mythtv and digital tv

[Jarod Wilson]

On Wed, 2008-07-23 at 18:25 -0400, Frank DiPrete wrote:
> It looks like it's time to switch tv service. I am using basic analog 
> cable and Comcrap has been eliminating channels from the lineup to use 
> the bandwidth for their digital tv service.
> 
> Of course they kept all of the &^$*-ing shopping channels in tact.
> 
> To sum it up, comcrap customers are forced to pay to solve their 
> technical problem.
> 
> I can't get fios where I live so I can:
> 
> a) keep paying the same top dollar for diminishing analog cable service
> b) pay more for comcrap digital cable tv and 3 set top boxes
> c) switch to sat tv (dish) and pay for 3 set top boxes
> 
> Here's the rub. I'm using a pvr-250 in my mythtv setup and that becomes 
> a brick when in any of the 3 scenarios.

Not entirely so. In scenario b or c, you can feed the set top box into
the pvr-250 and record that way.

> Anybody out there using a digital tuner card (pci) with mythtv or 
> perhaps a fourth friggin box ?

I use nothing *but* digital tuner cards these days. However, the only
channels available in unencrypted digital are the same ones you'd get
over the air. You need a set top box of some sort, feeding either
something like a pvr-250 via svid or an hd box feeding the hauppauge
hd-pvr to record anything but abc/nbc/cbs/fox/pbs/etc. Or to get lucky
and have provider who doesn't encrypt things, either in their on-wire
digital format (very rare) or out the firewire port on an hd cable box
(only slightly less rare than the prior loophole).



-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com