Recording one channel & watching another with cablecard
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Bronze Member Username: Nina96Post Number: 18 Registered: Oct-05 | I am still so confused and still need more clarification in my effort to understand these tv connections. My tv has an ATSC tuner. Soon there will be DVD Recorders with ATSC tuners as well. When the all-digital switchover takes effect and I use a cablecard, and hook up my tv (with its ASTC tuner) to a DVD Recorder that also has an ASTC tuner, will I then be able to record one digital channel while watching another? |
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Bronze Member Username: Nina96Post Number: 19 Registered: Oct-05 | I care nothing about TIVo, Pay Per View, or Video On Demand. All I am interested in doing is recording tv shows to my DVD Recorder's hard drive, and erasing the shows after I'm through watching them, nothing permanent. I also am interested in avoiding the use of an STB. Often there are two shows on tv at the same time that I want to watch. Currently I am able to record one channel while watching another without an STB using the NTSC tuner on my tv, and my NTSC tuner on my DVD Recorder. Why can't I do that with a Cablecard and two ATSC tuners for digital channels? If I upgrade to a Cablecard in the future, after the all-digital switchover, couldn't I record one digital channel while watching another digital channel, as long as I was using two ATSC tuners? (one on my tv & the other on my DVD Recorder) ATSC tuners will be available on DVD Recorders soon enough. I'm confused as to why a Cablecard would make it impossible to record one channel while watching another. I understand that current Cablecards are single stream, but if I use two ATSC tuners, why not? |
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Bronze Member Username: Magredc5Southern New Hampshire Post Number: 12 Registered: Jan-06 | A cablecard is "paired" to a host device, i.e. the TV, so any programming coming through the cablecard is being decoded for the TV's tuner. That's why some TVs, like my Toshiba 62MX195 have a firewire port that sends the ATSC output to a DVR connected to that port. This is why you can only record what you are watching on the TV with a single tuner TV. I assume a dual tuner TV would fix that but at a cost. For a device with a separate ATSC tuner to be able to record the same digital programming, you would need that device that supports it's own Cablecard (separately from the TV). Otherwise you can only record what's being transmitted in the clear. |
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Bronze Member Username: Nina96Post Number: 20 Registered: Oct-05 | Thanks very much for the info. So if I had a DVD Recorder with a Cablecard slot of its own, an ATSC tuner, and firewire port, I could then hook it up to my tv and record one digital channel while watching another? I would need two Cablecards? Is Firewire the same as iLink? I have two of those ports on my Sharp 32-D7U. Sorry to be so dumb, but I have just begun to learn anything about these digital connections. |
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Bronze Member Username: Magredc5Southern New Hampshire Post Number: 13 Registered: Jan-06 | The iLink port on your TV is a firewire port, also called IEEE-1394. That port is to send high bandwidth data (like HD video) from your TV tuner to an external device, like a DVR. However you would only need to use it if you were recording what the TV tuner is tuned to since the TV tuner is what determines the source of the data going to that port. In that configuration, you can only record what you are watching. If you had a DVR with it's own cablecard and built in tuner (yes, you would then need 2 cablecards), then the DVR could record independently from the TV, just like how a VCR and TV work today. Then the DVR would only need a standard connection to the TV for playback, i.e. HDMI (digital) or Component. If a cablecard ready DVR was available, and I think they will be soon since Tivo is already planning to sell one, your cable company should not have a problem giving you 2 cards. Today they'll rent you 2 or more STBs for multiple TVs in your home, so there's no reason they wouldn't give you multiple cablecards. So the question is who offers an HD Ready DVR with cablecard (for a reasonable price). Sony apparently has one, but it's expensive (~$800). |
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Bronze Member Username: Formerly_fxDallas, Tx Post Number: 94 Registered: Mar-06 | Bridget, You promised me you were going to stop worrying about the digital changeover (2009 or later). Have you been backsliding on me? Don't fall off the worry wagon Bridget.  xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: Nina96Post Number: 23 Registered: Oct-05 | lol. I'm not worrying Scoob, just attempting to understand. Everytime I ask a question, I get answers that put more questions in my head. I'm a very slow learner when it comes to electronics, but I feel like this is a safe place to ask my many stupid questions. I keep my equipment until it absolutely falls apart, and before I purchase anything new, I'd really like to make sure it isn't obsolete before I even get it out of the box. And I hate going into a store to make a purchase without being armed with at least an ounce of information. Salespeople, (especially those working on commission) are merciless. I have yet to get a straight answer out of them, which is why I will continue to ask questions. MagredC5, cableguy and others: I appreciate your helping a dunce like me become an informed buyer. |
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Bronze Member Username: Magredc5Southern New Hampshire Post Number: 14 Registered: Jan-06 | FYI - Here's a good article that explains how the current Cablecard 1.0 works and what 2.0 will provide when it's available. It talks about the restriction of handling only one video stream in 1.0, which is related to your original question. http://arstechnica.com/guides/other/cablecard.ars |
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