analpotato
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- Jul 3, 2007
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OK, I'm a bit of a moron when it comes to this stuff. I've done a fair bit of reading, but before I go a-spending, I thought I'd just check this stuff out with you guys first, make sure I've understood everything and get some clarification on the stuff that I'm not clear about.
My main box is on its last legs, so I'm building a sweet HTPC to replace it. Antec Fusion case, 500gigs of Samsung Spinpoint HD, Dual Core, 2.3 Intel Pentium on a Gigabyte microATX motherboard -- the brand one with the S33 chipset and the HDMI interface right there on the motherboard. I'm getting aroused just thinking about it.
But the critical issue when building a HTPC is where your telly is gonna come from. Initially, I was thinking about one of those Hauptage dual tuner digital jobs that just do the free-to-air stuff, and using VNC and ethernet to control my dBox. But it doesn't sound like an ideal solution to me. Sounds like a kludge.
Then, I wondered whether it was possible to just feed the output from the dbox into the computer somehow? Using coax, or maybe component video? Again, it sounds like a kludge.
Then, I came across this forum. Whoa!!! So if I'm getting this correctly, these DVB-C cards are like a mini-Dbox2 that goes on a slot in your PC, and you then use a cam -- same as the ones in the Dbox software images -- to decode those encoded channels? (This is my first question. Am I getting this right? As well as being dense, I'm also a bit of a long-winded bastard, so please bear with me a moment.)
OK, so assuming that I'm right about that, there are two routes for me to take. A DVB-C card with or without a CI-extension. These CI-extensions appear to be an interface for a card that holds the cams, should you not be emulating this function in software.
Here's my second question: Although there seems to be a lot of people claiming that a pure software cam solution works well for them, others insist that having a CI-extension and a card gives you a faster, more reliable picture and range of channels. Have I understood this correctly?
That being the case, I'd probably want to go that route, but it starts to then sound awfully complex. Now I'm going to need a card burner. A card, or possibly a bunch of cards? Software to program these cards, or at the very least, software to modify the pre-existing cams on those cards.
While I'm happy to learn that stuff, it would be nice to learn it while I'm actually watching telly. Is it possible to buy a card pre-programmed with a cam that would work with Virgin?
I'm gonna wrap this marathon up now, but before I do, I'd like to run my current purchasing decisions by you, just in case I'm messing up somewhere before I spend the dough. Please shout out if I've got something wrong:
There seems to be a consensus around the Technotrend Budget C-1500. For an additional £4, I could have the HD version of this card, but apparently the hardware is identical, so I might as well save the £4? Not sure why, but people seem to prefer the budget C-1500, to the Premium C-2300? Does anyone know why the cheaper one is preferred?
I'll also buy the CI-extension to go with it. As I said, I'll probably experiment with software at first, but if I can get better quality/response with a card-based cam, I'll wanna go that way.
Card programming seems complex at first. Mind you, I thought that about the Dbox once, but before long I was building my own images along with the best of them. OK, so they weren't *that* good, but they worked, and I got a lot of insight into how the process worked, what the machine was doing, etc.
OK, card stuff. There seems to be a lot of support for the Matrix Revolutions card here, and I've got an idea that some people have said it can be used without needing to be programmed? Is that right, or did I just make that up?
But the programmers do seem to be pretty cheap and cheerful. In the range of £9-30? Can anyone point me at a reliable one for what I'm looking to do here? And let me know what kind of cards I'd need to use with it?
Finally, hardware. Gonna go with dvbshop 24 for the hardware. Seems to be recommended by several here, and there's no need for the hell of dealing with the germans. Buying my Dbox was a nightmare. Over 6 weeks with no contacts, no emails, no responses, etc. And this was a guy who was recommended by many, but it was just as the whole Dbox thing blew up. However, where do I buy my programmer/card(s). (And do I need more than one?)
Sorry to be pounding your brains with so many questions. There's no need to answer them all, but if you can answer just a little bit of it, I'd be very grateful.
Thanks in advance.
My main box is on its last legs, so I'm building a sweet HTPC to replace it. Antec Fusion case, 500gigs of Samsung Spinpoint HD, Dual Core, 2.3 Intel Pentium on a Gigabyte microATX motherboard -- the brand one with the S33 chipset and the HDMI interface right there on the motherboard. I'm getting aroused just thinking about it.
But the critical issue when building a HTPC is where your telly is gonna come from. Initially, I was thinking about one of those Hauptage dual tuner digital jobs that just do the free-to-air stuff, and using VNC and ethernet to control my dBox. But it doesn't sound like an ideal solution to me. Sounds like a kludge.
Then, I wondered whether it was possible to just feed the output from the dbox into the computer somehow? Using coax, or maybe component video? Again, it sounds like a kludge.
Then, I came across this forum. Whoa!!! So if I'm getting this correctly, these DVB-C cards are like a mini-Dbox2 that goes on a slot in your PC, and you then use a cam -- same as the ones in the Dbox software images -- to decode those encoded channels? (This is my first question. Am I getting this right? As well as being dense, I'm also a bit of a long-winded bastard, so please bear with me a moment.)
OK, so assuming that I'm right about that, there are two routes for me to take. A DVB-C card with or without a CI-extension. These CI-extensions appear to be an interface for a card that holds the cams, should you not be emulating this function in software.
Here's my second question: Although there seems to be a lot of people claiming that a pure software cam solution works well for them, others insist that having a CI-extension and a card gives you a faster, more reliable picture and range of channels. Have I understood this correctly?
That being the case, I'd probably want to go that route, but it starts to then sound awfully complex. Now I'm going to need a card burner. A card, or possibly a bunch of cards? Software to program these cards, or at the very least, software to modify the pre-existing cams on those cards.
While I'm happy to learn that stuff, it would be nice to learn it while I'm actually watching telly. Is it possible to buy a card pre-programmed with a cam that would work with Virgin?
I'm gonna wrap this marathon up now, but before I do, I'd like to run my current purchasing decisions by you, just in case I'm messing up somewhere before I spend the dough. Please shout out if I've got something wrong:
There seems to be a consensus around the Technotrend Budget C-1500. For an additional £4, I could have the HD version of this card, but apparently the hardware is identical, so I might as well save the £4? Not sure why, but people seem to prefer the budget C-1500, to the Premium C-2300? Does anyone know why the cheaper one is preferred?
I'll also buy the CI-extension to go with it. As I said, I'll probably experiment with software at first, but if I can get better quality/response with a card-based cam, I'll wanna go that way.
Card programming seems complex at first. Mind you, I thought that about the Dbox once, but before long I was building my own images along with the best of them. OK, so they weren't *that* good, but they worked, and I got a lot of insight into how the process worked, what the machine was doing, etc.
OK, card stuff. There seems to be a lot of support for the Matrix Revolutions card here, and I've got an idea that some people have said it can be used without needing to be programmed? Is that right, or did I just make that up?
But the programmers do seem to be pretty cheap and cheerful. In the range of £9-30? Can anyone point me at a reliable one for what I'm looking to do here? And let me know what kind of cards I'd need to use with it?
Finally, hardware. Gonna go with dvbshop 24 for the hardware. Seems to be recommended by several here, and there's no need for the hell of dealing with the germans. Buying my Dbox was a nightmare. Over 6 weeks with no contacts, no emails, no responses, etc. And this was a guy who was recommended by many, but it was just as the whole Dbox thing blew up. However, where do I buy my programmer/card(s). (And do I need more than one?)
Sorry to be pounding your brains with so many questions. There's no need to answer them all, but if you can answer just a little bit of it, I'd be very grateful.
Thanks in advance.