Do I Have to Lose All Sage Function with a Satellite Box?

[wlmaizner]

I have a Hauppauge 150 that I have been using with basic cable for a long time. Cable just plugs into the 150 and it does the rest (tuner/program guide/dvr). So, I just got dish network with a 311 set top box receiver and I can't use Sage anymore. I had to go to setup, shut down program guide,tune to channel 3 and stop using the Hauppauge 45 remote. Now I have the Dish Network Guide and no Sage guide/dvr, which I love. Also, the picture is not as good and the guides/channel changes/etc. move VERY SLOW.
Is there a way to have the 150 and Sage do the work instead of the set top box?

[ke6guj]

No, you shouldn't have to lose all Sage function with a Satellite box. You should be able to have Sage do the work for you.

What you would need to do is to hook up the 311 STB to the PVR-150, preferrably with either s-video or composite cables. I think with Dish, IR blasting is the only way to control the STB, but if you have a PVR-150 with a Hauppauge 45-button remote, you probably have an IR blaster included with the IR receiver. Set that up so that it can IR blast the STB and change channels. Then go into setup and configure a source for the new connection. Tell it that the input is on s-vid or composite, or to use the coax on channel 3, but that you will need Sage to control the STB with the Hauppauge blaster.

As part of hte source setup, you specify that it is Dish, and Sage should DL an EPG for your Dish channels and you'll be back to your old Sage setup.

[PGPfan]

I'll echo what ke6guj says, only with one change. That is: you will lose one tuner of the Dish 311. That is a design flaw with Dish. The 311 is a 'dual tuner' reciever - however only one of the tuners can be controlled via "ir blaster" as was mentioned. The other tuner can only be controlled via "rf" which NOBODY makes a 'blaster' for. You can use multiple Dish recievers with Sage and still have the Sage PVR, but you will need multiple capture cards to do it. Most of us here have way more than just one capture card, it kind of grows on you!

-PGPfan

[wlmaizner]

Thanks!!! It all works and the S-Vid makes the picture much better!

[briands]

Originally Posted by PGPfan

I'll echo what ke6guj says, only with one change. That is: you will lose one tuner of the Dish 311. That is a design flaw with Dish. The 311 is a 'dual tuner' reciever - however only one of the tuners can be controlled via "ir blaster" as was mentioned. The other tuner can only be controlled via "rf" which NOBODY makes a 'blaster' for. You can use multiple Dish recievers with Sage and still have the Sage PVR, but you will need multiple capture cards to do it. Most of us here have way more than just one capture card, it kind of grows on you!

-PGPfan

Minor correction... The 311 is a single tuner box. The 322 is the dual.

[PGPfan]

Ooops, I feel stupid, here I have 3 311's myself (I don't use them, just acquired them at garage sales if/when I decide to try Dishnetwork) and didn't bother to look at them. Thanks for the correction, I 'was' thinking about the 322 indeed.

-PGPfan