Building my first HTPC need a few tips (1 Viewer)

[mm1352000]

Hi again pisoj1

Apologies for the delayed response. :sorry:

23 pages Was a terrible exam. Fairly sure I passed...got no sleep before it. oh well

*Ouch*!!! I hate exams. The best thing about them is getting them over and done with.

Any recommendations for a keyboard? I would like it to be backlit and full sized. I hate those little mini keyboards.
Would be nice to have some sort of mouse control either a touchpad trackball or w/e

Sorry, that is not my speciality at all...

do sat cards work with media portal?

Absolutely!

Also are there any sat cards which maybe have a tv tuner built into it as well? I doubt there is but never know

If when you say "tv tuner" you mean an analog tuner then there is only one that I know of that would probably suit you: the Hauppauge Nova S Plus. I have one myself. Not the best card that I've ever had, but definitely "adequate". Keep in mind that it can't get DVB-S2 channels (DVB-S2 is often used for HD). Note: there are other cards out there with sat tuner(s) and analog tuner(s) (like the Blackgold BGT3595), but they are expensive.

mm

 

[pisoj1]

Apologies for the delayed response. :sorry:

No problem, people have lives outside the internet...or so I hear.
Absolutely!

If when you say "tv tuner" you mean an analog tuner then there is only one that I know of that would probably suit you: the Hauppauge Nova S Plus.

I was thinking more like a sat card with a hdtv built in...so I could have satellite tv and free to air hdtv.

Seems there is not

Probably going to get the 1700

 

[mm1352000]

I was thinking more like a sat card with a hdtv built in...so I could have satellite tv and free to air hdtv.

Seems there is not

Probably going to get the 1700

Just take it a little slower for a minute. I think what you want may be available - I just need to clarify exactly what you mean... because when you say "tv tuner" and "hdtv" it is ***really*** ambiguous.

SD and HD relate to video resolution, not broadcast methods. In other words, satellite channels can be either SD or HD, and so can terrestrial (DVB-T) signals. For example, here in NZ Sky TV (pay TV provider) offers both SD and HD channels via satellite. We also have Freeview which offers only SD channels via satellite and SD and HD channels via terrestrial DVB-T signals. So I think you need to say how you would receive the FTA HD channels:

Are they received via satellite dish, aerial, or cable connection?
If via satellite dish, then who is the provider (eg. Foxtel, Austar, Aurora etc.)?

mm

 

[pisoj1]

Are they received via satellite dish, aerial, or cable connection?
If via satellite dish, then who is the provider (eg. Foxtel, Austar, Aurora etc.)?

I would like a card which is able to give me free channels from the optus b3 satellite (I think that's what it is might be b2 now) AND freeview channels from an aerial

so it would be like DVB-T and DVB-S in 1 card...I think this explains it?

 

[mm1352000]

Right, now we're talking the same language.
There are definitely cards available. For example, the Hauppauge HVR3000 and 3300 allow you to tune DVB-T or DVB-S or analog... but there is only one tuner, so you can only view one "set" (DVB-T being one set, DVB-S another, and analog the third...) of channels at a time. The HVR4000 and 4400 are a step up from that - there are two tuners (tuner 1 = DVB-T/analog, tuner 2 = satellite) so you could record/watch DVB-T and DVB-S channels at the same time. In the Avermedia world there is the AVerTV Satellite Hybrid+FM and AVerTV Satellite Trinity. I'm not sure whether those two cards have one or two tuners. Anyhow, I think if you check the prices then you will see that they tend to be more expensive...