How to setup STB with MCE2005

P

Parabellum

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 4, 2001
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Hello everyone,

Okay, I am almost at the point to build an HTPC. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a 50" plasma (Panasonic TH-50PH9UK) so with a TV set like this one it is more ready to receive a device like a HTPC than my old 21" Sony CRT.. I have been waiting to buy a new TV before venture into HTPC realm.

Ok, I could take the short route to have TV signal thru a HTPC with a simple TV Tuner but AFAIK, I will be only in SD which is a waste for a display like this one. Since my wife is accustomed to our STB (Scientific Atlanta 3200), I could upgrade to HD with the 3250HD to receive HD broadcast. Please note, I am in Canada and OTA HD is much less mainstream than it is in the US so I have to deal with STB and cannot use HDTV tuners like many of you. So, instead of buying a 600$CAD TIVO box, I could spare the cash and build a PC since I have a couple of parts I could salvage. 1gb for HTPC use is enough I guess? I don't plan gaming since I already have a gaming PC.

I want MCE2005 and I need to use the STB. How do I plug the STB to be able to watch TV thru MCE2005? I know there is USB UIRT (or something like that) but how do you setup this? :confused:


Thanks in advance,

Para
 
Unfortunately, you only have a couple options regarding HD cable. I'm not sure what the QAM situation is like in the great white north, but if there is unencrypted QAM cable offered, a HDHomeRun will allow capture. Encrypted channels (eg. HBO, Showtime, ESPN) will not be able to be tuned however. The only other real option is to take advantage of firewire output if your STB offers it (I believe the 3250HD offers firewire output, but don't quote me on it.) Google, or AVSForum can probably tell you with more certainty.

Those are about your only options. If neither of those work, you'll probably be relegated to s-video or composite out, and therefore standard definition.

Edit: found an AVS post about firewire recordings mentioning the 3250. I'm sure there are a million more of these over there... Try the search.
 
Thanks disc, I've got my questions answered over AVS Forum. Sadly, it seems I cannot have the HD STB hooked to the HTPC and get HD content :( I don't know if I will build an HTPC with a SD tuner only (like PCR-500 or ATI 650) and enjoy the potential or simply get a HD Tivo box (SA8300HD) and *only* be able to watch and record HD content. I still can't decide :confused:
 
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