TV Tuner Questions

[FormatC:]

Is there a tuner out there that can record two S-Video Inputs at the Same Time? I Ask this because I currently have a PVR-150 and CableVision is taking more and more channels off of the cable ready Channel Line up. I mostly record from the un-premium cable (Not HBO or Showtime, I record a show from channel 123 the N which is part of the IO package) channels so would QAM cover that? or do I need to get two boxes and a tuner that can record from two S-Video Sources at once? and also what would I do about the guide the way I have it now is I use the timer on the box to set the channel and I have it hooked up through Svideo and sage has a "Timed Record" But I want it to say the name of the show instead of the numbers so is there a decent solution out there for my situation? Thanks

PS My cable box is a Scientific Atlanatla 4250HD and it has a firewire port can I use that to control it and maybe get the picture to the PC without a capture card?

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by FormatC:

Is there a tuner out there that can record two S-Video Inputs at the Same Time?

Yes, either the hauppauge PVR-500, nVidia DualTV (discontinued, have to find old stock) or the VistaView Saber2020 (PCIexpress card, drivers only support a single installed card, IIRC)

I record a show from channel 123 the N which is part of the IO package) channels so would QAM cover that?

Maybe, you need to find out what channels your cable company sends out in unencrypted QAM. Those available channels could then be recorded with a QAM tuner such as the HDHomerun. It may only be your local channels or it may include almost everthing except the pay-premiums.

or do I need to get two boxes and a tuner that can record from two S-Video Sources at once?

That would be a good solution.

and also what would I do about the guide the way I have it now is I use the timer on the box to set the channel and I have it hooked up through Svideo and sage has a "Timed Record" But I want it to say the name of the show instead of the numbers so is there a decent solution out there for my situation? Thanks

HUH? Are you manually controling your cable box to have it change the channel so that Sage can then record it. YOu need to get it set up so Sage can control the box automatically. Either with an IR blaster like the USB-UIRT, or with serial or firewire tuning. Then when Sage records something due to your scheduling, it will be recorded under the show name instead of a manual recording with no info.

PS My cable box is a Scientific Atlanatla 4250HD and it has a firewire port can I use that to control it and maybe get the picture to the PC without a capture card?

With the 4250, you could set it up to use firewire tuning. And yes you could even set it up to record from the 4250 via firewire with no tuner card needed. However, every cable company is different in the content that they will allow to be recorded via firewire. The content may be 5C encrypted, and that 5C encryption list is not the same as your QAM encryption list. Some people only get their local channels, while others get everything off the firewire. It is a crapshoot that you have to test for yourself.