Connect HVR1600 to digital TV set-top box

[Persp73]

Hello, I apologize in advance if these questions have been asked and answered a million times, if so please direct me to the appropriate threads.

Lightning fried my TV a month ago, so I've replaced it with a HVR-1600, Sage TV, and a 22" monitor. My current setup has the incoming Cox cable line split three ways: one to the cable modem, another to the analog tuner, and the third to the digital tuner.

Friday I signed up for digital HDTV TV from Cox and they sent me a set-top box. It has five outputs: coax, S-video, component, Firewire, and HDMI, though the manual says that it only puts out the HDTV signal on the last three.

In this environment, would I use the coax line out to the digital tuner on my card, or to the analog tuner? Or, would I use the S-video? Or would I use the component video and use an RCA to headphone connector to run the audio through the card? Or is it just not going to work?

Thanks for your help, let me know if I left anything out.

[Conejo]

Here's what's important to know. You want:
A. Audio/Video from STB into Tuner/Capture Card
B. SageTV to control 'Channel Change' on STB

(A.) There are several pathways to get Audio/Video. With your current Capture/Tuner card you can get SD recordings of all your channels:

- Use the STB RF-Out (Channel 3/4) into your Tuner/Capture Card (You'll get Video/Audio but bad quality, not recommended)
- Use VIDEO and L/R AUDIO OUT
- Use S-Video and L/R AUDIO OUT

You could possibly get SD and HD recordings:

- Use the Firewire Interface to get unblocked programming (dependent on many factors)

Optionally, add a PVR-HD encoder to get SD/HD recordings from all your channels on your STB:

- Use COMPONENT VIDEO with L/R AUDIO OUT
- Use COMPONENT VIDEO with S/PDIF 5.1 Audio

Currently, the only use of the HDMI-Out of the STB is to run directly to a HDTV-Ready TV, Monitor or High-end Recorder.


(B.) Having SageTV control your STB can possibly be accomplished four ways:

- Use an IR blaster on the Capture Card
- Use a 3th party IR blaster
- Use a Serial Cable
- Use the Firewire Interface

EDIT: Here's an HDTV Primer to cover the terminology, but they don't talk about PVRs (Personal Video Recorders).