TV tuner card V.S. a TV-tuner integrated w/ viedo card

[xxixrjh]

Hi there I am not new to video cards (v-cards), but lately I have been kicking around the idea of upgrading to a “Geforce FX” v-card. However I am new to video capturing, and I am trying to get in to video editing, my pc already has fire wire port, so I have that covered for DV cameras/camcorders. Now what I need help in figuring out is do I want a TV-card/only and upgrade my v-card or do I want a TV-card integrated with my new v-card? Some of the TV-cards I have looked at are Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP Deluxe TV Tuner, MSI TV@nywhere TV Tuner, and of course Hauppauge win-TV card. For the TV-card integrated with the v-card option, I have looked at “ATI ALL-IN-WONDER” since their new cards are AGP which is a plus. Anyone with experience with either or both of these cards, I would like to know your point of view on this subject.

[daveleau]

Well, I would highly suggest narrowing the field to the Leadtek and the ATi. Those are the best of the bunch and the MSI and Hauppauge are poor seconds in the TV card market.

The problem with AIW cards, is that when you upgrade the video, you lose your TV, or have to buy a more expensive card to get TV again. The initial cost is less (AIW is less expensive than a video + Leadtek) initially, but in the long run, you may pay more. Many stand by their AIW cards, and they are really nice. I went with the Leadtek and love it with my GF 4. Now when I upgrade video cards, I still have a great TV capture card. Chances are, there are going to be few advances in the capture card market in comparison to the video card market.

[Peter M]

Seconded. One thing to consider is, drivers and applications delivered with standalone TV cards tend to stink severely, both in quality and use. The software ATi ships with their AIW cards is a true relief in comparison.

Technically, the win with the AIWs is that the TV capture data do not load the system busses at all - while viewing, the stream directly goes from capture chip into overlay RAM onto the same card, while with a PCI TV card the stream has to travel up the PCI bus and inter-chipset link onto the AGP port to finally reach the overlay buffer inside the graphics card RAM.

[dauss]

I have never tried other cards, but I do have the radeon 9700 pro AIW. I think the card is awesome as a tv tuner(though I read the 8500 AIW had better picture quality) and as a great card for games. I think the programs that come with it are nice.

[wackoguy]

get a 8500 AIW, good for light gaming and tv capture