Switching to HD with BTV

[OzWiz]

I've used BTV for some time, recording in SD. My setup includes a Comcast STB with a recent HTPC build and a PVR-USB2 from Hauppaugge. I have a 7600 graphics card, but that can be changed.

I have been watching HD for some time without recording it in BTV, so I don't need a new TV, Comcast upgrade, etc.

I am interested in recording in HD across whatever channels I am permitted.

I am confused by all the the terms like "Clear QAM" and am struggling to figure out what hardware I need to make the conversion. I am not worried about disk space, etc.


Thanks in advance.

Tom Erickson

[archie]

my understanding:

QAM is the signal used by cablecos on their cable to send digital channels. since they want your money for a set top box (stb), these channels are encrypted.

the FCC foresaw this problem and mandated that for stations that broadcast over the air (ota) in an area, the cable co must provide those same channels over the cable without requiring a stb to decode them (in other words, not encrypted). thus, most cablecos are providing unencrypted ("clear") digital channels ("QAM") of the local ota stations on their cables.

they don't have to encrypt any other channels, and some are providing other stations without encryption, but by far the majority of non ota channels are encrypted. and it depends on not only the cable provider, but also your location as the national cablecos do different things in different regions.

it gets a little confusing also, because they don't always obey the rules. last time i did a channel scan here in atlanta, my cable was not providing PBS hd unencrypted. jerks! to see which channels are available to you, do a search on avsforum.com where they have a constantly updated list of what nearly all cablecos in the us are providing via clear qam.

hope that explains some of what you are looking for. as of now, the only supported clear qam tuner available to btv is the silicon dust HDHomeRun (which has two tuners). for setting it up with btv, click the link in the next paragraph. it is a network tuner (meaning it connects to your computer via ethernet either directly or over the home network) so it doesn't require a slot in your computer or a usb port. so that is the only new hardware you need for capturing the hd streams (.tp files).

for playback, look at the system requirements page to see if your hardware is sufficient to playback the HD files.

cheers, archie