LCD + TV Tuner + STB

Hi,

I am looking for a TV solution for my small sized room (15" - 19"). I did enquire about FLAT CRT's but heard that the picture tube on these do not have long life.
So I'm thinking of getting a LCD + TV Tuner + STB combo for my room. This would be advantageous as I can use the LCD with my laptop also.

Regarding the STB, is there a difference in the picture quality from the local cablewalla's STB as compared to a Tata Sky or Big TV etc. STB?
The local cablewalla seems to be the cheapest option but if the pic quality is going to be bad on the LCD then I'd rather not go for that.

Also looking for recommendations on a good TV tuner card that would also not be too expensive (2-3K maybe?)

DTH is definitely much better quality than analog cable

How much is your budget for the LCD ?

Dell S2209W With 3 Years warranty is for 10.2k which seems like a great deal , you get a big 22" screen

Aren't STBs now a days coming with VGA connectors ? Heard of Dish TV Computer...

In fact I am also looking for such STB.

Till date, was using Tech-com combo box with normal cable on Viewsonic VX922 19" LCD, which was fine with me as for basic viewing.

I was hoping to get the LCD within 10K so the DELL does look like a good deal. Anyone have this montior? (have a 19" viewsonic at home and am quite pleased with it so far). Where did you get the price from?

When you say DTH I hope that means the one from the local cablewalla also?

Any pointers on what to look for when deciding on a TV tuner?

That price was from Amarbir's Thread in the dealers section

DTH = Direct to Home , the one with a dish and a receiver not the Cablewallah , however if you have CAS in your area then there wont be much difference since its digital too

For good TV tuners try Pinnacle / Hauppage

For cheap ones try Tech-com / Intex / Mercury

the cheap ones start at 1.5k , the good ones go upto 5-6k

I dont really know how much of a difference in quality there is , you can probably try them out at the store before buying

You can also check for products from AverMedia which are also of very good quality.

Thanks for the info. Will check those out.

What is the best / maximum resolution that we get from the DTH or CAS box for the best viewing on a LCD?

Benq was offering its LCD's with the TV tuner setup on eBay check it out if its still on.

If you go for dth or CAS you don't need a tuner(unless you wanna record channels and for recording channels from DTH/CAS you need a tuner card with an IR blaster) as STB is a tuner.Just hook up your lcd monitor to the set top box and you are done. But make sure your monitor has the appropriate imput to hook up your STB.

However the picture quality may not be as good as that of a regular tv.

How do I connect the STB to the LCD monitor in this case? Any special kind of cables required?

Also if I do get a Tuner will the pic quality be better this way?

well if u go for aver media dvi9 u can connect any STB ,since it has composite and component input ,RF,Svidoe which the aver media then outputs via its DVI out.the aver media has the important image processing tech like comb filter,De-Interlacer(big tv out puts a interlaced signnal)3：2/ 2: 2 Pull-Down etc so get the aver media DVI box 9 u check the below link
AVerTV DVI Box9 TV Tuner Card - M099 by: AverMedia - TechShop.in - Buy

if u dont mind the lack of component input then u can go for the cheaper avermedia genie
AverMedia Aver LCD TV Box GenieTV Tuner Card - M075 by: AverMedia -

if your lcd monitor has "composite in" then simply connect the STB to the composite port using the cables that come with the dth stb.

I am trying to see if I can avoid the TV tuner altogether.

If my LCD has DVI input then could I connect this with a converter from the STB? What are the output options from the STB?

Also does anyone have some links showing the pics of the different types of input and output connectors (not too familiar with all this terminolgoy )

^ The STB has normal analog (RF) output + RCA (the red , white and yellow) cables . Some of them have composite out too



i doubt you can convert the analog signal to DVI directly