[mythtv-users] Can't get it to work

Raymond Wagner raymond at wagnerrp.com
Thu Aug 5 04:09:29 UTC 2010



On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Mark Tiddens
<tiddens at jumpingdolphins.com>  wrote:

> I'm trying to find a Linux alternative to the WinTV7 software that gets all
> channels, including clear QAM channels numbering in the thousands.  WinTV7
> was simple to set up, and gets these channels.

I'm sure there are tons of people around here interested in knowing what 
cable company you have.  I've not heard of a cable company that even 
offers a lineup with a thousand channels, much less one that provides 
them unencrypted.  Are you sure those channels actually exist, and there 
aren't huge gaps due to the way the cable company has them numbered?  
Are you sure those channels are actually unencrypted, and you can record 
from them, rather than just included in an all encompassing lineup 
Microsoft provided?

You are correct that if Windows can access those clear QAM channels, 
Linux and MythTV should be able to as well.  However, most cable 
companies only provide unencrypted what is required of them by the FCC, 
which means only your local 'must carry' broadcast channels.  Anything 
more than that and you either need a Cablecard tuner, or you need analog 
capture off a cable box.  Cablecard tuners are very likely to never work 
with MythTV.  The most you might be able to do is recording shows marked 
'copy freely' off Silicon Dust's new Cablecard box, but those are going 
to be the same shows you can record off the cable box over firewire anyway.

On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Mark Tiddens
<tiddens at jumpingdolphins.com>  wrote:

> I work for CatchTheWaveTV.com, makers of The Wave, a PC designed to connect
> to TV's, and we want everything to be pre-installed, so if Mythtv must use
> this SchedulesDirect, we cannot implement it in The Wave.

Tribune Media Services formerly provided a free subscription for 
individual non-commercial users to get high quality guide data.  This 
was abused by companies wanting free guide data for their commercial 
DVRs, so TMS terminated the service.  SchedulesDirect was started up to 
collectively license the guide data from TMS in order to provide it to 
the non-commercial community at a nominal fee.

If you wish to provide guide data with your commercial product, you will 
have to license it for use just like everyone else.  Windows 7 does not 
provide free guide data.  Microsoft has purchased a license to 
redistribute someone's guide data, and that cost is included in the 
price of your Windows license.


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