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USB digital TV tuner roundup

trustedreviews.com — There was a time when adding a digital tuner to a desktop PC was cumbersome, and adding one to a notebook was impossible. Not anymore - these guys have put three USB DVB-T tuners through their paces to see if any of them are worth the money.

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  • Ether3al, on 10/12/2007, -16/+6Good read.
    • SentOne, on 10/12/2007, -32/+3
    • orabox, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2"To test, I used a system with Windows Media Center 2005 installed. You dont have to use MCE but it is the best solution for a media based system."nnThe PVR market is by no means a Media Center market.n
    • dnthomps, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6What is the best software to use if you don't want to use MCE??
    • sinembarg0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I hear MythTV is good.
  • rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -18/+10boo windows only
    • Kamino, on 10/12/2007, -22/+4Get lost, Slashdot kiddo.
    • Elleo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11If you're looking for a USB DVB-T tuner for GNU/Linux then the Hauppauge Nova-T USB works really well, with out of the box support in most (if not all) modern distributions.
    • ThinkBox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Did he even thing to run it throuhg a spell check??

      "loook"
      "by far the msot"

      pretty good round up though - took work and money, so for that.. good job.
  • SentOne, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17"Conclusion
    Unfortunately, non of the three TV Tuners was a quite good enough."

    Oh yeah great read
    • dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I have a review here myself for the best politicians in the world...nnSigh. Life sucks when your only options are *****, *****, and *****.
    • aussieaubs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2yes i agree - crap read... this is crap get rid of it
  • jvux, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2good read, worth quitting my y! pool game. :)
  • Kujila, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4UK article.... are these devices sold in stores in North America?
    • TripinVA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Doesn't matter. They use DVB, while America uses ATSC...

      ATSC USB tuners are available though. I have a FusionHDTV5-USB from DViCO... http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr

      There's also some others that I'm not familiar with.
    • TripinVA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Forgive the awful look of my comment; when I went to edit it threw out all my formatting then I ran out of time...

      That address is http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr
    • chener, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1These tuners are for the European market. In the US, you need to look for ATSC tuners.


      I've got one of these running on my HTPC setup. Works pretty decently with XP MCE:

      http://store.snapstream.com/fusionhdtv-gold-usb.html

    • kblsNbits, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I just bought the KWorld USB TV tuner... and I'm in Canada (tigerdirect)... It's cheap - 40$ CAD after rebate and works relatively well. The software is crappy. The KWorld supports all broadcast formats (NTSC, NTSC-J, PAL, etc, etc, etc).

      It does support coaxial cable, there is a simple adapter that converts the antenna plug into a coaxial style connector. For that amount of money paid it was worth it.

      ps. I agree that the article sucks.
    • DublinBen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@TripinVA: How is your DViCO? I been looking into getting one. Do you think it's worth it?
    • TripinVA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1DublinBen:

      I like it a lot. Unfortunately it seems to like bluescreening every so often when changing the channel, but otherwise it's a very good tuner. I will say that it's far more sensitive than any other tuner I've used, detecting signals of stations off the back and side of my roof antenna that register no signal on my other tuners (Hauppauge WinTV-D and Zenith HDV420).

      I'm also very pleased with the picture quality through the USB2 connection. Looks very nice.

      As far as the DVR functions, I really don't know, as I don't use it for a DVR. My primary use is for checking out digital TV stations when on trips, so I do a lot of channel changing and a lot of screenshot-taking. I tend to use my other tuners more when sitting at home, since I run Linux as my primary OS on my laptop, the only system capable of using the tuner (my other system is a PIII-450).

      If you'd like, you can contact me. My AIM name is in my profile.
  • Ishtumba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yup, I agree a good read. I find it hard to believe that a decent USB TV tuner has yet to reveal itself. I find it interesting that he didn't mention ATI's product, but that one is probably so bad that it wasn't even worth writing on. Historically anyway, ATI has been known for decent hardware but horrid driver and software support.
    • satori3000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have the ATI USB tuner and I really like it. It's quite a bit larger than the three shown in the article, but the interface and functionality are the same you'd find in their ATI-All In Wonder cards. A solid solution by all accounts. The only down point to it is if you have have MS Media Centre as ATI didn't seem to jump on board and pay MS to be a licensed supplier. Kind of makes sense since Media Cerntre is really in direct competition with the All in Wonder products.
  • DocGable, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i got the miglia mini tv (dvb-t) an its awesome, it gets all the channels available right now in my area and it has great picture, software (eyetv 2.1) has nice features (timeshift, recording, epg) which really work great. also comes with nice remote control. runs on my powerbook, dunno how good these things work on windows pc. should work in america too coz they advertise epg through titantv for usa. the new version even features hdtv. for more info go to www.miglia.com
  • d1g1ta7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Before you buy one, if you are in North America, make sure it is NTSC (analog) or ATSC (digital) compatible. Otherwise, you'll be out of luck.
    • leilers, on 12/27/2007, -0/+1Not good enough. ATSC is over the air Digital. Also make sure it is QAM capable, cable provided Digital signal. I purchased a ATI 650 digial tuner and it will not pull in channels above 100, so buyer beware.
  • foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8i hate these sites that require you to read page by page, like it's actually some kind of paper magazine. gimme a break. anyway, nice. dugg.
    • foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3btw, digg's comment system is sooo broken! :(
  • PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Eh? No coax input on any? Just "ariel" and occasional composite/SVID?
  • electronicmaji, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7thats because in england they dont bloody vell have cable mate
  • HobbesDoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The only good thing out of this article is that none of the tested devices are worth buying. Worth reading if you were considering one of the three options analyzed.
  • weiran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They missed out Nebula Electronic's DigiTV, which is IMO the best one around. It's the only one out of them able to record the entire mux instead of a single channel, so it can record upto 11 channels at one time with 1 tuner.
    • aussieaubs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@weiran -
      can you post us some links of the recording quality???
  • mandarin, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1I think they're pretty cool. I assume Mac users prefer to buy their shows through iTunes.
  • Bootes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I just bought a FusionHDTV5 USB 2.0. I'm very happy with it so far. :)

    Try iTV to get a lot of these to work on Mac OS X. Or just buy one from El Gato, Miglia, and probably some other companies.
    • cwcentral, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Same here. It's a pretty good performer and decent price. You definitely need the amplified antenna for best HD reception though. Trying to get it to work with MythTv on Linux is SOL currently.
  • LavaHot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Are any of these available stateside?
  • aussieaubs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this is sucha stupid review - NODIGG!!! read the last line of the review -

    "The Kworld was the least attractive to loook at, the bundled software didn’t work, the picture quality was slightly less than the others and it’s expensive next to the MSI.

    However, of the three it’s the only one that actually worked properly and reliably, which means that out of these three it's the one I'd buy."

    WTF!!!! if it is crap why would you recommend it as the best of all 3??? Hey and there are more than 3 USB tuners on the market.... trusted reviews my a$$$!!!! :P
  • jordan1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1that had to be the most worthless review I have ever read. first, it's for the UK (no offense UK'ers), then the guy blasts all the products as being crap, and thirdly, his writing style is as bad as mine!
  • sleze, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2No mention of the sasem USB HDTV digital tuner...no digg

    http://www.autumnwave.com/content/view/24/67/

    I have it and it works great (bit of a resource hog tho)
  • jjjmt, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0CALLING ALL GEEKS!
    I need your help, I am a soccer fanatic and also very BROKE at the moment. As most of you know (exclude most Americans) the FIFA world cup starts June 9th. I need a way to see this magnificent event online LIVE, not torrent downloads. Can someone please help me with some links to any possible solutions without any add-on hardware. NO I don't have cable, only ABLE which means whatever my crappy antenna is ABLE to pick up. I don't have money to buy a TV tuner. I need something free and descent. HELP ME please... Thank you
    • jaylaprade, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hey, Step thread jacking!!!

      But here is your solution:
      Gol Tv: (http://www.goltv.tv) is a FTA (Free To Air) station on the dish network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air

      This means that you need to beg borrow or steal a dish set up. I would advise you to walk around apartment complexes in your area and if you see an unused Dish ask the resident if you could have it. Ask family members. Ask every person you know if they have a Dish and the box that they could give you. Use freecycle/ craiglist.

      So, to recap, you will need at least a small (18 inch) dish, and of course the Box. Now it does not matter if the box is registered or not. Gol TV is FTA. So you should be able to pick it up.

      Now last is the hard part and that is installing the dish. I leave that up to you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_dish_installation

      The bird (or satellite) that you want to point it at is EchoStar 8: http://www.lyngsat.com/echo8.html

      Next time, use Digg's search:
      http://digg.com/links/Want_free_satellite_TV_

      That is all
  • SurrealDream, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Is there anything that will enable my Asus W3V laptop to play Hi Def inputs?
    Example : If I buy an Xbox360 or a PS3, I want to be able to play in HiDef on my laptop's screen. I'm guessing this means I need a tuner with a DVI input, which so far I have been unable to find.

    Is this at all possible? Am I misinformed or making wrong assumptions? Or is the technology just not out yet?

    I live in England, but I'll be spending a year in Japan, if this makes any difference to signal input etc. Preferably, I'd like something which I can use in both countries.

    Thanks :)
  • benjellos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I dugg, but don't digg the bbc lingo. How about a review in the states?
  • lepton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Miglia Mini HD! Tunes in ATSC HD broadcasts in the US, small unit plugs into USB2 and a coax. Uses EyeTV, gives you a swell DVR. Works great on my Intel Macs!
  • neiltc13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Attention people: This is an article by a website BASED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM which is most relevant to people who LIVE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

    High Definition TV has only just been launched in the UK by Sky and Telewest. These are satellite or cable services - there is no FREE "over the air" HD service right now, which is why the article doesn't mention any HD products.

    Those with a Mac should check out the Miglia TV Mini which I use on my IiMac, it provides perfect picture quality and is worth the £100 asking price.
  • Anchoret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Fry's had KWorld PVR-TV300Us:

    http://www.kworldcomputer.com/product/analog/009/PVR-TV300U.htm

    ...free-after-rebate last Friday, so I picked one up, but I have to say that its reception is just appalling for broadcast TV, even with a loop/rabbitears external antenna added. It gets such lousy coverage, I suspect it might be a bad unit. I'll hook it up to a feed from the 50' UHF/VHF antenna on the roof, and if that doesn't do the trick, back it goes.
    • Anchoret, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In the interest of fairness & accuracy, I did go and rig a lead from the rooftop antenna, which made a great difference in the reception and picture quality -- be advised, however, that this unit does need a pretty hot input from cable or antenna for acceptable performance compared to a typical television.

      Unfortunately, the programs are just as idiotic as on the regular TV. 8-(
  • beandog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How is it they totally skipped over the Plextor ConvertX?
  • danielkwood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0tomorrow i'm heading to harvey norman and getting a decent usb tv tuner or i might even get a pcmcia one. i bought this piece of crap usb tv tuner for 50 bucks and it barely works. and i know if i try to return it i'll only get ripped off by these dodgy people. i have excellent reception on my digital set top box but with the usb tv tuner it is constantly pixelated because the usb plug that it came with is so poorly made. it is way too lose and i have to hold it in place to get it to work even just a little bit. but it won't even pick up half the channels. every time i scan i get different channels. first time i scanned i got abc and nothing else, second time i scanned i got sbs and nothing else. it doesnt have to do with reception or settings or system specs, this is just a piece of crap and i should have expected it for 50 bucks i know, but i thought i might as well give it ago because i really want to stop using vhs...
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