thelinuxlink.net

I almost exclusively watch HD content on my Dish system. I am very interested in getting a mythTV system, but I a can't do without HD and my NHL center ice package.

What tv provider options do I have? Would I be able to use Dish or do I need to switch to FIOS or cable?

Not quite sure what your question is. Are you asking if other carriers besides Dish Network carrier NHL center ice? I believe it's available on most of the major cable systems and Direct TV. As far as I know only NFL Sunday Ticket is exclusive with Direct TV. The other sports packages (NBA, MLB, and MLS) are available to most providers. Now if you're asking how to get HD content from Dish Network receiver the only way I know of is to pick up a PVR-1212 and upgrade/install Myth 0.22. This is contingent on your satellite receiver having working component out connections as that's the type of connection the PVR-1212 records from. People doing Digital Cable can also use QAM as long as their providers have some unencrypted channels available. Most cable companies will keep the OTA stations open. Some have more. It varies by provider. QAM cards also work well with OTA digital stations.

This is a great tool to see what OTA and digital cable stations are open in your area for QAM capture devices:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

Thanks for answering...

Naturally, the cheapest option for me to explore MythTV would be to stay with DISH. If I stayed with them and used the composite out connections and audio out connections, is it reasonable to assume that I would be able to get all the channels? Are their some channels that I can expect would be encrypted and unavailable or does getting the data from the composite out resolve the encryption issues?

Does mythtv change the channels etc of the dish box via IR and that is how it controls the recording/scheduling and viewing?

Does mythtv get the guide etc, from the composite out etc?

Sorry for all the questions, but putting it on your forum would help others as well...

Thanks in advance for your time!
StevenD

jstgtpaid wrote: Naturally, the cheapest option for me to explore MythTV would be to stay with DISH. If I stayed with them and used the composite out connections and audio out connections, is it reasonable to assume that I would be able to get all the channels? Are their some channels that I can expect would be encrypted and unavailable or does getting the data from the composite out resolve the encryption issues?

As far as I know component connections do not carry any encryption since technically it's considered an analog connection. For older TVs it's the highest quality input connection. For the near future (5 years) cable/satellite boxes need to have working component connections since you can't force people to go out and buy brand new HDTVs with only hdmi connections even though that's what they want.

jstgtpaid wrote: Does mythtv change the channels etc of the dish box via IR and that is how it controls the recording/scheduling and viewing?

When I used Myth with my old SD Dish receiver I used an IR blaster to change the channels. Not sure what all your options are now with the specific receivers. You might have to research what people are using with the particular model you have or plan to get. With most newer HD cable boxes you can also do channel changing via a firewire cable.

jstgtpaid wrote:Does mythtv get the guide etc, from the composite out etc?

Let me clarify how the guides work. The guide is pulled down from schedules direct:
http://www.schedulesdirect.org/
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Schedules_Direct

It costs $20 a year for a subscription (much cheaper than Tivo) and they even offer a free 7 day trial. When initially configuring MythTV you first setup your capture devices. Then you setup your guide source (schedules direct). You can have multiple lineups within your schedules direct account. You then associate each capture device with a lineup from schedules direct as part of the MythTV setup process:
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/User_Manual: ... eo_sources

It sounds complicated but its pretty straightforward once you've done it the first time.

Schedules Direct carries the guide information for everything (OTA, Satellite, Cable). It is possible to have a Myth setup with multiple capture devices coming from multiple sources.

Excellent. Before I order the equipment, may I post my setup to get a sanity check from you?

jstgtpaid wrote:Excellent. Before I order the equipment, may I post my setup to get a sanity check from you?

Absolutely