[mythtv-users] Important Cable Question

[Len Reed]

cweisiger at i-55.com wrote:
> This may sound silly but I have a question regarding cable
> and tv-tuner cards, in this case pvr-350.
> 
> I have cable service through Charter Communications..
> and using their provided cable box. They have Digital
> Cable service. (They also have High Def TV. I dont have this)
> Does this mean that my pvr-350 wont work?
> Will I have to get a different tv tuner card so i can 
> hook my cable line straight to my computer without having
> to use my cable box for channels 1-125. Or will the pvr-350 
> work. Because I was wanting to get another tv tuner card
> so i could hook up my cable box so i can record premium shows,
> of course being able to record a show and watch a show 
> at the same time. And I was getting information off the list
> here and it was recommended to either get a pvr-150 or 250.

I have Charter Cable.  In my case, it's Gwinnett County, GA.  Here's 
what I see:

Channels 2-13 are in analog only, even if tuned on the "digital" cable 
box.  Quality is variable.
Channes 14-99 may be in both analog and digital form, or maybe they're 
just clearer than 2-13.  They are clearer when viewed through the cable 
box but work when viewed on a cable-ready TV or a PVR-250/350/etc.

Changes 100 and up are digital only.  They're scrambled, so you need 
their box.  (Exception: local Atlanta channels digital/HDTV is QAM256 
and can be pulled straight of the wire by a suitable card or TV.  You 
don't have HDTV, though, so that's moot.  If anyone's interested in more 
info on Charter HDTV, ask me.)

So, here are your options:
2-99 can be tuned directly by your PVR350.  Just run the cable into it.

101 and up must be tuned by the cable box.  You need to run composite 
video or Svideo from the cable box to the PVR350.  (Also run line-level 
stereo audio.) You need a way to change channels on the cable box, 
though.  I used a homemade infrared transmitter and a perl script.

Beware of splitting the signal too much.  Also note that if you use an 
in-line amplifier it needs to support upstream communication in order 
for a cable modem or digital set top box to work.

My current setup:
1. PVR250 directly fed from cable (channels 2-99)
2. PVR250 fed via composite video from a cable box (all non-HDTV channels)
3. HD5000 directly from cable (for local channel digital/HDTV)

Want to add:
4. firewire from HDTV set top box (currently this is for viewing 
directly on TV only).  Unless I can get channels that the HD5000 can't 
see, though, this won't be of any real value except if I want to record 
two HDTV programs at the same time.