tv tuner

[saltynay]

need a pci dual tv tuner which is for this mobo:

http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC/LV-676.HTM

I was also wondering if it would be possible to rout sky through the tuner??

[Funkstar]

What kind of tuners are you looking for: analogue or digital?

For digital i would say the Hauppauge Nova-T 500 would work fine, although this wouldn't let you use Sky at all, as there is no analogue inputs.

The Hauppauge PVR-500 is a dual analogue card so that would work with Sky.

The HVR cards have alanogue, DVB-T, DVB-S and FM recievers, so this might be worth looking into.

[saltynay]

my current choice is this one:
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...11138,48700000

Will it be able to utilise sky tv??? and how would I use the card that is needed to access it as there don't seem to be any. I do have an old sky box could I rip this apart and extract the parts and hope they work lol???

[Funkstar]

Ah, ok. You actually want to have sky using a DVB-S card. This isn't easy

You will need a DVB-S (or S2) card with a CAM slot. You will also need a compatible CAM, i believe the Dragon CAM will work with the encription Sky use. You will also need software for vewing and recording the TV, MythTV (linux) should work, along with MediaPortal (Windows).

You also have to do funky stuff with regards to pairing the Sky viewing card with the STB every now and again. I can't remember the details of this.

Also bear in mind that this is against the Sky terms and conditions, so if anything goes wrong or stops working, you have to find your own solution. Sky could also cancel your subscription...technically

On the other hand, you could use a card like the Hauppauge PVR-150 (or 300 or 500) and take a video feed from the Sky STB and change channels using IR senders hooked to your serial ports or the Microsoft MCE remote reciever. MediaPortal can be set up to do this as well.

[saltynay]

Linux:
can this be down with linux mce aswell??? or just myth tv

Windows
Can this be done with windows xp mce 2005??? what are you typing into google to find how to do this???

[Funkstar]

i have no idea if Linux MCE will work, never used it. I don't think XP MCE has any idea about DVB-S at all so i would say it's doubtfull. I only mentined these two because i have some (limited) experience with them.

Not typing anything into google, this is just what i've gleened from a long time on the MediaPortal forums and as a member of the MythTV users and developers mailing lists

there doesn't seem to be that much information out there on getting Sky working with DVB-S cards. A lot of people saying "in theory, this will work" but no-one saying "yes it works i've done it". I guess people are trying not to inciminate themselfs or get the forum owners into trouble or something.

Remember this is against the terms and conditions of your sky contract and can, in theory, by-pass the pay per view system that Sky use. Hence why they are so reluctant that you would use your own hardware to access their service.

Another thing you won't get is any of the interactive or red button features. I can't remember what system Sky use for thier interactive content, but it is different from Freeview (which uses MHEG). Even with commercial applications and an open system like Freeview, MHEG functionality is rare. I do know that it has been added to MythTV and is being worked on in MediaPortal though.

[saltynay]

the interactive features aren't beneficial to me anyway is there away to rout sky from the sky box then onto your computer through a scart to composite then into a tv tuner card ???

[Funkstar]

The Hauppauge PVR-500 is a dual analogue card so that would work with Sky.

On the other hand, you could use a card like the Hauppauge PVR-150 (or 300 or 500) and take a video feed from the Sky STB and change channels using IR senders hooked to your serial ports or the Microsoft MCE remote reciever. MediaPortal can be set up to do this as well.

See my previous replies

[saltynay]

yes but can you explain further how to do this???

[Funkstar]

I've never done this, because i don't have sky.

But as far as i know, you just connect the Sky box using composite or s-video to a capture card. Then set up the remote IR sender through the software you choose to use.

Thats about it really. Loads of people do it, so get on the support forums for whatever software and search or ask

[saltynay]

thankyou for all your help I will look into this

[BigBry]

yes but can you explain further how to do this???

As Funkstar correctly says using an s-video output into a card like a Hauppauge 150 will give you a pretty good setup and works well with MCE 2005 etc (full 14 day TV guides etc). You do have to change the viewing channel on the Sky box though since your TV card only picks up the signal it's sent so you can't set it to automatically record a specific channel at a specific time unless you leave your sky box on and tuned to that channel.

There's some brilliant info (and help) on getting sky directly through a DVB-S card and into MCE 2005 here but it's not easy or a recommended process for most people.

[Funkstar]

interesting. I didn't think MCE had any idea about DVB-S at all. I'll need to read that thread in more detail later, but there looks to be some great info in it.

With other software, such as MediaPortal, you can get it to change the channel on the Sky STB automatically when using the video out and a capture card.

[BigBry]

How does MediaPortal send an IR signal to the digibox to change the channel, I didn't know any software was able to do that - therefore reducing the effectiveness of analogue capture of a Sky signal.

Thanks

[Funkstar]

I believe MediaPortal uses the IR outputs on the MCE Remote USB reciever. It was originally used my MCE to transmit IR signals to other AV equipment etc.

MythTV can also do this. Have a search for IR Blaster.