I have two analog tuners in my MCE machine. I want to add my cable box via
Firewire (1394). I know that if I set up one tuner on the cable box, the
other won't work, but can I set up my two analog tuners directly to the cable
and connect my cable box via firewire and it work?

On 5/12/07 15:26, in article
8213D040-AA29-425B-BC89-9BC234224F99@microsoft.com, "Vernon Peppers"
<VernonPeppers@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

If you are referring to US cable set top boxes which are required by the FCC
to provide a FireWire connection then I cannot speak from personal
experience since no UK set top boxes come with FireWire connections (only
completely useless USB in some cases).

However as far as I am aware Media Center itself does not support FireWire
connections to US cable boxes.

The only solution I have heard of for Media Center for using a FireWire
connection to a US cable set top box is some free user written software
which runs behind the scenes and downloads the digital signal via FireWire
and then replaces the analogue Media Center recording.

See this link for details http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/44138.aspx


If on the other hand you are referring to using cable in the UK or Europe,
then here a completely different standard is used called DVB-C. It is still
the case that official cable boxes from for example Virgin Media do not have
a FireWire connection.

Media Center also does not support (officially) DVB-C tuners.

However it is theoretically possible to get a DVB-C tuner which 'pretends'
to be a DVB-T tuner. This is because the developers have in disgust at the
complete and utter lack of progress from Microsoft come up with their own
solution.

The UK and European cable companies will probably not be happy with this but
as it still requires a paid for subscription and a genuine viewing card
there is no real reason for this.

See http://www.digital-everywhere.com/en...sid=1190057723
or http://www.digital-everywhere.com/en...sid=1190404644

You will also need a CAM (Conditional Access Module) the Dragon or T-Rex
models are good ones to use.

Note: if you are using a DVB-C tuner then you cannot use analogue as well.

I am in the US. I went to the Green Button site, but, alas, the file is no
longer available. I am not sure that is doing what I want, anyway. I must
have misunderstood the application. It appears that the cable box is still
installed as the signal source, and I already have found out that that
arrangement kills my other tuner, as I only have one STB. Thanks for the
info. I am not sure what I will do next. I am really upset with the cable
company for forcing us into digital. Yes, the signal is better, but I have
five "cable-ready" TV's that will not work much longer. The cable company
wants $6 a month for each STB, so that amounts to an additional $24 a month
on my cable bill, or $288 a year. I'll be hanged if I am going to give them
the money. I guess what I'll do is get another box, and run two STB's on my
MCE, and then buy four of the extenders from Linksys. I'll pay a lot more
that way, or any other way, rather than be held hostage to the cable company.
I would switch to satellite, except that they have a couple of the channels
that I watch regularly in special, additional cost packages, and cable
provides my Internet access. I will put up with a lot before I go back to
DSL. I am just venting here. Maybe someone has a solution for me. The
ideal thing would be to be able to have the two tuners on different signals.
It doesn't make much sense to me that they have to be on the same signal.
What if what I had was cable and an antenna? That wouldn't work either.
This doesn't make sense, and I hople that Microsoft addresses the issue.

"John Lockwood" wrote:

I would not blame the cable company for forcing Digital TV.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

Although many cable companies will keep converting the digital signals to
analog for their many customers that still have analog TV sets.

--
CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
--
"Vernon Peppers" <VernonPeppers@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:495903BB-6A86-4C92-A0D0-3440DA49FEAB@microsoft.com...

The federal government is only requiring that the over-the-air signals, not
the cable. They are not just sending the digital feeds direct. They are
processing the signals to work with their box, and their box alone. Digital
rights is keeping me from getting a cable card tuner. This is a conspiracy
of some sort. I'm going to keep working on it, though.

"CSM1" wrote:

Yes, it is a conspiracy. A conspiracy dreamed up by all of the producers of
media content, who lobbied Congress to get the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act passed.

http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA

--
CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
--
"Vernon Peppers" <VernonPeppers@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:CBF7284C-B77D-4D7D-AB0C-E5664D590270@microsoft.com...