[mythtv-users] Basic questions of newb. ( Cablevision)

[Christopher Meredith]

On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 10:36 PM, Misc Things <formisc at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 1:16 PM, Christopher Meredith <
> chmeredith at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 10:14 AM, Misc Things <formisc at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 11:05 AM, Christopher Meredith <
>>> chmeredith at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 9:52 AM, Misc Things <formisc at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 10:18 AM, Christopher Meredith <
>>>>> chmeredith at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 8:29 AM, Misc Things <formisc at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> thank you Charles,
>>>>>>>  I spoke with Cablevision CUS and he informed me that by the end of
>>>>>>> February CV is going 100% digital and even for basic line-up we will have to
>>>>>>> have their boxes? (and , i have no doubts, pay for them). This whole cable
>>>>>>> TV  provider
>>>>>>> sh%% smelss like a good old mafia. I also was informed by CV's rep
>>>>>>> that they will encrypt the basic channels too.
>>>>>>> I'm not sure if this is 100$ correct though.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Let's say that it is . In this situation what would be the best (
>>>>>>> after cutting cabel off :) ) course of action:
>>>>>>>  I want to be able to record at least 2  channels and watch one.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You'll need one tuner for every channel you want to watch/record
>>>>>> simultaneously. As mentioned, you can use analog tuners to get the analog
>>>>>> feed from the cablebox. Another option if you want to get your network
>>>>>> channels in HD is to use an ATSC tuner and antenna. Depending on where you
>>>>>> are, this can actually give you a better signal than cable. And of course,
>>>>>> it's free.
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you Charles.
>>>>> Now i assume that this setup ( ATSC tuner and antenna) will get me free
>>>>> channels that are known to be the "Basic" CV package (
>>>>> http://www.optimum.com/ratecard.jsp?searchby=corp&corp=07870&serviceType=io&z=07601&_requestid=112439)
>>>>> . Correct?
>>>>> What if i want to have more channels and no CV's box? can i get rid of
>>>>> the box ? if not - what do i need to enable the functionality i talked about
>>>>> earlier?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You can find out exactly what channels are available to you via ATSC by
>>>> using this tool: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
>>>>
>>>> Apart from that, you can plug a TV cable directly from the wall into a
>>>> QAM tuner and receive any channels that are "clear QAM," which means
>>>> unencrypted. Usually, this is only the channels you can already receive OTA,
>>>> usually less (unless you're very lucky). The next level is using your cable
>>>> box with firewire, assuming your cable company isn't using a different type
>>>> of encryption on those channels (most are). After that, there's nothing you
>>>> can do, except use an HD-PVR which captures the component HD signal from
>>>> your cable box.
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>> > The next level is using your cable box with firewire, assuming your
>>> cable company isn't using a different type of encryption on those channels
>>> (most are).
>>>
>>> Wait. Are you saying that they encrypt basic differently from "premium"
>>> channels?
>>
>>
>> Yes. The signal that comes into the house via cable can have QAM
>> encryption requiring the use of a cable box to decrypt. Then the cable box
>> itself can encrypt that signal over firewire using 5c encryption. There is
>> no Myth-compatible device capable of breaking 5c encryption. Unless you
>> are extremely lucky, all premium channels will be 5c encrypted.
>>
>>
>>> >.. After that, there's nothing you can do, except use an HD-PVR which
>>> captures the component HD signal from your cable box.
>>> mmm. So this unit is a replacement for the box in terms of the
>>> decryption? not sure i follow.
>>>
>>
>> Rather than connecting the component cables to your  TV from the cable
>> box, you would connect them to the HD-PVR from the cable box. This is an
>> analog HD signal, so it can't be encrypted. The HD-PVR can record anything
>> your cable box can play over component (so pretty much everything). After my
>> cable company turned on 5c, I got an HD-PVR and have been happy ever since.
>>
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>>
>> Yeah, i doubt that i'll be lucky ( with absence of 5c ).
> Based on your explanations i see 2 roads :
> 1. take an antenna and record OTA free channels (around 12 of them) - pay
> $0 to cable company
> 2. take a box -> connect HD-PVR to either firewire or component or ( i
> think i have ) SPIF(?) output(s) and enjoy all channels i subscribe to.
>
> With this seemed to be clear in my head. Lets go one step deeper:
> 1. What video capturing card(s) would you recommend?
>  Again i would like to be able to record as many channels in parallel as
> possible and view one :).
> I think, though, that if the source of the recording signal is the boxm
> then the amount of channels i can record simultaneously is limited to those
> of the box. in my case i can record 2 and watch one . Is this assumption
> correct?
>
>
In part. To tune multiple channels simultaneously, you need multiple tuners.
If you're going to record/watch OTA broadcast, you'll need multiple ATSC
tuners. I have a pcHDTV PC3000 which I like very much, but it is only a
single tuner so it can only record or watch one channel at a time. The same
is true of the HD-PVR. It can only tune one channel at a time and as you
surmised, you can only use one per cable box. Your STB itself has multiple
tuners but since you can't access them directly, you can't use them. For the
purpose of capturing the analog output with the HD-PVR, think of the cable
box as a single source. Some on this  list have multiple HD-PVRs and they
also rent extra cable boxes from the cable co.

You could also do both options, using an ATSC tuner and an HD-PVR. Then you
could watch one OTA channel while recording one cable channel and vv.
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