into the back and playing a DVD into it might be easier.
I don't really know which method is best, but the article months ago about a different TV tuner card seemed to have some better comparison screenshots. I don't mean to put down the article's writer though, it was well written, but could have gone into some more details like that. I definitely appreciate coverage of the subject.
Trisped - Sunday, May 21, 2006 - link
I think he was asking about the drivers for the card. I know I just built a system for a friend. The mother board came with a Gb lan, but the drivers on the CD wouldn't work for MCE. Called tech support and they said that MCE wasn't supported for most of their boards. I wounder if the reverse is true for this tuner, do they supply drivers that will work in Pro or Home?nullpointerus - Sunday, May 21, 2006 - link
Well, if you download the drivers, this is what the installer says:http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/395879b307.png">http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/395879b307.png
I take it the "or compatible third party application" means that it'd work in plain XP SP2 with SageTV or BeyondTV for example.