HVR-2250 and satellite

[Lachlan]

I'm building an HTPC for my mom. I got her an HVR-2250, which has dual tuners but only one RG-6 input, so I assume the splitter is integral. She has an old RCA DRD502RB satellite box with a low-speed data port, but I think it can tune one channel at once. Can I get another set-top box for the other tuner, or am I going to need to get a new box that can do two channels at once?

[myktek]

i don't have much experience with the card yet, but from my knowledge, you can just get a 2nd set top box and then connect it, the real question is that if there are 2 IR blasters that can control the set top boxes. In the past, Hauppauge only allowed one IR blaster to work in an computer.

[rothe]

From Hauppaugge's web page at http://www.hauppauge.com/site/produc..._hvr2250.html:

"If you have a digital cable set top box or a satellite box, you can connect via either Composite or S-Video inputs. Channel changing will be done using the IR blaster. The WinTV-HVR-2250 has two Media Center compatible IR blaster outputs for controlling two cable TV or satellite set top boxes."

I'm recalling that my HVR-2250s came with everything needed to control and connect to two set top boxes.

Also, see "Connecting an external Audio/Video source" on this page:

http://hauppauge.lightpath.net/manua...-kit-v1.4b.pdf

[Lachlan]

The one I got didn't come with IR blasters. I was hoping to use serial cables to avoid buying them.

Edit: looking at the Hauppauge site, it looks like the card with IR blasters has them actually mounted on the card. Is that right? can the IR signal get to the set top boxes from inside the computer?

[Lachlan]

So would the satellite boxes plug into A/V source 1 and A/V source 2 (via S-video)? I was assuming they would go in through the RG-6 connection.

[rothe]

Originally Posted by Lachlan

So would the satellite boxes plug into A/V source 1 and A/V source 2 (via S-video)? I was assuming they would go in through the RG-6 connection.

You can do it either way, but you'll get a considerably better signal via S-video than you would over the coax connection. Don't misread that to mean that over-the-air hi-def (ATSC) and and cable-TV unencrypted hi-def (clear-QAM) will be worse than S-video -- I'm only saying that the satellite box's RF modulator will provide the worst of any set-top-box signals that you could capture.

[Lachlan]

Is there a single set-top box that can be used like two? That is, one that has two separate s-video outputs from two separate tuners?

[rothe]

That RCA box is for Direct TV, right? I would think that their web site should have the answer to that question.