[mythtv-users] Mixing HD and non-HD Freeview tuners

[Andre Newman]

On 5 Aug 2013, at 10:33, Ian Oliver <lists at foxhill.co.uk> wrote:

> I have a Mythtv system in the UK with four Nova T USB DVB-T tuners. I'd 
> now like to add one or two DVB-T2 tuners to get Freeview HD but I'm not 
> sure how to configure things so that HD channels are recorded using the 
> HD tuners and SD on the others

If you add the T2 tuner first (or set the order manually) then you will get HD recordings rather than SD recordings for the HD available channels, set virtual tuners to 5 to record all the HD channels simultaneously. 

However if your T2 tuner is first priority then a recording of an SD only channel will also choose to use your T2 tuner first, not so helpful.

I found that it's useful to have the least capable tuners first, that way a more capable tuner isn't "wasted" due to it being first in the list!

For my configuration which is a mix of DVBS2, DVBT & DVBT2 tuners I have created a video source that is only the BBC T2 mux and another that has the other DVBT muxes. That way the "more valuable" T2 tuner is only ever used to record HD channels.

My tuner order is three DVBS2 tuners followed by the DVBT tuners followed by the DVBT2 tuner. I decided that if the broadcasters can afford to add a second T2 mux sometime soon, then the least I can do is afford a second T2 tuner ;-)



> (but with the ability to use the HD ones 
> if necessary.) Nor do I know if I can get a recording on (say) BBC1 HD 
> to fall back to BBC1 SD if there isn't a free HD tuner.

As Martin said in another reply, you can receive all the HD transmissions at the same time so there shouldn't be any reason to not have HD available, especially when you have already four DVBT tuners. 

You have almost as many tuners as there are muxes, I have a friend who has exactly one tuner for each mux, he has a video source for each one with only that mux in it, that way he never has a conflict (he needed to compile mythtv to set the virtual tuners higher than 5). This friend does record everything on almost every channel during primetime keeping a couple of weeks worth and then decides what he might watch or keep later, catch up TV the MythTV way.

> 
> Is anyone doing any of this successfully?

Lots of people.

Andre