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Recommend a firewire ATSC/QAM tuner?
http://forum.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11414
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Author:  grante [ Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Recommend a firewire ATSC/QAM tuner?

My KnoppMyth box only has one PCI slot (currently occupied by a PVR-350), so I'd like to get a firewire ATSC/QAM tuner to play with. Can anybody recommend one with decent performace that works well with KnoppMyth?

Author:  Xsecrets [ Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:31 pm ]
Post subject: 

well do you want firewire or ATSC/QAM they are two different things.

Author:  grante [ Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:46 pm ]
Post subject: 

Xsecrets wrote:
well do you want firewire or ATSC/QAM they are two different things.

Huh?

That's like saying "well do you want PCI or NTSC? They're two different things."

Yes, they are two different things, but my Hauppage PVR-350 has both!

The RF modulation/AV-encoding scheme and the bus interface are orthogonal choices. NTSC tuners are available with PCI, Cardbus, USB, and Firewire bus interfaces. Likewise, ATSC/QAM tuners are availble with PCI, USB, and Firewire bus interfaces. I'm looking for recommendations for a Firewire ATSC tuner that works with Linux.

I have an PCI NTSC tuner (the above mentioned PVR-350), and now I'd like to add on a firewire ATSC/QAM tuner.

A friend of mine has one he wants to get rid of, but it only has support for OS X. I suppose a USB ATSC tuner would work, but from what I've read firewire is better for sustained, steady throughput than USB.

Author:  cesman [ Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:34 pm ]
Post subject: 

There are two different things. Your example doesn't make sense. They are 3 ways to get HD:

1) Firewire cable from your digital box to firewire on your PC.
2) Over the air with an ATSC tuner.
3) QAM via cable hooked up to your ATSC tuner.

As far as I'm aware, there is no ATSC tuner that connects via firewire.

Author:  grante [ Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:04 am ]
Post subject: 

cesman wrote:
There are two different things.

What is that statement supposed to mean??

Of course they're two different things. A convertible top and a 5-speed transmission are two different things. I wanted a car with both, and I have one.
Quote:
Your example doesn't make sense.

What don't you understand? You don't understand that a PVR-350 has both an NTSC tuner and a PCI bus interface even though NTSC and PCI are two different things? You don't understand what the word "orthogonal" means? You don't understand what "bus interface" means?
Quote:
They are 3 ways to get HD:

1) Firewire cable from your digital box to firewire on your PC.
2) Over the air with an ATSC tuner.
3) QAM via cable hooked up to your ATSC tuner.

As I stated in my previous post, the bus interfaces available for options 2 and 3 are PCI, Firewire, and USB. I'm looking for a Firewire tuner that works with MythTV. If not firewire, then USB.
Quote:
As far as I'm aware, there is no ATSC tuner that connects via firewire.

So you think i was lying when I said a friend of mine has one?

Here's one firewire ATSC/QAM tuner that I found, but AFAIK it's unsupported under Linux (as I said in my previous post):

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv500

There are a couple more exensive firewire tuners that I've found ($1000+) that include things like rescaling and component video outputs, but I'm not interested in paying that much (even if they do work with MythTV).

Here are a few USB ones:

http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/eng/Products/HDTV5usb.aspx
http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/7de9/
http://www.aitech.com/site2/products/hdtvusb.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 4?v=glance
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... No=2204042
http://industrialcomponent.com/usbstuff/usbhdtv.html

The first one has a firewire interface, but it appears to be for connecting to a DVHS deck rather than a PC.

I'm not sure how better to explain it. If you don't know of any firewire tuners that are supported by MythTV, then just say that. Don't tell my me question doesn't make sense or that there is no such thing as an ATSC firewire tuner and I'm lying about knowing somebody who has one.

If there isn't a firewire tuner that works with MythTV, do any of the USB ATSC tuners work with MythTV?

Author:  Xsecrets [ Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:55 pm ]
Post subject: 

there may well be firewire connected atsc tuners, however none that I know of are supported under linux.

you can use firewire without any sort of tuner to get video from a cable box though.

Author:  grante [ Sun Sep 03, 2006 5:29 pm ]
Post subject: 

Xsecrets wrote:
there may well be firewire connected atsc tuners, however none that I know of are supported under linux.

That's pretty much what I've concluded. I don't really understand why the ATSC tuner vendors all seem to have chosen USB over Firewire for a serial bus to support, but that ship seems to have sailed.
Quote:
You can use firewire without any sort of tuner to get video from a cable box though.

Well, the cable box is a tuner [but I don't have a cable box].

I guess I'll try to figure out if any of the USB ATSC tuners work with MythTV.

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