clear a few things up please

[djgietzen]

I'm new to the hole PVR scene and have a few questions.

How does gb-pvr get channel programing info? I know that info is incoded in local broadcasts, so does gb-pvr get the info by decoding part of the coaxil signal coming into the capture card? or does gb-pvr require the machine to have an active connection to the internet?

Does gb-pvr need alot of proccessor power to turn my box into a smart tuner. I'm interested in being able to record, but I also want to watch normal television and be able to use gb-pvr to browse the channels. If you don't know what I mean, I had a comcast cable box and was able to use the pop up channel diesriptor to cycle through channels without actualy tuning to a new channel, allowing me to browse channels but keep watching a single show. I'd like to know if thats possbile and if my machine is'nt very fast will there be a problem.

Not gb-pvr releated, but I have a copy of xp-pro, and wanted to know if there is any trick to make it run smoother as just a base os that won't be user heavy.

The reason I ask these is I am going to build a pvr that will more then likely need to be upgraded before it can trualy record anything. I will be bulding it out of extra parts I have about the house to keep the initial cost low. The 1st build will more or less likely be an mp3 player/archive that can tune channels with that browser bar and do surround sound.

that reminds me, does gbpvr support srround sound? meaning after the pc gets ahold of the signal will it still go out in surround sound to my 5.1 dts reciver?

[gEd]

How does gb-pvr get channel programing info?

For analogue cards, it uses one of several web based tv listing services. Which one is best for you, depends on where you live.

To DVB (digital over air) devices, the tv guide is downloaded from the signal.

Does gb-pvr need alot of proccessor power to turn my box into a smart tuner. I'm interested in being able to record, but I also want to watch normal television and be able to use gb-pvr to browse the channels.

gb-pvr does not need an especially powerful processor as the main tv cards supported have hardware based encoders. What processor did you have in mind?

It is possible to scrol through the tv guide whilst watching live tv.

If you want to watch one channel whilst recording another, you will need 2 x tv cards.

Not gb-pvr releated, but I have a copy of xp-pro, and wanted to know if there is any trick to make it run smoother as just a base os that won't be user heavy.

just shut down the services that you do not require. there are websites that provide info on which service can safely be disabled.

btw: You should have at least 512mb for gb-pvr. it does use a fair amount of memory.

that reminds me, does gbpvr support srround sound? meaning after the pc gets ahold of the signal will it still go out in surround sound to my 5.1 dts reciver?

from DVD, i would have thought so, particually if you configure it to use an external dvd player. can't be sure about this tho.

welcome to the wonderful world that is gb-pvr. If you do get it working to your satisfaction, please consider making a donation to Sub to support the project.

[djgietzen]

Thanx for the responce.

I was thinking of using a athon 2.4 gig prossesor and mainboard with 512 ram I had left over from a project I did 4 years ago. So I was conceared about the age of the hardware.

I know we have the tv guide stuff in the signal coming into our home becouse the comcast digital cable box uses that. I'd just get a comcast DVR but comcast's hardware sucks when it comes to the line having been split a few times.

What cards are compatable with gb-pvr that will use the inbeded tv-guide stuff? I'd like to fopcus my efforts into the box being self suficent

Also I have an expensive surround sound system. I currently use it only with video games and my dvd player and wish that regular television, when broadcast in surround sound would be that way. Trouble is my SS system wan't decode any thing, it wants me to feed it the ss signal and the video signal. So my hope was that the pvr could send out that surround sound info via fiber optic and the video, well I guess the most commen way on inexpensive cards is s-video.

another not gb-pvr question. I was looking at cases erlier and saw a new one by coolmaster, forget the name now but had an ir sensor up front (somthing I was conceared about) but from the photos I'm baffled as to hwere the poer supply goes. Any one know what I'm talking about thats had 1st hand experiance with this thing?

[reboot]

If you're in the US, you can use any of GBPVR's approved cards, and get your listings from zap2it (free). You do need to have the PVR on the internet this way. I know of no analog cards that can get the TV guide stuff, but there's a couple of DVB cards that do (for Europe), not sure about the US...
S-Video is just that, video. The audio would still come from your sound card, so if you have DD5.1 out (from a good SB card for example) you will get DD5.1 on your system.

[gEd]

Thanx for the responce.

I was thinking of using a athon 2.4 gig prossesor and mainboard with 512 ram I had left over from a project I did 4 years ago. So I was conceared about the age of the hardware.

That should be fine. I have a mobile Athlon XP chip running at 1.7Ghx and can record from analogue and DVB at the same time.

I know we have the tv guide stuff in the signal coming into our home becouse the comcast digital cable box uses that. I'd just get a comcast DVR but comcast's hardware sucks when it comes to the line having been split a few times.

Ah. I don't know diddly about cable boxes. I believe that you wil have to direct the svid output into the input of a tv capture card and then use an irblaster (search for USB UIRT) device to send remote signals from the pc to control channel changing on the comcast box. Search the forums some more perhaps.

another not gb-pvr question. I was looking at cases erlier and saw a new one by coolmaster, forget the name now but had an ir sensor up front (somthing I was conceared about) but from the photos I'm baffled as to hwere the poer supply goes. Any one know what I'm talking about thats had 1st hand experiance with this thing?

ignoring typo's..!
Just becuase coolermaster (and I have one of their beautiful 201 tower cases) stick an ir receiver in their case, does not mean that it is going to automatically work as a wonderfull HTPC solution. It all depends on what kind of device it connects to what what software is used to control it.

Many of the supported tv cards come with their own remote and ir sensor to control it (and gb-pvr). This is then used in conjunction with a USB UIRT device to control an external device such as yours.

hth

[djgietzen]

Sorry to be missleading

we have comcast digital cable here, so I know the encoded tb-guide stuff is coming in to my house. (oh, yeah I do live in the USA)

But becouse comcast's hardware is crap, after you split the cable feed a few times the db loss is enough that non of comcasts "extra" stuff works. No on-demand no premium channels and I can't see spending 20 bucks a month to get an extra dvr put in my home when I can have fun building one that will pay for itself inside of a year.

what my question should have been was, what cpature cards currently supported by by gb-pvr will use the tv-guide programing and not rquire the machine to be connected to the internet in order to get the programing listings.

Thanx for the tip on the remote thing, I'm going to post amore detailed question in one of the other forums about the case.

[gEd]

what my question should have been was, what cpature cards currently supported by by gb-pvr will use the tv-guide programing and not rquire the machine to be connected to the internet in order to get the programing listings.

not sure if this is possible. I think most US users use Zapit to download their listing via the internet. Search the forums for comcast as I really have not idea about this kit. (UK user using DVB over air)

good luck

[stefan]

what my question should have been was, what cpature cards currently supported by by gb-pvr will use the tv-guide programing and not rquire the machine to be connected to the internet in order to get the programing listings.

Currently GBPVR does not support digital cable other than through a cable box. That box will have to be connected via scart or the local equivalent (rgb/composite, what have you ) to an *analogue* tuner. That tuner will in turn not be able to access your comcast EPG feed. I know that if you have a digital tv card for terrestrial digital broadcasts, at least some of the cards can access the broadcast's EPG feed. I don't know what the case is with DVB-S broadcasts.

[stefan]

I was thinking of using a athon 2.4 gig prossesor and mainboard with 512 ram I had left over from a project I did 4 years ago. So I was conceared about the age of the hardware.

I'm using a VIA EPIA M10000, which is about the same as a PIII 600, and that works well. It's a tad slow in the GUI, going through the menus and such, but it records one show, analyzes it for commercials, and shows another show on my tv at the same time without any problems whatsoever. Your processor will do fine. 512 MB memory will do fine as long as you don't use the box for Adobe Premiere stuff at the same time