[mythtv-users] HDTV Question from somebody considering MythTV

[William Munson]

On 11/26/07, Kirk Bauer <kirk at kaybee.org> wrote:
>
> 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:


There are really no options for capturing HD from any satellite service.
Depending on your cable company you may have the ability to capture some/all
channels via firewire using a cable box however the satellite boxes do not
have any way to capture HD (This is no accident, they want you to PURCHASE a
hd dvr from them.)

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?


Nope

2) Capturing the component video output -- but what resolution will a
> Satellite box output to Component outputs?  Not full HD I believe?


Only possible at SD resolutions right now.

3) Using a HD Tivo to capture from CableCard and extracting that video
> into MythTV for distribution to other rooms, etc.



No cable card support in any PC based capture card. You might be able to
suck the programming from the tivo but not real-time and there may be issues
playing the video in myth.


Is there any good option for me here?
>
> Thank you!


Get cable and a HD stb and hope they have not blocked everything other than
your local channels for firewire capture. Good luck, the choices are not
good these days and the providers are working hard to remove them too.

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