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Is the Sasem OnAir USB HDTV Receiver good enough for this?

566 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by cosmosk, Nov 11, 2004

cord

Discussion Starter · Oct 13, 2004

Hi all,

I've been reading the threads about the Sasem OnAir, and it seems that most folks aren't that impressed with it. Having read everything I can find about it, and bearing in mind Cliff's very informed opinions about it, I'm wondering if it's good enough for what I want to do.

I currently have a server, in a closet, that exists only to store and serve up audio and video files. It's currently storing 20gb of music and about 30gb of video, but I'd like to put an HD capture card in it, so I can have it record the handful of shows I'd like to watch. I don't care a bit about watching a show while it's recording, so there's no trick there. I'd never play the files on the PC that records them, since it doesn't even have a monitor attached. I would prefer to record the stuff off the local unencrypted QAM channels, rather than bother with an OTA setup and its attendant complications.

Given all that, is the OnAir good enough?

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edmc

· #2 · Oct 14, 2004

Don't know what you've read about the Sasem which expressed dislike. No, it's not on of the cards which has Hardware Decoding, but it's one of only two (it and the DViCo card) to support unencrypted QAM. Personally, I'm very happy with the quality/functionality of the Sasem H/W. Not having H/W Decoding doesn't seem to be a drawback for you either as you stated you'd likely playback the files on a different PC than where they were recorded.

I should also mention, in case you didn't notice, that the Sasem OnAir isn't a "card" at all. It is an external box connected to your PC via USB-2. Note that if you only have USB-1, only the Analog MPEG-2 SD streams will be available to you. You need USB-2 to receive the HD streams due to bandwidth requirements.

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cord

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 14, 2004

Thanks for the comments, edmc. I did notice that this is an external box, and that it requires USB2. Having yet another box is a very slight annoyance, but not a real big deal. The system in question already has USB2 though, so that's no big deal.

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Karyk

· #4 · Oct 14, 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by cord
Thanks for the comments, edmc. I did notice that this is an external box, and that it requires USB2. Having yet another box is a very slight annoyance, but not a real big deal. The system in question already has USB2 though, so that's no big deal.

I'd assumed you wanted this because it is external (that you were limited in slots or something). I haven't really looked at this option since it was announced, but as I recall it's as expensive as the hardware based devices, and much more expensive than the other software based device (Fusion). If USB isn't important, is there some other reason you were focusing in on this?

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cord

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 14, 2004

Unless they've fixed things mightily since last I read, the Fusion card's QAM support seemed to be extremely unreliable. Of all the complaints I've heard about the Sasem, that's not one. Also, the Fusion card relies on software for encoding, IIRC, which may or may not be acceptable on my server, since it has a very slow CPU.

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Karyk

· #6 · Oct 14, 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by cord
Unless they've fixed things mightily since last I read, the Fusion card's QAM support seemed to be extremely unreliable. Of all the complaints I've heard about the Sasem, that's not one. Also, the Fusion card relies on software for encoding, IIRC, which may or may not be acceptable on my server, since it has a very slow CPU.

Okay, if it's QAM you're interested in, you don't have much choice I guess. I have a MyHD card, and just installed a Fusion card. The Fusion card's software is a bit flaky. For now I'm using it OTA because the local Comcast system doen't have the local CBS affiliate, but I did try the QAM just to see if it worked. As I recall it found about 20 QAM channels, only about 6 or 7 of which were usable, but they included the major ones (but I couldn't find UPN). Figuring out which was which was trial and error, for there were no channel indicators and the numbering was seemingly random.

Without the CBS affiliate, QAM is sort of useless for me, so I was sort of viewing QAM support as a plus for the future. For me the main thing was putting a second card in the same system. Hopefully DVICO will have improved the software a bit by the time Comcast finally adds my CBS affiliate.

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cord

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 14, 2004

Here in Austin, life's a bit different. The OTA Fox HD channel is broadcasting at 0.8kw, so you can't get it if you're more than a block away from the tower. The cable company, OTOH, is carrying all the local stations. I've been told that they're all available with QAM by an LG STB owner, so I have hopes that a good QAM tuner card/box will do the trick for me.

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bryan22

· #8 · Oct 31, 2004

Cord,

I'm also in Austin and would like to get an update from you what you have working relative to receiving HD broadcasts either OTA or with TW/Austin. Thanks for your help.

Bryan

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cosmosk

· #9 · Nov 11, 2004

I'm also in Austin. I have 2 HDTV OTA receivers.... One stand alone from Samsung and the other the Sasem USB HDTV box for my HTPC. I live about 5 miles from the antenna farm on 360. I get all network HDTV broadcasts (except FOX) just fine with nothing but an indoor antenna.

I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I'm a hobbyist. But I find the quality of the HDTV signal and the picture quality to be very comparable between these 2 HDTV receivers.

The only problem with the Sasem is the scheduled program recorder application does not interface with a TV guide program. So you have to program it all manually. This is error prone and annoying. The analog side of this tuner is supported by several media center apps including MCE 2005. But the HD side is not supported by any that I can find.

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