HVR-1600 - should I be able to see the digital side of the video?

[mrayle]

I finally received my HVR1600 and have had an interesting time setting it up.

In GBPVR config, I stumbled across the way to enable the digital side of the HVR1600 (BDA Recording, or something like that). I told it to scan for digital channels (QAM modulated on the cable co's signal). It found approx 1000 channels. Most of these channels are unviewable. Another huge portion was music channels. And about 10-15 appeared to be local channels, ABC family, Disney and some version of a Discovery channel. I am assuming at this time that any channel identified as QAM is a digital channel. I don't know how to identify which of these is HD.

I think that I understand that the MVP will not be any help with the HD channels. That is fine. I am wondering, however, if the "other" channels are viewable from the MVP.

When I attempt to tune a channel via the MVP, I get a message on the screen with a clickable button that says "Don't Watch TV". Pressing this button takes me back to the menu.

Should this work at all?

Is there something that I am missing on how to setup my system?

Thanks!
.Mike.

[sub]

I think that I understand that the MVP will not be any help with the HD channels. That is fine. I am wondering, however, if the "other" channels are viewable from the MVP.

Yes, you'd be able to view standard definition channels via the MVP, but only if you're using a mux that produces .mpg files (Cyberlink, ATI mux). Most people in the US are not using these muxes though, since they can have more problems with HD channels.

When I attempt to tune a channel via the MVP, I get a message on the screen with a clickable button that says "Don't Watch TV". Pressing this button takes me back to the menu.

You'd typically only get this message when the tuner is in use for live tv on another machine, though you can also get it for short time after the app is killed (or crashes) while watching live tv. It usually takes about a half minute to realise the client has disappeared without gracefully releasing the tuner.

[mrayle]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I have seen other notes in the forum regarding these muxes... I'll grab one and try it out tonight.

Regarding the "don't watch TV" popup, I get that message and can immediately go back in and view stations on the analog tuner.

At this time, I am guessing that the proper mux may be the proper solution.

[mvallevand]

You also will have to consider audio out. I don't have an AC3 filter and so I listen to the out-of-sync audio from mvpmc. I'm not sure how an AC3Filter will work.

Hopefully one day I can get this sync issue worked out. Then I can ask sub's support in feeding the raw mpeg-ts feed to mvpmc and the mux question will disappear.

Martin

[mrayle]

Martin,

Are you saying that this solution doesn't work? (Getting the QAM decoded channels to the TV in a viewable manner?)

I'm surprised that I haven't see more discussion related to this if that is true.

This isn't a make-or-break thing for me.. I was just hoping for the "coolness" factor of having digital cable access on my analog cable feed.

I guess that I will forget about digital for the time being...rats!

Thanks for the help!
.Mike.