can HD tuners record SD?

[JonTom]

This seems like a silly question but can an HD tuner also record SD signals (that's NTSC, right??). I assume not but it would be a great deal if it could...

Specifically (if it makes a difference) the VistaView DA-1N1-E (the second tuner). I get no HD here and would like an extra tuner. My sage box is currently dead in the water so I can't test...

[ke6guj]

An digital ATSC tuner can record digital HD and SD content, but can not record analog SD (NTSC) signals.

There are tuner cards that have both analog and digital tuners so you can record both. Your card is listed as having both tuners, so you should be able to record both, if Sage supports your card.

Per this, http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...4&postcount=42 , it might not. So you may need to check into it more. The Hauppauge HVR-1600 or 1800 are similar tuners that do work in Sage correctly.


edit: that link says that analog and digital OTA work fine, but that there may be issues with QAM tuning, if you need that.

[JonTom]

I can confirm the analog tuner works fine in sage, I had that working before the mobo bit the dust.

I don't know what you mean by QAM tuning exactly, but I think that is how the digital signal is encoded? Is it sort of like UHF vs VHF? I don't get anything OTA here, except CBC.

If all my stations come over regular cable, not needing a STB to watch, then I cannot use the digital tuner to tune any of them. Is that correct? I DO have a digital box but no digital channels currently subscribed (cxlled them when I started to get into Sage) - is it possible/likely that there are digital signals there in my cable for the regular Tier One-type channels as well as the analog signals?

[ke6guj]

Your digital tuner can be used two ways to capture digital content. One way is via OTA digital. The second way is to record digital cable. In the states, most cable companies send digital content via QAM. Most of it is scrambled, which we can only tune in via a cable box. But some of it is sent unscrambled and our QAM tuners can capture this "Open QAM" signal. These usually include our broadcast local channels and maybe a couple other "cheap" digital channels.

I don't know if Canadian cable companies use QAM and if they send out any open QAM signals. If they did, you may be able to use a QAM tuner to tune in those chanells. If they do send out some Open QAM, it may be there even though you aren't subscribing to a digital tier.

But, since QAM for that card doesn't work for Sage, its a moot point for now.

[JonTom]

ok thanks, i think i get it. (but not in Sage, for now