[mythtv-users] PCI-E ATSC (US) Card Recommendation

[Brian Wood]

On Tuesday 01 December 2009 09:52:42 am Devin Heitmueller wrote:
> Hi Brian,
> 
> On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 11:47 AM, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
> > I assume you mean "hardware NTSC decoders", unless the unit has 
NTSC
> > outputs ???
> 
> I think you just have the terminology backwards.  An MPEG encoder
> converts a raw NTSC signal to MPEG format.  An MPEG decoder converts
> an MPEG file to raw video.  James is correct in that the 2250 has dual
> MPEG encoders.
> 
> > Do you mean it can receive NTSC analog broadcasts (assuming proper
> > drivers)?
> 
> The hardware supports it, but the Linux driver does not.

OK, makes sense. I thought that your reference to "NTSC encoders" might 
mean that it could receive ATSC signals then output them as analog for use 
by older NTSC TV sets or capture by a PVR-150. If that were the case it 
would have been the first such unit I had heard of. Alas, that's not the case.

Of course outputting anything beyond SD resolution as NTSC would be 
impossible in any case. If it could downscale ATSC to SD then output as 
analog NTSC it would have been an interesting device.

Since you apparently meant "decoders" it means the unit was designed to 
receive both NTSC and ATSC signals, more or less like my HD-3000 card.

But it can't do both at the same time, which makes sense.