[mythtv-users] Re: mythtv newcomer.. need help setting up live tv

[Grant Edwards]

On Wed, Oct 20, 2004 at 02:18:25PM -0400, Evan Burrows wrote:
> Grant:

> I'm afraid the term "coax cable" is so vague it's meaningless.
> What is that "coax cable"? Is it composite video, modulated RF
> with NTSC on channel 3, analog audio, digital audio, what?
> 
> I know nothing about this stuff, i just started this project
> because i had an extra p4 system lying around and have heard
> great things about mythtv.  I have no idea how digital cable
> works i was just saying that by coax i meant the coax cable
> that came out of the digital cable jack in the wall of my
> apartment.

That cable probably has two (maybe three, but we'll ignore
internet stuff) sets of things on it:

 1) Some analog NTSC transmissions.  These are probably on VHF
    channels 2-13 plus set of "cable" channels that don't match
    up with broadcast channels.

    To use these signals you need a tuner and a demodulator.
    Your TV has those.  Your PVR-x50 card has those.  Your VCR
    has those. The cable box probably has those as well.

 2) Digital cable stuff.  To use these signals you need a modem
    and decryption hardware.  Your TV does not have these, the
    PVR-x50 cards do not have these, your cable box does have
    these.

> Now that we have come to the conclusion that tuner cards don't
> help me since i have digital cable I am going to do the
> following. I am going to connect a "coax cable" from my
> digital cable jack to a splitter. That splitter will then run
> cable directly to my tv (hoping that I get at least some
> channels without going through the cable box),

You probably will.

> the other will go to the cable box.  I will connect the cable
> box to my myth box via svideo cables.

That sounds right.  You'll also want a way to let MythTV tell
your cable box to change channels.  Rumor has it some boxes
have serial ports.  More likely, you'll have to rig up an IR
transmitter so your myth box can tell the cable box to change
channels by imitating a remote control.

> so now (assuming this works) I will be able to watch regular
> analog channels directly on my tv and watch all channels
> through my cable box. In order to get X running on on my tv
> what do i need to connect in terms of cables (from what to
> what)?

If all you want is X running on your TV, you need to connect
either a composit video cable (RCA connector like the ones used
for audio signals) or S-video cable (mini-DIN connector sort of
like mice and keyboards use) from the RVR-350 to your TV.

>>No.  You can use the TV-out when watching recordings or when
>>watching the S-video signal from the cable-box (I assume it has
>>S-video out).
> 
> Yes my cable box has svideo out.  So now one svideo cable will be
> connected to my myth box and i will use that svideo connection as my
> input connection.  At this point nothing is connecting my cable box to
> my tv.. so to view anything on the tv from my myth box I just have to
> connect another svideo cable from the cable box to the tv.

Right.  If you do that, you'll always have the same channel
going into your PVR-350 and your TV.

> So the pvr-350 tvout will go to cable box

Probably not. I would have guessed you'd go from the PVR-350
S-video out to the TV s-video in.

> and then from the cable box it will be connected to the tv so
> all i would have to do is set my tv to AV1 (for example) to
> watch that stuff or channel 3 and above to view the analog
> channels that my tv picks up from being directly connected to
> the digital cable jack on my wall.

-- 
Grant Edwards
grante at visi.com