[mythtv-users] Supported DVB-S cards and non-FTA satellite feeds

[Lachek Butalek]

I feel I've been annoyed at my cable company (Cogeco) long enough to
do something about it. I'm subscribed to digital cable but cannot
receive any premium digital feeds or HDTV into my MythTV box due to
encryption, and none of their available boxes have enabled IEEE1394.
OTA HD is promising, but since this is Canada there is an extremely
limited selection currently available.

I understand some folks have had success with DVB-S cards and
Free-to-Air satellite feeds, and in regards to this:

1. What card(s) are people most successful using?
2. What selection of FTA channels could you hope to receive in the Toronto area?
3. What other equipment would be needed - dish, motor etc? Does MythTV
have a nice way to handle controlling a motor to point a dish to a
different sat, or do I have to get multiple cards/dishes for each sat?

The alternative is to go with a commercial satellite network, like
StarChoice (or DISH - which may be borderline illegal here since they
don't have a Canadian presence). And in regards to this:

1. Do such providers normally offer a selection of unencrypted
channels, and in that case how large of a selection? Anything in HD?
2. Is there any way to get MythTV working with the genuine smartcards
provided to you by the company, to access encrypted content a la the
Dreambox?
3. If not, is there some other ;) way of getting the content you've
already paid for into your MythTV box?

Any help appreciated.