TV Cards Recording 2 different tv channel at the SAME time, while watching a 3rd tv

[i4u]

Hi All,

I need some advise please. I understand it is possible to watch one channel and record another using two TV cards.

Is it possible to setup a PC/Media Center to recording 2 different TV channels at the SAME time, while watching a 3rd TV channel.

Thank you for your replies.

[PeterStoba]

3 TV cards....

[i4u]

Thank you for your quick reply. Is there not a single TV card that will do it?

If it must be three TV cards, have you or any members in the forum built a machine capable of what I just described.

Happy New Year to All.

[PeterStoba]

Afaik, there isn't one card that will do all 3, but there are cards that can record/watch or record 2 channels at once, then you could get another card to watch a third channel.

I'm sure this would work and you'd be able to record 3 or 2 and watch 1 at once, but wait for somebody else to verify as i'm not 100% on media centre stuff...

Sorry for the lack of suggestions of cards, i've personally only ever used an old K-world card that didnt work properly, but times change.

[smargh]

With one card you *could* record three channels, while watching another different live channel....... as long as they are on the same multiplex and the card/software is intelligent enough to get the other channels from the same stream. I think my Nebula DigiTV card could do it just fine, but I can't test it as I don't have it any more (my sister is using it). I could definitely record one channel and choose other channels on the same multiplex, though - all the other channels were greyed out.

With two cards, you could record any two channels and do anything else with channels on the same multiplex....

....IYSWIM.

[i4u]

Hi Guys, since you both have been helpful; I have one more for you.

I am trying to build a media pc and it has to have 1 or 2 CI slot at the back. 1 or 2 depends, whether there are CI slot card readers where you can share the signal after decrypting. If there is, then I guess 1 is enough, if not, I will need 2 cards. Important that CI slot card must have as much decrypting possibility as possible. It MUST be able to handle Cryptoworks and Nagra3 which is the one UPC Direct (Digital Satallite Service in europe) use.

If anyone can recommend any products and where to buy I would be very grateful.

[Funkstar]

It all depends on the software you use for your media center.

MediaPortal for example, is built round a TVServer which does all the recording and serviing of TV to the clients. Clients can be spread around your network and don't have any TV cards in them.

The TVServer in MediaPortal is prety sofisticated, it is able to take advantage of the way DVB-S/T/C works. Channels are all grouped together in Multipleses (or Mux's), each Mux can have perhaps five or six actual TV channels contained in it. A tuner can only tune to one mux at a time, but clever software is able to make all the channels in that mux available at the same time. MediaPortal can do this.

Take Freeview as an example. Freeview is composed of 6 muxes, so even though there might be 40 channels, you can record watch or stream every single TV or Radio channel with just 6 tuners (or just 3 dual tuner cards like the Hauppauge Nova-T 500 - I have two in my MP box).

Once you add CAMs it gets a little more complicated. For instance some tuner/CI/CAM/card setups can only decrypt a single channel at a time, some however will decript an entire multiplex, making perhaps a half dozen channels available from one tuner and CAM.

With more mundane media center software, like Microsofts MediaCenter, you only get one channl per card.

[i4u]

Hi Funkstar,

I will be using Windows Vista Media Center. Are there any internal CI card readers you can reccommend?

[Funkstar]

Well the Twinhan cards are supposed to be good. So are the FloppyDTV cards, which are really flexible because they are firewire as opposed to PCI/PCI-e.

I have no idea if these will work with your satallite provider though.

Oh and I've never used MCE, but to record two programs and watch another live channel, you will need three cards. But you will be able to record two and watch an existing recording.

[jackvdbuk]

this has loads of tuners, can it do it?
http://shop.blackgold.tv/product/3540.html

[Funkstar]

The Blackgold doesn't have a CI slot though. I don't know if you could use third party CIs, probably not.

[i4u]

Do you even have to do this if you use dual cards? Than 2 is not enough?

[Funkstar]

Do you even have to do this if you use dual cards? Than 2 is not enough?

Do what exactly? Can you be more specific?

Sorry, I've lost the thread of this discussion

[i4u]

Hi Funkstar,

I understand that recording 2 different TV channel at the same time, while watching a 3rd TV channel; you will need 3 TV cards. I want to know if you even have to do this if you use dual cards. Then is 2 cards not enough?

[PeterStoba]

You could use a dual tuner card and a second single tuner, or second dual tuner, couldn't you?

[i4u]

Hi Peter,

So you are saying YES, right.

If so, then I could put two dual cards to allow me to access four channels at once, right?