3 tuners is NOT what consumers need though it would be cool if the rest of the picture was there, DVB-S/DVB-T is still just OTA, and even HD tuners (not even present here) don't help if they're assuming OTA broadcasts only like all the existing ones do. Like it or not cable and satellite providers are not following open standards and only allow cable card because the FCC forces them to comply. In this light, all current TV tuner cards are functionally useless until one comes out with dual HD tuners with dual cable card support and HDMI outputs like a Tivo Series-3, otherwise no computer based DVR will ever be relevant to the majority of potential users. I like MCPC and MythTV but without that capability, they're just geek toys and have no serious place in the living room of the vast majority of people. Getting excited about a device that only tunes OTA broadcasts or analog cable is like getting all worked up over a VCR. IT IS DEAD, MOVE ON! I would add a computer based DVR tomorrow if it could tune the freakin channels I wanted to record, but alas that card does not exist.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
redvoid @ Dec 19th 2006 6:03PM
3 tuners is NOT what consumers need though it would be cool if the rest of the picture was there, DVB-S/DVB-T is still just OTA, and even HD tuners (not even present here) don't help if they're assuming OTA broadcasts only like all the existing ones do. Like it or not cable and satellite providers are not following open standards and only allow cable card because the FCC forces them to comply. In this light, all current TV tuner cards are functionally useless until one comes out with dual HD tuners with dual cable card support and HDMI outputs like a Tivo Series-3, otherwise no computer based DVR will ever be relevant to the majority of potential users. I like MCPC and MythTV but without that capability, they're just geek toys and have no serious place in the living room of the vast majority of people. Getting excited about a device that only tunes OTA broadcasts or analog cable is like getting all worked up over a VCR. IT IS DEAD, MOVE ON! I would add a computer based DVR tomorrow if it could tune the freakin channels I wanted to record, but alas that card does not exist.