[mythtv-users] Newbie Questions

Shane Boulter sboulter at ariasolutions.com
Fri Dec 15 18:45:16 UTC 2006


I am on shaw also and have been using their analog signal as a backup
for my satellite which with the wind here lately likes to loose it
signal (but that's another story).

 

One thing you can also look at is the hdtv (dct6200 I believe) Motorola
box.  It will allow you to record via the firewire and also change the
channels.  I personally haven't tried it but there is lots of
information on the list about it.  If you want a dual IR-blaster I
recommend the 2 headed one from irblaster.info.  It only uses one serial
port and works like a gem.

 

shane

 

________________________________

From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Brett Kosinski
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 11:40 AM
To: dat220 at tappin.ca; Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Newbie Questions

 

	
	1.) Digital vs. Analog Cable
	
	I am in Canada with Shaw as my cable provider.  There is not
broadcast 
	digital service and I would not expect it anytime soon given our
draconian
	government controlled TV system.  I would like to make the jump
to digital
	cable but I want to make sure I can still use my PVR.  If I
subscribe to 
	the service does the PRV tuner basically replace my providers
tuner box?
	i.e. it can tune into the digital channels?


No.  You'll feed the output of your digital cable box into your MythTV
PVR, and control it via an IR blaster-type device (so Myth can perform
channel changes).  This is because the digital cable feeds are
encrypted, so there's no way to feed them directly into the Myth box.
This also, incidentally, makes HDTV out of the question. 

Incidentally, I'm also on Shaw Cable and have a Motorola DCT-2524.  It
works beautifully with my blaster from irblaster.info and the DCT2500
remote codes (and quickly, after I removed the delay between clicks in
my channel changing script). 

	 

	2.) Dual tuners
	
	Can I have two tuners and record 2 shows at the same time? 


Yes, but you'll need two cable boxes and two IR blasters to do it. 

	 

	3.) Front End vs. Back End
	
	I recall reading that the ideal solution would be to have a
dedicated box
	to record content (i.e. tuner cards, host the database etc) and
a separate
	box to watch TV / content.  Is it realistic to not just build a
high end 
	system with lots of RAM etc and use it for both?


You could, but then you'd have this big, hot, noisy PC in your living
room.  The advantage of a split system is that you can have a big BE
with fans and hard disks whirring in some closet somewhere, while your
FE can be small, quiet, and stylish.  But it really is a matter of
preference. 

	 

	4.) Wireless USB extender (completely off topic - for a MAME
system)

 

Can't help ya here. :)

Brett.

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