[mythtv-users] One Card for Analog/Digital Cable and HDTV?

[Rickard Borgmäster]

On fre, 2005-09-09 at 09:48 -0400, Tom E. Craddock Jr. wrote:
> Doubt it, as TW isnt known for letting digital cable channels be decoded 
> by cards, ie they are encrypted.

I have no idea how TW has transmission set up, since we don't have that
here in sweden. But why shouldn't it be possible to use a DVB-C card? A
DVB-C card is (combined with a software) somewhat equivalent to a
set-top box (STB).

Here in sweden we have a few cable operators. The most common is Comhem
and UPC. If you're the average Joe, you have sign up and buy/rent an STB
with your subscription. You receive a program card which you put in the
slot on the STB. These STB:s use Conax or Viaccess encryption over here.

If average Joe becomes MythTV Joe and would like to receive the digital
TV into his linux box today, he would buy a linux supported DVB-C PCI
card such as Hauppuage Nexus or Technotrend 2100/2300. Out of the box,
the card will receive FTA (free) channels only. To be able to receive
pay-tv (encrypted) channels, the card must be extended with a CI (common
interface). These are available as 3,5" floppy mount kit, or PCI bay
mounted kit. Next he will need a CAM (conditional access module) which
looks as a PCMCIA card (actually, I think it is?) and will fit into the
CI slot. Depending on what encryption the feed operator uses, the choice
of cam will differ. I'e for use with Comhem in Sweden, a Conax CAM is
needed. The CAM has a smartcard reader for the subcriber program card.

And that's about it...

An alternative to use the CI-addon and a CAM is a phoenix or infinity
smartcard reader (Serial or USB connection) and software emulated CAM
(such as newcamd). This is, AFAIK, not possible to use with MythTV.

 --
Rickard Borgmäster