Is there such an HDTV Card ??

[mightyt]

OK ... I am asking this question for a friend ... Since he has an HDTV ... and I don't ...

His DLP TV has HDMI ... I am told video and sound combined ...

He understands that there is probably no HDTV card available with HDMI ... but ... was wondering if there was one with DVI ??

He says most HDTV cards he can find only have Composite or S-Video

He said he can gat a DVI to HDMI cable ... So ... Is the such a thing as an HDTV Card with a DVI connector?

Thanks, T.

[PGPfan]

mightyt, are you asking about an HDTV 'capture' card (as in INPUT), or something to output an HD signal to an HD capable TV?

HDTV capture, the answer is NO (at least for less than $2K), HDTV output there are MANY. Basically any good card from ATI or Nvidia will output HDTV resolution or higher.

-PGPfan

[flavius]

Go find the MyHD stuff.

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by PGPfan

mightyt, are you asking about an HDTV 'capture' card (as in INPUT), or something to output an HD signal to an HD capable TV?

HDTV capture, the answer is NO (at least for less than $2K), HDTV output there are MANY. Basically any good card from ATI or Nvidia will output HDTV resolution or higher.

-PGPfan

Good question PGPfan! Shot an email off to him ... Will loop back ...

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by flavius

Go find the MyHD stuff.

Thanks Flavius ... Not sure I know what you mean though ?? ... Can you link me up?

[flavius]

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/hdtv-cards.html

[stanger89]

You can either get a MyHD with the DVI Daughtercard or a "software" card (A180, Fusion, etc) and just run DVI from your normal video card to HDMI input on the TV.

[mightyt]

Read your responses after I made the post below ...Thanks guys ... So, there is a reasonable HDTV output card that will go DVI to HDMI!! That’s great, but what about bringing HDTV signal in to the box? If you don't have HDTV coming in what does it matter going out to the TV? Or does it? Anyway, see my dissertation below ...

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OK ... I talked to my friend and got the real questions. Let's see if I can make sense out of it since I am not sure what I am talking about. But I'll try to use logic ...

He has the following ...

1 - A standard Cable Company coax cable that is feeding an HDTV signal
2 - He has a Toshiba 63" DLP HDTV

In order to [B]record and view true HDTV [/B] I would imagine you need ...

1 - A card similar to what I use today ... (A Hauppauge PVR250) to attach the HDTV Ready Coax Cable to and send the signal in to my HTPC ... BUT ... the card would have to support HDTV. Am I correct in this? That would bring true HDTV signal to the PC ...to record shows or pass to the video card hopefully for Live HDTV.

2 - So, now you need to move that signal from the HTPC to his DLP HDTV. The TV accepts HDMI, but he said he could use a cable that has DVI on one end and HDMI on the other to get the digital signal to the TV. Thus, is there an HDTV Video Card with a DVI output connector?

I think that completes the circle ... The goal being use Sage 3, record HDTV, view HDTV recordings or LiveHDTV for pause-a-bility (is that a word?)

Am I all wet? Does any of this make sense? If not, how is it done?

If it does, then what cards are available and recommended?

Thanks VERY much, T.

[thatdude90210]

Cable + HD + PVR = not a good mix... he's better off renting the cable company's HD-DVR.

Right now, no software PVR program, including Sage 3, would do cable (QAM-decoding) HD. Only the software that comes with the MyHD 130, and the Fusion cards will work with cable HD. The software that comes with the MyHD 130 is very stable, like a set top box, but it's closer to VCR than PVR.

Don't even talk about the software that comes with the Fusion, it's totally unreliable. I've seen many, many crash to desktop while changing channels, go into endless video/audio loop right in the middle of shows. Oh, and the countless memory errors/access violations that requires registry edit and channel rescan. Buy one for QAM, and you'll find yourself with a MyHD 130 in a week.

But again, for what your friend wants to do, he's better off with the cable co's HD-DVR.

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by thatdude90210

... what your friend wants to do, he's better off with the cable co's HD-DVR.

Thanks very much for the great feedback ... Not what I wanted to hear, but ... nontheless ... meaningful ...

Actually he does have the Cable Co. DVR ... He has seen me with Sage for just over a year now and when I heard all this Sage3 HDTV talk I thought I could turn him on to something better ...

Oh ... well ... some day maybe the PC HW component makers will catch up to the TV world ...

Until then ...

Thanks again ... T.

[PGPfan]

I personally don't think all hope is lost. Take a look at the "firewire" threads. IF your friend's cable box has an active firewire port, there is a good chance that Sage can record HDTV via that port. This would solve getting HD 'into' the HTPC.

Any good video card (ATI or Nvidia) can output an HD signal from the DVI out on the card to the HD TV. As for HDMI support, that is still up in the air for everybody, for the most part.

-PGPfan

[mightyt]

Originally Posted by PGPfan

I personally don't think all hope is lost. Take a look at the "firewire" threads. IF your friend's cable box has an active firewire port, there is a good chance that Sage can record HDTV via that port. This would solve getting HD 'into' the HTPC.

Any good video card (ATI or Nvidia) can output an HD signal from the DVI out on the card to the HD TV. As for HDMI support, that is still up in the air for everybody, for the most part.

-PGPfan

Thanks PGPfan ... Hmmm, good question ... I will check and see if he has a Firewire port from his Cable vox ...

T.

[mikejaner]

Firewire would be the only way to record today, and possibly even in the future, because , even the cards that can record QAM, cannot get the encrypted channels, which are usually anything above local channels.

[sleonard]

Originally Posted by mikejaner

Firewire would be the only way to record today, and possibly even in the future, because , even the cards that can record QAM, cannot get the encrypted channels, which are usually anything above local channels.

Those same channels are also encrypted on firewire. Even if some cableco's are not currently encrypting the FW output it is an oversight on their part that they will correct.

[mikejaner]

Those same channels are also encrypted on firewire. Even if some cableco's are not currently encrypting the FW output it is an oversight on their part that they will correct.

You can purchase boxes for DirecTV that are unencrypted on all channels you subscribe to. They are like $300-$500, cause they are custom modified, but it all comes down to how bad you want it.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by sleonard

Those same channels are also encrypted on firewire. Even if some cableco's are not currently encrypting the FW output it is an oversight on their part that they will correct.

Not necessarilly, 5C protection (Firewire) and encryption (QAM) are independent. Some companies have 5C on everything (even unencrypted channels), some have it on nothing (even encrypted channels).

However yes, it's likely that going forward 5C will be invoked on at least the encrypted channels.

[sleonard]

Ok, I should have used the word protected instead of encrypted. My bad.

[stanger89]

My only point was that one doesn't necessarilly imply the other.

[sengsational]

Originally Posted by thatdude90210

...The software that comes with the MyHD 130 is very stable, like a set top box, but it's closer to VCR than PVR. ...

I've seen this "VCR" statement in several places, but I don't understand how something that is able to pause live TV can be considered a VCR. Now I'll grant you the UI for scheduling MyHD is nowhere near a Tivo, it's a single click in TitanTV, but we all know TitanTV isn't the premo UI, and you need a computer desktop to use it, so I'll give up on that angle. But what my mom uses her Tivo for (I don't have a Tivo) is to pause TV, and we chat for a while, which gives us the ability to later zap the commercials. I use the same exact technique with the MyHD...I press the pause button and unpause it after we chat. To me, that IS Tivo an Tivo IS PVR.

--Dale--

[stanger89]

First off, I think "pausing live TV" is the most overblown feature of digital recording, and about the least important. I can almost count on 1 hand the number of times I've "paused Live TV" in the years I've been using digital recorders.

When talking about digital recording, there are basically two classes of device, DVR and PVR (that would be Digital Video Recorder, and Personal Video Recorder). IMO the distinction between the two is very important and is the most important feature, and the most valuable one.

A DVR is, essentally a Digital VCR, it records channel x at time y. Now being digital you get some niceties, like naming recordings, and chasing playback/timeshifting, you may even get a guide, but those features are expected from any digital recording device. The important point is the time/channel based recording.

A PVR on the other hand, is a completely different theory, it uses show-based recording. It records show z, and will find show z whenever it's on. You'll see often that PVR users will state that a PVR will "change your life", or at least change the way you watch TV. With a PVR, you simply load up a bunch of shows you like, and then it finds them and you watch them whenever you want. Show-based recording is very important because it saves you from having to juggle recordings, saves you from having to monitor the schedule for changes, saves you from having to worry, at all, about your recordings. My example is, many shows I watch, I don't even know when they air. Basically (in Tivo terminology) "Season Pass", and the ability to automatically schedule is what makes a PVR, and what makes Tivo a PVR.

The MyHD does none of the really important PVR stuff, it is, only, a DVR. FWIW, I say if your mom doesn't use the Season Pass stuff on the Tivo, she's wasting her money on it (unless it's lifetime registered).