Hardware upgrade suggestions

[Loony2nz]

Hi everyone,

First let me say that I think BTV is the best thing since sliced bread!

Second, it seems that my Hauppauge WinTV-PVR150MCE is limited in it's channel selection. Seems I only have only 76 channels to choose from. I'm not sure if I need a hardware upgrade or not, but if I do, I'd appreciate some hardware suggestions

My setup:

Cable Provider: Comcast
Subscription tier: Extended Basic (with HD channels added)
External Cable box: Motorola 6200
PC: 3.0 ghz Dell Dimension 2gb RAM 200mb HD internal, 1 TB drive external
PC TV Tuner card: Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150 MCE dual tuner.
Beyond TV: 4.8.2

Cable is split from the wall. 1 to the Tuner Card. 1 to the external box.
Tuner 1 is set to Cable direct. Tuner 2 is set to the External Box.

For some reason I can't get any channel over 99 with BTV. But, I can view many more stations with the external box. If someone can help me get BTV to see what the external box sees, I'd be very greatful.

If I'm not doing anything wrong with my setup, then I think I'm only limited to the # of channels by my card. It would seem that an upgrade would be in order. There are so many cards out there that support HDTV, I'm confused to say the least.

Should I stick with Hauppauge? Try Avermedia? Try ATI? Are there any tuner cards that output better than rca video? Like S-Video or DVI or HDMI?

Thoughts? Suggestions? any help is much appreciated.

And judging from the forums' activity, I think I might have my problem solved in minutes..hahahah

Thanks everyone!
Chris

[jrandeck]

The issue is that the PVR150 can only tune analog channels. Channels above 99 or so (at least for me) are digital and you'll need to use the cable box to tune them for the 150. I have a PVR 350 that I run the svideo out of my cable box for that purpose.

For tuning digital channels, a QAM-capable tuner (currently BTV only supports the HDHomeRun but others are in beta) will let you record unencrypted QAM channels. In my area those are limited to the major networks. Other HD solutions include firewire recording (which can be frustrating since it isn't officially supported by anybody) and the Hauppauge HD PVR which uses component inputs (you still need to use the cable box for those to options.)

Hope that helps.

[Zogg]

You can have analog channels higher than 99. I have my modulator set to channels 101, 103, 105, and 120 right now, and Time Warner here does have a few public access channels in that range as well. The problem is that older TV's, VCR's and such may not tune higher than 99. I've given away a few older TV's that were in this boat.

Before you throw money at the problem, I'd hook the cable straight to your TV and see what it can find. As jrandeck said, a lot of the cable companies are putting the higher channels on digital, and reducing the number of analog channels. They do this to open up more channels, i.e. bandwidth, for digital use, and to make the analog packages unattractive and the more expensive digital plans more desirable to make more money.

But use the TV to see what it finds. If that TV won't tune over channel 99 (look at the remote for the channel 100+ button) then maybe you have another that you could test with. If it finds the same channels as the PVR150 then no need to buy another tuner. The PVR150 is a newer tuner and I am 99% sure it can tune higher than 99.

Also, you can always get another box from the cable company and connect it to the PVR150 via S-video, and let BTV tune it with the IR emitter. I do that with 2 DirecTV boxes and it works well. Okay, I use serial tuning, but have used IR.

Z

[jrandeck]

Originally Posted by Zogg

Also, you can always get another box from the cable company and connect it to the PVR150 via S-video, and let BTV tune it with the IR emitter. I do that with 2 DirecTV boxes and it works well. Okay, I use serial tuning, but have used IR.

I use firewire to tune my Motorola cable box from within BTV. I find it much more reliable than IR (of course, I have a wireless emitter that broadcasts from across the room, so take that with a grain of salt.)

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by jrandeck

I find it much more reliable than IR

That's why I now use serial instead of IR, too.

But with some boxes, it's IR or nothing unfortunately.

Z