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AVERMEDIA AVERTVHD MCE A180
Introduction
When HDTV PCI tuner cards first hit the market,
price was the main barrier to entry for most
hobbyists and enthusiasts. Those cards had
numerous features, and were larger than typical
analog tuners. They worked well, but reports
of instability floated around the net and forums as
well. But what if you wanted to create a TiVO-like
HTPC PVR box? How can you record on HD channel
while watching another? Buy two of these
morbidly expensive tuners? Uhh, not for most
of us.
Fast forward to the present day. Microsoft
had released updates to their wildly popular Windows
MCE, enabling digital TV and HDTV support.
And, Aver creates the AVerTVHD MCE A180. This
product is a significant development in the history
of HD in PCs because of its low price, small size,
and simplicity. Keep in mind: THE AVerTVHD
MCE A180 IS AN ATSC-ONLY TUNER CARD! That
means it will tune only to OTA HD (ATSC) channels.
Yes, you'll need to plug in some kind of UHF antenna
to receive those HD broadcasts. Plugging in
your CATV coax into the A180 will result in
absolutely nothing.
The AVerTVHD MCE A180 has drivers and an application
which allows operation in Windows XP, and MCE 2005.
However, getting this card to properly work in MCE
2005 is not trivial. More on that later.
Average price as of July 2006 using Froogle is
US$75, making it inexpensive enough for hobbyists to
purchase two cards for building a dual-tuner PVR/HTPC.
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