Do I just need a Set Top Box for HD?

[jal]

I called Comcast today and spoke to a salesperson - he admitted he is a non-techie like me.

I currently have free basic cable through my apt complex, not set top box. I told him I'd be willing to pay a monthly fee for a set top box that afforded me HD content.

He has never watched tv on a computer, and he said he didn't believe that Comcast could deliver HD content to me without the help of an HDTV. He believes that my card would be incompatible with the way that Comcast handles the transmission and coding of the signal.

I replied that I have a pvr 1600 which is already affording me some HD content using its QAM tuner. He was surprised, but he still felt convinced the set top box wouldn't work for me.

But he said to call back tomorrow when the real techies are working.

I really don't know anything about all this.

Can anyone advise? Would it work? It costs $20 a month for the set top box.
How many HD channels could I expect to get? (that is, would the whole "basic cable" lineup be in HD?)

[bcjenkins]

You can pull content through a firewire port, R5000 mod (if supported) or QAM/OTA like you are now.

Firewire ports tend to be locked down so only a few channels come through. The R5000 mod is your best bet but is pricey.

B

[jal]

I'm not sure I understand. I'll have to look up some of the stuff you mentioned - but my basic question is this.

(1) Can i run the cable from the wall to the set top box and then run the cable from the set top box to my pvr1600? Would I get HDTV content that way?

(2J) I also have a pvr 150. Would I also get HD content on the pvr 150 using the same method?

[UFGrayMatter]

Originally Posted by jal

I'm not sure I understand. I'll have to look up some of the stuff you mentioned - but my basic question is this.

(1) Can i run the cable from the wall to the set top box and then run the cable from the set top box to my pvr1600? Would I get HDTV content that way?

NO - it doesn't work this way. The only way to get HD content from a STB is using Firewire, or the R5000.

The BEST thing IMO is the HDHomeRun - this gets unencrypted HD channels

Originally Posted by jal

(2J) I also have a pvr 150. Would I also get HD content on the pvr 150 using the same method?

No - PVR-150 only does analog (SD)

[GKusnick]

No to both. The STB isn't going to remodulate HD as QAM so your 1600 can tune it. It's meant to output HD directly to a TV via HDMI or component. If there's a coax output on the STB, that will be downconverted to SD for connection to an old-fashioned SDTV.

You could connect the STB to your PVR150 via coax or S-Video, but you won't get HD that way. You'll get downconverted SD. This might be a way to record some channels that your 1600 can't tune via QAM, but you'll be recording in SD, not HD. The 150 doesn't have the capability of recording HD, so anything it records will be SD.

[Conejo]

Cable companies are sending their channel feeds using
1. Analog (SD), as standard TV channels 2-125
2. Digital (SD, partial HD, and HD) encoded as QAM
the Cable Co. may also be sending their SD lineup also encoded as QAM to deliver a cleaner picture to the customer.

QAM (digital cable) transmissions are sent CLEAR, CLEAR-Flagged, and ENCRYPTED. As of now, in order to view that last two types you need an STB
digitally-authorized by the Cable Co.

Note that there is a difference between VIEWABLE and RECORDABLE.

Using a STB you can view the content you subscribe to, but you may not always be able to record it (flagged content as non-recordable). There are ways around this but they are expensive.

Usually, people who want to access the greatest amount of channels go the STB route and connect it to their SageTV box by:
A. Composite Video-Out [record only SD quality]
B. Firewire Video Transport [SD & HD quality, some channels blocked]
C. R5000 (modified STB) USB Video Transport

Otherwise you can get what you're already getting with your PVR-1600.

[jal]

Thanks everyone for the information.

Honestly I am hardly a videophile so I can do without the HD.


The only reason I became interested in it is that the SD content on my Sage is considerably more blurry than watching regular SDTV. Whereas the HD content on Sage is impeccable (disregarding for the moment some stuttering issues I haven't solved)


I am hoping I can get a slightly better SD picture in SageTV. I'll be researching this forum a little more in search of some easy tweaks.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Conejo

QAM (digital cable) transmissions are sent CLEAR, CLEAR-Flagged, and ENCRYPTED. As of now, in order to view that last two types you need an STB
digitally-authorized by the Cable Co.

Actually if it's clear, you can view/record it without a box. None of the PC capture options (save OCUR), "support" any of the flagging options. The only thing you can't view/record with a PC is encrypted content (which is most channels).

Note that there is a difference between VIEWABLE and RECORDABLE.

Using a STB you can view the content you subscribe to, but you may not always be able to record it (flagged content as non-recordable). There are ways around this but they are expensive.

FWIW, if you have a DTCP recording device (eg DVHS), you can probably record most anything on cable. PCs aren't DTCP compliant so if DTCP is required, in any form, you can't record it to a PC.

[mayamaniac]

You have to be lucky to live in an area where the cable service broadcasts unencrypted channels anyway, not counting local HD channels (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc). I have Time Warner in Los Angeles and all but one of their HD channels are encrypted. Fortunately, a lot of my recordings are from local channels.

For Jal, if you record a lot of local channels (CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, etc)) like I do, the best thing to get is the HDHomerun. The HDHR device works very well with SageTV. It's a network tuner so it doesn't need a PCI slot and it comes with two HD tuners.

[Conejo]

'jal' already has a PVR-1600 that does Analog and QAM, but his area QAM channels are mostly encrypted (No Joy) and he needs a better way to obtain that which is so tantalizing yet bad for you.

Now, if there was a way to run a Fiber-Optic line directly to the head-end...