Can someone please explain how the 2009 digital tv changes will effect my myth box? Will I be required to get a cable box? I'm totally lost on this. Thanks.

_________________
R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby

See http://www.dtv.gov/. Take a read then let us know if you have any other question.

_________________
-Roseville, Michigan USA
LinHES R8: FE/BE, FE (x2)

How are you getting video feeds now? if you use an antenna (OTA), then maybe. if you are recording analog cable straight from the wire, then no changes yet...

I say this, but after everyone goes to digital transmission over the air, cable co's will start pushing customers to digital TV since they get it in digital to begin with, and are re-transmitting in analog down the line. also using standard metrics, 6 digital channels fit in the frequency block that 1 analog channel takes up currently. Therefore in order to push more channels, the switch will happen eventually. mark my words.

_________________
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts"
--Albert Einstein

If you feed the PVR350 tuner with analog off-the-air, it will cease to exist after the cutoff date.

The website refers to OTA digital tuners available now to pull in signals on the air now.

Most of the common settop box converters output on composite (as well as ch 3 or 4) and can input that way to the PVR350.

You'll need to set up an irblaster to let the mythbox control the converter channel tuning. Hopefully the ir codes file for the common settop converters will have been worked out by then...

Or buy a digital tuning card if the computer is fast enough (3 ghz) to process digital on ot's own.

Very true--analog shutoff over cable is inevitable.

Some have said they're keeping analog for years, but others (Verizon Fios) have said they'll phase out analog within a few months of the over-the-air shutoff. You should check your cable company for when/if they've said they're turning off analog.

I've been wondering on this myself. My mythbox is 1.7GHz with PATA drives and PVR-150 and WinTV-GO (bttv) tuner cards. This is for standard definition (SD) television, coming from analog cable input. The software-encoding tuner is a struggle but I don't want to waste money on another PVR-150 because of upcoming Feb 2009 switch but don't know how it will affect things especially with multiple tuner cards.

1. I can stay with status-quo analog cable input but then it may be going away within a year as cable companies try to phase it out.

2. The digital converters (with vouchers from government) are for digital OTA only, correct? So therefore not applicable to me since I don't use OTA antenna.

3. If I get digital cable box from Time Warner to translate digital channels into analog signals, then I need an IR blaster to control the settop box. Do I need TWO digital cable boxes, and TWO IR blasters to go into TWO tuner cards if I want to record two shows simultaneously? This seems more pricey to rent plus takes a lot of space.

4. How do people record multiple shows if they have digital cable or satellite?

5. This is a tricky time with the digital switch to figure out how to cheaply upgrade mythbox versus expensive, because if I spend extra money to make a digital-capable mythbox, then I feel I need to spend the extra-extra money to buy an HDTV as well.

Yes, two cable boxes if you want to record two things from cable at once (assuming analog cable has been shut off).

I think most cable systems are required to provide FREE digital boxes if they shut off their analog cable, although those boxes are only required to carry local programming.

Ok this is the source of my confusion. I currently record from analog cable. Will I be forced to now buy digital cable and will the digital cable require new hardware? Someone said digital encoding requires a 3ghz machine? Is this the consensus?

Thanks.

_________________
R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby

eventually, but not immediately in February when the analog OTA shutoff happens.

when it happens...
--yes you will have to buy digital cable
--yes you will need new hardware (cable box, but can record analog from back of box using ir blaster to control channel changing, and existing analog tuner card) - or replacement tuner card for digital signal.
--3ghz required for encoding?... this statement about digital encoding applies to QAM HD (in the clear - on cable line) video encoding, not digital itself.

_________________
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts"
--Albert Einstein

Except there aren't any tuner cards out there that will truly simulate a cable company's set-top box, except for the very very few that can use CableCard... but those (a) are not available to end users (only manufacturers creating Windows-certified media centers), and (b) won't be usable by MythTV without some "pineapple"-like hacks.

The whole IR Blaster setup seems really kludgy. I can see my kids ripping it to shreds. I'd rather buy a new digital tuner card. Any recommendations?

_________________
R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby

Ok here's another "what if". Let's say I buy one dual digital encoder card and pop it into my MB. Can I still use my analog PVR-350's to decode the signal and pump it to the tv on my SB (and MB for that matter)? I currently do not use my pc's video card for mythfrontend, I use the pvr-350.

Thanks.

_________________
R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby

See my reply w/r/t digital tuner cards (which crossed your messages).

You will need some way to change the channels on the cable box, thus the need for the blaster. The output from the cable box determines the channel you watch.

You have some time, but eventually everything will be digital. And though the cable companies are required to supply analog to you until 2012, they don't have to send analog down the line - They can provide you a digital-to-analog converter (or one of their normal digital boxes) instead.

So you're saying that even with a digital tuner card I still need the IR blaster?

_________________
R6.04, dual core 3ghz, 3 gig memory, Zotac 8400 passive heat sink dvi/hdmi out video, 500 gig sata, dual tuner hdhomerun, streamzap remote

Abby