NTL Cable

[Cappie]

Hi Chaps.
I've been wanting to build my own pvr since I saw this cool software. We've recently moved house and I made myself a budget for it. Unfortunately it turns out the tv reception around here is naff. Most of the houses in the street have 20 foot poles with jodrell bank nailed to the end of them and they still cant get channel 5. Ho hum.
So I wondered about cable ?
I've been playing with the hauppage software and I can see that you can select cable or antenna. So I presume the guys from ntl turn up, drill holes in your house and drink all your coffee and leave a bit of cable sticking out the wall.
Does this cable just plug into my pvr250 somehow ? I thought they went all digital now and threw those old analog set top breeze blocks away? Or do I need some digital version of my pvr 250 ? How does it work ?

Thanks.

[jorm]

If you have digital cable you probably need to by a usb device that sends the ir signals to your digital cable box take the output of the box and run it to your gbpvr.

I think this is one
http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.ph...ir-blaster

[jorm]

there are two versions one with an extra sensor not sure if you need it though maybe someone else can chime in on it.

[cameluk]

Won't get anything from the cable by itself and you will find NTL won't be very happy if you try and nick their signal without paying for it . UK cable isn't like other countries, you need a set top box to receive the signal. They still have analogue customers but only install digital boxes now. You will need to take the output from the scart on the STB to the PVR250 and get something like a red eye serial changer to change channels. You have to be carefull with the changer as NTL use a mixture of PACE and Samsung boxes they just give you what they have in the van at the time, and very few devices will change the channel on a PACE box except the red eye serial which works for either box type.

[Cappie]

Ah, i see. So I presume this will just let the stb do all the decoding and so you need the ir thing so that gbpvr can send the 'change channel plz' to the stb?

this also means I get the digital signal and need a digital card? Like the wintv nova?

In the hauppage tools there's this auto tuner thing. You just click it and away it goes, munches on the signal for a bit then it finds all the channels. When you chose the broadcats scanner you get to chose from antenna or cable. Whats this cable thing then? The old analog cable thing ?

maybe I should invest it a 40 foot pole !


thanks for the info guys.

[jorm]

I do not think you need to replace your card. The STB should do the decoding into analog that goes into your tv or your 250.

Cable is for the analog cable, if you used the built in tuner on the card.

[elite]

When I could get NTL a couple of years ag (when it wasn't crashing constantly ) they gave me the pace box and it was a b*tch to use any other remote than the supplied pace one...

this also means I get the digital signal and need a digital card? Like the wintv nova?

Nope, this is for freeview (digital terrestrial)

[Cappie]

You have to excuse my ignorance with this digital tv stuff chaps. I'm new to it.

So the wintv nova thing. Thats digital but it wont replace the digital box that ntl would give me. Is that right ? Its just digital as in freeview right ?

The thing is I just want to get decent recpetion. The 5 Normal channels would be a bonus. We're sat in some tv bermuda triangle and so aerials dont work. I thought cable would solve it but that means ntl get involved and I dont wanna dip that cookie in my horlicks ( do they still make horlicks ).

Any advice on other ways to get any telly will be appreciated.



(http://www.britshoppe.com/horlicks7ozjar.html)

[cameluk]

If you don't get decent reception for Ch 1 - 4 then you won't get Freeview as the Freeview signal is far weaker than the normal channels until 2012 when they turn off the analogue channels, the PVR-250 won't improve a poor signal

Nova-T for Freeview
PVR-250 for channels 1 -5 via anntena
PVR-250 for use with cable TV after NTL STB or after SKY STB via composite/ s video

I see your options as ;-
40 foot pole for Ch 1 - 5 & Freeview (possibly if its available in your area)
NTL Cable
Sky

The antenna / cable options on the PVR-250 are for countries where you don't need a STB to receive the cable channels