[mythtv-users] Semi OT: Directv questions

Brad DerManouelian myth at dermanouelian.com
Mon May 12 02:10:13 UTC 2008


On May 11, 2008, at 6:39 PM, Dewey Smolka wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I've recently moved, ditched Comcast, and got Directv set up and
> running yesterday. So far I'm very impressed. I got serial control of
> the D12 box without a hitch and far easier than I had imagined thanks
> to the wiki instructions and the authors of directv.pl. Thank you.

Hooray for no Comcast!

> But within hours of getting it running, I had already started spinning
> my wheels about expansion. I hope some folks here have enough
> experience with directv to answer a few questions.
>
> 1) I've heard that the HD boxes put out a better signal, even over the
> SD ports. I'm running my current box (D12-100) though a PVR-250 via
> S-video. The signal is strong and there aren't really any problems
> other than a clear sense that the signal is more compressed than the
> cable signal I was used to.  Can anyone confirm or deny that the
> HD-capable boxes are cleaner in this configuration? My landlord has
> several spare HD boxes and he's more than willing to loan me one if
> this is true.

Yes, this is true. I get MUCH better picture after moving to high def  
boxes, but still using svideo output from it.

> 2) I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one already, but I
> thought I'd ask just to get confirmation. As I mentioned I have a
> PVR-250 and a decided lack of spare PCI slots on my backend. With a
> PVR-500 (and add-on bracket) it would support two inputs from two
> boxes over two S-Video ports and two audio-ins, right?

Yes. You need to use the extra card it comes with. It takes up a PCI  
space on the back of your case, but it doesn't take up a PCI slot on  
your motherboard. It plugs into the PVR-500 and sits next to it to  
give you the extra s-video/audio ports you will need.

> 3) I currently controlling the Directv box via a frankenstein
> serial->9-pin gender changer->null modem->serial-USB adapter cable.
> But I don't have a second serial port, neither for another
> frankencable nor for my Myblaster (which is now in a box). How does
> one control a second box? Is adding another USB-serial adapter at the
> backend an option?

Yes. I do this with my motherboard. Along with some udev rules to make  
sure I'm controlling the right card, it's all good. I eventually plan  
on controlling 4 DirecTV boxes this way.

> 4) I asked the installer a number of questions, but wasn't really
> convinced by any of his answers so took all of it with a grain of
> salt. For example I asked him if I got another box if it would be
> enough to add a coaxial 2-way splitter at the end to connect both. He
> didn't think that would be too good an idea, and said that if it was
> another standard box, I should call service and tell them my picture
> was out, then when a guy showed up to fix it offer him $10 to drill
> another hole and run a new cable from outside. He also said that if it
> was an HD box I was adding they'd have to add another piece of
> hardware outside. But either way, splitting the signal inside wouldn't
> work very well. Thoughts or opinions?

I don't know if you *can* split the signal like that. As far as I know  
each box needs to be connected directly to the Satellite dish. I have  
4 lines coming from my box into my livingroom. I'm only using 2 right  
now, but once I start capturing high def from my HD boxes, I'll use  
the other two to capture standard def with my old D11 boxes.

> I won't ask the one the one has been beaten to death with no clear
> answer yet. I won't ask when the wondrous new Hauppage HD capture
> device will be supported, or what the playback requirements will be. I
> won't ask whether or not my horribly outdated P4 2.5 will support the
> native H.264 format when the thing is fully Myth-compatible. But if I
> were to ask, would anyone have any answers?

There are no answers about the Hauppauge device until they've shipped  
and some kind dev looks into supporting it. Since there are no  
drivers, there's no way to tell if/when it will work. However, you can  
download sample H.264 content and see if your box can handle it. My  
guess is no, but it's been a really long time since I've used a  
pentium machine.

-Brad



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