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post #11 of 17
6/25/12 at 10:54pm
Wait, so you're connecting the cable box at home to coax on your TV? Is your TV at home not HD then? Because I can just imagine how bad the picture quality is if you use the RF connector.

M-card is a type of CableCARD that supports multiple streams. Just google CableCARD if you want to learn more. On my iPad and even typing this is a pain.

Unless you're okay with watching/recording SD, unfortunately, it's going to be expensive. If you can forego the internal card requirement, I think Hauppauge has a CableCARD tuner that's a lot less expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815345006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116072

Another thing, you're pretty much required to use Windows Media Center for CableCARD.
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post #12 of 17
6/25/12 at 11:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rui-no-onna View Post

Wait, so you're connecting the cable box at home to coax on your TV? Is your TV at home not HD then? Because I can just imagine how bad the picture quality is if you use the RF connector.
M-card is a type of CableCARD that supports multiple streams. Just google CableCARD if you want to learn more. On my iPad and even typing this is a pain.
Unless you're okay with watching/recording SD, unfortunately, it's going to be expensive. If you can forego the internal card requirement, I think Hauppauge has a CableCARD tuner that's a lot less expensive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815706002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815345006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116072
Another thing, you're pretty much required to use Windows Media Center for CableCARD.

I have two places of residence right now since I'm still going to the university. Here are the set ups:

Home:
Standard Definition Cable
Wall --coax --> Cable Box -- Coax --> TV

Apartment:
HD Cable
Wall --coax--> Cable Box --Component-->TV

At the apartment the cable box can also run HDMI out

Turns out that at my apartment the cable company gives you your first cable card for free and it's only $1.50 for a second one. If it's going to be substantially cheaper then I could go with an external tuner?

On a side note will I need to get the cable card and all of that if I just want to stream (not record) the HD cable coming out of my TV box through the HTPC?

Basically this is what I'm looking for:
I want to be able to stream HD content from my cable box (needs to have coax as well as HD component or HDMI) through the HTPC. If it will record as well then that's a bonus.


+Rep btw
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post #13 of 17
6/26/12 at 9:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by VW_TDI_02 View Post

Apartment:
HD Cable
Wall --coax--> Cable Box --Component-->TV
At the apartment the cable box can also run HDMI out
Turns out that at my apartment the cable company gives you your first cable card for free and it's only $1.50 for a second one. If it's going to be substantially cheaper then I could go with an external tuner?

On a side note will I need to get the cable card and all of that if I just want to stream (not record) the HD cable coming out of my TV box through the HTPC?
Basically this is what I'm looking for:
I want to be able to stream HD content from my cable box (needs to have coax as well as HD component or HDMI) through the HTPC. If it will record as well then that's a bonus.
+Rep btw

So you basically just want this for your apartment then? You just need one of the tuners I linked to above and an M-card from your cable provider. I suggest the dual-tuner Hauppauge DCR-2650 since it's half the price of the other two. You mentioned you only required Live TV anyway.

The set-up would be:
Wall --coax --> CableCARD tuner (w/M-card) --USB/PCIe --> HTPC --HDMI --> TV

I'm curious though, why do you need a TV tuner if all you want is live TV? Your cable box is a lot less hassle than an HTPC. As for streaming from the cable box to the HTPC, if you want to stream HD, then I've already shown you one of the options: Hauppauge HD PVR, $190. Other options are in the same ballpark. Whichever way you go (CableCARD or analog capture card), you'll be spending around the same amount of money. The only difference is if you're recording. The CableCARD route will add DRM to certain content (shows flagged as copy-once). Cable box + capture card will be DRM free. However, keep in mind that content providers are lobbying to have the "analog loophole" plugged.

I don't suggest using the HTPC for your TV at home. Getting the HTPC to play nice with your analog TV is too much trouble than it's worth. You'd have to get a crappy video card with composite out or one of those VGA to composite/S-video converter boxes. Even then, given the TV's low resolution, you can barely read what's on the screen.
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post #14 of 17
6/26/12 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rui-no-onna View Post

So you basically just want this for your apartment then? You just need one of the tuners I linked to above and an M-card from your cable provider. I suggest the dual-tuner Hauppauge DCR-2650 since it's half the price of the other two. You mentioned you only required Live TV anyway.
The set-up would be:
Wall --coax --> CableCARD tuner (w/M-card) --USB/PCIe --> HTPC --HDMI --> TV
I'm curious though, why do you need a TV tuner if all you want is live TV? Your cable box is a lot less hassle than an HTPC. As for streaming from the cable box to the HTPC, if you want to stream HD, then I've already shown you one of the options: Hauppauge HD PVR, $190. Other options are in the same ballpark. Whichever way you go (CableCARD or analog capture card), you'll be spending around the same amount of money. The only difference is if you're recording. The CableCARD route will add DRM to certain content (shows flagged as copy-once). Cable box + capture card will be DRM free. However, keep in mind that content providers are lobbying to have the "analog loophole" plugged.
I don't suggest using the HTPC for your TV at home. Getting the HTPC to play nice with your analog TV is too much trouble than it's worth. You'd have to get a crappy video card with composite out or one of those VGA to composite/S-video converter boxes. Even then, given the TV's low resolution, you can barely read what's on the screen.

It would be used at both my apartment and the house. I think I'm just going to skip the TV tuner card unfortunately to save some money. For now I guess I can just hook it up to the TV at the same time as the cable box. I won't be able to record anything but at least i can switch back and forth with ease. The whole TV tuner thing is a bit too pricey for me unfortunately. Looks like I'm just going to be down to getting a case, CPU, and heat sink. Thanks a lot for the info.
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post #15 of 17
6/26/12 at 12:36pm
Yeah. Figured that would be the best choice for you. If your TV at home doesn't support any PC inputs (VGA, DVI, HDMI), then connecting your HTPC to it would be a pain. You're probably better off upgrading to an HDTV instead of spending money on video cards or converters that can connect to old TVs.
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post #16 of 17
6/26/12 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rui-no-onna View Post

Yeah. Figured that would be the best choice for you. If your TV at home doesn't support any PC inputs (VGA, DVI, HDMI), then connecting your HTPC to it would be a pain. You're probably better off upgrading to an HDTV instead of spending money on video cards or converters that can connect to old TVs.

Well the TV is the same TV in both apartments and it's a 1080 Vizio HDTV since I move it back and forth. The only thing is that I only have an HD cable box at the apartment and it's regular SD cable.
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post #17 of 17
6/26/12 at 2:19pm
Then the HTPC should work just fine.
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