Very Newbie Questions

[DanThomas]

I'm a newbie, and I have some questions that I'm sure are answered in FAQs somewhere, but for the life of me I can't find the answers. So feel free to offer answers, or direct me to places with the answers. Thanks.

1) Can I do HDTV recording?

2) When recording, does everything get converted to mpeg2? I mean, doesn't HDTV come in as a digital signal, and can't it be recorded without converting it?

3) Does anything support CableCard, so I can record "pay" channels, as well as other digital channels? (My cable company offers CableCard.)

4) Do any of the cards support component video output? If so, do gbpvr's menus show through the component video output?

5) Let's assume money is no object, and I know how to build PCs, and tweak till the cows come home. (In fact, I'm a developer.) Here's the things I'd like to be able to do:

a) Record from my cable.

b) Record (at least) one show while watching another.

c) Record and watch HDTV (as well as SD).

d) Watch via component video (if possible).

e) Use my Harmony remote to control everything.

Remember that money isn't really an issue. What do I buy? (Opinions please!)

-Dan

[reboot]

1.) Yes, with an HDTV card. At this time, support is very limited, but if you look in the Announcements forum, the latest release has some support, and there's a short tutorial on setting it up.

2.) This depends on which card you buy. Most of the cards supported directly by gbpvr will only do mpeg-2 recording. There are exceptions, and there are WDM drivers for other cards.

3.) You'll need the cable company's box.

4.) Yes, and yes.

5.)
a) Easily.
b) You'll need a dual tuner card, or two cards. Many people have a Hauppauge for analog, and another card for digital.
c) Again, depends on the card(s). Most digital cards also do SD analog.
d) Yes. That's what a PVR is all about, watching the stuff on your TV connected to the PC.
e) I believe this is possible.

I would purchase a Hauppauge PVR-150/250 for analog (or the dual-tuner PVR-500), and a Divco Fusion Gold for HD.

[DanThomas]

Thanks for the responses!

Here's a few more questions, if you don't mind:

1) I'm a developer. Let's say I wanted to write my own software to control the cards. Is there information available to be able to do this? Mind you, I have no intention of writing something to compete with gbpvr -- in fact, I would probably write it for myself only (you don't have to polish things up when you do that ). I'm just curious if this information is readily available.

2) I'm going to ask a question about a specific card, but please remember that I don't know anything . Someone on another forum mentioned the "HiDTV PRO" card. I don't see it reviewed on this site. Do you know anything about it? Not that I'm going to buy it -- it's just that I can't find much about it anywhere. That usually ends up meaning that it is probably not very good. And I like hearing about why something isn't any good -- it helps me know what to look for!

Thanks again!

-Dan

[sub]

1) I'm a developer. Let's say I wanted to write my own software to control the cards. Is there information available to be able to do this? Mind you, I have no intention of writing something to compete with gbpvr -- in fact, I would probably write it for myself only (you don't have to polish things up when you do that ). I'm just curious if this information is readily available.

The Microsoft DirectX SDK gives much of the information you'd need, but there is also alot of information that doesnt seem to be documented anywhere.

Someone on another forum mentioned the "HiDTV PRO" card. I don't see it reviewed on this site. Do you know anything about it?

Never heard of it.

[DanThomas]

Thanks for your help!

-Dan

[reboot]

I think the reference to a HiDTV card, means any High Def card of the "Pro" version.

Something such as these: http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/hdtv-cards.html

The Divco Fusion (Gold or Lite) seem to be the popular choice, and there's currently support for them in gbpvr (see the latest version release thread at the top for more).

[DanThomas]

Actually, I think it's referring to this product .

[reboot]

Never heard of it, and from looking through a few forums, those that purchased it, cannot get it to work properly anyhow.
If (and when) OTA HDTV hit's my little part of Canada, I'll be getting a Divco Fusion card. At least I know it works with gbpvr.

[robeoh]

So, do I understand from this thread that a cable card won't work and a set top box is necessary? Thanks

[sub]

At this stage, yes, you'd need a set top box.