new setup - need advice on capture/tuner to use

[bradlewa]

I'm going to be moving soon (to NJ), and am considering my TV options. Where I'm moving to, there's no FIOS yet, and I don't think I can install a satellite dish, so I'm pretty much stuck with Comcast cable or OTA.

Comcast charges some ungodly amount for a DVR ($20 a month I think), so after a 2-3 year long hiatus from SageTV, I'm coming back (happily I should add). I had been using AT&T Uverse for awhile, and their DVR was free and nice enough to make me dump Sage for a bit, but like I said, I'm coming back happily.

Right now I have a HP Mediasmart running the WHS version of SageTV. I had a license sitting around, so I had been using it as my movie server (using a MediaMVP hooked up to an analog TV as a frontend). So now I want the server to be my PVR backend and storage device. I only have analog TV's for now, so no need for anything high def. I'll be using a MediaMVP and might be buying the HD200 if I end up getting another TV.

I think for now, I'm going to be getting the very basic version of Comcast cable (i.e. channels 2-25 for $15 a month). I would have liked to go with OTA, but antennaweb shows weak signal at my address, and I won't be able to install an outdoor antenna.

My questions are (1) does anyone know if you need a cable box for basic limited cable from Comcast? and (2) which tuner/encoder do I need to get? I would prefer it to be network or external, since I'm using the home server as my backend. My first thought was the HDHomerun - I know this only tunes clearQAM and ATSC signals. Is the basic limited cable going to be compatible with this? If it's not, what are my options? I know Hauppauge makes a USB tuner (the 1950) -- will this be compatible with my cable signal? with the home server?

Just trying to get the basics down before I go out and buy equipment. This was so much easier a few years back when I didn't have to worry about set top boxes and analog/digital signals. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks -- B.

[davephan]

Welcome back to the SageTV forum.

The Comcast DVR is about $17 - $18 a month in my area, and it is very crude compared to SageTV.

SageTV has kept improving while you were gone. Even if you don't have a HDTV, you still might consider getting the HD-200. The sound quality is far better, and the HD-200 is far more stable than the MVP.

If your Comcast service is similar to my area, the lowest tier would be on analog and you could use a Hauppauge 2250 dual tuner, but your computer has to have a PCIe slot. The 2250 will also receive clear QAM.

You might think about the HDHomerun for over the air HD. You can locate the HDHomerun near the antenna and run Eithernet between the HDHomerun and computer. Then maybe you could use a antenna to receive OTA signals with the remote antenna, and link the HDHomerun back to the computer via wireless Eithernet.

Dave

[bradlewa]

Thanks for the response. I have followed Sage from afar while I haven't been using it, and yes, I agree the improvements have been great.

Unfortunately, since I'm using an HP home server, I won't be able to install any PCI or PCIe cards - my tuners have to be strictly network or USB. I think the Hauppauge 1950 is similar to the one you mentioned, just USB based, so I could go with that.

The big advantage of the HDHR though is that it has 2 tuners for the same price as the Hauppauge tuner. So if it was possible for the HDHR to tune the analog cable signal, I'd go with that. I guess that's essentially my naive question - I know the HDHR can tune QAM and ATSC, but does that inherently mean it can also tune an analog signal from cable?

[bradlewa]

Has anyone ever used the older Hauppauge PVR-USB2 tuners? Did they work well? If I could find some cheap used ones somewhere, it might be what I need for the time being with analog signal.

Oh, and I thought I remembered reading here or on some other boards that Comcast is eventually going all digital. Does anyone know if this includes the limited basic cable channels? And if they do, will they still use QAM or are they going to use something else? And last followup question, if they end up not using QAM, does that mean the only way to record from Comcast will be from a set top box to something like the HD-PVR?

Sorry for all the questions - like I said, I'm just trying to get things straight before I go out and buy any new equipment. Thanks.

[gplasky]

As it stands today Comcast has gone all digital in my area and I get like 96 stations over ClearQAM. Not saying it will stay that way but that is the way it is now.

Gerry

[loonsailor]

My situation (Comcast in Berkeley, CA) is similar to gplasky's. I tune lots of non-premium stuff with an hdhr, including about 5 non-prem. hd channels like NBCHD. No more analog, though you can get 2 "free" digital transport converters. These tune all the non-premium stuff, have analog and coax outs, and are free in the sense that there is no charge for the box itself, unlike normal STB's which include a per-month charge. Get one HD STB (included with some packages at no additional charge) and an hdpvr and you're full up HD, and premium if you want it.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by bradlewa

The big advantage of the HDHR though is that it has 2 tuners for the same price as the Hauppauge tuner. So if it was possible for the HDHR to tune the analog cable signal, I'd go with that. I guess that's essentially my naive question - I know the HDHR can tune QAM and ATSC, but does that inherently mean it can also tune an analog signal from cable?

Unfortunately you cannot tune analog channels with the HDHR. You would still need an analog tuner to get your basic analog cable stations. That being said, you mentioned not being able to get good OTA signals. As long as you subscribe to some sort of cable broadcast (even the cheap analog only tier), you will most likely get your local networks in HD over QAM. Odds are they will be your only uncrypted QAM stations (and therefore the only ones that the HDHR will record), but you can use the QAM feed instead of trying to get OTA.

Check out the silicon dust website for a helpful QAM and OTA channel finder. Just put in the zip code you are moving to and it will tell you what stations you can expect to pull in. Make sure you change the pull down menu to switch from OTA to QAM.

[bradlewa]

Originally Posted by sic0048

As long as you subscribe to some sort of cable broadcast (even the cheap analog only tier), you will most likely get your local networks in HD over QAM. Odds are they will be your only uncrypted QAM stations (and therefore the only ones that the HDHR will record), but you can use the QAM feed instead of trying to get OTA.

Thanks for the responses - and I guess this is the heart of the question. How would one be able to tell for sure that I'd get the local stations via clearQAM as well as analog on the basic tier of cable? Because if I knew that for sure, then I'd just get the HDHR.

Originally Posted by gplasky

I get like 96 stations over ClearQAM. Not saying it will stay that way but that is the way it is now.

That's the other question. Are Comcast and other companies going to be switching away from clearQAM? If they do, what happens? Does it force everyone to get a STB and use the HDPVR?

Thanks again for the responses guys.

[gplasky]

If you have a HDTV with a ClearQAM tuner just have it scan for the channels you get.
Before Comcast switched all I could get was the local channels in HD. If that's all I get after they decide to do what it is they're going to do then I'm fine with that. I'll probably have to get another HD-PVR and STB to prevent conflicts.

Gerry