I highly recommend Dave Saxby at Ultimate HD (www.ultimatehd.com).

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "mhensley_sj" <mhensley25@...>
wrote:
>
> Greets everyone,
> I haven't been on this board in a while, but I need some assistance
and
> I thought this would be a place to find it.
>
> I have a 65" Mitsubishi RPTV that I need to *carefully* move from a
> house across the street and then get it calibrated.  I thought
> Anderson's might do it, but the guy I talked to not only said they
> don't do that kind of thing, I felt he was actually a little rude
about
> it.
>
> Anyone have any leads on someone that could be hired for this?  I
can
> do a pretty good calibration on my own, but seeing as how it's an
> across-the-street move, I'm thinking it could potentially need some
> serious tweaking after it gets here.
>
> Please email me if you know of any leads.
>
> Thanks
>

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7337767

"Competition from rivals is often intense. Technological change can
upend business models overnight. Overhead costs are high.

For nearly 50 years, an electronics-supply store on South First Street
in San Jose weathered those problems and others. But they finally
caught up with Bob Gibbs, the store's latest owner, this year.

As a result, Gibbs closed the store, called Schad Electronics, on Oct.
20 and vacated the space Wednesday. He leaves behind an empty
storefront, nervous former co-tenants - and a different era in Silicon
Valley."

I have spent all afternoon searching the web for information on what
videotape format all the networks use for their HDTV broadcast. The
only one I found was ABC. They use the Panasonic D5 set at 720p. We're
looking into buying a HD tape deck for playing back film transfers and
dubbing HD commercials for broadcast. I want to find out which
video tape deck is the one most used for HDTV broadcasting. Does anyone
know any of the other networks formats or where to find the information.

Thanks
Bob G.

digibob45 wrote:
> I have spent all afternoon searching the web for information on what
> videotape format all the networks use for their HDTV broadcast. The
> only one I found was ABC. They use the Panasonic D5 set at 720p. We're
> looking into buying a HD tape deck for playing back film transfers and
> dubbing HD commercials for broadcast. I want to find out which
> video tape deck is the one most used for HDTV broadcasting. Does anyone
> know any of the other networks formats or where to find the information.
>


sony XD CAM is popular as ENG (elec news gathering) and then offloading
to digi-beta as their workflow...

granted, that's what sony brochures tell me...   lol...


best bet is to just call the TECH department of the local stations and
just ask.

though from the looks of some of the news footages of the 3 stations
that does HD news, they might be using pro-sumer cameras for ENG...
then their workflow involves FINAL CUT PRO or AVID's NEWSROOM stack
(iNews or NewsCutter) and then finally dump to a media type server...

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "digibob45" <digibob45@...> wrote:
>
<< snip >>

Does anyone know any of the other networks formats or where to find the information.
>
> Thanks
> Bob G.
>
ABC = 720p
CBS = 1080i
FOX = 720p
NBC = 1080i

Originally Sony was 1080i with the HDCam recorder/player and Panasonic was 720p with the D5 but I believe Panasonic and Sony now make commercial broadcast quality decks that will play both formats. 

LopakaBob

Bob wrote:
>
>
> --- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "digibob45" <digibob45@...> wrote:
> >
> << snip >>
>
> Does anyone know any of the other networks formats or where to find
> the information.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Bob G.
> >
> ABC = 720p
> CBS = 1080i
> FOX = 720p
> NBC = 1080i
>
> Originally Sony was 1080i with the HDCam recorder/player and Panasonic
> was 720p with the D5 but I believe Panasonic and Sony now make
> commercial broadcast quality decks that will play both formats.
>

     Are most network TV shows being recorded at 24fps or 30p/60i? I
noticed when single stepping through a program (I can't remember which,
sorry) I'd have to skip alternately twice and then three times in order
to advance to a new image, which made me think of 24fps via 3:2 pulldown.
     -- Ethan

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "digibob45" <digibob45@...> wrote:
>
We're looking into buying a HD tape deck for playing back film transfers and dubbing HD commercials for broadcast. I want to find out which video tape deck is the one most used for HDTV broadcasting. >

 I did a quick search and found the following info for the multi-format Panasonic DVCPRO, you can do a Google search to find the Sony equivalent

http://www.expandore.com/product/Panasonic/HD/HD_Recorder_1.htm

LopakaBob

I have spent all afternoon searching the web for information on what
videotape format all the networks use for their HDTV broadcast. The
only one I found was ABC. They use the Panasonic D5 set at 720p. We're
looking into buying a HD tape deck for playing back film transfers and
dubbing HD commercials for broadcast. I want to find out which
video tape deck is the one most used for HDTV broadcasting. Does anyone
know any of the other networks formats or where to find the information.

Thanks
Bob G.

Hello all,

I have two HR10-250's that have been working fine for a couple of years.  This
week starting on Monday, they keep rebooting when they are recording shows. 
Monday night, between 8pm and 11pm I was recording all of the CBS and NBC
content.  The stupid HR10-250 rebooted at least once every half hour during this
time.  I noticed then on the other HR10-250 that it rebooted twice during a 1
hour period.  This one was recording one show and I was surfing on the other
tuner.

Throughout this week, the annoying reboots have continued on both boxes.

I haven't changed anything on either box.

Has anyone else been having this problem?

Now I really want to "upgrade" to the HR20-700s...

Matt Dralle
Livermore

PS- Thanks for the great feedback on my questions regarding the HR20-700s last
week!

On Nov 1, 2007, at 7:40 PM, Matt Dralle wrote:

>
> Hello all,
>
> I have two HR10-250's that have been working fine for a couple of
> years.  This week starting on Monday, they keep rebooting when they
> are recording shows.  Monday night, between 8pm and 11pm I was
> recording all of the CBS and NBC content.  The stupid HR10-250
> rebooted at least once every half hour during this time.  I noticed
> then on the other HR10-250 that it rebooted twice during a 1 hour
> period.  This one was recording one show and I was surfing on the
> other tuner.
>
> Throughout this week, the annoying reboots have continued on both
> boxes.
>
> I haven't changed anything on either box.
>
> Has anyone else been having this problem?

It usually means the disk in the hr10-250 is dying.

I'm sorry to see Schad Electronics go out of business.  I've had very
good experiences buying antennas and antenna parts, cables, etc. from
them.  It's too bad that we're losing a local supplier.

Larry
SF

- - -

Kenny Hom wrote:
>
>
> http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7337767
> <http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7337767>
>
> "Competition from rivals is often intense. Technological change can
> upend business models overnight. Overhead costs are high.
>
> For nearly 50 years, an electronics-supply store on South First Street
> in San Jose weathered those problems and others. But they finally
> caught up with Bob Gibbs, the store's latest owner, this year.
>
> As a result, Gibbs closed the store, called Schad Electronics, on Oct.
> 20 and vacated the space Wednesday. He leaves behind an empty
> storefront, nervous former co-tenants - and a different era in Silicon
> Valley."

www.dvrupgrade.com and www.weaknees.com are great sources for
replacement drives if you are up to the task.  If you are a real
DIYer, you can easily make your own replacement drive using the
dvrupgrade boot disk.

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, Matt Thomas <matt@...> wrote:
>
>
> On Nov 1, 2007, at 7:40 PM, Matt Dralle wrote:
>
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I have two HR10-250's that have been working fine for a couple
of
> > years.  This week starting on Monday, they keep rebooting when
they
> > are recording shows.  Monday night, between 8pm and 11pm I was
> > recording all of the CBS and NBC content.  The stupid HR10-250
> > rebooted at least once every half hour during this time.  I
noticed
> > then on the other HR10-250 that it rebooted twice during a 1
hour
> > period.  This one was recording one show and I was surfing on
the
> > other tuner.
> >
> > Throughout this week, the annoying reboots have continued on
both
> > boxes.
> >
> > I haven't changed anything on either box.
> >
> > Has anyone else been having this problem?
>
> It usually means the disk in the hr10-250 is dying.
>

I believe only the SI tables are sent via Out-of-band.
  These SI tables contains your NIT/NTT/STT/SVCT and
other propriatory tables sent by the cable providers.
PAT/PMT are sent in-band.  Out-of-band are used by
CableCARDS to receive information from the head-end,
nothing else.

Fred
--- Sanjay Dave <sanjay.dave@...> wrote:

> I am talking cable.
>
> sanjay
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Don Hackler <donh@...>
> To: HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 12:42:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] encrypted packets
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>             Sanjay -
>
> Are you talking about cable or over-the-air?
>
> - Don
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Sanjay Dave <sanjay.dave@ yahoo..com>
>
> Date: Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007 10:46 am
>
> Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] encrypted packets
>
> To: HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. comReply- To:
> HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. com
>
>
>
> The PAT and PMT (tables) may be always sent in the
> clear, but the video signals themselves I believe
> are encrypted.
>
> Moreover, I think that PAT and PMT are content that
> is sent in the out-of-band frequency, much like
>
> EMM.  But maybe someone else could verify this.  I
> am having a tough time finding exactly how the video
> signal
>
> is sent into a person's home.  The specs I can only
> find illustrate the modulation and forward error
> correction, but
>
> I can't find something that explains the encryption
> process.
>
>
>
> ----- Original
>
>  Message ----
>
> From: Ron Economos <w6rz@comcast. net>
>
> To: HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. com
>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 2:45:15 PM
>
> Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] encrypted packets
>
>
>
> The PAT and PMT packets are always sent in the
> clear.
>
>
>
> Ron
>
>
>
> Sanjay Dave wrote:
>
>
>
> Does anyone know if ALL the mpeg packets that are
> sent downstream are encrypted or just is just some
> percentage of them?
>
>  Also, is 3DES the mode of encrypting mpeg packets
> traveling downstream?
>
>
>
>  S
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________
> __
>
> Do You Yahoo!?
>
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> protection around
>
> http://mail. yahoo.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <!--
>
> #ygrp-mkp{
> border:1px solid
> #d8d8d8;font-family:Arial;margin:14px
> 0px;padding:0px 14px;}
> #ygrp-mkp hr{
> border:1px solid #d8d8d8;}
> #ygrp-mkp #hd{
>
color:#628c2a;font-size:85%;font-weight:bold;line-height:122%;margin:10px
> 0px;}
> #ygrp-mkp #ads{
> margin-bottom:10px;}
> #ygrp-mkp .ad{
> padding:0 0;}
> #ygrp-mkp .ad a{
> color:#0000ff;text-decoration:none;}
> -->
>
>
>
> <!--
>
> #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc{
> font-family:Arial;}
> #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc #hd{
> margin:10px
>
0px;font-weight:bold;font-size:78%;line-height:122%;}
> #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc .ad{
> margin-bottom:10px;padding:0 0;}
> -->
>
>
>
> <!--
>
> #ygrp-mlmsg {font-size:13px;font-family:arial,
> helvetica, clean, sans-serif;}
> #ygrp-mlmsg table {font-size:inherit;font:100%;}
> #ygrp-mlmsg select, input, textarea {font:99% arial,
> helvetica, clean, sans-serif;}
> #ygrp-mlmsg pre, code {font:115% monospace;}
> #ygrp-mlmsg * {line-height:1.22em;}
> #ygrp-text{
> font-family:Georgia;
> }
> #ygrp-text p{
> margin:0 0 1em 0;}
> #ygrp-tpmsgs{
> font-family:Arial;
> clear:both;}
> #ygrp-vitnav{
>
padding-top:10px;font-family:Verdana;font-size:77%;margin:0;}
> #ygrp-vitnav a{
> padding:0 1px;}
> #ygrp-actbar{
> clear:both;margin:25px
> 0;white-space:nowrap;color:#666;text-align:right;}
> #ygrp-actbar .left{
> float:left;white-space:nowrap;}
> .bld{font-weight:bold;}
> #ygrp-grft{
>
=== message truncated ===


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

have you tried looking in the "CableCARD Copy
Protection Specification"? or "CableCARD Interface
specification".  these are available from
www.cablelabs.com


--- Sanjay Dave <sanjay.dave@...> wrote:

> Does anyone know the byte (bits) break-up for an ECM
> (Entitlement Control Message) or EMM (Entitlement
> Management Message)?
> For example, 5 bits for ID, 5 bites for type of
> encryption, etc...
> Also, how many bytes is an ECM and EMM?
>
> Sanjay
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: fb <altoids_jam@...>
> To: HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, November 2, 2007 9:35:08 AM
> Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] encrypted packets
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>             I believe only the SI tables are sent
> via Out-of-band.
>
>  These SI tables contains your NIT/NTT/STT/ SVCT and
>
> other propriatory tables sent by the cable
> providers.
>
> PAT/PMT are sent in-band.  Out-of-band are used by
>
> CableCARDS to receive information from the head-end,
>
> nothing else.
>
>
>
> Fred
>
> --- Sanjay Dave <sanjay.dave@ yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I am talking cable.
>
> >
>
> > sanjay
>
> >
>
> > ----- Original Message ----
>
> > From: Don Hackler <donh@...>
>
> > To: HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. com
>
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 12:42:00 PM
>
> > Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] encrypted packets
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >             Sanjay -
>
> >
>
> > Are you talking about cable or over-the-air?
>
> >
>
> > - Don
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > -----Original Message-----
>
> >
>
> > From: Sanjay Dave <sanjay.dave@ yahoo..com>
>
> >
>
> > Date: Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007 10:46 am
>
> >
>
> > Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] encrypted packets
>
> >
>
> > To: HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. comReply- To:
>
> > HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. com
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > The PAT and PMT (tables) may be always sent in the
>
> > clear, but the video signals themselves I believe
>
> > are encrypted.
>
> >
>
> > Moreover, I think that PAT and PMT are content
> that
>
> > is sent in the out-of-band frequency, much like
>
> >
>
> > EMM.  But maybe someone else could verify this.  I
>
> > am having a tough time finding exactly how the
> video
>
> > signal
>
> >
>
> > is sent into a person's home.  The specs I can
> only
>
> > find illustrate the modulation and forward error
>
> > correction, but
>
> >
>
> > I can't find something that explains the
> encryption
>
> > process.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > ----- Original
>
> >
>
> >  Message ----
>
> >
>
> > From: Ron Economos <w6rz@comcast. net>
>
> >
>
> > To: HDTV-in-SFbay@ yahoogroups. com
>
> >
>
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 2:45:15 PM
>
> >
>
=== message truncated ===


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

I highly recommend Dave Saxby at Ultimate HD ( www.ultimatehd.com).

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "mhensley_sj" <mhensley25@...>
wrote:
>
> Greets everyone,
> I haven't been on this board in a while, but I need some assistance
and
> I thought this would be a place to find it.
>
> I have a 65" Mitsubishi RPTV that I need to *carefully* move from a
> house across the street and then get it calibrated. I thought
> Anderson's might do it, but the guy I talked to not only said they
> don't do that kind of thing, I felt he was actually a little rude
about
> it.
>
> Anyone have any leads on someone that could be hired for this? I
can
> do a pretty good calibration on my own, but seeing as how it's an
> across-the-street move, I'm thinking it could potentially need some
> serious tweaking after it gets here.
>
> Please email me if you know of any leads.
>
> Thanks
>

Is there good OTA in the Aptos area? Anybody have antenna experience,
etc., down there? Especially PBS OTA. Or is cable (drat!) the only
answer! If so, how much does it cost and who is the provider?

Also, can a TiVo lifetime membership be upgraded to HDTV?

TIA for any help.

I'm 72...and grew up in electronics starting with
vacuum tubes  then point contact transistors..to 2N404
junctin transistors..then 8012 computer chips,,,ad
infinitum!! I moved here in 1963 and always went to
Peninsula Electonics for my antennas, cables etc. I
worked in the Lockheed Satellite support area until I
retired in 1992..My last visit to Schad's was about a
year ago..The real truth is that the electonics world
we grew up in has gone and we are left with an
emptiness that comes with being 72!!..Larry, there
isn't many of us old folks around to miss Schad's..but
we can rejoice in the memories we had using their
store and talking to their employees..Cal Stafford
worked there after Lockheed laid him off years ago..
and he always had a big smile on his face as he looked
around to find the part you needed..Goodbye Schad's
and where do I go now to find my RG-6 cable??

HarryB
--- Larry Kenney <Larry@...> wrote:

> I'm sorry to see Schad Electronics go out of
> business.  I've had very
> good experiences buying antennas and antenna parts,
> cables, etc. from
> them.  It's too bad that we're losing a local
> supplier.
>
> Larry
> SF
>
> - - -
>
> Kenny Hom wrote:
> >
> >
> > http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7337767
> > <http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7337767>
> >
> > "Competition from rivals is often intense.
> Technological change can
> > upend business models overnight. Overhead costs
> are high.
> >
> > For nearly 50 years, an electronics-supply store
> on South First Street
> > in San Jose weathered those problems and others.
> But they finally
> > caught up with Bob Gibbs, the store's latest
> owner, this year.
> >
> > As a result, Gibbs closed the store, called Schad
> Electronics, on Oct.
> > 20 and vacated the space Wednesday. He leaves
> behind an empty
> > storefront, nervous former co-tenants - and a
> different era in Silicon
> > Valley."
>

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "bliffle" <bliffle@...> wrote:
>
> Is there good OTA in the Aptos area? Anybody have antenna experience,
> etc., down there? Especially PBS OTA. Or is cable (drat!) the only
> answer! If so, how much does it cost and who is the provider?
>
> Also, can a TiVo lifetime membership be upgraded to HDTV?
>
> TIA for any help.
>
i think time warner cable in a big supplier of cable out in that
area,therefor they would be the ones to go with for highdef.but for
real true hd,you would wanna go with verizon fious and see and hear
everything over the fiber optics

You can try HSC Electronic Supply of Santa Clara. www.halted.com
They still have lots of neat old and new stuff including that RG-6/U
cable (and lots of other kinds) that you can buy by the foot and use
a cable winder to spool the number of feet you want yourself. Lots
of used older stuff too.

Mark R

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, Harry Birmingham <mapche@...>
wrote:
>
> I'm 72...and grew up in electronics starting with
> vacuum tubes  then point contact transistors..to 2N404
> junctin transistors..then 8012 computer chips,,,ad
> infinitum!! I moved here in 1963 and always went to
> Peninsula Electonics for my antennas, cables etc. I
> worked in the Lockheed Satellite support area until I
> retired in 1992..My last visit to Schad's was about a
> year ago..The real truth is that the electonics world
> we grew up in has gone and we are left with an
> emptiness that comes with being 72!!..Larry, there
> isn't many of us old folks around to miss Schad's..but
> we can rejoice in the memories we had using their
> store and talking to their employees..Cal Stafford
> worked there after Lockheed laid him off years ago..
> and he always had a big smile on his face as he looked
> around to find the part you needed..Goodbye Schad's
> and where do I go now to find my RG-6 cable??
>
> HarryB

You should be able to receive these stations OTA:  KSBW 8-1 & 8-2,
KION 46-1 &  46-2, KCBA 35-1 and KQET 25-1, 25-2, 25-3, 25-4 & 25-5.

You're only 27 miles from the transmitters so an indoor antenna should
be fine.  If you don't have an antenna, try this:  Get about 5' of
regular coax (RG6) and strip off about 4" at one end to expose the
inner copper wire.  Hook it up to your TV and do a scan while holding
the exposed copper end.  After you complete the scan and have those
channels, experiment with positioning the cable for best reception.
Good luck!

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "bliffle" <bliffle@...> wrote:
>
> Is there good OTA in the Aptos area? Anybody have antenna experience,
> etc., down there? Especially PBS OTA. Or is cable (drat!) the only
> answer! If so, how much does it cost and who is the provider?
>
> Also, can a TiVo lifetime membership be upgraded to HDTV?
>
> TIA for any help.
>

Also, HomeTech Solutions in Cupertino. http://hometech.com/

- Bob in Sunnyvale

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 9:16 AM
Subject: [HDTV-in-SFbay] Re: Schad's Electronics closed

You can try HSC Electronic Supply of Santa Clara. www.halted.com
They still have lots of neat old and new stuff including that RG-6/U
cable (and lots of other kinds) that you can buy by the foot and use
a cable winder to spool the number of feet you want yourself. Lots
of used older stuff too.

Mark R

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, Harry Birmingham <mapche@...>
wrote:
> Goodbye Schad's and where do I go now to find my RG-6 cable??
>
> HarryB

CRT-based RPTVs need to be re-converged and re-focused after moving because the three internal CRT projectors get physically knocked out of alignment. Your proposed LCoS RPTV doesn’t have the CRT guns, so that particular issue is irrelevant. But let’s face it: any big TV is going to get bumped around in transit to your house.

 

Your question therefore boils down to “(why) do all TVs need to be calibrated?” The simplified answer is (yes) because, from the factory, they are all set to scream “buy me off the shelf” as opposed to “watch me in your home.” In general, brightness, contrast, and sharpness are way too high and color temperature is way too blue.

 

No matter where you pay tax on your next HDTV, you will want to calibrate it. Or at least get a high-def DVD with test patterns such as “Digital Video Essentials” and adjust it as best you can yourself.

 

- Bob in Sunnyvale

 

From: Jan Mountjoy
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: [HDTV-in-SFbay] Re: need assistance moving and calibrating

 

This topic inspires me to ask: why do RPTV's need to be calibrated?  Is this true of current model Sony RP TVs, for example.?  Why do I ask?  Because we are thinking of purchasing the KDS 50A3000, a 50" rear projection model, and I was considering making an out of state purchase to avoid the California Sales Tax (!).  Would hate to have to lose those savings by paying someone for calibrating the TV.

Jan


 

Is is just me or is anyone else having problems receiving OTA 11-1
tonight? It was weak last night too but tonight I'm bouncing between 0
and 25 on the signal strength. (I'm over in the Danville East Bay area)

My wife and I have enjoyed and gotten hooked on a Tivo that was given
to us last spring, but the prepaid subscription will expire soon, so
I have looked into Tivo and alternatives.

At first I looked into HD Tivo and lifetime service, but TivoToGo is
not available and may never be, so Tivo has severe constraints.

Messages in this group have introduced me to several useful websites
with info on broadcast patterns, antennae and such.

We both work at home using computers and live in the Hayward Hills
area. Around here, TV reception is generally recognized as lousy so
many people have DirecTV. Encouraged by the lists and TV coverage
maps I downloaded from www.tvfool.com, I purchased a Philips MANT510
indoor antenna at Frys for $35.- and hooked it up to a neighbor's TV
set which has a digital tuner. My friend and I were both startled by
the excellent results.

My wife and I don't watch TV much and are quite satisfied with a few
regular channels, so the selection available OTA will be quite
sufficient.

I am now looking closely at a dedicated PC. I have been building PCs
for years, so this is not scary.

I would like to run my current plan by the many experienced members
of this list for any comment.

The first step to build my own system will be to use one of three
existing HP Pavilion computers with Intel dual core processor running
at 2 GHz (Such computers are now available running at 3 GHz for just
over $400). We have Gb Ethernet, including cable that reaches our TV
corner. Our recent HP computers are very quiet and have built-in
analog video output capable of 1920x1080. PCIe cards are available
with DVI-I output starting at about $70.-, but have fans so they
create additional noise.

With a Beyond TV package from Snapstream, such as their Beyond TV and
Hauppauge HVR-1600 PCI Bundle, supplemented by the Beyond TV link and
burning plug-in, it seems I can gain tremendous flexibility. The
burning plug-in may be unnecessary since I already have Nero version
7 and Ulead VideoStudio 11, but convenience and integration matter
and the extra money is modest.

A second step would be to get a dedicated HP Pavilion with the 3GHz
processor and place it in the living room next to a new, modest size,
inexpensive HDTV capable display. If this unit gets its own tuner
card, I will be able to network and watch shows recorded at the same
time in HDTV on two different computers.

There is a rather bewildering array of tuner cards available.
Displays are coming down in price. I can start with my computer
monitor while I get my feet wet. I am unclear about processing speed
required. I read somewhere along the way about some device that would
require the 3 GHz. HP Pavilions come with Vista, but I removed it and
installed XP Pro on ours. A new, dedicated one can go either way. For
a permanent installation, I will most likely try the Philips MANT950.

Comments, suggestions, warnings and any pointers will be much
appreciated.

As I have been surfing all over, including places such as
http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/, I stumbled across a deal that sounds
rather incredible -- http://www.satellitetvonpc.com/  Anyone have
experience with it?

Best, Dag

Hi Dag,

Have you thought about some of the opensource alternatives?  I did an
install of MythTV about a year ago and the user was quite happy with
it.  I was even thinking of installing a MythTV system in my
daughter's room when she gets older.  It has the abilty to rip DVDs
right to the harddrive so that I don't need to lose all my original
movies in her room.

I came across this link after reading your message :

http://www.mythbuntu.org/

Check out the frontend screenshot here :

http://www.mythbuntu.org/files/images/mythbuntu_recordings_list.previe
w.png

You will also have the Ubuntu and MythTV community helping you out
with any questions you might have.

-Reinier

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "Dag Forssell" <dag@...> wrote:
>
> My wife and I have enjoyed and gotten hooked on a Tivo that was
given
> to us last spring, but the prepaid subscription will expire soon,
so
> I have looked into Tivo and alternatives.
>
> At first I looked into HD Tivo and lifetime service, but TivoToGo
is
> not available and may never be, so Tivo has severe constraints.
>
> Messages in this group have introduced me to several useful
websites
> with info on broadcast patterns, antennae and such.
>
> We both work at home using computers and live in the Hayward Hills
> area. Around here, TV reception is generally recognized as lousy so
> many people have DirecTV. Encouraged by the lists and TV coverage
> maps I downloaded from www.tvfool.com, I purchased a Philips
MANT510
> indoor antenna at Frys for $35.- and hooked it up to a neighbor's
TV
> set which has a digital tuner. My friend and I were both startled
by
> the excellent results.
>
> My wife and I don't watch TV much and are quite satisfied with a
few
> regular channels, so the selection available OTA will be quite
> sufficient.
>
> I am now looking closely at a dedicated PC. I have been building
PCs
> for years, so this is not scary.
>
> I would like to run my current plan by the many experienced members
> of this list for any comment.
>
> The first step to build my own system will be to use one of three
> existing HP Pavilion computers with Intel dual core processor
running
> at 2 GHz (Such computers are now available running at 3 GHz for
just
> over $400). We have Gb Ethernet, including cable that reaches our
TV
> corner. Our recent HP computers are very quiet and have built-in
> analog video output capable of 1920x1080. PCIe cards are available
> with DVI-I output starting at about $70.-, but have fans so they
> create additional noise.
>
> With a Beyond TV package from Snapstream, such as their Beyond TV
and
> Hauppauge HVR-1600 PCI Bundle, supplemented by the Beyond TV link
and
> burning plug-in, it seems I can gain tremendous flexibility. The
> burning plug-in may be unnecessary since I already have Nero
version
> 7 and Ulead VideoStudio 11, but convenience and integration matter
> and the extra money is modest.
>
> A second step would be to get a dedicated HP Pavilion with the 3GHz
> processor and place it in the living room next to a new, modest
size,
> inexpensive HDTV capable display. If this unit gets its own tuner
> card, I will be able to network and watch shows recorded at the
same
> time in HDTV on two different computers.
>
> There is a rather bewildering array of tuner cards available.
> Displays are coming down in price. I can start with my computer
> monitor while I get my feet wet. I am unclear about processing
speed
> required. I read somewhere along the way about some device that
would
> require the 3 GHz. HP Pavilions come with Vista, but I removed it
and
> installed XP Pro on ours. A new, dedicated one can go either way.
For
> a permanent installation, I will most likely try the Philips
MANT950.
>
> Comments, suggestions, warnings and any pointers will be much
> appreciated.
>
> As I have been surfing all over, including places such as
> http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/, I stumbled across a deal that sounds
> rather incredible -- http://www.satellitetvonpc.com/  Anyone have
> experience with it?
>
> Best, Dag
>

I forgot to add that there is now a nominal fee involved with
MythTV.  They used to pull the TV schedules from Zap2It, but they
stopped providing schedules.  They now have an agreement with
Schedules Direct (schedulesdirect.org) to provide the raw data for
$20 a year.  Not too much to pay to get all the programming details.

--- In HDTV-in-SFbay@yahoogroups.com, "Reinier Nissen"
<reinier_nissen@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Dag,
>
> Have you thought about some of the opensource alternatives?  I did
an
> install of MythTV about a year ago and the user was quite happy
with
> it.  I was even thinking of installing a MythTV system in my
> daughter's room when she gets older.  It has the abilty to rip DVDs
> right to the harddrive so that I don't need to lose all my original
> movies in her room.
>
> I came across this link after reading your message :
>
> http://www.mythbuntu.org/
>
> Check out the frontend screenshot here :
>
>
http://www.mythbuntu.org/files/images/mythbuntu_recordings_list.previe
> w.png
>
> You will also have the Ubuntu and MythTV community helping you out
> with any questions you might have.
>
> -Reinier
>