Confused About Hardware Choices

[Brandon]

Hey All

I've been thumbing through the MediaPortal docs, but I'm still confused.

Here is a little history. I've had a Tivo for years and it's pretty cool, but I'm starting to feel constrained by it's limitations. So why not build your own?

I'm confused about capture card choices (especially multiple format and multiple tuner solutions), audio playback and remote control options for for DVD and channel changing.

I understand how to get rolling with basic analog cable. But what do you do if you also want to record HDTV and "Digital" cable? I say "digital" cable because that's what Comcast calls it. I'm talking about the channels above 99 Science, History International and so on.

I think I'll need two capture cards, one for OTA HDTV, and maybe a dual tuner card for cable. With one input pulling a signal straight from the cable, before it hits the cable box, and the other one jacked into the component-video output of my Comcast cable box. Am I correct?

If thats the case, then there has to be a way to change the cable box channels. Right now Tivo does this through a serial cable connection to the cable box. What are my cable box channel changing options with MediaPortal?

If I wanted to watch Live TV, how would I switch between the three different inputs?

How do I deal with all the different sound options (stereo, 5.1 surround,...) during live or recorded playback?

Thanks for putting up with so many questions.

[m0deth]

Ok, the "digital" channels, if part of any package beyond basic, may not tune in on any available tuner. most do the standard 125 cable chans or so for US market.

The OTA HD chans should record natively with a decent HD tuner just fine, some QAM chans work fine with a few tuners over cable as well, but, dont count on the stability of that due to Cable's natural ability to screw up a good thing for the customer. I have COX here....and get the "expanded" basic channels in just fine, SciFi and other high chans look downright horrible due to their compression of analog b4 sending now....mmmm, recompressed nasty analog over cable.....yay I love paying for that. Sorry, I digress

As of now, there seems to still be a big wait for Cable Card tuners, and they require Vista to work anyway, and even then....they can now stop you from recording true HD to disk, when/if they choose. kinda feels like TiVo eh?

Now
that's not to say that you can't record, people find ways,...I'm just not up on how, I'm waiting for FiOS tv myself, and internet for that matter, we'll see what i can get to work in MP after that. :/ It wouldn't be MP's fault either, ....it's where we live.