[mythtv-users] hd homerun and STB

[Mark Knecht]

On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 7:41 PM, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
> On Monday 02 June 2008 20:02:13 steve wrote:
>
>>
>> what do you mean by that..... I have to have something between the STB,
>> and the HDHR? besides the cable running between the 2?
>
> You don't use an HDHR with an STB, that's just not what it's made for.
>
> To use an STB you need a capture device that accepts whatever the STB outputs,
> which is usually baseband and sometimes RF.
>
> In your situation all you will get with an HDHR is the unencrypted QAM, as you
> have discovered. To get anything tuned by an STB you need a BB input capture
> device like a PVR-150, though that will tune RF as well.
>
> The new Hauppauge box (expecting mine this week) looks promising if you have
> an STB that outputs component.
>
> beww

So the question I've had is how do I determine what unencrypted QAM
channels my cable provider (Comcast) is providing on my network
without first purchasing something like an HDHR?

We don't pay for much in the way of extra channels here. Maybe $10 for
some stuff like BBC and TCM. Most of that we could live without if we
had to. However I know we want the networks, PBS, etc.

Seems like a Catch-22.

- Mark