So Feb. 2009 is fast approaching, and a family member has a PC with a standard-def tuner card and rabbit ears.

The problem is that she uses Windows 2000.

So this means, there are very few HDTV cards to choose from. The PC is plenty robust (it's mostly my castoffs-- 4600+, 2Gb memory, and an 8300GS) for the job.

I know the DVICo FusionHDTV 5 and under series (at least the non-PCI-E versions) are compatible with Win2000. (I had a 5 Lite for a while with some success).

The problem is, these cards were never well-marketed in the US to begin with, and DVICo now promotes a much later series (Fusion 7) which does not appear to support Windows 2000, so it may be even harder than before).

I'd like to get the card in time for a birthday present on 20 September.

I'm looking at SnapStream Store: DVICO FusionHDTV5 RT Gold (ATSC TV tuner) + FREE Antenna - 80 bucks for the Gold version - but 1) are they trustworthy for hardware, and 2) is there a better value? Or another card worth considering? Leaving Win2000 is not an option (why spend $150 to save $20 on a card?)

Found 2 cards that will work with win2000:
Plextor Mini Digital HDTV USB2.0 Receiver PX-HDTV500U-NA at CompUSA.com
and:
Newegg.com - DViCO FusionHDTV7 RT GOLD HDTV/Analog TV Tuner Card - TV Tuners & Video Devices

Well, the Fusion7 is 20 bucks higher, the Plextor requires me to await a rebate to be cheaper, and I hate USB on principle, so I think I'll go with the Fusion5. 88.36 inclusive of postage, and it comes with a competent-looking antenna (a minor plus, as I regularly have to crimp her current rabbit ears' cable back together).