Best DVB T2 Freeview HD Tuner Cards

Freeview HD is the best-ever argument for the digital switchover. For the 50 per cent of the country that can currently pick them up, the high-definition channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and S4C are a razor-sharp, color-saturated glimpse into the future.
Just like standard-definition Freeview channels, the Freeview HD ones are terrestrial broadcasts (DVB T2)and free to everyone. All you need is a Freeview HD box -- or preferably a PCTV tuner card with built in. Think of it this way: one less box in the living room means space for another inch or two on the screen. or you can stay the sofa/bedroom to watch freeivew HD channels
What you can expect, though, is more and better Freeview HD channels as analogue TV fades away. That's as good a reason as any to invest in a Freeview HD today. Here's a selection of the best Freeview HD tuner Cards, which allows you watch HD Freeview channels on PCs.
 BlackGold’s BGT3620
 The BGT3620 is a premium multi-channel DVB T/T2 hybrid tuner with PCI-express slot. The DVB T2 TV card is capable of receiving standard and high definition digital broadcast program content, including the new UK Freeview HD channels. It is designed to transform a personal computer into a high-end audio video entertainment system, supporting external video streams and worldwide HD broadcast streams. Hardware receiver also supports -Analogue terrestrial (PAL, NTSC, CECAM), dual digital terrestrial including both DVB-T and DVB-T2, dual digital cable DVB-C.
Hauppauge nanoStick T2 PCTV 290e

Hauppauge PCTV nanoStick T2 is a DVB-T2 USB receiver, which turns your PC and laptop into an HDTV PVR. PCTV nanoStick T2 is fully backward compatible to DVB-T and delivers outstanding reception for both standards. Other features include integrated EPG and support for Windows Media Center (DVB-T only). This card included TVCenter application lets you time shift and record TV shows and even stream Live-TV and TV recordings to your iPhone, iPad or other PCs and Macs.

TBS6284 PCI-E DVB-T2 Quad TV Tuner Card

TBS release the first world multi- tuner DVB T2 TV card. It is a quad tuner Freeview HD tuner cards, which supports watching or recording four different Freeview SD/HD channel simultaneously. It is really a big breakthrough in digital terrestrial tuner cards. It can receive the signals both DVB T and DVB T2. It is the only DVB T/T2 TV card of supporting Window Media Center and Linux System.

TBS6928 PCIe DVB S2 TV Tuner Card with CI Slot Was Released

It might be a great news that TBS technology has released a new PCI express  DVB-S2  card with CI slot.  TBS6928  is a kind of satellite PCTV card which allows CAM insertion for watching payTV digital satellite channels. it works with the CAMs. such as  AlphaCrypt (Mascom),Conax (NCAM HD) ,Conax (NP4), Conax (SMiT), Conax (Technisat), Irdeto CI+ (Skylink),Viaccess (SCM).... Over  2o CAMs capable. With the low profile design,  TBS6928  is more suitable for those who want to build HTPC with low profile tv tuner card. Here are some main features offering by TBS official website. You can also buy it from buydvb.net. The retail price is US$118.99.

Main Features:

• 1. DVB-S2/S Transponders Receiving
• 2. CI support
• 3. Transponders blind scan
• 4. Linux S2API Drivers Compatible with MythTV, VDR, XBMC, DVBLast, VLC, etc.
• 5. Supported by DVBDream, DVBViewer, DVBlink, ProgDVB, Skynet, Tsreader etc .

Specifications:

• 1.Receiving Frequency: 925~2175 MHz Tuning Range
  2.Input level: -69~ -23dBm
  3.Advanced DVB-S2/DVB-S 8PSK QPSK Demodulator
  4. Symbol Rates:
  DVB-S2 QPSK: 1-45 Msps
  DVB-S2 8PSK: 1-45 Msps
  5. Code Rates:
  DVB-S2 NBC QPSK: 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 8/9, 9/10
  DVB-S2 QPSK: 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4. 4/5. 5/6, 8/9, 9/10
  DVB-S2 8PSK: 3/5, 2/3. 3/4. 5/6. 8/9, 9/10
  6. Automatic Acquisition Range: ±10MHz
  7. Automatic Pilot detection
  8. DiSEqC 2.x compliant
  9. CI Design
  10. PCI Express interface

System Requirements:

• Windows 2000/XP/Vista Linux
• DirectX9.0 or later Version
• Available PCI Express Port

Click here to watch the CAMs list tested with TBS6928

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Related Articles:
1.How to use Easy Blindscan with TBS 6925
2.How to watch four satellite TV channels with TBS6984 on DVBDream
3.TBS 6925- Most Professional Satellite TV tuner Card
4.How to to watch satellite TV on AltDVB with TBS 6981

TBS6984 DVB S2 Quad Tuner HD TV Card Review

The dream is starting to become a reality… This bad-boy is a TBS6984 satellite tuner card designed to receive both ordinary DVB-S signals AND the high definition DVB-S2 signals used by C4HD and BBC 1 HD. More importantly, it has four separate tuners on-board allowing you to plug it in to a quad LNB to record channels from 4 multiplexes simultaneously.

It’s probably best I jump back a bit here andremind you of what I’m trying to achieve. You may remember the new home server with 6x 2TB drives in? Well all that storage wasn’t for nothing – I plan to use the server for not only storage and media streaming, but also as a TV Server. The TV Server will contain a number of tuner cards, and stream TV over regular Ethernet cabling throughout the house to PCs, laptops, or specially built home theatre PCs connected to TVs. The idea is that the server becomes the only place in the house where aerials / satellite cabling is terminated, and ordinary Ethernet cables take care of the rest of the house. Want to watch a program you recorded in the lounge but you are now in the bedroom? Not a problem, all recordings are held centrally on the server.
So, step 1 is complete – I have a server. Step 2, fit the server with as many digital TV tuners as possible is underway. I already have a standard definition Freeview tuner (DVB T2 tuner cards) in the server, but I wanted HD and the most reliable way to get that here in South Wales is via satellite. The TBS6984 is a beast of a card, requiring a full-height PCI Express x1 socket AND a dedicated PCI Express power supply. As you can see from the image on the right, at the top-right of the image you can see the internal power input connector. Now, luckily my power supply has two such outputs, usually reserved for high end graphics cards. I plugged my power supply straight in to the card and away it went. For those of you without a spare PCI Express power output, you have the option of using the provided Molex adapter – you will need THREE spare Molex connectors though! (
Once installed, you’ll need some software to go with it. It supports Windows Media Center with no playing around – now I’d suggest when you do install the card, you install just the drivers and not the supplied software package. Let Windows take care of the rest because the interface is superb. Sadly for me, though, Windows Media Center does not support Windows Home Server and the in-house distribution features I am after. I may have mentioned this before, but I have chosen MediaPortal as the TV Server of choice. (For reference, I’m using the release candidate of 1.2.0 and not the older 1.1.3 which doesn’t appear to work very well with DVB-S2 high definition satellite broadcasts for me).
Now, the major stumbling block for satellite broadcasts is the EPG (Electronic Program Guide). Freeview broadcasts as EPG, Freesat and Sky also have EPGs, but MediaPortal can’t use the Freeview one for satellite (it just doesn’t have all the same channels) and no-one has managed to write a simple EPG plugin to read Sky or Freesat’s EPGs… so the solution is to grab an XML based one off the web. Luckily MediaPortal has a plugin called WebEPG which does this, but you will need to manually map your channels to the relevant XML feed which is straightforward enough.

So, buying this DVB S2 card… now, it isn’t cheap,US$249.99, and when I purchased this a few weeks ago there were only two options: eBay or BuyDVB , I chose buying direct from www.buydvb.net using PayPal – it was quick delivery and cheaper than eBay. It seems the store is the official website of TBS. but I am not sure. It’s also worth noting that if you don’t plan to use it in a server, then it comes with a useful remote control, and that you can get single and dual tuner versions too. I’d highly recommend this card overall – especially as it allows you to crab four tuners in to a single expansion slot.

This review is contributed by Olivershingler>>

                                                                                                                 

TBS Announce PCIe DVB-T/DVB-T2 Quad Tuner Card– the TBS 6284

TBS Technology company announce to release a new TBS 6284 PCI-E DVBT/T2 quad tuner card at the end of October.It is estimated to see this card  no later than 25th October, 2011.
TBS 6284 is a quad DVB-T and DVB-T2 tuner  which will enable you to record 4 Freeview HD simultaneously in the form of a single PCI-e card. This will make it a great choice for Windows Media Center users looking to get the most out of a single PCI-e slot.This is only DVB T/T2 quad tuner card which supports Linux. It will be an ideal choice for watching UK Freeview SD and HD channels on your PC.

Here are some information about TBS 6284 Quad DVB T/DVB T2 card .
Main Features:
1. Quad Channel Receiving Simultaneously
2. Both DVB-T2 and DVB-T Supported
3. High-Definition Video, Real-Time and Scheduled Video Recording
4. High Sensitivity DVB-T2 Tuner for The Best Digital TV Reception
5. Windows BDA Driver and Linux Driver Ready
Specifications:
1. Receiving Channel: VHF Band and UHF Band
2. Channel Bandwidth: 6, 7, 8 MHz
3. DVB-T2/ T Modulation Type: QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM
4. FFT Mode: 1K, 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K
5. Code Rate: 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 7/8
6. Guard Internal:1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128, 19/128, 19/256
7. Intermediate Frequency
IF mode: Low IF
Center IF Frequency: 3 ~ 5 MHz
Note: default 4MHz
8. RF-Input Impedance 75Ω (IEC-DIN female)
9. RF-Output Impedance 75Ω (IEC-DIN male)
System Requirements:
1. Windows XP / Vista/ 7, Linux
2. Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, Pentium M 1.3 GHz
3. For HDTV: 2.6 GHz Multi Core Processor
4. Hard Disk with min. 1 GB Free Capacity
5. Sound and Graphics Card with Support for DirectX 9 or Higher
6. One Available PCI Express Slot
7. CD/DVD Drive for Software Installation

Remote Control for Windows Media Player

A windows remote control that signals to an infrared receiver, which can make you hook up to a USB port or something and allow operating WMP on your PC. Of course, you can use a mouse and keyboard to get around Windows Media Center, but the best way to experience Media Center is with a window remote control. There are many types of remote controls for media center available to buy, such as HP remote control, Microsoft remote control. If you purchased a Media Center PC or a digital TV tuner card, a PC remote control might be a necessary MCE kits for Windows 7, Windows Vista,etc
You will also need a transceiver or infrared receiver (IR) for the Windows Media Center remote control to work properly. This can be IR (which is usually connected by a USB cable to the computer), or it can also be non-IR products like Bluetooth or Radio Frequency. This receiver may be internal or external to the computer. Please refer to your hardware documentation to determine which version of the receiver you will need.
If your computer came with a remote, the infrared receiver might be built in to the computer. If you purchased your Media Center remote control separately, it probably came with an infrared receiver that you can connect to your computer's USB jack.
You can use a PC remote controlto do many things in Windows Media Center. Here is a sample of actions you can perform:

• Watch, record, control TV (with digital TV tuner present in the computer)
• Control, play, and rip music
• Edit & View your Digital Photos and Videos
• Create, play, and control slide shows of your pictures
• Access online partners for an expanded experience to include games, additional music, and other software products.
• Complete control over your listening and viewing pleasure, from anywhere in the room as far as 10-20 M away

With the pc remote control you can navigate through information using the number keys on the remote control to find shows, and other information at the most convenient position.
Optional of Window Remote Controls
1. Microsoft MCE Remote Control USB IR Receiver Win7 Vista 
Price: US$15.99                                                          
2. HP OEM Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Receiver
Price: US$15.99                          

How to use Smargo cardreader with CCcam on linux receivers and PCs

The USB Smargo Smartcard Reader Plus is kind of a Smart TV card reader, which can work for dreambox and most linux based satellite reciever for card sharing. it can read customer’s identity and authorization information and helps you to watch pay satellite TV. It’s a USB smartcard reader / programmer based on a powerful ARM core processor.Here’s a tutorial to How to use Smargo cardreader with CCcam on linux receivers and PCs
DM7020 CCcam.cfg
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/0 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/1 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/2 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/3 smartreader+

DM800 CCcam.cfg
on USB0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
on USB1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1

PC server CCcam.cfg
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB0 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB1 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB2 smartreader+
Your Adsense Code

SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB3 smartreader+
Now we need add to CCcam.cfg new line:
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB0 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB1 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB2 smartreader+
or whatever USB port your smartreader is entered.

Save CCcam.cfg and run ./CCcam.x86 -d you should see new card is added and running.
In CCcam.cfg is card overklocking and there you just edit like so:
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/ttyUSB0 4800000 and card works with 4.80mhz set by smartreader+.

READER VALUES - MHZ
3 - 16MHZ
4 - 12MHZ
5 - 9.61MHZ
6 - 8MHZ
7 - 6.86MHZ
8 - 6MHZ
9 - 5.34MHZ
10 - 4.80MHZ
11 - 4.36MHZ
12 - 4MHZ
13 - 3.69MHZ
14 - 3.43MHZ
15 - 3.20MHZ

On this way you can set the correct values for each reader.When you use multiple readers don't forget the  option to set the correct reader! The users can selecte any freqency. The Smart card reader+ will selected the nearest available.
Default smartreader+ speed is with new v1.3 & v1.4 firmware 3.69MHZ and most cards works with that speed. Although new version 1.5 firmware of USB smargo card reader, It is not the official release and not as stable as 1.3 & 1.4. The users would better choose the old version.

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Coolstream NEO SAT - Satellite Digital Linux TV Receiver

The Coolstream NEO SAT is an award winning Linux TV receiver with 1 x DVB-S2 Tuner & digital TV recorder (DTR), bursting with satellite TV recording features to capture the incredible color, sound and crystal clear images of SD and HD channels from the satellite TV reception. The Coolstream NEO SAT also gives you access to over hundreds of TV and radio channels including other services such as BBC iPlayer for the ultimate viewing experience. The sparking feature of the Coolstream NEO Sat works greatly with Linux and Engima 2 system. It would be a great choice for Linux and Engima 2  users.
Large recording capacity
Boasting a optional hard disk drive (Optional: 250GB/320GB/750GB/1000GB), the Coolstream NEO SAT can store up to 120 hours of HD programming or up to 300 hours of standard definition shows so you’ll never miss that crucial episode of your favourite show. The Coolstream NEO SAT is perfect for those households where arguments over the remote control are guaranteed.
Amazing choice for Linux and Engima operating System
The Coolstream NEO is a low-cost Satellite Receiver based on the open architecture of the Linux and Enigima Operating System. Perfect compatibility and great quality make it the Linux enthusiasts' box of choice.Linux operating system and supplied pre flashed with the latest firmware.
Advanced recording features
The Coolstream NEO is jam-packed with other recording features for the satellite digital TV service:
Live pause and instant rewind –It’s easy to pause any live show and go and quench your thirst. Then come back to the TV and simply carry on wherever you left off.
Series recording – if you know you’re going to be out and about when you’re favourite weekly drama is on, it’s easy to set your Coolstream NEO to record every single episode at the touch of a button
Schedule tracking – if there’s a change to the TV schedule due to breaking news or an over-running programmer, there is no need to worry about missing anything. The Coolstream NEO will tracks the recording according to broadcast signals and ensures you receive every last second
Split recording – For those long movies with a break for the news, the Coolstream NEO will ensure it records both halves of the film to eliminate any disappointment
Chase Play - no need to wait until the programmer you are recording has finished before you
can start to watch it. With chase play you can start watching from the beginning even if the programmer is still being recorded

Other features
The Coolstream NEO Sat supports 9 different languages for different contries satellite TV reception. Besides, it has Built-in 3D games and enables you enjoy an exciting game experience!

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