[mythtv-users] HDTV Question from somebody considering MythTV

[Kirk Bauer]

I know this is a FAQ and I did a lot of research but for somebody who
has never actually used MythTV it is hard to determine the best
option.

I currently have an HD DirecTivo (and a regular-definition DirecTivo).
 DirecTV is moving to MPEG4 and at some point will eliminate the old
MPEG2 HD channels.  This will leave me two choices for recording HD:

1) "Upgrade" to DirecTV's non-Tivo PVR
2) Purchase an HD Series 3 Tivo with CableCARDs from Cox

Downside to #1 is it continues to tie me in to DirecTV and it is not a
Tivo-brand PVR.  Downside to #2 is that Cox may be fairly expensive to
have to pay for perhaps 4 CableCARDs, plus the number of HD channels
is limited.

So I wanted to once again investigate the possibility of moving to
MythTV.  I am a long-time Linux user and have long been a fan but
never a user of MythTV.

So, what is the best option for getting HD content into MythTV?  I'm
not looking for the easiest option but instead the best.  From what I
can tell I can record OTA HD from my antenna no problem.  But what if
I want to record other HD channels like HBO, Showtime, FX, Discovery,
etc?

To me the only possible option is to get one or more HD set-top boxes
from DirecTV, control them with IR, and somehow capture the HD output.
 I know this may not be cheap, but is it possible?  I see three
options here:

1) Capturing the HDMI output -- obviously HDMI is made to avoid this
but it seems there has to be some sort of hack for this?
2) Capturing the component video output -- but what resolution will a
Satellite box output to Component outputs?  Not full HD I believe?
3) Using a HD Tivo to capture from CableCard and extracting that video
into MythTV for distribution to other rooms, etc.

Is there any good option for me here?

Thank you!

-- 
Kirk Bauer <kirk at kaybee.org>
http://linux.kaybee.org | www.logwatch.org
Author, Automating UNIX & Linux Administration