Radeon AIW 8500dv + digital cable-- can it capture/record digital cable?

[SPECY]

Hello all, hoping someone may have some insight on the aiw 8500dv & digital cable recording... I purchased this card, and am waiting for the shipment from buy.com (175, free ship + 25 MIR from ati when buying from buy.com site). I am not a serious gamer in any sense; I bought the card to be able to capture cable tv & record it. However, I've got digital cable, and now am worrying the 8500dv can't capture digital cable signals... I don't know enough about how "digital cable" and tv tuner cards work-- perhaps I can record the analog signals (basic cable?) and not the 'digital' signal stations (HBO...)? Or, I can't record from digital cable signals at all? I have read a lot on the tv-capture ability of the 8500dv, and know it can handle a satellite signal-- but can't find anything specifically on digital cable signals. What I really want from this card: to be able to record the Sopranos and Iron Chef on a programmed schedule.

A little about the setup, if it helps...

amd athlon 2000+ xp
ecs k7s5a mobo (frys day-after-xmas bundle deal)
1- 512mb kingston ddr pc2700 (infineon-6)
100gb 8mb cache wd hd
aiw 8500dv
350w fortron psu

The digital cable comes in the house, and is run thru a splitter box. One line from the splitter runs to a set-top digital cable box, the other lines are not connected (no reason, just only needed 1 tv to be up). I was planning on running a coax from the splitter to the 8500dv's catv tuner; I guess I *could* place a splitter from the output on the back of the digital cable set-top box and run that coax to the 8500dv. The cable line/tv set-top box is in a different room than the pc, I'm planning to run about 50' coax to reach the 8500dv. I think if I run it from the set-top box thru a splitter, that I would only be able to watch the stations tuned in on the set-top box (not what I want, but if it's the only way to record hbo its acceptable)? I really want to use it as fully as it is advertised, 125 channels and record any programs... Any advice about digital cable/8500dv would be REALLY appreciated!!! (Also, I can't go to analog cable... something strange abuot the reception in the area I didn't quite understand when the cable tech explained it to me). Thanks so much in advance...

 

[tart666]

AFAIK, you will NOT get the digital channels. If your cable provider is anything like mine (TW) you will only get the analog channels (2-68)

Edit: there's new legislation in effect that forces cable providers to offer HBO even if you only have basic cable (digital package is unnecessary). This must mean the HBO will come in via analog (channel 2 or 14 in my area). You may be able to get Sopranos this way. But then again, if your analog signal is too crappy...

Btw, if you are going to put a splitter AFTER the cable box, might as well split the low freq (RCA) signal. You should get much better picture/sound quality.

 

[SPECY]

Thanks for the quick reply

Do you think if I placed a splitter on the digital cable box's output it would allow me to record the channel it is tuned to? Or more channels, like the 'watch 1 channel, record another' function on the vcr?

Ex:
cable from outside line ---> digi-cable box ---> (Splitter)---> Regular tv/dvd/vcr etc.
____________________________________________---> 8500dv tv-tuner catv input

I did call at&t digital cable, and apparently the analog channels are 1-99 (well, it doesnt go to 99, but whatever's less than 100), and the digital cable channels are 100+. I wonder about the 8500's claim to be a tv-tuner with 125 channels... this *must* be a reference to being able to handle only analog signals, and the answer you already provided me

Thanks again, and any other input on the 8500dv is welcome & appreciated. I guess at worst I can record Iron Chef to my heart's content, though (channel 35)... anandtech

 

[rbV5]

I record digital cable all the time. You just need to use the cable box as your tuner and use the s-video (or composite(rca) if you have to)output of the cable box connected to the S-video input of your AIW.

I wonder about the 8500's claim to be a tv-tuner with 125 channels... this *must* be a reference to being able to handle only analog signals, and the answer you already provided me

There claim is as valid as every VCR or analog TV set. When you plug the cable into the back of your TV without the decoder box, exactly how many of the digital channels can you tune in?

 

[SickBeast]

Here in Toronto when you plug digital cable into an analog set, it automatically goes into analog mode. The only way to directly get digital cable is through the digital box, as far as I know anyway. Like people have said though, there's nothing stopping you from inputting an S-video cable into your 8500; the results should be pretty good.

I can't wait until someone comes up with an HDTV tuner for my PC...that would be sweet. Monitors are more than capable of handling that sort of picture.

 

[rbV5]

I can't wait until someone comes up with an HDTV tuner for my PC...

They have! (see my "rig" link) HDTV looks great on a monitor, but even better on a widescreen display.

 

[SickBeast]

Yeah but $298US? That's a ton of money. Personally I'm waiting until it becomes mainstream. Once they start putting those tuners in all TVs that are sold the price will have to come down. It looks like a very cool card tho. I wish I had that kind of money burning a hole in my pocket...

 

[rbV5]

Yeah but $298US? That's a ton of money

Yea, not exactly cheap, but in the grand scheme of things, it made the purchase of a widescreen display "more" worth it. Much cheaper than a STB, no subscription for HDTV broadcasts and the ability to record/playback the shows in full 1080i resolution made it worth it to me.

Not to mention last Sunday's Titans\Raiders game in its full HDTV glory...absolutely breathtaking. My first HDTV broadcast game that I've enjoyed since setting my rig up. I just can't say how much better it makes the whole experience of sports viewing. Next up....HDTV Superbowl via ABC, yea baby!

 

[SickBeast]

That's awesome...

How do you receive the signals tho? Antenna? Last I heard you could only get HDTV with an antenna setup.

Here in Toronto the first Canadian HDTV broadcast was Mission Impossible 2 on CityTV...I'm sure it was DVD quality. I would LOVE to see a hockey game on HDTV, but the CBC is always behind when it comes to technology...it took them until just a few years ago to start broadcasting in stereo...

I'm sure everything will eventually be high definition...I'm definately looking forward to it. I wonder if they'd have a setup at Best Buy that I could watch to check it out...

By the way, what format does it record in? MPEG2? Cuz at that resolution the file sizes must be enormous...

 

[rbV5]

How do you receive the signals tho? Antenna? Last I heard you could only get HDTV with an antenna setup.

I have an antenna mounted in my attic, but Direct TV and dishnetwork have limited HDTV programing as well(very limited).

I wonder if they'd have a setup at Best Buy that I could watch to check it out...

All the DTV's were displaying HD at Best Buy when I went shopping for my display.

By the way, what format does it record in? MPEG2? Cuz at that resolution the file sizes must be enormous

Its a type of MPEG-2, the datarate is ~ 18 MB/sec so files are pretty big. The bonus is they are exact copies of the original stream, so your "captures" are the same as the broadcast. They also convert to MPEG-2 easily, and compress extremely well due to the clean video. I DID pick up a 200GB WD Hardrive a couple days ago to supplement my storage needs however