[ale] [OT] I have TV question

Keith Hopkins hne at hopnet.net
Wed Oct 26 11:57:25 EDT 2005


Greg Freemyer wrote:
> On 10/24/05, Keith Hopkins <hne at hopnet.net> wrote:
> 
>>Hi Greg,
>>
>>   It all depends on what you're trying to do.
>>
>>   First question is, where are you getting the HDTV signal from now?  Broadcast? Sat? Cable?
>>
>>   If it is Broadcast, I'd just suggest just getting a inexpensive set top box and pull the signal out of the air.  They can be found < AU$150 down here.  Or opt for a more expensive TV with a built-in HDTV tuner.
>>
>>   A HDTV PCI tuner and be used in conjunction with something like MythTV, or VideoLan.  They can use IP as the transport to VLC/MPlayer clients on PC's elsewhere.  You'd use your average fast wireless just like you would for your PC to propagate this.
>>
>>   Most anything else will fall into the blackbox category like the slingbox (don't know of any offhand), and/or non-network based transports (a localized broadcast).
>>
>>   I have a Broadcast-HDTV PCI card, which was neat to play with for a while, but I rarely watch TV anymore.
>>
>>--
>>   Keith
> 
> 
> Keith,
> 
> I have Comcast digital cable.  The low channels 2-1xx are analog.  The
> rest including the HD channels are digital.
> 
> I have a Motorola HD DVR (provided by Comcast) that has an DVI out.  I
> don't have anything hanging on that output.  I don't mind having to
> tune the channel via DVR.  It would be better to control the channel
> from the client location, but I can easily live with walking to the
> living room to change channels.
> 
> One way that might work is to find a way to capture the DVI output,
> convert it to IP and broadcast it over my wireless lan.  Then pickup
> the IP stream at the client location and drive a HD monitor/speakers.
> 
> I've not experimented with any form of computer/tv integration, so I
> don't know if this standard stuff, or way off the charts stupid.
> 
> Greg
> --
> Greg Freemyer
> The Norcross Group

Hi Greg,

   Which Motorola unit is it?  Some have USB ports, which may be ripe for a USB Ethernet dongle.  I found some interesting things by googling for "motorola hd dvr comcast hacking".
   If you had a digital video capture card (is there such a thing? the only ones I'm finding in google have "DV" camcorder inputs ) you could do as you suggested.  But for the cost of a (standard) video capture card, you've bought about 1/2 a HDTV PCI card.
   Alternately, if the two locations are fairly close, and you don't mind drilling some fair sized holes in your walls, you could invest in a Digital signal splitter. (like a StarTech.com DVI Video Splitter ST124DVI)

--Keith

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