I agree with what’s been

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July 25, 2011 at 4:28 pm #4988
jrandeck
Participant

     

    I agree with what’s been said about the Colossus and a cable card tuner being the best approach, but I thought I’d try to answer some of your other questions.

    [quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

    So, some device/s are necessary for this, but when I shop for which ones, I get confused about what actually does what in the real world in order to understand the selections.  So I don’t know which or how many but I want the fewest without sacrificing. My questions are (from another similar thread):

    Is a Hauppauge Colossus 1414 the best internal answer? It sounds like it would handle 1 & 2, but what about 3 & 4? But with a STB, would it only record the channel I’m watching, or can it record something I’m not watching?

    [/quote]

    The Colossus uses the component video output from your set top box, so it can only record what the box is tuned to.  You can watch recordings from the HTPC form other channels while recording with the Colossus, but the only live channel you’ll be able to watch is the one that’s being recorded.

    [quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

    I’ve also read some about the different types of signals from channels (NTSC, ATSC, QAM) but I don’t know how to tell which channels are which or how that might limit the 1414.

    Then there are similar cards with tuners, but not cablecards (e.g., Hauppauge 1129 WinTV-HVR-1850). How do they figure into my intended design? Is the “tuner” part necessary? Is there a difference between this and the 1414? What should I be looking for?

    [/quote]

    NTSC = the old analog broadcast standard.  I don’t think FIOS uses this at all, and even if it does, you’ll be happier with digital options.

    ATSC = the new digital broadcast standard used for over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV.  You won’t get those over FIOS, you’d need an external antenna. This is also an option you don’t need to worry about because you get your local channels via FIOS.

    QAM = digital cable.  Most QAM tuners such as the Hauppauge 1850 record only unencrypted QAM which generally limits you to your local channels.   I thought at at one point Verizon sent all of their channels in the clear, but that might have changed, or I might be mistaken, so there’s a risk for this type of tuner.  On the other hand, they’re inexpensive. 

    DCT = Digital Cable Card Tuner.  This is the only type of tuner that can decrypt encrypted cable channels (encrypted QAM). 

    Hope that helps.