3D Wimbledon (1 Viewer)

[BillyTheFish]

I'm putting together a HTPC and I would very much like to be able to view BBC HD channel and the 3D Wimbledon coverage they are going to have:

Wimbledon finals will be 3D | 3D TV Watcher

But here's the thing -I don't have a 3D TV. I do have a 3D Vaio F21 laptop, however, and I will probably buy a 3D TV in a year or so.

1) What is the best TV card to get for the HTPC that could stream 3D content to my laptop?
I'm guessing that I need a HD capable TV card. Are these available yet?
I think I would also like it to be able to receive Freeview HD signals but also Freesat HD signals. Is this possible?

2) Am I better off buying a TV card for my laptop?

 

[mm1352000]

Hi BillyTheFish

I'm not entirely sure what is required for an HTPC to support 3D video/TV. Of course I'm certain that you'd require a display and video card that could support 3D (HDMI 1.4 required), but when it comes to software... well, it might just require the right codecs (???). In any case, I'm going to leave that question unanswered and hope that somebody else will be able to give you a more definitive answer...

What is the best TV card to get for the HTPC that could stream 3D content to my laptop?

TV cards are format/encoding agnostic - it is all just 1's and 0's to them. Any TV card that can receive the broadcast would be fine. It is the video card, display, codecs and software that are important.

I think I would also like it to be able to receive Freeview HD signals but also Freesat HD signals. Is this possible?

Freeview HD requires a DVB-T2 tuner. Freesat HD requires a DVB-S2 tuner. Currently there are no TV cards available that support both DVB-T2 (which is still *very* new) and DVB-S2 (more common), so at this stage you'd need 2 TV cards if you want Freesat and Freeview HD.

For DVB-T2, you'll need one of these:
PCTV nanoStick T2 (290e) (~ 80 pounds)
Blackgold BGT3620 (~ 89 pounds)

There are tons of DVB-S2 tuners out there from Blackgold, TBS, Tevii, Hauppauge. Local availability and cost will vary. You'll need to do your own research...

Am I better off buying a TV card for my laptop?

***If*** MediaPortal could support 3D, then you could stream TV from any computer to your laptop. In other words, the tuner doesn't have to be plugged in to the laptop. That is a big "if" though.

mm

 

[wonkyd]

As far as I'm aware broadcasters in the UK use the side-by-side 3D method where by the 3D content is squashed into a standard 1080 stream then you use a setting on the TV to make it 3D. As Said before it's all down to display an video codec support as to whether or not it will work.

 

[Spragleknas]

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...-mp3d-render-3d-videos-via-mediaportal-85727/ <- Might be worth a look.

 

[BillyTheFish]

Spragleknas - That's good to know! At least it will allow me to play 3D formats and it is nice to know that ScRePt, who made the plugin, says that 3D is easy to implement into MP. I don't think it will allow me to watch 3D TV streamed from a Media Portal host to a Media Portal client though, will it?

mm1352000 - Thanks, that's a great explanation. I think I will send Black Gold an e-mail to see if they plan to produce a dual DVB-T2/DVB-S2 card at any point.


*edit*
Actually, scratch that -I've just realised that I could easily just have two TV cards in the HTPC and don't really need to have both DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 on one card. It's late and I'm tired.... that's my excuse!

*another edit*

Hmmm... on reading the Black Gold site, I just noticed this in their news section:

"New Card Announcements
BlackGold will shortly be releasing preliminary details of the BGT3630 combined DVB-T/T2 & DVB-S/S2 card.

Watch this space over the coming days for more details."

which begs the question -price aside, which is the better option? Two cards or a combined card?

*final edit of the nigh*

Here we go:

BGT3630 - BlackGold

to answer my own question, I think I will go for the two card option as I think it will be better to have dual T2 and dual S2 tuners rather than to have one of each. That's right, isn't it?

 

[mm1352000]

I don't think it will allow me to watch 3D TV streamed from a Media Portal host to a Media Portal client though, will it?

Should do. Like I said, the 3D is all just 1's and 0's until you actually try to display it. TV Server will write the stream to timeshifting files or stream it via RTSP, and the MP client will be able to connect and view the stream. It is just a matter of working out if/how the client can show it in such a way that it appears as 3D when it is rendered to the screen... and I think Spragleknas has given you some excellent information there.

Hmmm... on reading the Black Gold site, I just noticed this in their news section:

"New Card Announcements
BlackGold will shortly be releasing preliminary details of the BGT3630 combined DVB-T/T2 & DVB-S/S2 card.

Ahhh, I had missed that one - would have mentioned it if I had known about it - :sorry:

which begs the question -price aside, which is the better option? Two cards or a combined card?

6 of one, half a dozen of the other - in my opinion it makes very little difference. You could look at it this way: the BGT3620 has two DVB-T2 tuners, and you could pair that with your *preferred* (read: cheapest, most reliable etc. - whatever works for you) dual DVB-S2 tuner... which are more widely available. Assuming I haven't missed anything, that is about the only difference I can see.

to answer my own question, I think I will go for the two card option as I think it will be better to have dual T2 and dual S2 tuners rather than to have one of each. That's right, isn't it?

As above: my opinion is that it makes no difference. TV Server deals in tuners, not in cards. You can use both tuners on the same card simultaneously...

[Edit: just thought I'd put this out there too - Blackgold are known for producing quad tuner cards. First it was the BGT3540 with 2xDVB-S + 2xDVB-T/analog. At present they have the BGT3595 with 2xDVB-S/S2 + 2xDVB-T and (and BGT3590 with 2xDVB-S/S2 + 2xATSC/QAM). I'd almost put money on a BGT36xx with 2xDVB-S/S2 and 2xDVB-T/T2/C/analog. Squashing that many tuners into a half height card takes skills though. Give them enough time (3 months???) and I think we'll see a new card. ]

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Why get DVB-T2 card, if already getting HD channels on freesat, I would just get a peak dual dvb-t card and save yourself 80+ quid

 

[BillyTheFish]

Good point! I will probably get the Blackgold that just does DVB-S2 and DVB-T then...