Help: Using a TV card

Subject: Using a TV card
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 20 Mar 02 - 03:09 PM

I've just built a big black computer (to be known heretofore as the BBC). For the heck of it I put in a TV card, but I'm in need of education about how to use it.

Should I plug a coaxial cable into my cable-TV outlet in the wall?

I've found various references online to Europeans liking TV cards because they can use decoders to watch pay TV channels on their computers for free. Now, God forbid that I'd do anything illegal or anything, but just for information, like, I'd like to know about this, and try it out on the BBC.

Anyone know anything about all this stuff?

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Mar 02 - 03:18 PM

Anything you can pick up on your TV you should be able to pick up on the computer, with the coaxial cable plugged into it the same as for the telly.

Mind, you need the right kind of program to tell the computer how to do all that, but that should have come on a CDRom with the TV card. (Mind they always seem to need all kind of fiddling about, and getting on to the company's helpine and they send you stuff to sort out the bugs...)

I'm on a cable system - if anyone knows ways of things I could do that would mean I would get extra channels over and above the ones I am renting, do let us know. So that I can avoid accidentally doing those things, of course...

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 20 Mar 02 - 05:01 PM

I had a Hauppauge TV card in my PC at one time and it worked well. I just plugged the coax from the TV ariel into mine.

One thing I do know is that cards are made for analogue and for digital tv signals. What signal does the cable TV outlet supply and is it compatible with the card?

Jon

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 20 Mar 02 - 05:16 PM

Yes - I use Hauppage as well, both an internal and a USB one. I have connected to both standard TV arial and to cable TV. More recently to an external DVD player as well via the s-video and audio jacks. Never had any problem apart from a few annoying little bugs with an on-board SiS vid card not being quite compatible - but it ain't bad though. Works fine with a Voodoo3 and a Matrox.

Like Kevin I would also like to know how to avoid doing anything illegal;-)

Cheers

Dave the Gnome

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Mar 02 - 05:17 PM

I have two ATI all-in-wonder and found the Happauge (1998) infinitely better on teletext. As a TV they were much the same but I reckon the Happague was better on poor reception. The ATI does better on poor reception that my 500 quid panasonic VCR, video about the same but audio maintains down till the sgnal disappears on the ATI.
I have input and AVI'd & out from powerpoint on the older one which is fiddley if you exceed 600x800 because it refuses to output. The output to VCR must be at 50Hz and SVGA defalts to 751xsomething.
As for decoding cable/sattelite I have no idea, I haven't seen how you can do it PM me if you know how other unscrupulous square eyes do it. My sattelite is analogue (half an eye on the 1/2 inch disply waiting for the Rally prog.

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 21 Mar 02 - 07:59 AM

Do not indeed send private messages - this is the kind of information that should be out in the open!

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:54 AM

http://www.esatclear.ie/~lorenzo/dvb/ seems to have a how-to on this, hmm, hmmmm, hmmmmmm...

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 Mar 02 - 02:18 PM

Well that's satellite and I'm on cable. Maybe it'd work anyway. But the trouble with all those things is, when it all goes pearshaped and messes up the old PC, there you are on your own with noone to turn to.

And I wouldn't want to risk access to the Mudcat for a few more channels of TV that aren't worth watching anyway.

Interesting though.

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:17 AM

Who says they aren't worth watching? For instance, there would be access to the US forces' TV stations, and their, umm, different take on the world news, compared to how it might be presented on European stations.

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:23 AM

Not to mention that RTE broadcasts on the Astra satellite; you could watch all those folkie programmes. I don't know if the much better TG4 channel is also broadcast from Astra - TG4 makes a lot of music programmes, including the excellent Sult series.

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: ard mhacha
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 02:32 PM

JTT, Tara broadcasts most of the RTE folk music,Ard Mhacha.

Subject: RE: Help: Using a TV card
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 08:02 AM

check the newsgroups on how to hack satilite signals, cheap and easy with a computer, dish and television.