Most TV tuners can only receive standard-definition signals. If you want
high-def programming, you??™ll need a few things, starting with a true HDTV
tuner card.
In North America, you??™ll need an ATSC tuner; in Japan, the standard is ARIB,
and in Europe, it??™s DVB. These HD tuner cards will receive terrestrial (over
the air) broadcasts, but not necessarily cable or satellite broadcasts. For that,
you??™ll likely need an HD tuner with a cable card slot or a QAM tuner; contact
your cable/satellite provider for details.
While the tuner is the most important component, there are other pieces of
the HD puzzle. For instance, HD broadcasts use a lot more data, which
means you??™ll need a fast processor (at least 2.4 Ghz or equivalent) for simultaneous
capture and playback, required for basic timeshifting of HD programming.
And you??™ll need a larger hard disk, too; while an hour of standard
definition (SD) programming typically consumes 1 GB of disk space, that
same hour of HD programming will eat up about 10 times as much space.
Thus that shiny new 300 GB hard disk will only get you about 25??“30 hours
of HD storage.
Finally, don??™t expect just any video card to be capable of displaying highdefinition,
full-motion video on a high-resolution display. If your HD video
plays smoothly in a video, but is jerky when shown full-screen, it??™s time for
a display adapter upgrade.
200 | Chapter 4: Working with Media
CD and DVD Drives
The first CD burner I ever saw was the size of a small microwave oven.
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