[mythtv-users] NTSC USB tuners: which ones are out there?

[Michael T. Dean]

On 03/26/2015 10:19 AM, Devin Heitmueller wrote:
>> It looks as though I got clear QAM and NTSC confused as I went about
>> determining what hardware I would need to bring in certain cable
>> broadcasting that we still care to watch. There are a few SD stations on
>> cable (TWC--NatGeo, History Channel, Animal Planet and maybe a couple
>> others) from which we wish to record, and the HDHR4-2US does not pick them
>> up when I do a channel scan. On subsequent reflection, I believe it won't
>> pick them up because they broadcast in NTSC (which the HDHR4-2US does not
>> handle, as I understand it) rather than in clear QAM--the latter of which
>> the HDHR4-2US does handle.
> Depending on your cable system, it's likely that NatGeo, History,
> Channel, etc are broadcasted *only* in encrypted digital form (i.e.
> not in ClearQAM, nor in analog NTSC).

And if they are currently broadcast over the cable lines in analog 
(NTSC) or unencrypted digital (ClearQAM), it's very likely that they 
won't be for long.  Now that the cable co's can encrypt everything it 
seems that's the way they're moving.

>    As a result, your only options
> for receiving those channels would be an HDHR Prime with Cablecard
> (assuming for a moment that the channels are copy-freely

Which is likely a bad assumption if the cable company is TWC.

> ), or an
> HD-PVR in conjunction with a cable box.

which is likely the only viable option with TWC.

> Encryption sucks.  Blame your cable company.

Yep.

Mike