[mythtv-users] IR Blasting a Freeview Box

Alex Butcher mythlist at assursys.co.uk
Thu Sep 25 09:50:33 UTC 2008


On Thu, 25 Sep 2008, Andrew Hall wrote:

> On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:46, David Watkins wrote...
>
>> Where a dedicated freeview box might out-perform a mythtv box is in
>> playback.  I'm using
>> the S-Video output of an NVidia 5200 connected to a Plain-old-CRT and
>> I find that for some sports (eg soccer) the playback is noticeably
>> worse than both the analog input direct to my TV and via my btvision
>> freeview box.  I believe that this is something to do with a 50Hz/60Hz
>> incompatibility between the broadcast and the NVidea S-Video output?
>
> That's pretty much what I plan to do, except from a 7200GS. Are you
> saying your TV is 50Hz whereas your card is sending a PAL60 signal? I
> do like a bit of MOTD !

I connect my MythTV box to my TV using a homebrew VGA-to-RGB SCART cable
(<http://www.nexusuk.org/projects/vga2scart/> is the design I used, and my
X/MythTV config details are at
<http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/User:Cowbutt>). Because interlaced
XVideo output only seems to result in every other scanline being shown, I
have to use the linear blend deinterlacer for best shapes, but this causes
combing in scrolling titles and more film-like movement (i.e. 25Hz rather
than 50Hz).

>> 3)  Ability to record multiple channels simultaneously from a single tuner
>
> I didn't realise that. Can you view one of those channels whilst
> recording another, or does that require two dedicated tuners?

Yup, providing the channel being viewed is on the same multiplex as the
one(s) being recorded.

Now that the firmware bugs seem to be fixed, the dual-tuner Nova-T-500 is a
safe choice. I use one of these together with a single tuner Nova-T,
allowing me to record from three of the six UK DVB-T multiplexes
simultaneously. Before I had the Nova-T-500, I used two Nova-Ts and
sometimes the second one would glitch.

I rarely get reception problems, and in fact, my old Setpal-based (reknowned
for performance with poor signals) Daewoo DS608P set-top box had more
problems. I've introduced an SLx 4-way UHF amplifier, though, so that may
not be an entirely fair comparison.

> I think perhaps I will try this option, and if reception is bad then
> try DVB-S cards with Freesat.

I think you'll be fine. In the unlikely event you want to watch some TV
(e.g. football) live, you might consider picking up a cheap set-top box for
10-20GBP.

HTH,
Alex.


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list