HDHomeRun and DirecTV

[mbrown3]

Will the HDHomeRun work with DirecTV? If so, how? I don't see any threads about this (after searching), but can't find anything, including on Silicondust's site, to say that it won't work. Yet I can't get it to work right. I've tried plugging straight in, as well as going through the sat box, and neither works. Can anyone help, or am I just screwed?

[tmiranda]

It won't work. The HDHR only works with unencrypted QAM channels. You need an HD-PVR to record the HD content.

[mbrown3]

So it won't even work with my regular sat box like with any other capture device?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by mbrown3

So it won't even work with my regular sat box like with any other capture device?

It isn't used with any box; it is connected via coax to a digital cable source for clear QAM tuning or to an antenna for OTA ATSC tuning.

Here's a link to the product info that specifies what it can tune:
SiliconDust HDHomeRun

It doesn't say anything about connecting to a Satellite source because it doesn't work that way, not because it was overlooked.

- Andy

[mbrown3]

Right...I thought it was a capture device that could do clear QAM, ATSC or work through my satellite box. I have no need for QAM or ATSC right now, but went with the HDHR for future use, only to find out that it only does clear QAM and ATSC but now find out it doesn't work at all as a regular capture device, so I can't even get my regular signal through it and my entire setup is worthless at the moment. I'll have to return it and get something else.

Perhaps this wasn't overlooked on their site, per se, but I don't think it was an unreasonable assumption on my part, especially now that I got a response from their tech support, who said, "this is probably the #1 question we get"...well then why don't you put something about it on your site?!?!

Anyway, is there any HD capable capture device that will work with cable/sat boxes that is both Mac and PC compatible, that will work with Sage?

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by mbrown3

Anyway, is there any HD capable capture device that will work with cable/sat boxes that is both Mac and PC compatible, that will work with Sage?

The HD-PVR from Hauppauge is still your best bet. You connect it to the output from your STB (i.e. it where you would normally plug in your HD TV) and it encodes (via hardware) to H.264. It is all fully supported by Sage.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

The HD-PVR from Hauppauge is still your best bet. You connect it to the output from your STB (i.e. it where you would normally plug in your HD TV) and it encodes (via hardware) to H.264. It is all fully supported by Sage.

Certainly if they want to capture HD that is the case. But if they only want to capture SD then they could us one of the PCI tuner cards that have a composite and S-video input instead.

OP - The tip off that the HDHR wouldn't work is the fact that it doesn't have a composite or S video input. Keep in mind that while a NTSC tuner will record analog cable, it does NOT record any satellite feeds. Perhaps this is adding to your confusion. I think a lot of people assume that the HDHR has a NTSC tuner, (which it does not) but even if it did, you would not be able to record any satellite feed with it.

With satellite, your STB MUST decode the signal and output it. Therefore you have to capture that output with either the HD-PVR or a PCI tuner card with composite or S-video. The only other option is to get a modified STB (called a R5000) and record a digital signal directly from the box. I'm not sure if there are any R5000 boxes available for DirectTV however as I use Dish myself.

[mbrown3]

Thank you, sic0048, for the very helpful reply...that's information I wished I had before buying the HDHR!

The problem with the HD-PVR is that it's not Mac compatible...I need something that will work on both PC and Mac. Currently it only works on PC, from what I understand. So I'm guessing there isn't any HD option for both platforms that can use the signal through a sat box? Does anyone know if Hauppauge is working on Mac compatibility for the HD-PVR?

[sic0048]

I just did a quick check and the r5000 is available for some DirectTV STBs. Here is their website for more information. The biggest drawback to the r5000 is generally the price tag But it works very well and will also directly control the STB for channel changes. However, depending on the DirectTV STB you have, you may be able to use the serial control cable to control the box rather than relying on a IR blaster which is slower and less reliable.

PS - I'm not sure the r5000 has any Mac compatibility either, so that might be a deal killer as well.

But keep in mind, your device only needs to be connected to a Windows computer. If you are planning on using a Mac for playback, then that will be OK. Once the windows device records the digital stream, it doesn't matter what type of computer you view it on as long as it has Sage running on it.

[mbrown3]

Yikes! I don't need it that bad! I already have a USB-UIRT to do the STB channel changing (and it works perfectly for me, so no worries there). I'm looking to do actual recording on the Mac side, but they're not networked either, they're the same computer (boot camp), I just don't want to always have to switch over to the PC side to record something; I want the computer to be able to automatically record on its own regardless of which side it's on, without me having to switch over ahead of time (in case I'm not home, etc).

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by sic0048

I just did a quick check and the r5000 is available for some DirectTV STBs. Here is their website for more information. The biggest drawback to the r5000 is generally the price tag But it works very well and will also directly control the STB for channel changes. However, depending on the DirectTV STB you have, you may be able to use the serial control cable to control the box rather than relying on a IR blaster which is slower and less reliable.

For all intents and purposes, the R5000 is worthless for DirecTV, it doesn't support any of the MPEG-4 IRDs, and most (if not all) of the HD is (going) MPEG-4.

Originally Posted by mbrown3

Yikes! I don't need it that bad! I already have a USB-UIRT to do the STB channel changing (and it works perfectly for me, so no worries there). I'm looking to do actual recording on the Mac side, but they're not networked either, they're the same computer (boot camp), I just don't want to always have to switch over to the PC side to record something; I want the computer to be able to automatically record on its own regardless of which side it's on, without me having to switch over ahead of time (in case I'm not home, etc).

No offense but man that sounds like a mess. How do you make sure all your favorites and manual recordings are configured in both? What about shows recorded on one, they won't show up in the recording list on the other.

Ever think of just setting up another machine to do the recording, and run Client/Placeshifter on the bootcamped machine?

[mbrown3]

Originally Posted by stanger89

No offense but man that sounds like a mess. How do you make sure all your favorites and manual recordings are configured in both? What about shows recorded on one, they won't show up in the recording list on the other.

Ever think of just setting up another machine to do the recording, and run Client/Placeshifter on the bootcamped machine?

I only have a few favorites, no manual recordings. I only use my computer for recording the few "leftover" shows that I can't catch on my regular TV, which only works out to 4-6 each week. So it's not really a problem.

Re: the 2nd point, I don't really understand. In order to load boot camp, you have to shut down the mac side. You can't have both running at the same time. The whole reason I went to the Mac/boot camp setup was to eliminate multiple computers...adding another machine would get me right back where I started.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by mbrown3

I only have a few favorites, no manual recordings. I only use my computer for recording the few "leftover" shows that I can't catch on my regular TV, which only works out to 4-6 each week. So it's not really a problem.

Re: the 2nd point, I don't really understand. In order to load boot camp, you have to shut down the mac side. You can't have both running at the same time. The whole reason I went to the Mac/boot camp setup was to eliminate multiple computers...adding another machine would get me right back where I started.

What he's saying is that for it to work like you're saying you'd have two copies of SageTV running on the same computer. One on the Mac side and one on the Windows side. They won't and can't share data between them. So recordings that you make on the Mac side won't show up on the Windows side and visa versa. Plus if you add a new favorite on the Mac side it won't show up on the Windows side, etc. They will be two independent installations of SageTV.