[mythtv-users] Non-OTA ATSC HD Capture

[Michael T. Dean]

Angus Davis wrote:

> I tried sending a message to the list earlier but I don't believe it 
> went through, so I will try one more time.
> I want to use MythTV to capture and distribute HD content from DBS 
> networks such as Voom,  DirecTV, Digital CATV and other HD sources.  
> To my knowledge, there is not any hardware available to essentially 
> take a DVI input or something of that sort to preserve a totally 
> digital signal path.  Note I am not worried here about capturing 
> over-the-air ATSC HDTV signals.  I know there are good tuner cards out 
> there that do this (however, I am not clear on whether any of the 
> tuner cards support the new Zenith 5th generation ATSC chipset, which 
> significantly improves reception issues -- anyone knowledgeable on this?)
>
> The only option I know about right now would be to take DVI out, put 
> it into an SDI converter (expensive) and buy an SDI-based MPEG capture 
> card (expensive) and pray I don't run into compatibility problems 
> (unlikely).
>
> Does anyone know of a better solution for pure-digital capture of HD 
> signals?  For that matter, is anyone distributing an HD signal using 
> MythTV that *isn't* coming off an OTA ATSC tuner card?

Check out these threads:
"Crazy idea for cheap HDTV tuner card" ( 
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/77057 ), which seemed 
to spawn the thread "Okay, slow down, HDTV idiot here..." ( 
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/77110 )

There are a lot of posts (heated topic), but in total, they explain why 
you won't be able to capture cable/satellite HDTV now (not to mention 
why you won't even be able to capture OTA HDTV after July 1, 2005).  
Actually, you should be able to capture either--even after July 1, 
2005--but at a maximum quality of 480p.  Basically, you'll get 
DVD-quality TV instead of HDTV...

Mike