Some basic questions on DVB-C

[ziphnor]

Hi,

Im considering switching from analogue to DVB-C(digital cable) because my new 50" TV shows of all the flaws of analogue TV

Ive gathered that the FireDTV/FloppyDTV recievers are an excellent choice for MP and they have been reported to work with my cable provider.(unless anyone know of HDTV compatible dual DVB-C tuner cards?)

However i never had digital TV before so a few questions(before i pay alot of money for something that might not work for me):

1. Are subtitles transmitted seperately in DVB(-C) and if so does media portal support it, or will i be stuck with broadcasts without subtitles?
1.b If they are seperate, what happens when you record a show, does it render the subtitles into the video or is it stored seperatly?

2. Does MediaPortal support grabbing EPG data from the DVB-C stream, or is it only supported for other DVB types?

3. Are there all kinds of DRM crap preventing you from editing recordings and burning them to DVD's?

[hansdegit]

1) Can't answer, dunno
2) YES. MP is capable of capturing the TV Guide from the DVB stream. You can switch it on in the TV configuration.
3) See 1)

[ziphnor]

Originally Posted by hansdegit

2) YES. MP is capable of capturing the TV Guide from the DVB stream. You can switch it on in the TV configuration.

I did see that option, but it didnt say whether it was only for say DVB-T or if it worked for DVB-C as well. The reason im asking is this thread:
http://www.firedtv.com/Forums/tabid/...c/Default.aspx

[hansdegit]

Well, it works for my Floppy DTV (cable version).

[ziphnor]

Originally Posted by hansdegit

Well, it works for my Floppy DTV (cable version).

Thats great to hear, maybe the problem was with an older MP version or something. You have answered my question completely since you are using exactly the same Floppy DTV DVB-C as im going to buy

How is the Floppy DTV working for you apart from that? It seems to be a bit more expensive than the alternatives. On the other hand it also seems to be well supported by media portal, and by the people behind the Fire/Floppy DTV judging from their quick answers on the support forums.

Would you recommend it?

EDIT: Another thing:
You said you didnt know about the subtitles, i would just like to know whether or not you are able to view subtitles when watching TV? I dont really care how its handled technically, im just worried ill be left without subtitles(would be okay for english broadcasts for me, but guests might think otherwise).

[Nooky]

Hi,

Subtitles can be seen and recorded when using MediaPortal with DVB-C. I don't know if they're stored separately though...

If you want a HDTV-ready DVB-C card which is compatible with MediaPortal; then I can recommend the Twinhan Cab-CI that I am using.
It is HDTV-ready, compatible with MediaPortal (Twinhan is working on a work-around to get it compatible with MediaCenter too; for the DVB-S there is already a work-aroud).

Drivers are updates very regularly and last but not least; it uses only one PCI-slot. No firewire needed (slow interface) of extra space for a CI. At the Twinhan it is on the PCI-Card itself.

See www.twinhan.com

Have fun!

[ziphnor]

Originally Posted by Nooky

Hi,
If you want a HDTV-ready DVB-C card which is compatible with MediaPortal; then I can recommend the Twinhan Cab-CI that I am using.
It is HDTV-ready, compatible with MediaPortal (Twinhan is working on a work-around to get it compatible with MediaCenter too; for the DVB-S there is already a work-aroud).

Drivers are updates very regularly and last but not least; it uses only one PCI-slot. No firewire needed (slow interface) of extra space for a CI. At the Twinhan it is on the PCI-Card itself.

I did also consider the Twinhan but i have the following reasons for currently leaning towards Fire/Floppy DTV:

1. The Fire/Floppy-DTV directly states that it works with my Digital cable provider(TDC). Also, judging from the support forums(where quick responses are given) alot of attention is paid to support almost all mediaportal-like programs.

2. I want dual tuners, so i will need to buy 2 DVB-C cards, if i go with the Twinhan ill use up 2 precious PCI slots, whereas firewire will only cost me one slot for the firewire controller. Firewire isnt exactly slow btw, its 400Mbit for the slowest type, plenty to carry a few video feeds even in HDTV. But i guess there might be some slight latency.

2. The Floppy/Fire DTV is guaranteed to work also if the providers start using MPEG-4(ie might happen for HDTV broadcasts), is that also the case for the Twinhan? I suspect it will properly work as well sinceit like the FireDTV has no hardware decoder, but i would like to be sure.

3. This thread has me a bit worried:
http://nolanparty.com/mediaportal.so...er=asc&start=0
But its hard to judge whether or not so many people are having problems because so many own the Twinhan, or just because it doesnt quite work yet. Compared to this the Fire/Floppy DTV seems to be working better for the people who own it.

On the other hand the twinhan is significantly cheaper, especially if i have to buy 2 of them.

Im in no way convinced that i should buy the Fire/Floppy DTV, so im open to argument for and against.

Just noticed that the price difference is even more than i thought:
The Twinhan can be bought for ~ €105 while the FloppyDTV in its cheapest version is ~€170 ( CAM and shipping not included in either one).
If i could be sure that the Twinhan would work just as well as the FireDTV now and in the future i guess i would buy that instead.