[mythtv-users] USA recommendations for Digital Over the Air Capture Card

[Marc Randolph]

On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 2:20 PM, Eric Mesa <ericsbinaryworld at gmail.com> wrote:
> Also, I've noticed that it appears that ATSC cards don't have hardware
> encoding.  Is this because of something inherent in the way that ATSC is
> transmitted?  Is it already encoded or something like that?  I mean, I think
> I've read that ATSC is MPEG-2, but I thought cable was as well.  So is this
> something I should watch out for?  My CPU is only a P4 since I've had
> hardware encoding on the PVR-500.

ATSC is already encoded.
Digital cable is too - if you had firewire, you wouldn't need an
encoder.  Encoders are common, however, because firewire is
problematic, so you're forced to capture (and encode) the analog
output of the cable box.

On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 2:21 PM, Eric Mesa <ericsbinaryworld at gmail.com> wrote:
> As a followup to my tuner recommendation email, I'm also curious about
> antennas.  I live in an apartment complex so outdoor ones are out of the
> question.

If you have a balcony or patio where you could mount the antenna such
that it won't overhang or cause damage to their building, you are
legally allowed to use it:

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Have fun,

   Marc