Freeview for my pc

Alladin_2

Where is the cheapest place to buy an external freeview adapter for my pc? I want to use it as a pvr using media portal(or similar).

Is there anything I should look out for/be aware of?

Thanks

Idiophreak

Have a look on ebuyer, they normally have usb freeview adapters for around £22/23

edit: like this. £20.20 inc supersaver delivery and gets 5* reviews.

wolfman

Make sure you buy one that has BDA drivers, otherwise you'll have to use the software they supply.

If you look on Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freecom-Digital-DVB-T-Freeview-receiver/dp/B000ALAWQ6/sr=8-1/qid=1169645106/ref=pd_ka_1/202-9212968-9438248?ie=UTF8&s=electronics) the Freecom one is very good, and there are BDA drivers available.

This will allow you to use a range of media suites out there, such as GbPvr and MediaPortal.

https://www.gbpvr.com
https://www.team-mediaportal.com

Both of which will be better and more functional than the standard software you get with the device.

Also a proper aerial would be advisable. The "portable" ones the often come with such USB tv cards aren't very good.

Alladin_2

Stupid question, but how do I tell if it has BDA drivers? What is a BDA driver?

wolfman

You'll need to (if looking at the eBuyer one for example) look it up on the web. See if whoever makes it supplies BDA drivers.

BDA drivers are basically generic drivers (a standard I think) for the device, so it will work (or will be much more likely to) with any software. Otherwise, you may find the supplied drivers only work with the supplied software, which is often ok, but never great.

If the difference in price is £5 between the eBuyer one and Freecom, I'd personally fork out the extra £5, secure in the knowledge that it definitely does have BDA drivers and works with GbPvr, Media Portal etc...

I've got mine working with GbPvr in Windows, and Kaffeine in Linux.