wintv and digital converters
Harry Putnam
now has been update to winTVs recent update.
I'm using the adapter/tuner on a laptop to get cable onto the laptop.
I plugged it directly into the cable coax wire with no problems. The
winTV software successfully scanned all the signals coming thru and I
could view all the channels in my area. I didn't mind loosing the few
things you have access to thru the cable box, so just hooked the unit
up direct to coax.
A few wks ago Comcast cable company followed thru on long announced
conversion to digital. They came out and installed two converters
for me, no charge for the converters and only $16 for the visit.
OK good, but now I can't see how to access the cable service with
the hauppauge unit. It has rendered my new hauppage useless.
When the unit goes thru the scanning stage using winTV... no channels
are ever found.
Can anyone tell me what I need to do to make it so the hauppage unit
can see the converted signal... and scan as before... turning up all
the channels in my area.
Hooking direct to the cable coax ahead of the converter no longer
works at all... hooking up to the output side of the converter doesn't
work either. Scanning fails to find anything as mentioned.
Paul
There are some manuals here. Perhaps you could identify what you got
as a set top box first (make and model number) ? (I'm not a Comcast user,
and have no idea what they may have given you.)
http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?seoid=Troubleshooting-Your-Set-top-Box
Looking at one of the set top box (STB) units, it takes the cable wire as an input,
and the output is an RF signal on the old channel 3 or channel 4 NTSC analog.
If you were connecting the output of such a box, you'd want your
computer tuner to be NTSC and work with channel 3 or channel 4.
So start by identifying the box you got, and perhaps the
output mode will make more sense to you.
There have been set top boxes in the past, with composite or
S-video outputs, for connection to the TV, and in that case, the
TV isn't using a tuner at all. Its a baseband video signal.
Other kinds of STBs have had Firewire connectors, from which
an MPEG packet stream is available, and you were then able to
record program content over Firewire (cable companies hate that
now, and make you buy a DVR product instead). So there are some
variations in the interfaces provided.
A cheap set top box with NTSC output, is intended to solve the problem
of legacy TV sets not being able to deal with "digital", which is why
in this case, the device you were given is likely to be NTSC on its output.
Your Hauppauge HVR-1950 has:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1950.html
"Single tuner with the following broadcast formats supported:
* NTSC analog TV, with built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoder
* ATSC over-the-air digital TV, at video resolutions to 1080i
* Clear QAM digital cable TV, at video resolutions to 1080i
* FM radio
NTSC analog is the old channel 2-13 kind of stuff, plus the higher UHF channels.
NTSC could be received with an antenna (rabbit ears plus a 75 ohm balun perhaps).
It's possible the analog cable channels would quality for this as well, but
the channel numbering might be different. I don't know the details there (like
what is the difference between a 6MHz analog channel on broadcast, versus
a 6MHz analog channel on the old cable).
ATSC is digital television received with an antenna. According to this,
one modulation scheme is 8VSB. A lower data rate, may be useful for
extending the range the digital signal can travel through the air, before
the signal drops out. Digital signals drop out more abruptly with
distance, than an NTSC analog broadcast signal would. You can watch
(snowy) NTSC at a lot longer distance, than you can ATSC digital.
The digital broadcast stations are likely using less powerful
transmitters as well, which doesn't help the distance problem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atsc (see "Modulation and Transmission")
If you connected a 300 ohm antenna and 300-75 ohm balun to the
HVR-1950, that would allow you to scan the airwaves for ATSC in
your area.
Clear QAM means a digital signal pumped into your cable TV wire. The
"clear" part means no encryption. If you connected the cable wire from
Comcast, directly to your Hauppauge, you should be able to see any
un-encrypted signals they provide. In other words, if you bypass the
STB given to you by Comcast, and plug the HVR-1950 into the cable
again, your channel scan should be picking up any Clear QAM.
The non-clear QAM cable TV signals are encrypted. The Comcast set top
box can decrypt the non-premium ones, likely right away. If there
was some kind of premium service, it might require a cable card, or
something which provides the appropriate decryption keys. Non-clear
channels give the provider control over what channels you can receive.
(And since I'm not a cable user, I'm not up on details.)
To use the Comcast box, as in cable ---> STB ---> HVR-1950 ---> computer
1) Instruct Comcast box to tune channel X of QAM.
2) Comcast box might output an NTSC signal on channel 3.
3) Use the Hauppauge NTSC and look for channel 3.
4) If the Comcast box came with a remote, or supports some
kind of remote blaster feature, you may be able to use
something like Media Center, to change the channel on the Comcast
box. Any tuning software, has to know which device has the "real"
tuner, and adjust it when commanded to do so.
You should be able to do stuff, both with, or without the STB. Without
the STB, you should be seeing clear QAM. With the STB (and the
HVR-1950 fixed in place on channel 3 NTSC), you should be seeing
a lot more than just clear QAM.
And if you use the HVR-1950 with an antenna, you should be able to
pick up the ATSC broadcast signals in your area as well. Since the
HVR-1950 lacks lots of input connectors though, it would be pretty
hard to juggle all the options with just one connector for TV.
Using the STB should give you the most channels, if you can figure out
how to control it easily from the computer.
HTH,
Paul
xman
wrote:
I have the same happauge. This is what I did.
The black comcast box cable goes to your happauge.
Devices wintv-hvr-1950
select bottom left icon, wintv app (looks like a gear?)
I selected [ ] analog TV set top box.
tuner channel 3 or 4 (set switch on back of comcast box)
manual entry
channel 4 in channel box
comcast in name
select add
use the comcast remote to switch channels....
good luck
J. Clarke
Doesn't that lose all HD though.
Harry Putnam
[...]
Harry wrote:
>> Can anyone tell me what I need to do to make it so the hauppage unit
>> can see the converted signal... and scan as before... turning up all
>> the channels in my area.
>>
>> Hooking direct to the cable coax ahead of the converter no longer
>> works at all... hooking up to the output side of the converter doesn't
>> work either. Scanning fails to find anything as mentioned.
>>
Paul responded:
> There are some manuals here. Perhaps you could identify what you got
> as a set top box first (make and model number) ? (I'm not a Comcast user,
> and have no idea what they may have given you.)
>
> http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?seoid=Troubleshooting-Your-Set-top-Box
Of course not a one of those is the model I have... mine is marked:
Comcast motorola GI4345NCA549
> Looking at one of the set top box (STB) units, it takes the cable wire as an input,
> and the output is an RF signal on the old channel 3 or channel 4 NTSC analog.
> If you were connecting the output of such a box, you'd want your
> computer tuner to be NTSC and work with channel 3 or channel 4.
>
> So start by identifying the box you got, and perhaps the
> output mode will make more sense to you.
[...] snipped lots of good information.... thanks
I was asking in particular about the converts being handed out by
comcast as part of there move to all digital... not the set top box.
I would at some point like to be able to connect to it as well
though... so your input will be useful for that, but right now I'd
like to be able to connect to the converters they've installed.
I have only one set top box output... but several other outlets that
only had been using the bare coax... now I must use a bare coax with a
digital converter added to it.
I should have included data on the converter but I guess I just
thought they were some generic box that all cable companies would b
using.
What the actually installed as a digital converter is:
Cisco product that only has 2 S/N numbers on the back and no model
name or number... the Cisco s/n: CSBBCGJJC
the unit s/n CS0538165080
These converters have to be on the end of the incoming coax anywhere you
want to watch tv now (except at the one where the set-top-comcast box
is located)
Harry Putnam
> I have the same happauge. This is what I did.
>
> The black comcast box cable goes to your happauge.
>
> Devices wintv-hvr-1950
>
> select bottom left icon, wintv app (looks like a gear?)
>
>
> I selected [ ] analog TV set top box.
>
> tuner channel 3 or 4 (set switch on back of comcast box)
>
> manual entry
>
>
> channel 4 in channel box
> comcast in name
> select add
>
> use the comcast remote to switch channels....
Thank you thank you, haven't actually followed this and got going
yet but only because I haven't had a chance since seeing your post.
David
"Harry Putnam" <rea...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:87vd6lt...@newsguy.com...
Comcast is slowly but surely beginning to encrypt more of
the digitally delivered channels. It will not be long before
there is no such thing as 'clear QAM' on Comcast, You will
need one of their boxes to decode the channels and your QAM
TV or PC tuner will be useless with Comcast. I have no idea
what other cable operators are doing. Over the air ATSC will
always work though.
David
GMAN
to pickup the digital signals that comcast sends down the line.
Those peice of crap little converter boxes are meant for old analog TV sets
that were only analog cable compatible. They are the tuner, and they output on
channel 3.
Go back and try the direct coax approach and rescan.
xman
Sure, sure, go ahead an try, try..try
xman