Suggestions for Freesat-capable card for W7 MC

[shaithis]

I am pretty sure that they will be as I was part of the trial quite a while ago and I am pretty sure it was MPEG4 over DVB-T2.

I still have the pre-release box but there isn't a signal from my transponder anymore

[nightkhaos]

DVB-T2 not 2T!!!! sorry, it's been bugging me

Apologises I was in MUST GOOGLE THIS AND FIND OUT MORE BECAUSE IT AFFECTS MY BOTTOM LINE mode... also known as the "Aww F***" moment. I will continue to call it T2 from now on.

Right, is there a possible that a driver / firmware update could provide T2 ability on some (not all, obviously) TV cards, or will I need to replace the TV cards?

DVB-T2 cards will also be able to tune to DVB-T sources, as only one analogue 'channel' will be used for HD in the UK. I believe there is a lot more frequency space in Oz and NZ for HS over DVB-T.

That is likely right, but in saying that, there is a lot of crap on television over here. PriceDropTV to name one. If these channels were dropped you would have the spectrum as well!

There are problems because driver standards are not very well defined. For example the MS BDA driver model (for digital TV cards) has no provision for all the functions DVB-S cards are capable of (controlling motors, stitches, CAM and CI modules, etc.) probably because MCE never supported these features. This means manufacturers have added their own extensions and software needs to be written to support it specifically (or the manufacturer can supply a patch for MCE to make it work with their card).

I understand all this, but MCE in 7 covers most of the common issues. Issues I have noted is that you can't use a dual tuner hybird card in hybird mode. It must be Analog or Digital.

I don't know how many channels were involved in the previsou Crystal Palace trials, but I would guess less than the 4 they are proposing to be rolled out nationally. Squeezing 4 HD channels into the space of an old analogue channel is only really possible with the added bandwidth given by DVB-T2 this is why they have gone this route.

It was all 4 channels as I understand it. But that is anadotiatal.

Anyway it's better to go that way now than introduce two Freeview HD channels on DVB-T then decide they need to change to DVB-T2 in a couple of years to get another couple of channels. This may be what happens in other countries. The BBC and the UK will already be using a newer generation platform.

Makes sense, althrough it is annoying. Couldn't they put one "sample" HD channel up? it'd be a good way to show people why they should upgrade to DVB-T2 equipement.

[DrBombcrater]

Okay, it turns out after further googling the issue that the one guy had with HD content via his 4000i was actually related to the recent change in bitrate via the BBC for BBC-HD, and ATi graphics card Windows 7 drivers.

Yep, that one's causing all kinds of problems. Took me days to find a solution. Getting TV cards to work correctly is a pain at the best of times, and when you get it all running okay then the broadcasters go and mess everything up again.

[Funkstar]

Apologises I was in MUST GOOGLE THIS AND FIND OUT MORE BECAUSE IT AFFECTS MY BOTTOM LINE mode... also known as the "Aww F***" moment. I will continue to call it T2 from now on.

Heehee no worries. Things like that just annoy me

Right, is there a possible that a driver / firmware update could provide T2 ability on some (not all, obviously) TV cards, or will I need to replace the TV cards?

I'm not sure. The tuner is the same as it is the same frequencies as DVB-T, the demodulator would need to be changed though. I know a lot of digital cards are partially software based (something which has caused the Linux DTV driver guys a ton of head ache) and need firmware sent to them by the driver to function. Whether this can be modified to enable DVB-T2 I have no idea. Although that may explain the apparent lack of hardware development. If there is a software fix for some cards (definitely not all) this would be a massive boon.

That is likely right, but in saying that, there is a lot of crap on television over here. PriceDropTV to name one. If these channels were dropped you would have the spectrum as well!

But they are ovbiously commercially successful, or they wouldn't exist.

Makes sense, althrough it is annoying. Couldn't they put one "sample" HD channel up? it'd be a good way to show people why they should upgrade to DVB-T2 equipement.

There isn't any space! the DTV platform is tight enough as it is, without trying to shoe horn even a single HD stream in there.

[nightkhaos]

Yep, that one's causing all kinds of problems. Took me days to find a solution. Getting TV cards to work correctly is a pain at the best of times, and when you get it all running okay then the broadcasters go and mess everything up again.

Ya wouldn't have experience with a TV card conflicting with a sound card. This is my current nightmare issue. On my HTPC the same card is all find and dandy, but on my primary rig, it just hates me. I've moved it to a cooler slot, I've fixed the drivers, I've fixed the inital signal issue, but now, it crashes when I try and change the channel. And by the sounds of it the OP is having the same issue. THANK YOU ASUS XONAR!

[nightkhaos]

I'm not sure. The tuner is the same as it is the same frequencies as DVB-T, the demodulator would need to be changed though. I know a lot of digital cards are partially software based (something which has caused the Linux DTV driver guys a ton of head ache) and need firmware sent to them by the driver to function. Whether this can be modified to enable DVB-T2 I have no idea. Although that may explain the apparent lack of hardware development. If there is a software fix for some cards (definitely not all) this would be a massive boon.

*Prays*

But they are ovbiously commercially successful, or they wouldn't exist.

True, but they're explorative and just plain annoying. Every tired to watch anything past 11 p.m. at night, even with a full Sky subscription there is nothing on. PriceDropTV isn't that bad, but some of these things are just downright scams. A wolf in sheeps clothing...

There isn't any space! the DTV platform is tight enough as it is, without trying to shoe horn even a single HD stream in there.

There would be space once they free up the orignal analogue spectum... but oh wait, aren't they selling those?

[Funkstar]

There would be space once they free up the orignal analogue spectum... but oh wait, aren't they selling those?

Didn't you say something about the license fee being out dated? Someone has to pay for the new equipment for HD

[DrBombcrater]

Ya wouldn't have experience with a TV card conflicting with a sound card. This is my current nightmare issue. On my HTPC the same card is all find and dandy, but on my primary rig, it just hates me. I've moved it to a cooler slot, I've fixed the drivers, I've fixed the inital signal issue, but now, it crashes when I try and change the channel. And by the sounds of it the OP is having the same issue. THANK YOU ASUS XONAR!

All I can say is that my cards (KWorld DVB-S100 and Xonar DS) work perfectly together. Not much help, sorry!

[8bit]

Ya wouldn't have experience with a TV card conflicting with a sound card. This is my current nightmare issue. On my HTPC the same card is all find and dandy, but on my primary rig, it just hates me. I've moved it to a cooler slot, I've fixed the drivers, I've fixed the inital signal issue, but now, it crashes when I try and change the channel. And by the sounds of it the OP is having the same issue. THANK YOU ASUS XONAR!

Actually now I think about it I don't think I was having the same issue; I was getting bad reception on Dave and the refusal to re-sync to ITV/C4/Five while I was running the machine with the onboard sound. Sorry!

While I appreciate there's probably a wealth of information in the posts since my own last one, I'm even more confused now so can I reiterate my original question - is there a dual-tuner (or single tuner card that will work ok with two of them in one PC) that will let me get what I would do from a Freesat HD box on my PC with Win7 MC?

Cheers
8

[crazyfool]

Hauppauge Nova HD S2

[8bit]

Hauppauge Nova HD S2

Thanks. Can you confirm if it works well in Windows 7 x64? The reason I ask is because I've had hassles with my Hauppauge HVR-1300 which I think are driver-related.

Can you also confirm that two of these will work fine Sky+ style?

[crazyfool]

Sorry mate, can't confirm because I don't own one. This seems to be the one most people are using for freesat on mediaportal though so I guess it works good with 7MC. Besides it isn't a very old card so if there are driver related issues they're more then likely to be fixed soon. Don't forget 7 only came out 20 odd days ago, officially.

[nightkhaos]

Thanks. Can you confirm if it works well in Windows 7 x64? The reason I ask is because I've had hassles with my Hauppauge HVR-1300 which I think are driver-related.

Can you also confirm that two of these will work fine Sky+ style?

I do not know if the card will perform okay as in drivers because I do not own one, but I can confirm that they will work Sky+ still. But as pointed out, the £100 one I linked above will also achieve the same functionality, INCLUDING HD content, and the only problem it will have is access to Sky channels which are encoded in DVB-S2, which doesn't matter anyway as those channels are also encrypted!

It will also cost you £60 less, and only use one PCI slot, when compared to the Nova.

Please also note I am trying to see if I resolve the issue through various means, if I do find a way to fix it I will of course inform you.

[sc00terx]

Hi did any one find out about a DVB-T2 card for the pc ?

thanks

sc00terx