Image quality
Our tuner comparison wouldn’t be complete without a look at image quality. Below are screen shots from playback of MPEG2 files we recorded with each tuner using MCE's "best" quality mode. Again, our source was an uncompressed DVD rip of The Lion King played back on a modified Xbox. A Pelican Xbox coaxial output dongle was used to feed video to the tuners.

The images below are cropped JPEGs; click on them for a full-sized PNG.

TV Wonder Elite

eVGA NVTV

Hauppauge PVR-150MCE l.p.

The TV Wonder Elite produces the best image followed by the NVTV and PVR-150MCE l.p. The TV Wonder and NVTV both produce vibrant colors, but the TV Wonder's blacks are more neutral than the NVTV's, which are too bright. The images produced by the PVR-150MCE l.p. are much darker, and the colors look a little off.

In addition to offering a brighter, more colorful picture than the Hauppauge card, the ATI and eVGA cards' antialiasing algorithms do a much better job of smoothing jagged edges around Mufasa's face. The PVR-150MCE l.p. shows some artifacting, especially around Zazu’s beak. This could be a result of sub-par capture quality or poor or lacking antialiasing.

TV Wonder Elite

eVGA NVTV

Hauppauge PVR-150MCE l.p.

In our second test, the NVTV's superior antialiasing reins supreme, although the overall image is a little too bright. Still, the NVTV shows greater clarity around Rafiki’s face and fur than the TV Wonder Elite. Again, the PVR-150MCE l.p. looks worse than the ATI and eVGA cards.