[mythtv-users] BBC bitrates - Freeview versus Satellite

[Allan Stirling]

Mark Kendall wrote:
> I'm thinking about adding a satellite feed to my existing terrestrial
> based setup. From memory, the bitrate for BBC1/2 is around 3-4Mbs on
> Freeview - does anyone know what the equivalent bitrate is for the
> BBC's satellite (Astra2D) feed? i.e. will I get better picture
> quality?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Mark
Firstly, you are aware that most of the other channels at 28.2 (ITV, 
CH4, Five, etc) are free-to-view and not free-to-air?

What this means is that you need a subscription card to view them.

http://www.freesatfromsky.com/?pID=6

The card is £20. However, this is where it gets tricky. The encryption 
scheme used by Sky is NDS VideoGuard. To view this with Myth, you need:

A fully featured DVB-s card (~£120)
A Dragon CAM (~£120 with programmer / loader card)

So, that's an initial outlay of £260. And it gets worse. The Dragon CAM 
is not an official NDS CAM. Therefore, it's possible that Sky could 
change their camcrypt to lock out these CAMs at any time - Without warning.

On the flip side, the picture quality is great compared to going through 
an additional D -> A -> D sequence.

If you're still interested, I'll try and grab bitrates - But they're 
unlikely to be significantly higher than DVB-t - Since the transponders 
up there are in much higher demand than the terrestrial UK ones.

Cheers,

Allan.