[mythtv-users] Best STB channel changing, IR blaster?

Rod Smith mythtv at rodsbooks.com
Sat Aug 14 00:17:06 UTC 2010


On 08/13/2010 04:48 PM, Chris Finley wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 1:37 PM, Rod Smith <mythtv at rodsbooks.com
> <mailto:mythtv at rodsbooks.com>> wrote:
> 
>     Currently, I'm using FireWire to change channels on my HD cable box (a
>     Motorola DCX3200-M). I also get a lot of my programming over FireWire,
>     but some I get via clear QAM on an AverMedia AverTV A180, and some
>     channels (which are scrambled even on the cable box's FireWire output) I
>     get via analog inputs to a Hauppauge PVR-500. If my cable company (Cox)
>     scrambled more HD content, I'd probably invest in a Hauppauge HD-PVR,
>     but at the moment I'm one of the lucky ones who can get most HD content
>     via FireWire. (My premium channels are scrambled via FireWire, but
>     that's about it.) In any event, I find FireWire channel changing to be
>     extremely reliable. Once I got things working at all, I don't recall
>     having a single mis-tune, so that puts it up at 99.9%+ reliability.
>     (FireWire video capture is a bit lower than that -- maybe 99.5%.)
> 
> 
> You are able to change to encrypted channels with firewire and then
> record over the STB component output?

For me, it's not component out, just S-Video out, but AFAIK it would
work for component out, too. After all, the cable box has just one
tuner, and its output is, AFAIK, of the same channel on all its outputs
-- S-Video, component, etc.

That said, Hollywood would certainly like to close the "analog hole" and
make all the HD-PVRs in the world expensive doorstops. So far they've
made little inroad on this goal, though.

> Is this analog output HD quality?

Not for S-video output, but swapping in an HD-PVR for a PVR-500 would
enable HD recording.


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