[wplug] pcHDTV-3000 cards for MythTV

[Drew from Zhrodague]

> That was more than two years ago when I ordered the cards, and while I did 
> order 24 of them, they all went to happy WPLUGgers.  As far as picking one up 
> now, you can get a pcHDTV-5500 from http://www.pchdtv.com/ for $129, which is 
> about what we paid for the HD-3000 cards back then.  I would advise the 5500 
> over the 3000 as it has a better tuner and is less sensitive to noise in the 
> power supply (I had to replace my power supply to get my cards to work).

 	How about some of the off-brand HDTV tuners? I'm just starting to 
look into these, as I've been quite happy in the Land of Analog Tuning.

 	Zap2It shutting us off made me mad, and so I'm trying the FTA 
thing -- two tuners and two dishes. Any experience with satellite?


> However, you may want to consider paying about $169 and getting an HDHomeRun, 
> which is an external dual HDTV tuner that connects via ethernet.  It's much 
> easier to setup, has better support, and is more isolated from issues that 
> could muck up your HD reception.

 	Interesting. How does this integrate with MythTV?


> As far as HDTV in Pittsburgh goes, Comcast broadcasts digital channels using 
> QAM.  All of the local channels (which are definied as must carry by the FCC) 
> are unencrypted (as they are required to be).  Comcast recently started to 
> send the analog signals over QAM too, so with a HDHomerun, you'll be able to 
> pick up the analog versions of many stations too, including things like the 
> WGN and BET.  I know, nothing to write home about.

 	Have you noticed that Channel 3 (which carries Mission: 
Impossible at 11:PM) did not ever have guide data from Zap2it? Do you know 
if that channel provides EIT for those shows?

 	I've been looking, but I cannot figure out how my folks' Panasonic 
DVR is able to get guide data. Any suggestions?


> As far as guide data goes, Comcast does include EIT guide data in their 
> streams.  This will give guide data for most channels for a little ways out 
> (a few days or so), but it's not as clean or useful as the data you'd get 
> from schedulesdirect, a not-for-profit setup by the xmltv and mythtv guys, 
> that charges $15 for a six month stream of data.

 	Ah, yes -- they increased the time duration. This might actually 
tip the scales for me. Not sure yet. Since I used a scraper, I may just 
use that for a while. I really enjoyed just watching tv, and not screwing 
with it so much!


> Anyway, you asked your question at a good time.  I'm going to give a talk 
> about MythTV at the October 20th meeting.  I'll cover digital and high def 
> too.

 	Excellent. Thanks for answering my questions! If I figure out more 
of the satellite stuff, that may be of interest.


-- 

Drew from Zhrodague		http://www.WiFiMaps.com
drew at zhrodague.net		http://www.pghwireless.net
 				http://www.zhrodague.net/~drew