Successful setup of multi-EPG, single-input system

[jchiso]

I had asked around in a couple of other threads for help in mapping my multi-input set-top box to a SageTV setup. Well after several fits, starts, and experimental iterations I have everything working as planned. The box is a Hughes HTL-HD which receives DirecTV (including HD), cable, over-the-air analog and OTA digital signals. I am currently using a Hauppauge PVR-150 as the primary capture device.

Here's how I receive my signals:
- Basic cable: generic "cable-ready-tv" grade
- ATSC: digital channels OTA via the Hughes box
- DirecTV: HD and SD channels via the Hughes box

My goal was to route (at the very least) the ATSC and DirecTV channels to the s-video input of the capture card.

When I initially set up this system I routed cable to the PVR card's RF input and used Sage to incorporate the appropriate EPG. I then added the DirecTV channels to the Sage configuration as a source to the s-video input, along with the EPG.

As I tried to add the ATSC channels to the SVHS input I hit a snag, as doing so removed the DirecTV lineup. After referring to this post I was able to add the second svhs alias, but it knocked out the cable channels and guide.

I changed my physical configuration to route the cable signal to the set-top-box as well, and borrowed from the post mentioned above and created two "phantom" SVHS inputs (index=2 and index=3). These inputs showed up as S-Video_3 and S-Video_4 in the Setup Wizard and allowed me to map my sources as received with the set-top box and controlled by their respective EPGs.

Prior to the aforementioned steps I updated my hardware driver to version 2.2, but I cannot say if it made a difference, since I was bouncing around alot trying to shoe-horn these configurations, EPGs and channel lineups.

In a nutshell: I'm pleased. I am now able to run all my sources through one box and have Sage recognize and control everything as expected.