Hauppauge WinTV HD PVR (H.264) screenshot and pre-order link

[bialio]

Originally Posted by Brent

IR Blaster setup - I've not done this before so I'll have to do some searching on these forums for this. Is there something special we'll have to do in SageTV to get this to work?

When you install SageTV Server there's an option to enable the Hauppauge IR blaster support (checked by default) - as long as you left that alone when you installed you should be good to go.

btl.

[brb84]

Maybe my real noob question is: why do we need component video/optical audio cable at all? Everything is coming into the house on coax (even the digital HD signal), so why exactly can't we just keep using coax once it's inside?

Or is it just a limitation of the STB itself where the cable companies just don't bother sending HD through the coax output? Is this where the DRM comes in possibly?

I'm sorry to bring up what is surely very old discussion, but I'm having a hard to finding this explained well anywhere.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by brb84

Maybe my real noob question is: why do we need component video/optical audio cable at all? Everything is coming into the house on coax (even the digital HD signal), so why exactly can't we just keep using coax once it's inside?

Or is it just a limitation of the STB itself where the cable companies just don't bother sending HD through the coax output? Is this where the DRM comes in possibly?

I'm sorry to bring up what is surely very old discussion, but I'm having a hard to finding this explained well anywhere.

It has to do with the encryption cable companies use on their channels. You need an STB to first decode the signal. But then you're stuck using compsite/svid (SD), component or HDMI (HD). Since HDMI is also encrypted the only option is to exploit the analog hole and convert the analog component signal back to digital.

[bialio]

Originally Posted by brb84

Maybe my real noob question is: why do we need component video/optical audio cable at all? Everything is coming into the house on coax (even the digital HD signal), so why exactly can't we just keep using coax once it's inside?

Or is it just a limitation of the STB itself where the cable companies just don't bother sending HD through the coax output? Is this where the DRM comes in possibly?

I'm sorry to bring up what is surely very old discussion, but I'm having a hard to finding this explained well anywhere.

Everything comes into the house on the coax. Some of the content is in the clear (unencrypted) - and you don't need anything other than a tuner. Basic cable channels (2 - 99 usually) and some locals in HD are what normally fall into this category.

HOWEVER - most of the "good" stuff (HD, premium channels, etc) is encrypted. The only way to decrypt it is with 1) the cable companies STB or 2) a cable card equipped TV. Sage doesn't and won't ever have support for cable cards, so that leaves us with the STB. It has the following outputs : COAX/Composite/Svideo outputs (analog 480i version of everything), Component (Analog, but in HD (720p or 1080i), and HDMI (Digital, HD).

So we want to capture HD - and the HDMI version is encrypted again! So the only one available to capture is the Component, which the HD-PVR does.

btl.

[brb84]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

It has to do with the encryption cable companies use on their channels. You need an STB to first decode the signal. But then you're stuck using compsite/svid (SD), component or HDMI (HD). Since HDMI is also encrypted the only option is to exploit the analog hole and convert the analog component signal back to digital.

I think I get it now. The reason you have to use the component or HDMI is simply because the only true digital signal that comes out of a STB is HDMI. The STB puts out analog in the form of component and coax, but with an analog signal, only component cable can bring you an HD picture, not coax.

It seems that what everyone would really want is if the STB also resent digital signal (after the channel was decrypted) through coax for people that had digital tuners, but I guess the DRM people really wouldn't want that...kinda defeats the entire purpose of HDMI being encrypted and all.

I suppose as long as I'm content with being limited to the local clear QAM channels where I don't need a STB, I have no need for this new HD PVR, although it's nice to know it's there if I ever get a STB in the future to get more channels.

[lobosrul]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

Since HDMI is also encrypted the only option is to exploit the analog hole and convert the analog component signal back to digital.

It's actually not encrypted. The box just won't send a signal at all if the device its connected to isn't HDCP compatible (assuming the box has HDCP enabled, and they pretty much all do). Also, signals over HDMI (like component) are uncompressed, so any device taking them needs to compress it somehow or you'll be left with a giant (250-500GB/hr I think recording).

[jrog]

Originally Posted by bialio

I think the TS splitters ANdy posted where for the 6.4.2 beta. IF you are running 6.4.3 you should not need them.

btl.

so, IIRC, and I want to run SageTV Client on my Server and be able to watch the files that come from the HD-PVR, I need TS Splitter, but it is included in the 10.4.3 beta that I loaded up this weekend? Otherwise, I have 3 HD-100 clients that should work fine regardless.

Thanks

[Kirby]

Originally Posted by lobosrul

Also, signals over HDMI (like component) are uncompressed, so any device taking them needs to compress it somehow or you'll be left with a giant (250-500GB/hr I think recording).

I doubt the whole bandwidth is used, but the HDMI 1.3 spec bumped total bandwidth up to just over 10 Gbps! so if my math is right, it could be up to 4.5 terabytes per hour!

[btrcp2000]

Anybody know if the HDPVR files will play on the mediamvp sd extenders? I would like to use it to record other stuff beyond hd, but not if the resulting files don't play in the kids playroom on a 35-yr old console tv complete with fake wood paneling.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by btrcp2000

Anybody know if the HDPVR files will play on the mediamvp sd extenders? I would like to use it to record other stuff beyond hd, but not if the resulting files don't play in the kids playroom on a 35-yr old console tv complete with fake wood paneling.

I'll do some testing, but using the initial video files I've tried (provided by others) I doubt it will work on the MVP unless you have a fairly powerful SageTV server PC since it's transcoding the files for playback.

[dvd_maniac]

Anybody try splitting/joining these files with mp4box or any other program.
I will buy a few of them as soon as I know I can cut out commercials.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by brb84

It seems that what everyone would really want is if the STB also resent digital signal (after the channel was decrypted) through coax for people that had digital tuners, but I guess the DRM people really wouldn't want that...kinda defeats the entire purpose of HDMI being encrypted and all.

Actually the idea you have where the STB would just send out the original Cable Signal MINUS the Cables encryption would not really defeat the purpose of HDMI encryption. That encryption is in place so that only proper devices and decode the signal, you would still need an approved QAM tuner to decode it.

Not sure why cable companies do not make a dumbed down STB that just verifies that you are getting what you pay for and strips the encryption then feed the cable to any valid QAM tuner. Maybe because it would make it easier for people to steal the cable, not sure though.

[JimmyHACK]

still no CC charge yet... based on order #'s shipped mine should be any second now...

[hemicuda]

Originally Posted by m1abrams

Not sure why cable companies do not make a dumbed down STB that just verifies that you are getting what you pay for and strips the encryption then feed the cable to any valid QAM tuner. Maybe because it would make it easier for people to steal the cable, not sure though.

Then they'd lose that rental fee on each box for each drop inside the house. Greedy $%@#$@#$'s.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by hemicuda

Then they'd lose that rental fee on each box for each drop inside the house. Greedy $%@#$@#$'s.

I do not know, cause outside of use geeks how many people have more than one STB in the house. I know in my family and friends they only have 1 STB and use analog on the other TVs. They would still charge a fee for the decoding device. My bet is on preventing theft, because in apt. complex type environment you could have one of these boxes feed ALOT of people.

[padre]

Got my HD PVR this afternoon, hooked it up and recorded Law & Order via TNT HD. Awesome quality!

I had a problem during the initial install of the Hauppauge drivers (had to reboot the system a few times to get the Hardware Wizard to work correctly).

Tonight I'm going to record a HD show via HDHomeRun (local broadcast) and the same show via HD PVR and compare the results.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by m1abrams

I do not know, cause outside of use geeks how many people have more than one STB in the house. I know in my family and friends they only have 1 STB and use analog on the other TVs. They would still charge a fee for the decoding device. My bet is on preventing theft, because in apt. complex type environment you could have one of these boxes feed ALOT of people.

My parents have two STB's. One is a DVR in their living room and the other is just a normal SD digital tuner in their bedroom.

[peternm22]

Can anyone comment on the CPU usage for recording only? (not playback, since I will be using the STX-HD100).

Thanks.

[Brent]

It's arrived! Okay, now that thats out of the way time to get busy setting this thing up. More info coming soon.

[padre]

Originally Posted by peternm22

Can anyone comment on the CPU usage for recording only? (not playback, since I will be using the STX-HD100).

Thanks.

I'm just using it for recording (not playback - I'm authoring dvds with the output), and the CPU utilization bumped only 2-4% when I started recording TNT HD channel (1080i source). The system I have is a Dell Dimension E520 (Dual Core 2.80 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD).