[mythtv-users] Current Verizon FIOS experiences

Andre Newman mythtv-list at dinkum.org.uk
Tue Dec 22 22:53:42 UTC 2009


On 16 Dec 2009, at 16:17, Johnny wrote:

>> I'd read a few things recently that made me suspicious that situation was changing? I have some vague recollection about some recent court case where the whole unencrypted firewire and clear QAM situation had been overruled! Hopefully I've remembered it wrong but that was part of my reason for asking for recent direct experience.
> 
> I think you are referring to the fact that Comcast got a waiver to
> allow them encrypt their extended basic channels without the use of a

Crowbarring us back on topic :-)

That was the issue I had heard about and the reason for making this post, if it's only Comcast we should be ok with Verizon for a while at least, although it sounds like the first step down a slippery slope!

I updated my friend about all this and it turns out the reason he got FIOS was because they don't re-compress HD, so HD-PVR is a definite non solution for him. He wants to use his PS3 to watch stuff so that image quality is better than his current STB, now I've told him that top end vdpau rivals the PS3 he's going to try that as well.

He's tried tuning some clear QAM with an Eye TV branded Mac driver only firewire tuner (big shame, no linux drivers) so that seems viable as a source with a HD-Homerun or similar.

It's not very clear to me what hardware the OSX backend port supports, it mentions firewire which this tuner is but maybe "firewire" means just generic firewire stbs, either way it might be worth a try to see if this hardware is usable. If it supports OSX native video devices then that's the solution, he has a G4 mac mini knocking around, no good for playback but would make a nice backend.

> 
> Well if you have watched Comcast in the US it is often blatantly
> obvious that the are decompressing some stuff. Here is a thread at AVS
> forums with the actual numbers and screeen shots
> (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1008271). Fortunately
> they show that FIOS doesn't seem to be doing this.

George confirms this, thanks.

Looks like Clear QAM (maybe buy a HD homerun) and a hopeful but half hearted go with firewire and the FIOS STB is the way forward.

Andre


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