Here comes Digital Cable ... what to do
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2012-03-09, 04:57 AM
I know with Comcast and the other cable company out here the stock IRBlaster from the PVR150 won't work with the STB. What I had do was grab one of these ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Media-Center-...20c36e9985 ) then use IR Server Suite to enable using the blaster.
2012-03-09, 06:20 AM
Ok so I have resigned to the fact that i am going to have to get a new card and upgrade to NPVR I dont have a problem with that however can anyone suggest a good card to me? Thanks.
2012-03-10, 03:56 AM
I did the digital conversion about a year ago with comcast. I suggest keep the PVR150 and feed the cablebox signal to it. I am using a pvr150 and a pvr500 with 1 STB and 2 DTA converters. I am blasting the STB with the pvr150 and blasting the DTA's using IR server suite and a usb ir box. GBPVR 1.1.5 and XP pro SP2
I have 1 TV with a QAM tuner connected directly to the cable and need to rescan the channels every 2-3 months to get a few channels to work.
2012-03-10, 09:42 PM
Yeah so it sounds like I dont even need to get the Haup 1600, However would my life be much easier if I did? Would I still need to use the STB adapter the cable company gave me for my older tvs? since the 1600 can decode the QAM channels sounds like I would do away with the STB. Let me know if that is incorrect.
@slowtech - looks like you are even using a lesser version of GBPVR than I am so I am pretty confident I can make something work here. All- Is there any other reason I should look at upgrading my GBPVR software Is there some feature that i need that I am missing?
2012-03-10, 10:15 PM
divinehammer Wrote:All- Is there any other reason I should look at upgrading my GBPVR software Is there some feature that i need that I am missing? You gonna find it a lot easier to get help around here if you're on NPVR ! I bit the bullet and moved from GBPVR a couple of weeks ago and I don't regret it. Plus, if you move to NPVR now with the existing hardware and cable service, it might be better than havin' to change later with new hardware and service. Good luck.
2012-03-11, 03:09 AM
divinehammer Wrote:Yeah so it sounds like I dont even need to get the Haup 1600, However would my life be much easier if I did? Would I still need to use the STB adapter the cable company gave me for my older tvs? since the 1600 can decode the QAM channels sounds like I would do away with the STB. Let me know if that is incorrect.It depends... Most cable companies only transmit the local channels in clear QAM, and all the rest of the channels are encrypted requiring the use of a STB (or cablecard tuner). ie, at the moment you might get 30 analog channels, and after the move to digital you might only be able to get 5 channels unless you use a STB.
2012-03-11, 02:36 PM
sub Wrote:It depends... Most cable companies only transmit the local channels in clear QAM, and all the rest of the channels are encrypted requiring the use of a STB (or cablecard tuner). ie, at the moment you might get 30 analog channels, and after the move to digital you might only be able to get 5 channels unless you use a STB. This is why I suggest the colossus or hd-pvr paired with a STB. As long as you are moving forward to newer technologies I would assume HD will eventually become an issue. If you only want locals in HD then you might be lucky if the cable go leaves HD locals in the clear (mine does not) or get away with an over the air solution (I use my older cards for that giving me some multichannel recording capability) but if you can't do that or want FX, TBS and other basic cables in HD with a better solution than over a composite cable then you will need a better more future proof solution. And as long as you are investing maybe the extra dollars will be worth it.
2012-03-11, 04:51 PM
If HD is a concern, then yes the Colossus is a good suggestion.
He did mention using the cable company supplied tuning adapaters, which just output standard def, so just changing the input on his existing PVR150's would be the first step, then he can think about other stuff like HD when he's ready.
2012-03-11, 04:56 PM
Before buying anything it is a good idea to check the SiliconDust site http://www.silicondust.com/support/channels/ and enter your zip code or postal code to see what is available in your area via OTA and cable by provider.
Martin
2012-03-15, 01:30 AM
Thanks well i am going to call cable and see what is encrypted i betfirst line support will have no idea. Also it sounds like the 1600 is only going to get me the local channels directly and i will still have to use the STB. so might as well try the 150 first. Anyone know or have a link on how to make the irblaster work i will check hauppauges site i bet they have a manual.
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