[mythtv-users] New Setup Question regarding tv tuner cards

[Kevin Kuphal]

On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 3:25 PM, Ethan Pierce <ethan.pierce at earthlink.net>wrote:

> Greetings, I'm new to the list and mythtv.  My hardware is all on order
> (a fairly beefy quadcore, 8gb and 1tb machine), which includes a
> pcHDTV5500 as well as a PVR-500.
>
> I use timewarner cable.  I spent about 3 hours researching cards the
> other night
> and it seems like the two I purchased are best for my setup and having
> the ability to watch/record shows a the same time.
>
> I may have went overboard with my card purchase, but am wondering if I
> will be able to record multiple shows
> at the same time with this setup?  I understand the PVR-500 doesnt do
> the HD content but can it be assigned to use its hardware encoders for
> the job of transcoding/etc?


This is incorrect.  The PVR-500 hardware encoder only is used during
recording, not transcoding, etc.


> Basically I want to be able to watch/record
> HD shows as well as those found on the analog stations.  Did I over do
> it on my card selection?


I don't think so.  It is very similar to my configuration.  I have a pair of
AverMedia A180 HD cards for my ClearQAM (unencrypted HD via cable) channels
and a PVR-500 for the analog coverage.

>
>
> I have a DCH6200 Motorolla box too, will/can that be eliminated from the
> picture?


Depends.  If your cable provider provides all your needs via ClearQAM or
analog, then you don't need the box.  If you find that your provider
encrypts certain channels (premium HD, etc), then you may want to keep your
box but you'd likely be relegated to analog recording the output of the box
since most cable providers encrypt via firewire as much as they do via
ClearQAM.

>
>
> Will I just split my cable lines three ways - 1to the pchd card and 2 to
> the PVR-500 lines?


Twice.  The PVR-500 has an internal dual tuner requiring only one cable
input.

Kevin
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