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Cable cards and PCs

Patman

Patman

Rodent of Unusual Size
Hey...

I've been trying to convince myself to pick up a PC to fit into my TV system for the last few months. As always I stop myself for various reasons. Now I'm running up against a more serious roadblock that affects how I could use it.

I've only recently noticed that a Cable Card is necessary to view certain channels... I have Comcast, so presumably I'd get it through them.

I was wondering if anybody has had the experience of doing this... ideally I'd like to keep my cable box because it allows me to feed into my receiver which then goes out to the TV and the speakers. Otherwise I'll have to look at my TV/receiver setup and figure out my options.
 
Re: Cable cards and PCs

In addition to the cable in on the card, there should probably also be line-ins for video and audio, so you can run a line out from your receiver to the card, and set up a channel for that composite line-in in the software, to be able to get those channels that you need the card for.

You'll need to have the cable box tuned to those channels in order for the PC to record them or to view them, but as long as it's only for a few channels, it shouldn't be too big an inconvenience.

In addition, this allows you to send shows you've recorded on your cable DVR or *gasp* a VCR, into your PC, and then if you have a DVD burner and software, you can burn them to DVD.
 
Re: Cable cards and PCs

what I'd prefer to do is to make my computer into the new DVR for all the channels I have the right to view based on my subscription.... this whole thing has been OMFG confusing.

I want everything to feed through my receiver to go out to the speakers... I am not wedded to Comcast's DVR/cable box. I want to know if I can operate without it... and I'd prefer not to have the computer on 24/7.

The biggest issue is that i haven't found anything that lays the issues out straight... of course that may just mean that there is no way to lay it out straight.

I may just go ahead with the computer and resolve the rest later... I don't think any of this affects the computer itself... but rather it limits what i can do with it.
 
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