Basic (stupid) questions re: Directv

[arttwood]

Sorry for the dumb newbie question.

I've got directv and am interested in using Sage as a PVR (replacing my Directv Tivo).

Can I assume that I do not need a tuner card (i.e. Hauppage) for my PC? My next (dumb) question assumption is that I do need a capture card and that this is different than a tuner card. Correct?

Final question: how do I get Sage to control the DirectTV tuner? I've seen some threads about using a serial connection. Am I to assume that the capture card should (or needs to have) a serial input?

Thanks

Art

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by arttwood

I've got directv and am interested in using Sage as a PVR (replacing my Directv Tivo).

Can I assume that I do not need a tuner card (i.e. Hauppage) for my PC? My next (dumb) question assumption is that I do need a capture card and that this is different than a tuner card. Correct?

You will need an encoder card, most of which have a tuner, but you would would be using the svideo + audio connections.

I believe the R5000 would be another option for DirecTV.

Final question: how do I get Sage to control the DirectTV tuner? I've seen some threads about using a serial connection. Am I to assume that the capture card should (or needs to have) a serial input?

If you can use serial, you would be using a serial port on your PC; the capture card would have nothing to do with this part. If serial isn't possible on whatever box you have, then an IR blaster can work, but most people would urge you to use serial since it would be faster and more reliable.

- Andy