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Need some advice: 5.1 system and external digital tuner?

by Jeremy Toeman

Question by Christopher R: Need some advice: 5.1 system and external digital tuner?
Ok so I'm a freshman in college right now, and sharing a room with a couple people. Due to the arrangement I have not been able to enjoy watching movies/tv/ gaming with anything but headphones. I just went through the housing lottery and got myself a 200 square foot single for next year.
I know its not a ton of space, but I wanted to know if its worth it for me to buy a cheap 5.1 system from someone like logitech or creative in order to get a better listening experience. My school has "quiet hours" from 1am to 7am, but other than that its anything goes, so no problems with neighbors. I just want to make sure its even worth it with that small of a space.

Second question is:

I recently bought a 22 inch 1080p monitor that has hdmi/vga/dvi ect ect, the price was good and the quality is outstanding even compared to the much larger and more expensive set my family has at home.
Main problem is that it lacks a tv tuner. My roommate had a big tv this year so it wasnt an issue, but I need to figure something out by the end of the summer. Main thing it needs is the capability to accept coax connections and is digital so it can still be usuable down the road and display the hd channels at my school. (at home I have a regular cable box)

My ideas/options thus far:

1) Get a slingbox pro
pros: Can watch tv on my laptop all over campus as well as on my phone.
cons: Price....its well over 200$ and although I work full time during breaks/summer, I do have a phone bill/ insurance/ ect that I need money for during school

2) Buy an external tuner/usb tuner

Pro: I'm assuming they are cheaper...but

cons: I cant find a decent one anywhere. I need something that isn't tied through my computer, just a direct tuner to my monitor.

So does anyone have any suggestions for an external tuner thats somewhat cheap (under 100ish) ?

Or am I just gonna have to work overtime and get the slingbox pro hd?

Best answer:

Answer by Jim W
What kind of inputs does your monitor have? Make sure you can use whatever solution you select with your monitor.

You can use one of those converter boxes to get SD reception. They're around and if you have the government coupon they're the cheapest option. If you want HD, you'll need to get an HD ATSC tuner. They currently run around 0 or so, but you could check eBay for a cheaper used one.

Should have bought a TV with a PC input.

An alternative to Slingbox is Hava Platinum or Hava Titanium. I use the Platinum and it works pretty well over the LAN. Haven't tried it over the Internet yet. I've seen the Hava stuff on sale at Amazon and Buy.Com. I think I paid around for mine.

Why don't you want to use your PC with a USB tuner? The Pinnacle USB adapters work well and they can be bought inexpensively. The only gotcha is that you need a fast processor to get ATSC signals. Intel Core Duo with 2.0Ghz processor works fine.

BTW, I think if you want to use the Slingbox over the Internet, you have to have it connected to your PC, at least to set it up with the Slingbox servers.

What do you think? Answer below!