Comcast DTA's and Sage

[moakes]

Thanks Gerry! I'll go do a bit of homework now

[Clift]

Or $153 from Amazon, courtesy of Geektonic

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by Clift

Or $153 from Amazon, courtesy of Geektonic

I should have referenced that link. I just bought myself another one over the weekend from Geektonic.

Gerry

[moakes]

OK, I'm in . . . I just purchased on on Amazon with your link! Thanks a ton. This definatly looks like the way to got. Thanks for saving me from the pain of trying to make it work with the Comcast DTA boxes . .. uggg.

[Clift]

The other thing that you need to be aware of is that during the transition to digital Comcast may shift their channels around quite a bit, so you may find yourself "losing" channels. That might require rescans in the HDHR software to get the channels back. It should settle down when everything is completely transitioned over. It may not happen, but there are some who claim Comcast has been shifting channels around since the switch.

[moakes]

OK, Cliff, thanks for the head's up. I'm also in the process of changing SageTV hardware servers and moving to WHS for my OS, so adding the HDHR in to the mix should make for some "fun times" getting all this running But, one step at a time and I'll get there. Thanks again.

[themeister]

Just one caution......

Upon hooking up the 2 tuners on the HDHR, along with the PVR250 (with IR Blaster controlling the premium cable box), you may notice a severe increase in processor utilization, due to the increase in TCP/IP traffic. In my case, it shows up sometimes during playback while 3 simultaneous recordings are coming in as a delay. The PVR250 uses DMA; however, the HDHR runs everything through the TCP/IP stack first.

--Bill

[moakes]

Thanks for the heads up. However, I think I will just use the two tuners in the HDHR and not use the original Hauppage dual tuner card in the new build, as I don't have any premium channels anyway. So, I should avoid that.

[moakes]

Took me a little while (because of lack of time), but I just wanted to report back to you (Cliff, themeister, Gplasky, & others) that I made the transition.

I HAVE:
#1. Built a new PC/server.
#2. Switched from Sage on XP to Sage on WHS.
#3. Pulled/discarded my dual Hauppage analog tuner card.
#4. Installed the HDHR (never using the DTA's with Sage).
#5. Was able to copy over my existing recordings and favorites (thanks to the steps on the forum).
#6. Also, I am using the latest beta from Digital Dust and from Sage.

COMMENTS:
#1. I really love the WHS, great product. Great platform for Sage. I am only using it for backing up other PCs in the house and for Sage.
#2. AWESOME recommendation to use HDHR instead of trying to remote contol dual DTA's (I shudder when I think about how many hours I would have wasted on that setup). THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the recommendation of the HDHR.
#3. I do get more channels with the HDHR than I do on the DTA. And the channel mapping is a bit different. HOWEVER this is not Sage or the HDHR's fault, as is is maping EXACTLY as shown on Zap2it. Just a few minutes of tweaking and I am good.
#4. I just finished today, but after it is stable for a couple days, I'll add Comskip or the like (I wasn't using before, but want some type of service like this on the new rig).
#5. I wonder if anyone is getting any of the Comcast music channels via HDHR . . . hmmm

Thanks again all!

[gplasky]

Good to hear it worked out for you and you're happy. Originally when I first got the HDHR it scanned and got all the music channels. I'm not sure when it changed but it just stopped picking them up. I think I have one show up for the 80's but nothing ever plays or shows.

Gerry

[moakes]

Yep, I'm very happy!
About 25 music channels show up, but nothing plays. That is cool I'm happy. Thanks again.

[Ice|Burn]

I know I'm bumping an old thread here. However I'm a little confused as to how exactly this hooks up with Sage. Do I still need my capture card in my DVR machine? Or does the HDHR send everything over the network to the machine running Sage.

[themeister]

Originally Posted by Ice|Burn

I know I'm bumping an old thread here. However I'm a little confused as to how exactly this hooks up with Sage. Do I still need my capture card in my DVR machine? Or does the HDHR send everything over the network to the machine running Sage.

The HDHR attaches via TCP/IP network to Sage. Setup is simple. HDHR is 100BaseT. This was a great solution until Comcast decided to encrypt everything except the OTA stuff, which it is prevented from doing by law. So, you'll only be able to receive both HD and non-HD stuff that you could otherwise receive via an external antenna.

Given that, I'm not sure I would have spent the $$ for HDHR.

[Ice|Burn]

Originally Posted by themeister

The HDHR attaches via TCP/IP network to Sage. Setup is simple. HDHR is 100BaseT. This was a great solution until Comcast decided to encrypt everything except the OTA stuff, which it is prevented from doing by law. So, you'll only be able to receive both HD and non-HD stuff that you could otherwise receive via an external antenna.

Given that, I'm not sure I would have spent the $$ for HDHR.

So then what are we supposed to do? Are we just screwed?

[mwareman]

Not totally (yet) - it's just a matter of $$$. See http://www.nextcomwireless.com/R5000/products.htm for a complete solution - or look to some Hauppauge HDPVR + HDFury + rental cable box.