Achilles

Howdy.
Im a little confused about all this TV Tuner business. I have comcast digital cable, and all my channels are encrypted. So no QAM for me. I was mainly wondering, if I keep my STB, and run a coax cable from wall>STB>TV Tuner, will I still need to get a Digital Cable Tuner, or could I just get a normal TV Tuner? Because Ive read somewhere, that if you want to plug in directly to the wall, you would need a Digital Cable Tuner with a CableCARD. So I kind of inferred that if its not directly to the wall then you wouldnt need one, and Comcast told me that STB's will unscramble and unencrypt channels just like a CableCARD would.
And also, with this setup, will I be able to surf through the channel guide with my Windows Media Center remote instead of my STB remote?

Also, Ive heard almost all cable companies now are using SDV. Will this be a problem for me, or will my STB take care of that? Will I need to worry about getting a TV Tuner that deals with the issues of TV Tuner and SDV compatibility?

In a nutshell, I just want to connect a cable from the wall>STB>TV Tuner, and be able to watch tv and surf the EPG channel guide through my HTPC with no problems. Do you guys foresee any problems or incompatibilities here? I will most likely be getting:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116036
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815100044


Thanks in advance!

squareshot

you can watch normal tv from the cable out of the wall, but to watch HD you need a box
if cable complany doesn't broadcast, in the clear, from cable complany.

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Achilles

Yeah. So I wouldnt need a digital cable tuner if I have a box? And what about the EPG? Can I surf that through Windows Media Center or does it have to be through my cable box still?

Achilles

Come on guys! This has been bugging the **** out of me I cant find the answer anywhere.
No one knows about this? =/

pioneerisloud

If you are using the STB, then the EPG will be through the STB, not Windows Media Center.

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Achilles

Are you sure? Because wont the box just be acting as a CableCARD in this situation? I think with CableCARDS you still browse the EPG through the software on your PC.

And if it is through the STB, then is there any way to get around that?

craigap

I'm 99.99999999999999% sure that Windows Media Center gets EPG data from Zap2it via your internet connection. WMC will download EPG data based on your zip code and cable provider's name.

You need a NTSC (analog) tuner, and not a ATSC/QAM (digital) tuner (or one that does them all). Once the signal comes out of the STB by any means other than HDMI or DVI it is an analog signal. The first card you have linked (HVR 2250) will work, but its more than you can use with one STB. You need two STB's if you want to record 2 channels with the 2250. You also need two IR blasters to control the channel changing on each STB. You can use the 2250 with one STB, but you'll be wasting a tuner. The STB's would need to be connected via Svideo to the 2250 as well. (it comes with a second A/V input that connects internally to the 2250 and mounts in an extra expansion slot for a second STB. You could also try plugging the cable straight from the wall to see if you still get analog channels. You could test this by running the cable from the wall to the TV (one that doesn't have a digital tuner built in) and see what channels you can tune. Those would be the same ones the 2250 could tune without the STB. If you get all of the basic tier like me (ch 2-99ish) then you could run one STB to record all channels from your subscription and run a splitter in from of the STB to send a feed directly from the wall into the 2250 to record the basic tier of channels.
The second card you linked to will not work at all for you.

ounderfla69

First retail cable card tuners should be available 1st quarter 2010. To get HD to your tv you either need a HD home run that plugs into the component output of a digital cable box and I believe it send the data over the network or a cable card tuner. You can use the WMC guide to control channels with the cable card tuner, it runs a setup that will ask for region and zipcode and download the right guide. The Homerun hd, Im not sure about. Comcast has just been allowed to convert all channels digital so the standard analog tuners wont work without a stb. Honestly I would wait for the new cable card tuners that should be compatible with the SDV signal. Its still up in the air at the moment.

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craigap

@ ounderfla69
I think you are confusing the HDHR and the HD PVR. You seem to be combining attributes of each into one. HD PVR connects via component from the STB and records to the HTPC via USB. The HDHR is a network tuner that records ATSC and Clear QAM.

ZHoob2004

If you were to get the first card (the one with the extra input plate) you could connect your cable box to those inputs and set up media center to use those as your tv signal. then use the ir blaster attachment (little ir thing with a headphone plug at one end) to send the signals to the cable box to change your channels etc.

note - you will not be able to get hd video quality as the s-video (the most advanced interface on this card) cannot come close to hd.

as an alternative, if your monitor has an hdmi input or extra dvi, you could connect your cable box to your monitor and watch from there but be unable to record.

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