PVR-500 modification

[mike1961]

Stanger - I wish it were that simple but it is not. For one thing, with DirecTV Sage only allows Basic and Extended. This does not cover nearly the possibilities that could exist for any given tuner. What if I have one Hi-Def STB? Then I need channels 70-90 active which has nothing to do with basic or extended but is the DTV Hi Def package? This has nothing to do with basic or extended. What if one has cable TV and has coax without an STB but on another they have extended on one box and maybe something else on another. Just too many possibilities. In general you are correct - but, it can be an issue when one has access to a certain set of channels on one tuner and not another. I think the best practice should be to be consistent so that all the tuners get the same channels.

Mike

Originally Posted by stanger89

In general, you just pick two lineups. For example pick the "basic" for one tuner and the "expanded" for another tuner. As near as I can tell, they all contain the same channels but with different default selections.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Stanger - I wish it were that simple but it is not. For one thing, with DirecTV Sage only allows Basic and Extended. This does not cover nearly the possibilities that could exist for any given tuner. What if I have one Hi-Def STB? Then I need channels 70-90 active which has nothing to do with basic or extended but is the DTV Hi Def package? This has nothing to do with basic or extended. What if one has cable TV and has coax without an STB but on another they have extended on one box and maybe something else on another. Just too many possibilities. In general you are correct - but, it can be an issue when one has access to a certain set of channels on one tuner and not another. I think the best practice should be to be consistent so that all the tuners get the same channels.

Mike

Thats why you select multple lineups for different cities. In my case I pick my primary location Des Moines and for the Hi-Def lineup I pick Ames a nearby town but different lineup name in SageTV. Now I have up to 4 different channel lineups I can choose from.

BobP.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Stanger - I wish it were that simple but it is not. For one thing, with DirecTV Sage only allows Basic and Extended. This does not cover nearly the possibilities that could exist for any given tuner. What if I have one Hi-Def STB? Then I need channels 70-90 active which has nothing to do with basic or extended but is the DTV Hi Def package? This has nothing to do with basic or extended.

I didn't say it had anything to do with basic or extended, but from what little I've looked, it seems as though all lineups have all channels for a given provider, ie "basic" and "extended" all list all available channels, but provide different default selection.

As such, you could pick "basic" for everything non-HD tuners/boxes, and then pick "extended" and enable the channels available on the the other box.

[mike1961]

I see your point; yes that will work. Very clever.

By the way, on another note - I have DirecTv. In my lineup I have two channel 11's (KTTV and KTTVDT). Is one "more clear" or preferable over the other. I'm still having quality issues with slight static in sound and video is a little fuzzy (doesn't bother me but wife is not too happy about this). It seems to be worse on some channels but not others. Perhaps another reason to explore Hi-Def. I'm not sure if these problems are due to my WinTV 500 (I've heard it's not the best card for quality) or if it's due to the fact I'm still using Sage Decoders because I can't seem to get the NVidia decoders to work or what.

Thanks for the help.

Mike

[mr_milo]

Originally Posted by digitalgm

Of course a better question would be; how does he connect these 2 coax feeds into his current television? Is there an A/B box in the picture? Mr_Milo?

With analog cable, Comcast supplies an A/B switch. When necessary, I have to get off my lazy ass and switch it to the "other side". While this is a bit annoying, it is quite a bit cheaper than digital cable. I didn't realize the PVR-500 was a single input when I bought it.

[svalmorri]

Originally Posted by mr_milo

Does anyone know of a board modification that can be done to separate the two tuners on a PVR-500? I really want two different inputs, instead of two tuners for the same input. I have a Shuttle PC with only 1 PCI slot, so another board is not an option. I know the USB2 is a viable option, but I'm also cheap I couldn't find anything on Google, but I am new to the HTPC market.

Don't know if this answers your initial question but there is an interface sold by Hauppauge that provides a second separate input for your PVR-500MCE card. Find it here: http://registration.hauppauge.com/we...1.asp#av_cable

It only requires an empty slot (not a pci slot) on the rear of your HTPC.

[ToxMox]

Originally Posted by svalmorri

Don't know if this answers your initial question but there is an interface sold by Hauppauge that provides a second separate input for your PVR-500MCE card. Find it here: http://registration.hauppauge.com/we...1.asp#av_cable

It only requires an empty slot (not a pci slot) on the rear of your HTPC.

That provides only svid and rca connections. The OP has two seperate coax feeds that he wants the card to be able to tune each one seperately by the card. The card only has one coax connector and it splits internally so it can only be used with one coax line.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by mr_milo

Does anyone know of a board modification that can be done to separate the two tuners on a PVR-500?

mr_milo, I believe it can be done. Though the board is so packed that I'm not sure if you can do a home-brew circuit jump. Depending on the version of your board, each tuner connects to an on-board RF-splitter. You could snip one of the feed wires before it enters one of the tuner 'can' circuits then wire up your own F-connector on the case.

But before you try such a feat, I'd make sure each channel lineup is available under the SageTV guide.

/when I was a kid
When I was a kid (in the '70s) we had a vacation house that had two cable feeds. Back then Group-W was too cheap to upgrade to the 900mhz system so they delivered everything A/B. My father went as far as purchasing a second tuner knob for the TV and labeled each with the channel lineup. Boy, would he get mad when we didn't switch the knob when we switched the A/B circuit.
/end kid

-rich

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by Conejo

When I was a kid...

Hah! You had it lucky! When I was a kid (in the '50s) there was no cable TV. In fringe reception areas, you had to physically re-aim the rooftop antenna every time you changed channels. I'm not joking; my aunt had a motorized antenna with a set-top rotator knob for just this purpose.

Hmm, I wonder if there's a Sage plugin for that...

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

My aunt had a motorized antenna with a set-top rotator knob for just this purpose. Hmm, I wonder if there's a Sage plugin for that...

/OT
Given all the people putting up HD OTA antennas, you may have just found yourself a profitable niche in 'retro' directional hardware. You may need that Sage plugin after all.
/OT end


Back on topic, I couldn't find a closeup of the PRV-500 circuit board to see how difficult a modification might be. The PAL version looks like the RF-splitter is in the smallest of the RF-shielded cans, located right next to the FM and TV RF connectors on the board. If it's not packed with resin or glue it might be possible to separate the two tuners there. Otherwise it would involve cutting a circuit trace on the board before it enters the tuner 'can' then solder a new shielded/grounded cable from the tuner 'can' to a slot or case-mounted F-connector.

This 'mod' would void your warranty; and bypassing any protective RF/voltage filters could lead to damaged/fried computer pieces/parts. A qualified RF electronics technician can probably tell if what you want to do to the board is possible.

-Rich