Re: Support for DVB-S CI
- From: John Lockwood <john.lockwood@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:15:54 +0100
> Question - I'm a Sky digital subscriber and have Sky linked to my MCE
> PC with a composite connection. If I were to get one of these Twinhan
> thingies would I be able to get anything from my existing Sky dish
> pointing at Astra 28.2E, just by shoving the end of the cable straight
> into the Twinhan? I appreciate I won't get the Sky subscription
> channels but would I get the FTA/FTV stuff?
>
> I'm thinking of getting a new HD TV and I am concerned that the PQ
> that is "acceptable" at the moment on my 32" CRT is going to look a
> bit pants on a 40"-45" HD set. If I can remove a whole slew of
> picture processing and analogue conversion, required at the moment,
> from the signal path then that has got to be a good thing.
MCE 2005 does not work with the Twinhan DVB-S card _AT ALL_. It does not
matter whether you want Sky Freesat or the paid for Sky channels, Microsoft
do not support using DVB-S cards (at the moment).
As I said in my previous reply, the only way to get satellite is either
using a hack developed by Hauppauge for their DVB-S card (not the Twinhan
card) which is limited to Freesat (or more accurately the equivalent
Freeview DVB-T channels), or to use an ANALOG card (not a digital DVB-S
card) and connect that to a set top box.
Also bear in mind that MCE 2005 is limited to using ONE TYPE of EPG. This
means you cannot have both DVB-T AND satellite guides at the sametime (this
is part of the reason the Hauppauge hack limits you in what channels you can
access).
In terms of satellite (and cable) support, Microsoft is YEARS behind what is
possible using open source FREE software (i.e. MediaPortal).
If you want use your Twinhan card then you should download and install
MediaPortal.
It is extremely ironic that Microsoft who are typically associated with
cramming loads of features in to their products but being awful in terms of
ease of use have the OPPOSITE situation with their MCE product. That is MCE
2005 is lacking in critical features but has [relative to the competition]
good ease of use!
I have now been looking at MCE for several months as a possible solution for
my own home and have gradually been ticking off the things I need to work.
DVB-S (with CI/CAM support) is still missing and is the sole critical issue
left for me to tick off.
Criticals
UK EPG - Yes
At least 2 tuners - Yes
DVD play - Yes
DVD record - Yes but messy
Music - Yes but no iPod support (because it does not support iTunes - HP
kludge does not count)
Living room style case - Yes
NDS/Videoguard compatible CAM - Yes
Way of sharing viewing card between CAMS - Yes (works with Dragon CAM but
has not been tested with specific viewing card)
DVB-S with CI/CAM card found - Yes
DVB-S support in MCE - No :-(
Non criticals
DVB-T support - Yes
DVB Radio support - Yes (as of Rollup 2)
MHEG teletext - No
MHEG subtitles (closed caption) - No
MHEG interactive features - No (aka. Red Dot services)
MPEG4 support - No {required for HD in Europe}
DVB-S2 support - No {required for HD in Europe}
Video card with HDMI interface - No
MAME games support - Yes
Remote (via Internet) programming - No/Yes (official Microsoft MSN solution
not available in UK but a third-party tool is available)
HDMI switch box with remote control - Yes (but only found 2 way one so far,
would like 3 or 4 way)
DAB Radio support - No (DAB is not the same thing as DVB)
PAL compatible Extender - No (XBox360 not yet shipping in Europe and I would
a prefer different solution but still to have HD support, like a Linksys but
with PAL support and HD resolution)
.
- References:
- Re: Support for DVB-S CI
- From: John Lockwood
- Re: Support for DVB-S CI
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