Making the jump to HDTV

[Myro]

So, I finally made the jump. New HDTV with Hd terminal.

Now, my SageTV setup (running good for a few years now) is still recording analogue cable.

I have 3 x hauppauge PVR 250 in my server, connected to the tv (as it was before). I don't use these for time shift. Only recording through Sage (version 6.2 I think)

My question. Can I record HD with these cards? Or do I need new cards? I suppose that I will need (3x) HD terminal, each connected to it's card. Or not?

I was thinking of moving everything in the closet and buying the HD theatre to put below the TV. Does this need a higher-end server? Or can my current setup support this new add-on?

Thanks for any help or tips.

[Myro]

no one has done this before?

[paulbeers]

I think the reason you haven't gotten an answer, is because this is discussed in so many threads. Search is your best friend...but since you want it laid out again here goes:

If you want to go HD, you first need to ask yourself what do you want to record in HD? Just your locals? All your cable channes?

Your PVR250's are not HD capable. Hooking an HD STB to it will only result in an HD channel down converted to SD. My recommendation would be to buy an HVR1600/1800 or an HDHomerun to pick up your locals. Your locals should be available in HD via Clear QAM via the coax in the wall. This will give you all of your locals in crystal clear bit perfect HD.

If you want Discovery HD, ESPN HD, etc, you are going to need to get an HDPVR and hook it to an HD STB. There are a few other routes that you MIGHT be lucky to get to work, but this is the most fool proof.

A combination of a Clear QAM tuner/s and an HDPVR should get you exactly what you want. I really recommend if you go with an HDPVR, so go with an Sage HD Extender as the h.264 that it records in can be difficult to get working perfectly on a full client.

[coryking]

And to follow up if anybody hits this in a search... at the time of this post, the only* way you will be able to record most of your CableTV channels in HD is with the Hauppage HD PVR 1212. The QAM stuff will theoretically have a higher quality (the tuner card basically dumps the raw data on the wire to your hard drive), but you'll be stuck with the "lower" channels--typically what you'd get with the most basic cable plan possible.

In Comcast Seattle, WA - I only get the broadcast channels, discovery channel and all the government/public access stuff using QAM. Everything else is encrypted and goes through my cable box and into the analog port on my HVR-1600. The 1600, by the way, only records HD on the ATSC/QAM port and not the analog.

Bottom line is, go write a letter to whoever oversees the cable franchise in your area and write another one to the FCC. Tell them you should be able to buy a tuner card from Fry's or NewEgg that supports the Cable Card standard. It is insane only Tivo and other "blessed" devices are able to record the shows you pay good money for. This whole mess is a political issue, not a technical one.

By the way, I feel your frustration--HD is still early adopter if you ask me. There isn't much info, lore or "leassons learned" out there. Once I finally get my HD stuff going, I really want to publish a good website that provides a reliable list of "if you use QAM in Seattle, these are the channels you'll get" or "What the heck is QAM?".

* Well, there are other ways, like adding a hardware mod to your cable box.