Will Knoppmyth work with DirecTV with their new HD20 box? If so, does anyone have documentation to getting this to work? I'd love to save myself the dollars of buying their new HD DVR to work with the new MPEG4 from the new satellites. Thanks.

Gary

Should I take this as a no?

I'd take it more as a "I have no idea because I've never seen an HD20 before and know nothing about it." Isn't it brand new? Is it out yet in quantity?

I dropped out of DirecTV's HD offerings when they changed the HD satellite and their "professional installer" wasn't able to install the new LNB on my antenna. I just watch Comedy channel and sometimes Discovery on my satellite. Everything else I watch is over good 'ol free TV airwaves -- in HD.

_________________
Do you code to live, or live to code?
Search LinHES forum through Google

Well DirecTV launched two new satellites this year and the new stuff is now MPEG4. I guess the big thing is... Can Knoppmyth work with DirecTV at all? Secondly, are there cards that do MPEG4? HD20 is just the model number of their HD box that supports MPEG4. DirecTV has MPEG2 (for older digital and HD channels) and MPEG4 now for the new stuff.

hope this helps..

Gary

The real question is -- do they provide any digital output signal that can be captured?

Cable boxes are supposed to provide firewire outputs (per FCC mandate) but that doesn't apply to satellite. DirecTV is compatible with MythTV, but only by using the video output of the sat box and digitizing it with a card in the PC.

Unfortunately, this "digitize in the PC" trick won't work at HD resolutions. Nobody has produced a PC-compatible card that can record from component video or DVI outputs. If that's all the new HD20 has, then we're outa luck with MythTv. (I should also say there is no DirecTV receiver card for a PC, so we can't receive directly w/o a sat box either.)

Maybe it's time for cable?

_________________
Do you code to live, or live to code?
Search LinHES forum through Google

hmmmm That doesn't bode well for products like this if there aren't cards out that can record HDMI or Component out (especially Component since its old). I have too much invested in DTV (and really like it) to scrap it all for lowly cable. The receivers I know do I have other outputs but they are usually all or nothing.

The box that I have is here:

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display ... ge-3#xview


I see a USB, SVideo out, HDMI, Component, and RCA out.

I hate to say it, but I think we're boned on this one. HDMI is uncompressed video -- far too much bandwidth to record or store. To make an effective HD recorder, we need to get the program while its still encoded in MPEG2 or MPEG4. At the HDMI stage the video stream has already been decompressed and its too much to handle.

Nobody has a card that can re-compress an HD stream on the fly -- at least at our price level. (There are professional $50,000 machines which can do it -- it's what TV stations use to encode programs to get them into DTV to begin with.)

BTW -- "lowly cable" is transmitting DTV signals, too. There is no significant difference between it and DirecTV except they aren't limited by the bandwidth constraints of the satellite link. One of the things I hate about my DirecTV system is the crappy signals I get for local stations. They're so compressed they are almost unwatchable. But don't get the wrong idea -- I hate cable companies too!

_________________
Do you code to live, or live to code?
Search LinHES forum through Google

Yeah I just use OTA HD for the locals but I just didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for their new HD DVR that probably has features stripped from it from the get go so they can just charge us more down the road to unlock (ala Verizon for cellular)...I guess I may just have to buy their new box.

My HD TV is about 5 years old so right now just doesn't component and no HDMI anyways.

Thanks for your help!
G

You can still record thru the svideo out. That's what I'm doing now. If anyone has gotten the codes to change channels thru the irblaster I am looking for them.

Chris Jacobs

I am recording using the S-video and the serial port/usb method to change channels on a D11. I also have a D20 but haven't attempted to attach the usb cable to it. If you guys really need it I can test it out within a few days.

If I could avoid spending $300 on the HD20 DVR box I'd be all about it. Let me know if it works for ya...

Gary

Uh... It's worth mentioning that the S-Video output is NOT high-def...

_________________
Do you code to live, or live to code?
Search LinHES forum through Google