Recommended digital TV tuner?

Foxmeister

Fired Up!
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Messages
1,736
Reaction score
9
Points
38
Location
Sunny Glesga!
Wots the better tv tuners on the market at the moment, needs to be compatible with any screen and good quality signal strength up to high speeds etc? Cheers.
 
From what I've heard.... 95% of the eBay budget stuff is useless and a waste of effort to install it.... I've seen TV tuenrs for £30, but pretty sure they'll be a waste of time.

Is this for a generic screen or for an Audi RNS-D / RNS-E / MMI screen?

All my research is based on the RNS-E, so adjust accordingly :)

Remember that in addition to the tuner, you'll need the AV input converter which is anything from £30-£100, plus the aerial (prefereably two and then get a diversity tuner) and any wiring looms for integration into the head unit, such as a Kufatec box for the controls, etc....

I have been reliably informed (by somebody who has installed a LOT of these) that Ampire offer the best combination of tuner and Audi RNS-E integration (incl steering integration)... the Ampire DVBT52 is the "budget" (£200) model and replaces the old DVBT100 model, the one I'm after is the DVBT200 (£300 just for the tuner) which also has two additional AV lines in (for iPod video, etc) and this is the one that HazzyDayz fit for £650 incl labour, the AV adapter, 2 x aerials and integrated wiring loom, £580 if you don't need the RNS-E and steering integration and are happy just to use the remote.... which isn't bad if you consider the DVBT200 is £300-odd, the AV adapter is normally around £90 and the aerials are about £30 each... so that's £450 + wiring kits before you've even started doing any work or vag-com'ing stuff!

If you don't need full Audi RNS-E integration and/or can't handle the hassle of trying to source one of those, I've seen various people singing the praises of the Alpine TUE-T150DV and Kenwood KTC-D500E (both have twin aerial diversity tuners), but I'm not sure about how well they'll integrate with the Audi hardware as I've only seen those recommended for genric headunits.... and I think you still need the AV adapters, aerials and any other wiring, so that's £250-ish for the unit, plus the accessories, so probably still around £400-odd for all the parts.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for reply lostbok.

Its for a generic screen, car is b5 A4 so no Audi existing components to tie in, goin for aftermarket install.

Wouldnt consider the ebay cheapies either, get wot u pay for kinda thing. Heard of Hirschmann units also, but look pricey. Looking around 200-300 as max budget, but wasnt sure on the other components needed like loom etc. Thought it could be wired in parralel with headunit and use an IR eye to control? Sounds like a bit of work and more expense, not sure if i can justify it as car isnt a daily drive.
 
So you've not bought the screen yet either or is there somehting in there already, if so, what is it?

Is that £200-£300 in addition to the screen? Most decent spec TV tuners are around £200-£250 and you can always get the simpler aerials for now to keep it under £300... and then upgrade the aerials later if you're struggling with reception.

If you're still getting the screen, what is your total budget?
 
Sorry mate, i have head units already. Have a JVC from another car i had, and the Audi came with a cheapie Ripspeed unit which is still in it now, motorised 7" screen type. So the budget is solely for the tv tuner and getting it added into the system. Is there a big difference between ariels??? Would again prefer the better option here rather than re-do it at a later date? Im a spark by trade, and had a few years experience modding cars so i'll be doing all the install myself, so the budget really was to buy all kit that i would need to integrate a tv tuner into the system, thought 200-300 would be enough to buy a reputable make and quality unit that would come with all components i need to connect it up? Sorry for lack of knowledge, but have not had a tv tuner in any system before, always just built purely for sound pleasure before. Thanks for info.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads