3 questions from a NewB

[taylormade]

1) Does this software receive ALL of the available channels sent by my Cable provider including all HD and Premium channels?
2) What is the Capture Card of choice for a fairly robust Windows box?
3) I'm running a D-Link Media Center. Will SageTV save shows in a format that I can pump out with the D-Link (avi, windowsmedia etc)

[stuckless]

1) Does this software receive ALL of the available channels sent by my Cable provider including all HD and Premium channels?

Yes, but you'll need to use HD-PVR in order to record HD shows. You'll have to use an IR blaster to control the cable box, or firewire, if your box supports it. If you want to record HD but don't want to use IR blasting, then check out the r5000 mod and see if you cable box is supported.

2) What is the Capture Card of choice for a fairly robust Windows box?

I would think that the HD-PVR is your only option for recording HD content. r5000 mod may also be an option if you are willing to spend the money.

3) I'm running a D-Link Media Center. Will SageTV save shows in a format that I can pump out with the D-Link (avi, windowsmedia etc)

HD PVR records in .ts format. Not sure if d-link supports this... or if the d-link can support HD at all. An option would be to transcode the HD content into SD content and save as an avi.

All that being said... if you don't want HD, then just about any tuner card can be used to get unencrypted SD channels. And sage will save them in standard mpeg2 format.

[taylormade]

I am installing the SAGETV software on my PC.
I want only to be able to record all of the channels that my Digital Cable box can see. I really don't care about HD.
1) Why do I need to interface with my cable box.
Can I not just take a feed off of my cable and get the signal that way?
The cable box is nowhere near the PC.
2) Will any video capture (tuner) card pick up all the stations that my Digital Cable box picks up?

[mikehaney]

Originally Posted by taylormade

I am installing the SAGETV software on my PC.
I want only to be able to record all of the channels that my Digital Cable box can see. I really don't care about HD.
1) Why do I need to interface with my cable box.
Can I not just take a feed off of my cable and get the signal that way?
The cable box is nowhere near the PC.
2) Will any video capture (tuner) card pick up all the stations that my Digital Cable box picks up?

Probably not. Don't blame Sage though - it's the cable companies that are making things tough, because they want to rent you as many boxes as they can (at $7/month each in my area, who can blame them).

You can pick up any analog cable stations (i.e channels 1-99) by just plugging the cable into an analog capture card. But that may or may not be going away, depending on your cable company. I have Comcast, and they have announced they are doing away with all analog stations in the next year or so.

A digital tuner card can pick up any unencrypted digital stations (called Clear QAM) off your cable, but that varies a lot depending on where you are and how aggressively your cable company uses encryption. For me (Comcast in Houston), I get all of my local stations - including local HD channels - and a couple dozen basic cable stations through Clear QAM. Everything else is encrypted.

So if your cable provider is encrypting most of the digital channels, which seems to be the norm in most places, your best bet is to use their converter box and take the SVideo output and connect it to your analog tuner. Then you use either infrared - or if you're lucky, serial or firewire - to change the channels on the cable box according to what Sage wants to tune to.

A step up from that is to get an HD converter box from your cable company and feed it into an HDPVR instead of a regular capture card. This will give you access to all of the HD channels AND regular channels, and is really the slickest solution (especially if your cable company is like mine, and charges the same rental fee whether it's a regular or HD box). The only downside is the cost - the HDPVR's are $200 a pop, although the prices do seem to be dropping (they were $250 when they first came out and that was only 3-4 months ago).

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by taylormade

I am installing the SAGETV software on my PC.
I want only to be able to record all of the channels that my Digital Cable box can see. I really don't care about HD.
1) Why do I need to interface with my cable box.

Because most digital cable channels are encrypted and there is no device for the PC that can decrypt them. It's really a hardware problem not a software one.

The only way to record encrypted digital cable on a PC without using a cable box is to buy a new, CableCard equipped Vista PC from one of the OEMs that sells them. And you'll have to use Vista Media Center as it's the only software that's approved for use with CableCards, and only when sold with a PC with the right BIOS installed.

Can I not just take a feed off of my cable and get the signal that way?

You'll be able get all your analog and any clear (unencrypted) digitals, but that's usually just the locals (as far as digital goes).

2) Will any video capture (tuner) card pick up all the stations that my Digital Cable box picks up?

Only an OCUR, and those are only available and only work with OEM Vista CableCard machines.

[taylormade]

You guys have enlightened me.
I can't see going through all of the effort of setting up a PC to be a DVR, and then have to be saddled with having to change my Digital Receiver to a particular channel to record on my PC. That seems like a real inconvenience to me.
All of the rest of it is a "kinda", "maybe", "sorta" affair that is nowhere near the kind of arrangement I'm looking for.
Looks like I'll be getting the TiVo and being done with it.

[dgeezer]

Obviously, the PVR PC path isn't for everyone. TIVO is much simpler I would think. I don't really know since the only commercial DVR I have ever used was the box available from Time Warner Cable as a set top box and it kinda sucked....

However, almost all the tuner cards and the HD-PVR come with an infrared blaster which will send a signal to your cable box and change the channels. This will require that the cable box be near the PC but it works very well.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by taylormade

You guys have enlightened me.
I can't see going through all of the effort of setting up a PC to be a DVR, and then have to be saddled with having to change my Digital Receiver to a particular channel to record on my PC. That seems like a real inconvenience to me.

You don't have to do that, you use an IR blaster and the PC changes the channel on the cable box for you.

Looks like I'll be getting the TiVo and being done with it.

If you do, make sure it's a Tivo HD with CableCards and that you get the CableCard(s) from it or you'll be in the same situation of needing the cable box.

[crimkid]

you said,
"So if your cable provider is encrypting most of the digital channels, which seems to be the norm in most places, your best bet is to use their converter box and take the SVideo output and connect it to your analog tuner. Then you use either infrared - or if you're lucky, serial or firewire - to change the channels on the cable box according to what Sage wants to tune to."

I am new to this also, and thinking of using Sage. So are you saying you can use the little cable converter box, the plain basic one, and plug that into a capture card and it will change channels?

[lobosrul]

Originally Posted by crimkid

you said,
"So if your cable provider is encrypting most of the digital channels, which seems to be the norm in most places, your best bet is to use their converter box and take the SVideo output and connect it to your analog tuner. Then you use either infrared - or if you're lucky, serial or firewire - to change the channels on the cable box according to what Sage wants to tune to."

I am new to this also, and thinking of using Sage. So are you saying you can use the little cable converter box, the plain basic one, and plug that into a capture card and it will change channels?

Not exactly. The capture card comes with something called an "IR Blaster" that essentially pretends to be a remote. When you change channels in SageTV (or the HD-100, or the MVP) the IR Blaster changes the channels on the box. Some boxes can also be controlled by firewire, that is a connector from the SageTV server to the cable box.

When I had Comcast, I had a Scientific Atlanta box that had firewire output. Most channels were left un-encrypted for a time, then everything (except the locals) became encrypted over firewire, I could still change the channel however.

Remember s-video is analog SDTV. The only way to guarantee that you will get all the HD channels is by using an HD-pvr.