[Shakedown Street]

I'm looking at buying the 3060 Replay TV Personal Video Recorder. I know PVR's can't record HDTV. However, I'd like to record the digital TV channels from my DTC-100 tuner because the 480i is higher resolution than Direct TV. The DTC-100 is both a digital TV tuner and a Direct TV tuner. Can I plug the DTC-100 into the S-Video and audio input of the PVR and have it register channel guides for both Direct TV and DTV? For example, I'd like to record "ER" off of chanel 4-1 (digital NBC from my DTC-100 tuner) rather than my local Direct TV NBC station from my DTC-100 tuner.


If I run my antenna directly into the PVR I will only be able to record analog local stations that don't look half as good as the digital stations. None of the PVR's have a digital TV tuner built in as far as I can tell.


I'm hoping to purchase a PVR on Sunday before the Mercata deal expires!


Thanks in advance for helping me figure this out before I buy!


Dave

 

[TWPaulus]

I have a rca dct100 connected to my replaytv unit and it works with some limitations. First the dct100 doesnot have serial so you have to use IR which replaytv unit has and works perflectly for me. Unfortunely replaytv soes not control all the functions of the dct100. First the dct100 has a HD mode switch when in HD mode you have no s-video or composite vedio out just the hd signal going to your HDTV. in non-hd mode you have s-video and comosite vedieo which will be the standard video or the downconverted HD if the channel was HD. The replaytv unit cannot control this switch.

Also the dct100 has thre video modes: directv, ant A and Ant B. The replaytv unit does not control these switches.

In my setup I use the dct100 just as a directv receiver. I have setup the replaytv as having a directv and using IR and downloaded the directv lineup (I assume but have not tried it to setup a ANT A or ANT B lineup as I don't know there is a lineup for them and never looked). In my setup I have to make sure that the HD switch is in the non HD mode and the unit is in the directv mode at all times other when I am using the dct100 so that the replaytv can control and record the show I schedule.

Some thing to remember if I forget and leave the dct100 in HD mode there is no video out to the replaytv unit therefor it won't record anything and if I am watching something in HD and the replaytv has something schedule to record it will change the channel on you then find that there no vedio and not record have to switch the channel back. I jusu you a small peice of alum. to block the IR when I am using the dct100 so this doesn't happen to me.

As I said it works with limitations. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif


------------------

Tom Paulus

a TV nut that's hard to crack.

 

[Lloydian]

So, essentially, the answer is no. You can use it as an expensive DirecTV receiver if you always remember to leave it in SD/DBS mode. A couple of points here:


The DTC-100 has recently been upgraded, so support is possible. There are now discrete commands which can ensure that the unit is in SD mode and that it is tuned to the proper input (DBS/Ant A/Ant B).


Secondly, is it really that much better? You're talking about local digital channels converted to 480i through the S-Video cable. Do a test. I assume that the signal going into your DTC-100 is also going into the coax input on your ReplayTV. Record the channel in question on your Replay using Replay's internal tuner for a while. Make sure your DTC-100 is tuned to that station's digital equivalent. Then stop the recording and switch to the DTC-100 input and record a while. Compare your pictures. If you have a widescreen TV (I assume you do), widescreen programming will, of course, be better. But the other 99.9% of the programming will include hard letterboxing on the sides, images that are often cropped and/or stretched and, occasionally, just plain inferior to the NTSC signal.


My plan is to wait for a high def version of Replay. Then, I'll be in heaven.


------------------

Lloyd Lawrence


Also find me in:

alt.video.ptv.replaytv