Why Are TV Tuner Cards Priced Over $50?

[Saint]

Why it is so expensive?
>50USD.

 

[ramollari]

ETV 203 Studio: 31.9Euro
It captures FM-Radio, and TV/Video, in MPEGII. With remote control.
Of course there may be more expensive TV tuner cards depending on signal processing speed, memory and supported formats. They aren't much expensive, it's a whole circuitry that has to process various forms of signals + other devices like remote control. At least they are no more expensive than graphic cards.

 

[Saint]

what will determine a very good picture quality on your monitor?

 

[ramollari]

I think that in the context of TV tuners the quality of display will depend almost entirely on the TV tuner card (processing speed and memory). These cards bypass the graphic card capabilities. Of course you'll need to have a good antenna for a good display :)

 

[BoulderHead]

Why it is so expensive?
>50USD.

They can sometimes be purchased for <50USD. Here is a good place to learn more;

http://computers.listings.ebay.com/...ListQQsosortorderZ1QQsosortpropertyZ1QQsotrZ2

what will determine a very good picture quality on your monitor?

The capture card specs may be not as good on some as others but this will get you into technical mumbo-jumbo you may be unfamiliar with (such as a 10-bit video AD converter, etc). Another thing to consider is how restricted you will be with regard to recording formats. Should an inexpensive card, for example, allow only for capturing with VCD you would be at a disadvantage…

At any rate, a good rule of thumb is to use high resolutions while ‘throwing’ a lot of bits at it too. If you have captured the video as MPEG2 it can be quite large and if using DV it can be tremendous in size. In either case following capture you might consider transcoding the file to something such as the variable bitrate, noncompliant VCD. This will leave you with a smaller file size yet retain a respectable degree of detail with an added bonus of being compatible with certain standalone DVD players (should you burn it to a CD or DVD).

 

[ramollari]

Question

I was wondering if there are music and video tape readers for PCs in the market. What are the prices, because I've not encountered any?

 

[russ_watters]

I was wondering if there are music and video tape readers for PCs in the market. What are the prices, because I've not encountered any?

You won't find a tape player with a USB port, for example - you need to output it to an input device on the pc (the sound card). Same goes for video.

 

[ramollari]

you need to output it to an input device on the pc (the sound card).

How is that done?

Aren't there tape drivers for the IDE bus? I mean, any internal tape drivers?

 

[hitssquad]

How analog-to-digital audio conversion works

How is that done?

It is done with ADCs (Analog to Digital Converters). An ADC is a component which converts analog signals to digital information. An audio CD player has DACs in it (Digital to Analog Converters). A computer sound card that both inputs analog sound and outputs analog sound is equipped with both ADCs and DACs.

More here:
http://stuffo.howstuffworks.com/analog-digital3.htm

Aren't there tape drivers for the IDE bus? I mean, any internal tape drivers?

Audio tape players/recorders are not data tape drives. There may be device drivers that work with data tape drives. In Linux, one can mount tape drives using the mount command, so I would assume that Linux at least has data tape drive drivers. If you are trying to convert audio tapes to digital, I would assume you might just plug the analog audio outputs of the tape deck into the analog audio inputs on the sound card and cue up the tape and then simultaneously press play on the tape deck and record on the computer.

 

[ramollari]

Well, what about data tape drives? Are there any available? Do the common audio and video tapes fit into those drives?

 

[hitssquad]

Using ordinary audio cassette tapes to store computer data

Well, what about data tape drives? Are there any available

Newegg.com has 49 tape drives for sale under the classification of backup devices:
http://www.newegg.com/app/manufact.asp?catalog=46&DEPA=0

Do the common audio and video tapes fit into those drives?

I don't think they do. They seem to use special tape cartridges. The early-1980's computer called the "Apple II" had digital inputs and outputs for accepting program data from, and recording program data to, ordinary audio cassette recorders, but it did not have an interface to allow the computer to control the motors of the tape deck (e.g., "play" and "record" had to be pressed manually on the tape deck). I believe other early desktop computers such as the Vic 20 and the TRS-80 also had the capability to use ordinary audio cassette tapes for data storage/playback.

The old IBM mainframe computers that used tape drives under direct and active computer control appear to me to have used either ordinary audio reel-to-reel audio tape or something very similar:
http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HtmlHelp/Images/IBM7094.jpg

 

[ramollari]

Indeed I know that tape drives have been in existence even before hard and floppy disks existed, with the first IBM mainframes. If it is the case that common audio or video casette drives have not been introduced in the market, it would be a good opportunity for vendors to introduce them.

 

[russ_watters]

How is that done?

Aren't there tape drivers for the IDE bus? I mean, any internal tape drivers?

What I said was there are no tape players for computers: you use an ordinary tape player and plug the line-out on the tape player into the line-in on your sound card. Same goes for video: use the rca or s-video.

If it is the case that common audio or video casette drives have not been introduced in the market, it would be a good opportunity for vendors to introduce them.

No, audio cassettes have been obsolete for a decade and its pointless to make a digital interface for one.

 

[Saint]

I returned the card back to the shop,
it is not nice to watch TV with PC.
I echange the card with a AGP graphic card,128MB.

 

[ramollari]

No, audio cassettes have been obsolete for a decade and its pointless to make a digital interface for one.

I'd be more than satisfied if I converted my dozens of old audio casettes to digital. They would not wear out any more and would be better to use as CDs. The same is the case with video tapes which still dominate in film rental stores.

 

[hitssquad]

audio cassettes have been obsolete for a decade and its pointless to make a digital interface for one.

I'd be more than satisfied if I converted my dozens of old audio casettes to digital.

You may play them into your computer and record them digitally to your hard drive. The ADCs in the computer's sound card should convert the analog audio signals to digital data.

 

[russ_watters]

I'd be more than satisfied if I converted my dozens of old audio casettes to digital. They would not wear out any more and would be better to use as CDs. The same is the case with video tapes which still dominate in film rental stores.

What I've been trying to tell you is you can easily do just that using any tape player and the hardware that's already on your computer. I'm transfering my VHS to DVD...

 

[russ_watters]

I returned the card back to the shop,
it is not nice to watch TV with PC.
I echange the card with a AGP graphic card,128MB.

I like mine, but one problem is that reception isn't all that great - computer tv tuners don't have amplifiers and the EMF noise inside the case interferes with the signal. Some people use a separate tuner (like in a VCR) and an s-video input. I don't, but I've tried it and the picture is much better.

 

[ramollari]

By the way I haven't encountered TV-tuner cards with interface for AGP bus. Most are for PCI interface. I believe that a TV tuner with AGP8X interface would be more nice to support streaming video.

 

[russ_watters]

By the way I haven't encountered TV-tuner cards with interface for AGP bus. Most are for PCI interface. I believe that a TV tuner with AGP8X interface would be more nice to support streaming video.

A TV tuner on a multi-function card like an ATI All-In-Wonder is AGP (I have one). For tv capture functions, it doesn't matter much though - PCI has plenty of bandwidth.