[Domology]

Hi,

I've been working on my first HTPC build.

I am looking for an internal DVB-T2 tuner for my build. I am UK-based. Could anyone please offer suggestions? In the past I have had a Hauppage TV tuner which has worked fine but I never used it to any great extent. The top result I am getting from Google searches is TBS PCI-E DVB-T2 Dual TV Tuner. The reviews on Amazon are also favourable, but before I drop nearly £100 on a TV tuner I thought I'd seek some expert opinions.

Spec of my build so far for anyone curious:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2V89gs

CPU: i3-4130T
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B
Mobo: Asus H97-E/CSM
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 4GB DDR3-1600
Boot drive: Samsung 850 EVO-Seriers 250GB SSD
Storage drive: WD Caviar Green 3TB 5400RPM
Case: SIlverstone GD06B
PSU: SeaSonic 360W 80+ Gold
Case fan: Noctua NF-S12A ULN

As for the peripherals, I am hoping to grab some spares from what I already have.
I have an Asus Chromebox connected to my TV that I intend to use for the primary front-end.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Dom

[noggin]

Are you planning to run Windows or Linux? TBS tuners have patchy driver support under Linux (though are generally OK within Windows)

If you are happy with a USB solution rather than PCI - then there are cheaper solutions. At one point you could get August DVB-T2 USB tuners (which have Linux and Windows support) for around £25-30.

[nickr]

By far the best tuner is the hdhr, but not sure if they do Dvb-t2.

[Domology]

@noggin - Windows. I was considering Linux but as I've hardly used it at all I don't want to end up being dependent on a system that I cannot easily maintain myself.

My main reason for looking for a PCI tuner card is because I would be recording/streaming HD content and I didn't want any latency via USB. Not sure if the slower speeds would actually make a difference or not.

@nickr - thanks. Will look into whether HDHR do DVB-T2.

[nickr]

Just checked, yep. https://www.silicondust.com/products/hdh...onnect-au/

[noggin]

@noggin - Windows. I was considering Linux but as I've hardly used it at all I don't want to end up being dependent on a system that I cannot easily maintain myself.

My main reason for looking for a PCI tuner card is because I would be recording/streaming HD content and I didn't want any latency via USB. Not sure if the slower speeds would actually make a difference or not.

@nickr - thanks. Will look into whether HDHR do DVB-T2.

Maximum carriage on a DVB-T2 mux in the UK is 40.25Mbs (or just over 5MBs) - which would carry every channel on the mux (i.e. BBC One HD, BBC Two HD, ITV HD, C4 HD, BBC Three/CBBC HD)

A DVB-T mux runs at a max of around (or a bit less than) 28Mbs (or around 3.5MBs). Those are well within USB 2.0 capacity. I've run USB tuners for ages with no major problems, including DVB-S2 ones. A single DVB-T2 channel will be max of around 16Mbs (2MBs) and will average a lot less than that. Latency isn't really an issue for DVB - as a fixed delay is of no real consequence, and MPEG2 transport streams are reasonably well packetised.

However if you are running Windows and have a PCI-E slot free there is no reason to avoid them. I've got two boxes with Dual TBS DVB-S2 tuners deployed around the family - both running Windows Media Center and they work OK.

[Domology]

Thanks both for your advice.

I've been reading up on the HDHR and that looks like the best option as it can accessed from multiple devices and won't require my HTPC to be turned on just for watching TV. It also appears to have a lot of cool features and supports Kodi out of the box.

Just got to wait until Christmas now