Re: What about HDTV

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For OTA HDTV channels, these are automatically populated in the 2xxx of channels for MCE 2005 and Vista. If you opt for a Digital Cable Ready PC and CableCard tuners, the HD channels will show up with their normal channel numbers in the cable channel lineup.

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"Dilbert" <Dilbert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:9C3AEDBB-0082-4A93-9AA7-5D20CF110E83@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Again, Thanks for all the quick responses.

Based on the feedback, going to HDTV with Media Center will be more complex
than I was expecting. I will try to summarize the comments here to ensure I
have a proper understanding of my options regarding HDTV with Media Center.
Please correct as needed. I am getting somewhat overwhelmed with all the
complexity associated with understanding how to get Media Center to work with
HDTV, so please bear with me.

1) To record/watch encrypted HDTV cable channels with Media Center, CSM1,
Barb Bowman, and J. Clarke state the only option is to buy a new Vista MCE
computer with cablecard tuners. I checked the link provided for Velocity
Micro and this turns out to be a rather expensive option. Besides buying an
expensive Vista MCE computer to replace my almost new MCE 2005 computer, the
cablecard tuners are $300 each, so to get the minimum of 2 HDTV tuners would
be $600 (just for the HDTV cablecard tuners). That is a steep price given
that according to the TWC info, there are only about 4 HDTV cable channels
besides the HDTV local stations on cable.

2) To record/watch unencrypted HDTV cable channels (QAM) with Media Center,
CSM1 states I need to get HDTV tuners which support QAM. I will also need to
check if TWC supports QAM in my area. If so, this seems like a good,
reasonable cost option for recording/watching HDTV from cable channels with
Media Center. I checked the Hauppauge link and that HVR1800 card is a
reasonable price, especially since the card also has an analog tuner. With
two of these cards, I would get 2 HDTV tuners and 2 SDTV tuners, so I could
record 4 channels (2 HDTV, 2 SDTV) at the same time.

3) To record/watch Over-the-Air HDTV channels with Media Center, I need the
same setup as for #2, although I would connect an antenna instead of cable
and I would miss out on the cable-only HDTV channels (i.e. ESPN, TNT, etc.).

4) J. Clarke suggested looking into a HDTivo and TivoToGo as the media hub
instead of Media Center. Although, I checked the link and it is not clear how
the other XP/MCE computers would watch the HDTV/SDTV channels recorded and
stored on the Tivo box. Does the TivoToGo part provide the recorded TV
sharing for the other Media Center computers to watch the recorded TV
directly from the Tivo box? How does Tivo handle the other Media Center
functions like photos, home videos, music, etc.?


Overall, option #2 seems to be the best (assuming TWC has QAM). From my
original system description, I would upgrade my Main computer to Windows
Vista Premium and add two of the Hauppauge HVR1800 HDTV/SDTV tuners. This
would give me 2 HDTV tuners and 2 SDTV tuners, allowing recording of 4
channels (2 HDTV, 2 SDTV) at the same time. Then the other MCE 2005 computers
would be able to seamlessly share and watch recorded HDTV and recorded SDTV
from the Main Vista MCE computer, basically allowing those computers to
remain unchanged, with the addition of now watching recorded HDTV.


How does Vista MCE handle the Guide for selecting/recording HDTV and SDTV
channels? Are all the SDTV and HDTV channels combined into one Guide and then
MCE figures out which tuner to use based on which channel is selected?

Also, I haven't checked if the Main computer has enough slots, but if I
could add the two HDTV/SDTV tuners and keep the existing two SDTV tuners I
have now, would Vista MCE support 2 HDTV tuners and 4 SDTV tuners (allowing
simultaneous recording of 2 HDTV and 4 SDTV channels)?

TIA



"J. Clarke" wrote:

Dilbert wrote:
> First, thanks for the quick responses and feedback.
>
> I will try to answer the questions which were asked (sorry for
> missing some of the details earlier).
>
> 1) We have Time Warner cable (basic - about 70 channels) which is
> connected directly to the tuners in the MCE 2005 computers. For
> simplicity, MCE is used as the only user interface. That is, there
> is
> no TWC cable connected directly to the SDTVs, MCE is the only UI
> that
> is seen (the SDTVs are essentially just monitors). Everyone in the
> house enjoys MCE as the "hub" for all media watching, and it works
> great.
>
> 2) On cost of HDTV channels from TWC, I haven't checked into this,
> but was expecting some minor additional cost and hoping that hooking
> up and recording/watching HDTV would be as simple as hooking up and
> recording/watching SDTV has been (i.e. just connect a cable to the
> MCE
> computers with no extra hassle of converter boxes, etc.).
>
> 3) Most of the TV shows which are recorded/watched are from local
> ABC, NBC, CBS, public, etc., with about 10 or so non-premium cable
> channels like ESPN, TNT, TLC, TBS, History channel, Discovery
> channel, sci-fi channel, etc. All these SDTV channels currently come
> in great, record without any problems, and the recorded TV can be
> watched from any of the computers in the house. I understand that
> most of the local stations have HDTV channels, although, I haven't
> checked which of the other cable channels have HDTV (I think ESPN
> and
> Discovery have HDTV channels).
>
> 4) All the computers are 1-2 years old and all have video cards with
> DVI outputs. As I recall, the computers all have upgraded (higher
> end) video cards with VGA, DVI, and s-video outputs. I know the 2
> 19"
> LCDs and 24" LCD are connected via DVI cables and the SDTVs are
> connected via s-video cables.
>
>
> If I understand the comments correctly, I can watch the local OTA
> HDTV
> channels by upgrading my current MCE 2005 computers with OTA HDTV
> tuners, but to watch the HDTV cable channels I will need to get a
> cablecard tuner.
>
> So, since almost all TV is recorded on the Main computer, I should
> be
> able to just swap out the 2 SDTV tuners for 2 HDTV tuners. Then I
> can
> record HDTV channels on the Main computer and watch the recorded
> HDTV
> on any of the XP/MCE computers in my house. Although, I am not clear
> if I need to update any software on the other XP/MCE computers to
> watch the recorded HDTV.
>
> The real complexity with going to HDTV seems to come when trying get
> the whole environment working to record the cable HDTV channels. As
> I
> understand, to get this working, I will need to get cablecard
> tuners.
> I Googled for "cablecard tuner" and the first page was:
> http://ati.amd.com/products/tvwonderdigital/index.html
> This page provides a detailed explanation about cablecard tuners and
> I get the impression that I can purchase these tuners for my
> existing
> computer as long as I can get it to be a "Digital Cable Ready
> Windows
> Vista PC". However, I am not sure exactly what that means as the ATI
> web page doesn't provide a lot of detail. It would appear that I
> need
> to upgrade my Main MCE 2005 computer to Windows Vista to get this,
> but so far this whole process is a bit confusing.
>
> One commenter implied that I would need to buy a new computer to get
> the cablecard tuners to work. I would be disappointed to do this,
> since the Main MCE 2005 computer is only a little more than a year
> old, and buying a whole new computer just to add these cablecard
> tuners seems a bit of a waste. Anyway, I checked the Dell and HP
> websites and while they have Vista Media Center computers, I wasn't
> able to find one with these cablecard tuners. Am I missing something
> here?

Yes, you're missing something. Some of the studios and production
companies have concerns over the potential for copying of HD content,
and in answer to that a set of standards were developed to prevent
such copying, and as a condition of making HD content available to the
cable companies they have been required to implement those standards.
One of the requirements of the standards is that a computer used to
record or display HD content must have all components in the path from
cable input to video output certified to be compliant with the
standards, which, at this time, means that you have to buy the box as
a complete assembly--you can't just buy the tuner and add it to
another computer even if it is built from components identical to
those in a certified computer.

Several companies including Sony, Dell, and HP announced or were
selling machines, but the only ones that I am aware of that are still
on the market art from Velocity Micro. You used to be able to order
their systems through Best Buy but I'm not sure if that is still the
case--they do have a web site that allows online ordering though
http://www.velocitymicro.com/category.php?cid=33.

As an alternative, you might want to look into an HDTivo--this has
advantages and disadvantages but the bottom line is that the box with
three years Tivo service is under $1000. The big change will be that
the Tivo and TivoToGo (enabled this month with the 9.3 firmware
release) become the media hub vs the MCE box. Tivos you can get at
just about any major consumer electronics store, or
http://www.weaknees.com will give you a bit of a discount and can sell
you machines with upgraded storage (you can upgrade them yourself with
off-the-shelf drives for less but it's not a trivial process).

> So far, I am still somewhat confused as to how to get Windows Media
> Center (XP or Vista) to work in my environment after I swap out my
> SDTVs with HDTVs. Where I can record/watch HDTV channels from local
> TV stations as well as some non-premium cable channels, across
> multiple MCE computers, ensuring a seamless experience like I have
> now with SDTV?

Far as that goes, an HDTV can generally directly replace an SDTV
without your having to change anything unless you want to see HD
content. Many of them also will plug into a PC's DVI or VGA port (or
both) and can be used as a surprisingly good monitor.

> "Gary Tsang" wrote:
>
>> Just to add a note about CableCard tuners that wasn't in CSM1's
>> original post... you'd have to use Vista for that, as MCE2005 does
>> not support CableCard tuners at all.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Gary Tsang
>> http://www.gtsang.com
>>
>> Microsoft MVP - Windows Media Center
>> http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
>>
>>
>>
>> "CSM1" <nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:qsl2j.77503$Um6.11184@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> "Dilbert" <Dilbert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>> news:FE19DFF3-B083-482B-AEDE-605B3140EE14@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> I have several Windows XP/MCE 2005 computers which work great in
>>>> my house today and I am thinking about going HDTV (the family has
>>>> been to some friends/neighbors who have HDTVs so the pressure is
>>>> now on to go HDTV!). However, I am not clear on the impact of
>>>> swapping out our 2 SD TVs with HDTVs, so I am looking to this
>>>> group for some feedback. Our current setup works great and the
>>>> family is happy with the home media environment (except
>>>> for the lack of HDTV :-) ).
>>>>
>>>> Here's some background/details:
>>>>
>>>> 1) Main TV is 36" SD with MCE 2005 (dual tuner, big hard disk - 1
>>>> TB). MCE
>>>> is used to its fullest - recording TV, watching occasional live
>>>> TV,
>>>> watching
>>>> home videos, viewing photos, music, etc.
>>>>
>>>> 2) Alternate TV is 27" SD with MCE 2005 (one tuner, small hard
>>>> disk). MCE used for watching DVDs, some live TV, and mostly for
>>>> watching recorded TV,
>>>> home videos, photos, etc. stored on Main computer.
>>>>
>>>> 3) Kids computers (2) are MCE 2005 with 19" WS monitors (single
>>>> tuner). MCE
>>>> mostly used for watching DVDs and watching recorded TV stored on
>>>> Main computer.
>>>>
>>>> 4) Office computer is Windows XP with 24" LCD. Windows Media
>>>> Player used to
>>>> watch recorded TV stored on Main computer.
>>>>
>>>> 5) Due to our busy family schedules, almost all of the TV we
>>>> watch
>>>> is recorded and stored on the Main computer. This is where MCE
>>>> shines for us.
>>>> All our computers are networked (1 Gbps network) and the main MCE
>>>> computer
>>>> is
>>>> currently the file server for sharing recorded TV to the other
>>>> (MCE/XP) computers throughout the house. I plan to get a Windows
>>>> Home Server at some
>>>> point to increase the storage for recorded TV and to simplify
>>>> general file
>>>> sharing (but that's a separate discussion).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The big question is, if I swap out the 2 SDTVs with HDTVs, all
>>>> the
>>>> TVs/monitors will be able to handle HDTV, so what do I need to
>>>> upgrade in my
>>>> MCE computers (i.e. tuners, video cards, CPU, software, etc.) to
>>>> ensure the
>>>> home media experience is no less that it is now with SDTV
>>>> (actually the expectation is that it should be better since it is
>>>> HDTV!).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> TIA
>>>
>>> You have a very good setup. Do not change the computers at all.
>>>
>>> You can change the SD TVs for HDTV, If you have the correct Video
>>> card in the computers, you can connect directly to the HDTVs. You
>>> may need to upgrade the Video card(s) to one with HDMI or DVI
>>> connectors to drive the HDTVs.
>>>
>>> However, MCE 2005 only supports High Definition on an Off The Air
>>> tuner (ATSC) Digital TV.
>>> Depending on where you live, OTA HDTV may or may not be available.
>>>
>>> The only other option for HDTV in MCE is a Cable Card tuner, Cable
>>> Card tuners are only available in approved Computers.(No build
>>> your
>>> own).
>>>
>>> --
>>> CSM1
>>> http://www.carlmcmillan.com
>>> --

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)




.

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