[mythtv-users] Server/adding new card dilemma, HD/hardware questions
R. G. Newbury
newbury at mandamus.org
Wed Oct 1 18:49:16 UTC 2008
Bobby Gill wrote:
>>
>>> Well, yes. But even now most analog is echoed on the SD multiplex. In my
>>> area, digital gets me what I need. Maybe with cable it's different but I
>>> would suspect that getting an analog tuner set up and running will only
>>> give you a few weeks of use at best.
>>>
>>> --Yan
>>>
>>> Pretty much same thing going on here. The only one that for me has
>> different programming on analog is the local PBS station.
>>
>> Richard
>>
>>
> Okay, lost me here. Are you saying that if I get a card that captures
> Digital TV only (no analog input), and I just have regular analog cable TV
> right now, I can capture it fine? ie., Digital is kind of "backwards
> compatible" to grab analog?? I think this area confuses me most lol.
>
> FYI I am using Rogers Cable TV (regular cable) in Canada. Family room has a
> Rogers Digital box (that I don't use as part of Myth; frontend is desktop PC
> in bedroom).
>
> Thanks
> Bob
You get Rogers Cable. That is analog. You also have, at least, some
digital capability. Think of these just like different radios: AM and
FM. Can't listen to AM on the FM radio and vice versa.
Digital is NOT backwards compatible with analog.
Rogers no longer even offers an analog basic package, so the writing is
on the wall, that it will (eventually) move all the analog channels to
digital streams only.
At the moment, you record off the cable with a PVR-150. It has on-board
hardware compression, and does only Standard Definition TV.
EVERYTHING which Rogers sends as a digital signal is encrypted. Rogers
used to transmit about 35 QAM encoded, unencrypted channels, but stopped
that about June 2007. Now everything digital is encrypted, which means
you must use a set top box to unscramble the signal.
It is clear that Rogers wants to suck as much as possible from the
customer, and CONTROL the customer's capability to record, as much as
possible. And there are no 'must-carry' rules in Canada from the CRTC as
there are in the US from the FCC.
Your digital set-top-box, MAY have a firewire output (but I don't think
anyone has confirmed that wrt Rogers supplied boxes). If so, you can
record the digital stream using a firewire input on your mythbox. ( I am
fairly sure you can buy firewire capable STB's which work with Rogers.)
The only other choice at the moment, is the new Hauppauge HD1212 which
takes (analog) component video output from the set top box and encodes
to to digital, which you then record. The STB must have component
output. Only the most basic (cheapest) STB's do not have component.
HDMI generally does not work for output because it is crippled to only
talk to HDCP recognized devices, like your LCD TV but to never allow a
digital stream 'into the wild' so to speak. In other words, it is DRM
crippled. (I don't know of any TV's which will pass through an HDMI
sourced signal, and strip it. The only not-so-reasonably priced unit
which was advertised to strip HDCP from a HDMI/DVI signal was made in
Germany and is apparently no longer available: the Spatz DVIMagic box
amd it was listed at 400 euros.)
The next problem either way is that you need one set top box per channel
to be recorded: that is, one set top box, plus firewire/HD1212 input
(plus an IR blaster for channel changing) is equivalent to your PVR150
in terms of tuning the channel and recording a stream.
If you want more channel recording capability at present, you could add
another PVR150. That would be the cheapest route to add extra capability
for the foreseeable future. Best guess is that Rogers will not force a
changeover until Canada goes all-digital in August 2011 (although there
will probably be some changes in February 2009 when the US changes). So
you can get good use of a $60-75 purchase. If you do not have a spare
slot you could change to a PVR500 for 2 tuners, or add one of the
Hauppauge USB analaog tuners.
If you want to future proof yourself, then you have to think about the
digital route.
And HDHomeRun is a great little unit, but it only works with unencrypted
QAM cable signals, or OTA. I have one connected to my antenna (in
Mississauga, south of Lakeshore) and I get 23 channels ( ignoring SD
versions of HD feeds). So unless you are able to put up an antenna this
box is not for you. The antenna installed cost me less than $200 with
all parts, and coax cable, but I did the installation.
So far I have said nothing about HD. If you get HD channels on your STB,
then the same questions arise. You need firewire or another form of
output from the STB to feed your mythbox. Once you are digital the
definition level makes no real difference on the input side. The
differences are all on the output side, in terms of what your screen can
do, and your hardware provide. But what you have will be fine for
standard def for a couple of years.
Geoff
--
Please let me know if anything I say offends you.
I may wish to offend you again in the future.
Tux says: "Be regular. Eat cron flakes."
More information about the mythtv-users
mailing list