Choosing the right TV tuner card for your computer can be a hard choice with all of the options available to consumers. Using these steps to narrow down your choices will save both time and money, as well as ensure that you get the performance you are looking for out of your TV tuner card for your computer.
Instructions
1. Determine what kind of connection you want to use with your computer for your tuner card: USB (Universal Serial Bus) or PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect). While almost all computers have USB ports that are free, many systems do not have an available PCI slot. Using a USB tuner card may be a bit more expensive, but the installation is much quicker and simpler.
2. Determine if you want an HD (high definition) or SD (Standard Definition). While SD tuner cards are much more affordable, HD tuners provide a wider array of quality and available channels.
3. Verify that the card is compatible if you plan on using your tuner card with Windows Media Center. To verify, most tuners will have a "Designed for Windows Media Center" logo on the box, but the manufacturer's website or user manual for the tuner can also provide the information.
4. Decide if you want the ability to use multiple tuners for activities such as PIP (picture-in-picture) or recording one show while watching another. If so, you must either install two tuner cards, or select a card offering dual tuners built-in.
5. For better system performance while using the TV tuner card, select a card with a hardware MPEG-2 encoder. This simply means that the card itself will handle converting the TV signal for use with your computer, versus your computer's CPU handling this process. Your system performance will be greatly affected if your tuner card does not have a hardware encoder.
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