Fusion Hdtv External Digital Tv Tuner

[Pebble]

Anyone have one of these? Thinking of it as an alternative - turn the laptop into an additional tv, to record programs etc. Is that how it works?

If you have one what's your opinion of it? Good Points & Bad?
If you have considered buying one - why didn't you & what did you get instead?

Cheers,

Just considering all options at the moment!

[dmwill]

Make sure it can record in Mpeg4 (DivX/Xvid).

My mistake in buying a HD TV tuner was that it only recorded in Mpeg2, which is basically DVD quality/size without any compression. I recorded the GrandFinal last year and it came in at a whopping 22gb!

[scblack]

Make sure it can record in Mpeg4 (DivX/Xvid).

My mistake in buying a HD TV tuner was that it only recorded in Mpeg2, which is basically DVD quality/size without any compression. I recorded the GrandFinal last year and it came in at a whopping 22gb!
DVD's are actually only the quality of SD television, so that size sounds a bit strange.

[Ell]

Make sure it can record in Mpeg4 (DivX/Xvid).

My mistake in buying a HD TV tuner was that it only recorded in Mpeg2, which is basically DVD quality/size without any compression. I recorded the GrandFinal last year and it came in at a whopping 22gb!


22gb sounds about right.... recording in HD with no compression.

creepy, i was just looking at the pricings of the cards as we speak.

and also having a laugh at the price of digital tv tuner cards at DSE... what a joke.

[rowanr]

i've been looking for info on one of these suckers too, since i can't get tv reception in my room i just can only watch dvd's. last time i saw they were about $300 and i can't quite afford that since i my bike ate all my money.
as for HDTV does anyone actually have a tv that can support 1080p or i and it still look good? every plasma tv i've seen HDTV looked shite, and dvd's looked even worse. these tv's weren't cheap either.

[Pebble]

I did some research ages ago, pricing wise this was the best at just under $200. From what I found I think that you need reasonable reception to start with for it to work (like rooftop aerial) but not 100% sure on that. I guess if your set top box won't work then the HDTV tuner probably won't do much better. But still interested in word from anyone who has had one of these things!

http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?input[product_code]=MU-24FUSIONUSB-HDTV&input[category_id]=105

[rowanr]

can you capture with this card, or just watch tv? i couldn't find anything about that

[Scott]

I bought a Dvico fusion dvb-t lite for about $160 a couple months ago to run with mediaportal (http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net). It does the job.

It's not an mpeg4/xvid encoder, though I haven't seen any so far that are.

[Pebble]

the fusion one I was looking into (with the link) isn't actually a card - it's an external tuner (smallish silver box).
http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/images/info/IMG_MU-24FUSIONUSB-HDTV_23657_0.jpg
Playback & mpeg2 recording software included is what it says on the web site. Harvey Norman do sell them - but for around $300.
If you go to http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/ and typre "fusion" into the search box the first link it comes up with should lead you to the info of this particular one.

[rowanr]

yeah, i know it's an external thing . for some reason i called it a card though :S anyways, i've been having a look for some tuners too, are there any other ones you guys suggest? i want a usb2 or fire wire one, since i'm on my laptop and my pcmcia card is taken up with the sound card :) the tuner also needs to have optical out for audio...

[exvitermini]

i have an internal fusion card and love it...you do need half decent reception.. but im only running an inside areial atm and not having to many problems other then the odd drop out(causes the program to crash tho)

[Pebble]

After a heap of reading I've decided that the fusion card (or tiny usb2) would be great to use if I wanted the laptop as a 2nd tv. But I wouldn't venture into using it for much more than that mainly due to my limited knowledge in regards to pc technology.

Don't get me wrong I'm pretty pc literate, but there is a hell of I lot more that I wish I knew! And instead I'll agonise over the choice of lcd tv, stb, & dvd recorders for now.

Mind you without a tv in the house if I get desperate I may have to order the pc tuner!!

Anyone else looking at the moment , check out the tiny usb2

http://www.digitalnow.com.au/

Thanks for all the help,

Pebble

[rowanr]

i bought a fusoin usb thing today, and it's awesome. i bought a shitty one yesterday, but the software was so bad i had to return it and get a better one. i have no doubts that this is the best out there, especially for the price. the software that it comes with is second to none, and you can change everything you need. i do reccomend that you have good reception though. mine does'nt work with rabbit ears

[Pebble]

Well I've done it, brought the tiny usb2 today, hopefully get it next week see how it goes. We going to use the laptop as a tv for the time being - maybe buy a bigger monitor / tv down the track.

Don't need a huge tv & the kids are too young to know the difference!

can anyone recommend good speakers (laptop only has a mini headphone jack) to suit, nothing too flash, but good quality for the money - probably no more than $300

Cheers

[landy_man]

Logitech make half decent, cheapish speakers...

If anyone needs advice on their tv antenna or home theatre.. let us know.. I work for an importer of all this sort of gear ;)

[Pebble]

thanks they'll be on my list to check out.

[Pebble]

update, the usb 2 didn't work - reception not good enough for it or something, company had a 100% guarantee policy so sent it back for a refund.

We got a 26" phillips lcd and a topfield pvr instead. Can hook the laptop to the tv to play dvds & sound as well, will have to figure out how to transfer recordings from the toppy though & I read the toppy can do mp3's too.

But if anyone is int the market for that sort of thing I saw yesterday in a betta electrical catalogue a lg stb with twin hd tuners & 160gb hard drive!