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Tivo like HDTV Capabilities with HDTV PC Card??

195 Views 14 Replies 6 Participants Last post by ehopper, Aug 28, 2001

ehopper

Discussion Starter · Aug 28, 2001

I have wanted to dabble in HDTV and have been looking at a couple of different HDTV tuner cards. I am wondering if this scenario is feasible:

1. Equip a dedicated PC with an HDTV tuner card

2. Connect HDTV card to HDTV

3. Using the software provided by the card manufacturer to provide Tivo like capability

Has anyone done this?

Is it at all feasible?

Is the PC Card output sufficiently stable for either PC Viewing or TV Set viewing?

Can you get good playback from HDTV recordings made via the card?

Any input would be welcome.

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

Tivo since 11/99!!

Ultimate TV: From the same people who make the Code Red worm possible

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1 - 15 of 15 Posts

Ken Erickson

· #2 · Aug 28, 2001

ehopper,

Yes it's feasible to use a card like the HiPix or AccessDTV cards to get TiVo like features. However, from my understanding, you will have problems with recording sat. HD signals unless you have the Dish5000 with the 8VSB modulator attachment. The playback from digital recordings are as prestine as the original. As this is what Hollywood is worried about.

seandudley

· #3 · Aug 28, 2001

What about a Dish 6000 receiver with the 8VSB turner cartridge? That is what I have and I would be interested in recording shows in HD.

Sean Dudley

Ken Erickson

· #4 · Aug 28, 2001

seandudley,

At the risk of being flamed for posting without having first hand knowledge, no you can't record HD sat signals with the 6000 even with the 8VSB modulator. And this is the reason, I believe, some are asking $1000 on ebay for a 5000 w/ 8VSB modulator. Anyone else looking to record HD sat signals will have to have the new systems with HDCP cap.

ehopper

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 28, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Erickson:
ehopper,

Yes it's feasible to use a card like the HiPix or AccessDTV cards to get TiVo like features. However, from my understanding, you will have problems with recording sat. HD signals unless you have the Dish5000 with the 8VSB modulator attachment. The playback from digital recordings are as prestine as the original. As this is what Hollywood is worried about.

So, theoretically, one could setup one of these cards in a PC and have an HDTV with "Tivo-like" capability? I have playerd with some of the standard TV cards and their recording capability seemed to be limited and very jerky. This, of course, on my desktop PC, which has lots of applications on it. (all of whom seem to want to run processes all the time, even when not active).

I suspect my problems have more to do with the cross-contamination that a Windows PC with lots of applications on it seems to suffer.

Any input is welcome.

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

Tivo since 11/99!!

Ultimate TV: From the same people who make the Code Red worm possible

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Ken Erickson

· #6 · Aug 28, 2001

ehopper,

I went to a demo of a HTPC in a home of a local user of the HiPix card. He was using a dedicated PC. He uses a Sony Hi8 camcorder to offload/store lots of movies.

seandudley

· #7 · Aug 28, 2001

So, lets see if I have this right...

I would have to have a Dish 5000 receiver with a 8VSB tuner cartridge and would need a set top box as well? (My TV is a HDTV-ready set... a Pioneer Elite 710HD)

Since I am currently using the 6000 I think it basically has the set top box built in.

Is this right?

Thanks.

Sean Dudley

[This message has been edited by seandudley (edited 08-28-2001).]

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Ken Erickson

· #8 · Aug 28, 2001

seandudley,

The Dish6000 is the set top box. Te repeat; you will be able to record OTA HD signals but not HD sat signals - this includes CBSHD via Dish. To record any sat HD signal you would need the Dish5000 w/ the 8VSB module.

DP1

· #9 · Aug 28, 2001

IOW Sean, the 5000 uses a modulator (as opposed to an 8vsb module like the 6000 has) to output HD via a coax cable port on the modulator that turns HBO, Showtime HD etc into a signal that an 8vsb tuner detects as channel 3 or 4. As such, that signal can be recorded not unlike a local digital OTA signal with something like an HD PC tuner card.

The 6000 and accompanying 8vsb tuner cant do this because theres no output on it.

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Dan

Ken Erickson

· #10 · Aug 28, 2001

DP1,

Thanks for post. I knew there was more to the 6000 than I had posted. Now if I could talk the poster on ebay to drop his opening bid for the Dish5000 w/mod down from $1500 to say ...

[This message has been edited by Ken Erickson (edited 08-28-2001).]

sawyer

· #11 · Aug 28, 2001

Either the Hauppague WinTV-HD or the Telemann HiPix DTV-200 HDTV PCI tuner cards are suited for the HD recording capability for time-shifting as you would with TiVo with NTSC signals. The problem as noted above is they will only receive OTA ATSC (1080i or 720p) signals if you are within a broadcasted area. The main problem is the cards do not have component inputs so that you can not record from satellite feeds except through composite or RF inputs (some have s-video) which will limit the signal to 480i. In order to record in 720p or 1080i the signal has to come from your OTA broadcast. You would think that another card could be added to receive VGA inputs and then converted internally into the PCI card.

To answer the question about recording itself, software with the tuner card will allow hard drive downloads of the feeds with 1 hour of 1080i taking about 10 gigs of space. It would be hard to archive much even in a monster 80gB hard drive, so that is the importance of DVD+RW disc burning. Pioneer's (DVD-R) is out at $800 and a few off brands were available for $450 at office depot this weekend.

I have no broadcasts in my area until 5/6/02, so I'm delaying the purchase of the HiPix until then. If anyone already has a HDTV PCI card up and running, it would be nice to know how functional it is.

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Larry Hutchinson

· #12 · Aug 28, 2001

ehopper,

As long as we are talking about recording OTA HDTV and not sat HD, then as others have said, HiPix or accessDTV will work fine. I have a HiPix myself. The quality is identical to my RCA DTC100.

However, I seem to recall that Phoenix HD is a problem. I haven't paid too much attention and my info may be old, but you will want to verify that your CBS station is actually passing the network's HD.

Also, the HiPix can not record one thing while watching a recording. The accessDTV apparently can pause live HDTV but it can not (yet) show one recording while recording another, even though that is conceptually the same as pausing live TV.

For me, the accessDTV is morally offensive because encrypts the free over-the-air unencrypted signal.

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

STOP DVI/HDCP; Boycott JVC

[This message has been edited by Larry Hutchinson (edited 08-28-2001).]

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DP1

· #13 · Aug 28, 2001

Yeah, those prices are wild for something that basically started out simply as kind of a clunky solution for Dish to get some HD out there. They didnt have any actual HD receivers at the time but other companies had introduced some first generation OTA HD tuners so this was Dish's way of sending out their HBO-HD feed, by converting it to a digital channel 3 type deal.. for those with the OTA tuners that had come out. Since of course the modulator on the 5000 isnt an actual 8vsb tuner, those receivers aren't capable of receiving any OTA digital channels like the 6000 does.

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Dan

Ken Erickson

· #14 · Aug 28, 2001

DP1,

I see why the HiPix card along with the Dish5000 was the system of choice for OTA/Sat HD recording. But us DirecTV users never had a chance at sat HD recording.

ehopper

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 28, 2001

Quote:

Originally posted by Larry Hutchinson:
ehopper,

As long as we are talking about recording OTA HDTV and not sat HD, then as others have said, HiPix or accessDTV will work fine. I have a HiPix myself. The quality is identical to my RCA DTC100.

However, I seem to recall that Phoenix HD is a problem. I haven't paid too much attention and my info may be old, but you will want to verify that your CBS station is actually passing the network's HD.

It (the much despised KPHO) still isn't and I doubt that they will for at least a year or two more, maybe even longer. Hence my statement that I want to "dabble". A $400 card isn't too big an investment, but I was also curious about the "Tivo like" capability.

There are ways to get the CBSHD signal here (against KPHO's wishes) if you want to play some games with Dish.

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

Tivo since 11/99!!

Ultimate TV: From the same people who make the Code Red worm possible

[This message has been edited by ehopper (edited 08-28-2001).]

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