Digital Cable Concerns

[napoleon41]

I was showing one of the other network administrators where I work the DVR that I am planning to build to compliment my new LCD projection screen (still drooling).

He has digital cable (makes more than I do) and is worried about getting channel 400 and up, and what equipment from Time Warner he will have to keep. I believe that he has a DVR unit and no other equipment right now. If he builds a DVR and gets the Time Warner DVR off his bill:
1.) Will they give him a digital tuner that sits between the wall jack and his PC?
2.) What tuner card should he buy. I need to ease his fears about not being able to get HBO on channel 4??.

Thanks for your time!

[napoleon41]

the 150 says "125 channels" on the discriptions I can find. I am assuming that this is 125 consecutive channels?

If HBO is on channel 413, with the 150 be able to tune it in?

It also looks like it has a cord that sticks over the IR port on the cable box. Is this what allows you to change the channel on the cable unit via software?

[sub]

The PVR150 can only tune in analog channels. These are typcially transmitted at the standard frequencies for channels 1 - 125.

Channels like 413 etc are digital cable, and not able to be "tuned in" with a capture card. Instead, the digital cable set-top box must do the tuning/decryption/analog coversion. To receive these channels in GB-PVR, you need to connect the composite or svideo connection from the cable box through to the PVR150's svideo/composite connector. There will be no problems receiving channel 413 this way. The 125 channel thing is just a limitation of the tuner. With this sort of setup you're not using the tuner (you're using the composite/svideo input).

[Jeffrey02]

I currently have digital cable through cox internet. I have the cable connection from the wall being split and one side going to my PVR-350 cable connection and the other side going to my cox digital cable box. Currently, I can only receive the channels below 100 and would like to catch the digital channels.

I just added a s-video cable connected from the cable box to my s-video connection on my PVR-350 and was wondering if I should remove the coax connnection and just use the s-video from the cable box to PVR350. If so, do I have to have the channel on the program that i want to watch in order for it to record. I think the answer is yes, but want to make sure. Is there any other way to record digital channels without watching them at the same time?

Thanks for your help.
Jeff

[Decadent Fool]

Hi Jeffrey02

Yes, you should remove your coax cable as the tuner card will get its signal and channel from the digital cable box, and yes, your cable tv box does need to be on the channel you want to record. As you have a split signal though, is it possible to get an additional cable box to go between the wall and the pvr 350 ? If so, THIS could control the channels to be recorded, and the other half could go from the wall to cable box, and then tv. Thus, a seperate channel could be watched while another recorded.

Hope this helps.

[wtg]

I just added a s-video cable connected from the cable box to my s-video connection on my PVR-350 and was wondering if I should remove the coax connnection and just use the s-video from the cable box to PVR350. If so, do I have to have the channel on the program that i want to watch in order for it to record. I think the answer is yes, but want to make sure. Is there any other way to record digital channels without watching them at the same time?

I'd leave the coax connected to the 350 and connect the svideo from the cable box... here's why.

The coax connection will allow you to record all non-premium channels without using the cable box. This way if you want to record something off channel 4 you can do it without tying up the cable box, which you can then use to watch something else. To do this in gbpvr you set up two tuners... one with coax input for non-premium channels 1-125 and one for the svideo input for all your premium channels. This way gbpvr can show one integrated program guide but can record from either source depending on whether it needs the cable box to decode the channel or not. Of course you'll want an IR blaster setup so gbpvr can change the channel.

Also, depending on your TV's inputs you may want to split your coax one more time and hook it up to your TV too. When gbpvr is using your cable box to record one of your premium channels the stb cannot be used by your TV. Hooking the coax up to the TV will allow you to watch non-premium channels on your TV when gbpvr is using the stb, giving you the most options.

So, give both your TV and tuner card their own coax connection and then connect the stb outputs to both so they can share it.

Hope this helps,
Tim

[Jeffrey02]

Thanks guys...Tim, question for you. If I use the approach that you suggest and keep both svideo & coax connected, set up to my 1 PVR350 and use the coax input for non-premium channels 1-125 and one for the svideo input for all your premium channels then how do I handle zapit. Should I use the digital or the analog programming from zapit?

Thanks again.

[wtg]

Actually, you just use Zap2It for both.

You don't have to setup multiple accounts or anything like that. When you set the tuners up you indicate your Zap2It account info, it downloads the channels and then on the configuration page you indicate which channels are active for that tuner. You enable the analogue changes on the coax tuner and the digital or subscription channels on the svideo input.

The only problem you might have is how to connect your STB to both your tuner card and your TV. Most STBs have multiple outputs, though some might only have one coax and one component/svideo, others have multiple. You'll just need to consider your specific STB options and if you have any questions, just ask.

[Jeffrey02]

Thanks again Tim. Excuse my ignorance but what does STB stand for?

[wtg]

Oh, sorry... it's a common abbreviation for set-top box or cable box.