i am always looking for new things to do with my pc and i am wanting to install a tuner card but i have dish network...is there a internal card that will work with my satellite subscription
There is an internal version of the ATI CableCard tuner...this is the only one I know that will capture digital HD without any quality loss. It is a "Internal USB" device...so it takes a cardslot, but does not use a slot...it just connects to an front-panel USB header.
The only other option I know of is a component video capture card. This will only capture at 1080i (about 1/2 quality of 1080p, and analog)...but it would probably be a lot cheaper than the ATI unit.
The last option isn't currently available AFAIK, but Dish network has been showing off a dual-tuner cablebox that connects to a PC by USB. Last I saw, there was no price or release date on it...in fact they still called it a "Proof of Concept" on the last review I saw.
That won't work very well at all. No HD capabilities there...you can only capture in SD analog. I think that card might have component support if you can find the adapter cable for it, but I doubt the quality would be very good there either.
Also, if all you want is crummy SD analog quality, then there is no reason to spend money on a dual tuner.
"CableCard" is a card you rent from the cable company, it slides into your tuner, even if it is an internal tuner. If you do not see this slot, then it will not capture digital cable/satelite of any kind, with the exception of a few free channels like PBS.
"Component Video" is a video format that uses 3 RCA plugs (red, green, blue) to make a picture. This is probably the best capturing you will get without a cablecard tuner...it isn't digital or 1080P, but it is 1080i, and that is almost as good as 720P. This method will require a cable/sat box with component video output.
Here is a card that has both component and HDMI input...please note that while it does claim digital HDMI input, it does not support 1080P, and from what I can tell, it does not have HDCP support...and I think Dish network has HDCP on all their channels. There are also some issues with the included software (AverMedia and Hauppage write terrible software).
