Few questions about TV-cards (3 Viewers)

[Kaero]

I'm lacking knowledge regarding TV cards and before I go about looking into buying one for my HTPC (which is still in the mail) I'd like to know what exactly they do, since my expectations of them may not equal what they are capable of.

Firstly I get my cable via a provider called Sask-tel, which uses IPTV if that may cause any conflicts. I don't subscribe to any HD channels, so everything is in SD.

What I would like to do is view and change the channel via my HTPC setup, the cable box would stay, it would basically just be a means of sending it's information to my HTPC. Is this possible? I'd like to be able to view and control all my media from one source, rather than having to switch around.

If any more info is required please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Our tvserver has dvbip already, how it works in relation to your needs, I have no idea, as never used it, here are 2 pages from the wiki which may help, also do a search on the forum.

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...uration/TV-Server_Configuration/02_TV_Servers
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...erver_Configuration/02_TV_Servers/Scan_DVB-IP

 

[Kaero]

Well, I'm almost certain that it can do what I want it to... it's just a matter of finding a tv tuner card that will work with IPTV... I think that this one will...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815306023
Does anyone know more about this than I do? (me knowing next to nothing). I think it will work via an S-video cable...

 

[mm1352000]

Hi Kaero

It sounds like you're talking about a blaster setup, where the HTPC controls the box. MediaPortal can do that. Have a look here:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...s/IRSS_(IR_Server_Suite)/Set_Top_Box_Blasting

It is reasonably complicated to get working, but it can be done.

What Ray was suggesting is why not connect the IPTV feed directly to your HTPC? If the feed is just an internet connection then MP can handle that. If the feed is a coax cable from your cable company or the channels are encrypted then that is different story - your idea to get an analog tuner would probably be the correct approach.

With the blaster setup: any compatible analog (or hybrid DVB-T + analog or hybrid ATSC + analog) tuner would work. That is to say, you would need to buy an analog tuner with a component, s-video, or composite video input, and some kind of blaster device (eg. USB UIRT) that can send IR commands to the IPTV box to tell it to change channels. The card must be a tuner card because with the exception of the Hauppauge HD-PVR and Colossus, MediaPortal does not support pure capture cards.

A few tips:
- make sure you avoid cards that require the audio to be connected to the sound card with a cable - they're also not supported
- if you can afford it, get a card with hardware encoding for the video and audio such as the Hauppauge HVR-1600; any card that requires software encoders (which includes most cheaper ones) may prove unreliable in the long run (eg. audio/video dropping out for no reason, lag between the video and audio) and will put load on your computer's CPU

mm

 

[mm1352000]

By the way, the card that you linked requires software encoders. You can see that on the details tab:

"Software MPEG Encoding"

Here is some more detail about the pitfalls of software encoders:

wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/141_Configuration/TV-Server_Configuration/02_TV_Servers/5_Scan_Analog/Software_Encoding_Card_Setup

I *really* do urge you to avoid them at all costs. They're so bad that we don't officially provide support for them, and as such they should only be used as a last resort if you simply can't afford a card with hardware encoding.

mm

 

[Kaero]

That's exactly what my Set Top Box is, I just plug an ethernet cable into the box, I can take that same ethernet cable and plug it into my laptop and use it for internet if I wish. I've been reading into my cable provider and I really can't determine whether or not the channels are encrypted or not.

Reading this here (albeit it is rather old) leads me to believe that it isn't...
http://www.hackcanada.com/canadian/scams/sasktelmax.txt
From what I gather I THINK that the SD isn't encrypted but the HD is, not that I get HD channels anyways, just SD.

So you are saying that I don't need a TV tuner at all and that an ethernet connection will suffice? I like to think I'm good with computers but this is a little over my head XD is there a way I could test this out?

It's really only viable for me to run the one ethernet cable I have upstairs so if I can just switch it from my STB to my HTPC and get TV like that, then that would be wonderful. That is what we are talking about right? I just wouldn't need the STB at all?

 

[mm1352000]

A test of the direct connection option seems like an excellent idea.

The best way to test would be via VLC if you haven't yet got an HTPC or MediaPortal installed. You'll need to know the protocol (eg. http, rtp), IP address (eg. 205.21.47.195), and port that Sasktel uses to broadcast these channels. Some ISPs will provide this information in the form of a playlist file (m3u). If you don't think Sasktel would like it if they knew you were doing this then you might need to try and "sniff" the traffic on your router to see what addresses the IPTV box is talking to, in a similar way to the info that you linked above. If you can get the details, use the "open URL" feature in VLC to see if you can open the streams. That would be a good start...

mm

 

[Kaero]

I have a feeling that Sasktel wouldn't be cooperative in providing a playlist file so sniffing the traffic on my router seems like only option I have. I'm a little confused as to how I would do that though. This guide on MythTV:
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Sasktel_IPTV
Seems to be exactly what I need to do, but from what I can tell I need to change the MAC address of my laptop to the same MAC address that my STB currently has and monitor the packet data that shows up on my computer as I go through the channels on the STB... is that correct? If so I'm not entirely sure how to change the MAC address on my Laptop since I've always been under the impression that a MAC address was unchangeable.

 

[mm1352000]

It is possible to "spoof" a MAC address:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/how-t...ista-server-20032008-mac-os-x-unix-and-linux/

I don't really endorse this in general, but since you are paying for the subscription...

 

[mm1352000]

In fact, have you tried the lists that are linked in that walkthrough?

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Sasktel_IPTV_Regina_Channels
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Sasktel_IPTV_Saskatoon_Channels

Maybe they help?