[mythtv-users] DTV upgrade questions: two-way compatible equipment
James Miller
gajs-f0el at dea.spamcon.org
Tue Dec 10 23:04:32 UTC 2013
I'm still largely a SDTV viewer and don't watch all that much TV anyway. I
actually got into Myth usage as much so as to undertake a tech project
that would allow me to increase my knowledge of computing as because I
wanted to record a lot of TV. But, here I am, a mythbuntu user of a few
years now.
Of course the cable company that supplies a good deal of my programming is
pushing all users toward DTV now, so one of the main sources from which
I've been recording, timewarner (US), is "losing" channels insofar as some
of my dated equipment can no longer handle them (for the record I've got
three coax inputs between two capture cards: one DTV input that's devoted
to OTA broadcasts, and two SDTV inputs that bring in clear QAM TW
channels). I intend to stick to the really basic cable channel line-up my
apartment building supplies, so, no need here for equipment to bring in
special paid programming.
The cable company recently sent out a new channel line-up and, if I'm
understanding correctly, a DTV-capable device like one of the SiliconDust
models--or even one like my current DTV input--should enable me to bring
in most of the cable programming I will want to record. The only two
exceptions are channels from which I used to occasionally record
something, and which are said in the cable company literature to require
"two-way compatible digital cable ready equipment."
Undoubtedly the cable company is banking on most of their customers being
overwhelmed by such technical mumbo-jumbo and simply asking the company to
send out to them the relevant equipment--for which they will, either now
or later, incur a monthly rental fee. But to me it's not worth paying any
kind of ongoing fee just to have the ability to record occasionally from
one or other of those channels. That said, I'm not averse to buying my own
equipment in order to gain that ability. Problem is, I'm not exactly sure
which make/model of equipment I'd need for this two-way compatibility. So
I thought I'd ask here.
What off-the-shelf product could help me bring in those channels that
require two-way compatible digital cable ready equipment? Would a device
like the SiliconDust HDHomeRun PRIME CableCard TV 3-Tuner HDHR3-CC handle
this? I.e., do I need something that takes a cable card or MCard? I might
incur some monthly rental fee (for the MCard) in that case so I'm not sure
I'd invest in something like that. Any other two-way compatible digital
cable ready equipment I could purchase that will not entail that sort of
recurring fee?
Thanks,
James
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