Purchasing Sagetv for the first time, need advice on card

[bphillips41]

i am going to be purchasing sagetv for the first time, I want to be able to record 2 cable channels at once since my cable provider suddenlink doesnt have dvr service, I want to get the haupauge 2250, will that allow me to record 2 channels at once without a problem? I was thinking about getting the sagetv hardware bundle but that looks like it only lets you record 1 channel at a time.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
brandon

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by bphillips41

i am going to be purchasing sagetv for the first time, I want to be able to record 2 cable channels at once since my cable provider suddenlink doesnt have dvr service, I want to get the haupauge 2250, will that allow me to record 2 channels at once without a problem? I was thinking about getting the sagetv hardware bundle but that looks like it only lets you record 1 channel at a time.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
brandon

I highly recommend the HVR2250. If your cable co has your locals in digital available via Clear QAM, the HVR2250 can also tune those with the HVR2250 (only 2 shows can be recorded at any time with the HVR2250). I have owned one for about 4 months now and (other than some early beta driver issues) it has been a great card.

[bphillips41]

thanks for the reply, how would I found out which channels are available via clear QAM from suddenlink in weatherford, ok? do i need to call and ask them?

also, i was unclear about digital and analog, I had the cable company put in a 2 way splitter so i could have to coax lines going to my computer, they are both extended cable, up to channel 70, would they be analog lines? or digital?

thanks
brandon

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by bphillips41

thanks for the reply, how would I found out which channels are available via clear QAM from suddenlink in weatherford, ok? do i need to call and ask them?

also, i was unclear about digital and analog, I had the cable company put in a 2 way splitter so i could have to coax lines going to my computer, they are both extended cable, up to channel 70, would they be analog lines? or digital?

thanks
brandon

To find out what unencrypted digital channels you have you can either call the cable company or connect a HDTV (with a digital tuner) and run a scan. The 2250 (and the HDTV for that matter) will only pick up unencrypted QAM. Most of the premium channels will be encrypted.

The cable running to you house will contain both the analog and the digital (QAM) channels. Beware of the splitter, if you have a weak signal the QAM tuner will have trouble.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by bphillips41

thanks for the reply, how would I found out which channels are available via clear QAM from suddenlink in weatherford, ok? do i need to call and ask them?

Use this link and type in your zip code. Then choose the "digital cable" option under the pull down menu on the upper left corner. This will show all the unencrypted QAM stations you get.

Originally Posted by bphillips41

also, i was unclear about digital and analog, I had the cable company put in a 2 way splitter so i could have to coax lines going to my computer, they are both extended cable, up to channel 70, would they be analog lines? or digital?

Those would be analog stations. That being said, your cable company probably is also broadcasting the clear QAM stations to your house as well. So you might be able to get some "freebee" channels by hooking up a QAM tuner to the cable line.

[Djc208]

Originally Posted by bphillips41

also, i was unclear about digital and analog, I had the cable company put in a 2 way splitter so i could have to coax lines going to my computer, they are both extended cable, up to channel 70, would they be analog lines? or digital?

A good rule of thumb is if you need a cable box to see them they are digital. If you get the channels without the box they're analog.

[pjpjpjpj]

I think there are some vague descriptions above, so to clarify:

Analog cable will allow you to run the coax cable straight into a card and work with SageTV, if the card has an analog tuner. This will always be SD, and 4:3 (unless you stretch/zoom it).

Digital cable will require a cable box in between the cable entry and your card. “Digital” can be HD, but is not always – and you would need an HD cable box and HD subscription service to get HD. For standard, non-HD digital cable, you can run from the cable box to your card via coax, component, S-video, etc. (whatever your box and your card have), but then you need a method for the PC to change the channel on the box (USB-UIRT, serial, IR blaster, etc.). If you want HD from your cable box, you need to get the HD-PVR (instead of a card), which takes the HD component-out from your HD cable box, and then connects to your PC via USB.

QAM is unencrypted digital cable channels that are available on your cable – with no digital cable box required to get them, just a QAM tuner. If you run your coax from the wall straight into a tuner card with digital/QAM tuners, you will only get these channels, not your full channel lineup. Despite the recommendation in the above post, you probably wouldn’t have much luck calling your cable company and asking them about it – the cable companies don’t like the fact that QAM exists, and the customer service people either will try to pretend like it doesn’t exist, or (most likely) really will be clueless that it exists. Your best bet is to use the link above from silicondust and see what is available in your area (be sure to change the drop-down box at the top to cable, not antenna). QAM, being digital and not needing a converter box, can be (and often is) HD – but it is typically just the locals (which you could get via antenna, HD, for free anyway) and maybe some cable access channels or PPV preview channels. Your mileage may vary, depending where you live, obviously – some places actually have “decent” typically-cable-only channels unencrypted. As mentioned above, you need a strong signal to pick up QAM (upstream splitters hurt the cause). If you are only looking to get these channels via QAM on your cable, almost everyone here recommends the HD Homerun (from the company whose page you used above, Silicondust), which is dual-tuner and a network device (rather than an internal card).

However, it sounds like you want the “real” cable channels, SD, no cable box (?). If so, you need an analog tuner card (first paragraph above).

[bphillips41]

thanks for the full explanation, after reading your reply, I think I will be getting the hardware bundle from sagetv, so that I can record (digital) as I have a cable box, and analog, as i have another coax line. As far as I know the hardware bundle (Hauppauge HVR-1600 Hybrid PCI Card) does include an IR blaster, and has the capacity to record 1 digital and 1 analog channel at the same time.

brandon

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

– the cable companies don’t like the fact that QAM exists, and the customer service people either will try to pretend like it doesn’t exist, or (most likely) really will be clueless that it exists.

My cable company actively advertises that you get Free HD (4 Networks + various PBS channels) with their basic package.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

My cable company actively advertises that you get Free HD (4 Networks + various PBS channels) with their basic package.

You are in the minority.

I've read countless times about people calling their cable companies asking about QAM (or worse, asking about "getting free HD channels without a box") and having the customer service rep treat them like they just asked how to perform brain surgery - or just telling them "NO, if you want digital/HD, you HAVE TO PAY and GET A BOX."

As I said above, I don't know what percentage of that is the reps "playing dumb" and what percentage of it are reps who truly don't know anything about it.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

My cable company actively advertises that you get Free HD (4 Networks + various PBS channels) with their basic package.

That doesn mean that the rep on the end of the phone will know anything about QAM. But let's face it, QAM is a pretty techincal term and I'm sure the CSR are trained on sales tactics and product offerings. I doubt they get any real technical training. Even trouble shooting is generally confined to them reading down a checklist that they have in some manual. There is no "out of the box" thinking being done - at least with the reps I've spoken with. I've generally have told them exactly what the problem is and how to fix it.