Moving to Belgium from Canada

[Joe Bloggins]

Hi everybody,

I am a big fan of Sage TV and I have been a dedicated user for the last couple of years. We currently live in Canada and we are moving to Europe in a couple of months. Here is what my setup is going to be like once we arrive overseas and I am wondering if it is going to work:


Cable service from Belgacom ------------ Belgacom set top box (Scientific Atlanta IPTV PVR IP 430MC) ---------- Hauppauge HD.PVR ---------- SageMC server ---------- Sage HD200 theater ---------- LG 47LH40 TV


My service from Belgacom is going to be delivered on PAL encoding. I understand the Hauppauge HD.PVR, SageMC and HD200 all support PAL but my TV doesn't. I assume I am going to have to convert the PAL signal to NTSC at some point. Can I do it on the SageMC or do I need to buy a PAL-to-NTSC converter? If so, will the device below do the trick? Will I lose in quality if I do this? Where is the best spot to install it? Between settop and Hauppauge or between HD Theater and TV?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...srkey=A85-1070

Thanks

Martin

[JParedis]

Martin,

I'm located in Belgium (near Leuven) and have been using Sage for some years now. I'm not using Belgacom (via phone line) but Telenet (via cable).

I believe that Belgacom HDBox outputs also via HDMI, must be I guess to get the HD signal to the TV. I'm not sure if an HDMI connection has the NTSC/PAL difference, does that not only count for analog? Isn't the HDMI signal identical everywhere (the only difference in signal is if it's 720/1080/...)?

I'm using a HD200 (identical as you have) and have that HDMI feeding my TV (Sony 5500). Again, don't believe NTCS/PAL matters in this - mpeg4 is mpeg4. So I believe you should have no problem feeding HD200 to your TV (but not being a real Techie ).

HOWEVER .... I'm interested to know:

- How do you intend to connect the Belgacom HDBox to the HD.PVR (not familiar with that), does that accept HDMI input (I doubt it)?

- How do you intend to change channel on the HDBox?

I'm very interested to hear about this, as my SageTV Server only works with analog channels (so no HD recording, limited channels, ...). I've been looking with a friend, who knows more about this technically than I do, and the only way to work with a SageTV server and be able to watch/record HD through it, is to switch to satelite (TV-Vlaanderen). He has done it, and is now testing the setup. If it works, I'm next to go.
All this to work around the encoded HD signal, allowing the provider to force us to use their setup box.

Regards,

Jan

[LostInSpace]

Hi Martin

Welcom to Belgium :-)
Actually, Belgacom uses IPTV.
Up to now, I did not find the way to use IPTV with SageTV.
I was able to watch some programs with VLC but it's not really user friendly.

[tmiranda]

I lived in that neighborhood for a while - it's a really nice country. Enjoy the food, beer and chocolate. Go see the F1 race in Spa/Francochamps.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by LostInSpace

Hi Martin

Welcom to Belgium :-)
Actually, Belgacom uses IPTV.
Up to now, I did not find the way to use IPTV with SageTV.
I was able to watch some programs with VLC but it's not really user friendly.

Do you not have a Set Top Box to receive the IPTV. Can't you then hook up the box to Sage and use an IR blaster to control the box, just like any other cable or satellite box. This is not as clean as having a direct feed but it is not too bad.

And then there is WebFeedEncoder which may be able to directly view IPTV streams directly in SageTV.