[mythtv-users] Probably a FAQ Question (HD, MythTV, Cable Card, and Comcast)

[David Frascone]

Comments Inline

Ivan Kowalenko wrote:
>
>> But -- what about using a STB and blasting IR?
>>     
>
> Common configuration for people who want digital cable, however it  
> probably isn't the best option, for what you want. Some people find  
> it hit-and-miss, some people find it rock solid.
>
>   
Understood -- I did this approach with DishNetwork and a Series 1 Tivo.

>> What I'm trying to do is replace the dain-bramaged Comcast DVR with  
>> a MythTV setup in my basement.  I want to install a couple of tuner  
>> cards in my file server, and use it as a MythTV "receiver".
>>     
>
> You mean as a back-end. First, dump the ComCast DVR. You're just  
> wasting money on it, and it's slower than some other cable boxes I  
> hear. You can probably use the straight HD-box for FireWire, or just  
> use a cheaper digital cable box. Keep in mind, this'll require a  
> decent amount of RAM (I have 256 MB for a single analog tuner).
>
>   
My goal is to dump it -- but I can't get rid of it and have less than I 
have now.

I'm assuming that the memory requirements are for compressing an analog 
signal -- if I do manage to get a digital one, it should just go to disk 
w/o issues, right?

>
>> Is this possible?  I'm guessing there is a way to blast IR to two  
>> (or more) Set Top Boxes, and to capture the output of the HD  
>> Comcast Set Top Boxes via component, HDMI, etc.
>>     
>
> There is no HDMI-capture solution, and HDCP aims to try and prevent  
> any from ever existing. IR Blasters are common place, but have a wire  
> range of reliability. For your situation, aiming for either direct- 
> cable or FireWire capturing would be best, since this would obtain  
> the highest quality signal, with the least amount of processing time  
> (FireWire capture just writes the raw MPEG-2 stream to disk).
>
>   
Ok -- I've seen a few posts about firewire.  It seems like the gist of 
it is:  Some STB's have firewire output.  And, if I find a HD box with 
firewire output, then I should be able to store all un-encrypted 
streams.  So -- that will *probably* give me all HD channels, except for 
the premium ones?  Or, does Comcast generally encrypt all their HD 
channels?  Does anyone know (Roswell, GA, North Fulton County)


I remember when I first hooked up cable, before I got the STB, that 
there were some digital signals.  There was even one HBO signal -- but 
it was not the  "real" HBO.  I think it might have been an on-demand 
signal.  It would sometimes pause, rewind, etc.

So -- is there no good solution for premium HD recording?  If I switched 
to DirecTV or DishNetwork would it be easier to capture HD?

Sounds like there's a market for HD to firewire or HD to USB 
converters!  Too bad I'm not a hardware guy!

-Dave
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