The Rogers HD Box can only tune QAM, and unencrypts the encrypted signals that Rogers sends.

Your TV Tuner, if it can tune QAM, can only tune unencrypted QAM signals, to which 57 has stated in his previous posts that Rogers does not do. You can connect your Rogers HD Box to your TV via component or HDMI cables, at which point your TV will be performing as a monitor rather than as a TV that uses its built-in tuner.

Your TV Tuner supports ATSC HD, which is used for OTA digital broadcasts. There are already a great number of TV stations broadcasting in HD OTA in the ATSC format used in North America, and the likelihood of you getting reception is dependant on your area and proximity to the broadcasting towers. This is explained in the OTA sub-Forum to which I provided a link to in my previous post.

To learn more about OTA, read this useful link:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41102

so OTA Digital broadcasts will become more and more popular replace the analog. which i can use this tuner to watch tv with a antanna anywhere.? correct?

why did i came up with all those questions is because should i keep the tuner or not

thanks for helping

The answers to your questions about OTA lay in the OTA sub-Forum, to which I've alread provided you 2 very useful links.

what about ATSC HDTV? what do i need to get that working?

1: broadcasters with digital signals, and HDTV (remember, digital does not necessarily mean HD, although digital broadcasters often are HD).
2: An antenna capable of receiving the signal from those broadcasters.

also, what i heard digital OTA is not going to be air until next year feb 2009. and ntsc going to replace by digital..
Feb 2009 is when most TV broadcasters in the USA turn off their analog transmitters. They have had a digital signal for some time.

Canada's timeline is a few years behind. See the OTA forums for more info.

As for your problem with the Rogers box, I thing that stems to the fact that the tuner you have is digital only, the box outputting an analog signal on its RF jack. To watch from the box on your laptop, you need a capture device that accepts an analog video signal.

Hello

Sorry, I am trying to search but maybe don't have the right terms. Have read the FAQ and still dont have an answer so that I would ask the teachers.

I have a HTPC /w Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600. As well I have all channels being paid for through Rogers (VIP Package). Sweet DVI to HDMI doing full 1080. Also the software I am playing with is Beyond TV through a demo, on a Windows XP Pro box.

The problem is, with the receiver box, i get all the channels.
The tuner card on the other hand, I get some of the channels when plugged in through analog. I am missing channels like time shifted, Leafs and Raptors TV (though they are eliminated shouldn't be static), Rogers on Demand, are examples. These I presume are digital channels that the receiver box decodes? What I do notice though is through the HTPC, the channels don't even look like 480 so thinking I am only getting an analog signal.

I am able to download the proper digital channel guides Beyond TV provides and they are spot on, just all static.

I tried used the QAM / ATSC hybrid but I believe this is only used for HDTV, so this doesn't work.

How do I get all the channels with the WinTV HVR-1600? I take it the channels I can't get are encrypted? I noticed that there was a special decoder to get some of the analog that Hauppauge provided, is there another I am missing?

Thanks in advance guys and gals!

See FAQ http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=32271

Got it, thanks!

So basicaly Rogers = retarded for encrypting digital channels, well unless you are in the buisness to make money.

Looks like the card is going back to Future Shop and keep paying that monthly fee for a box.

We need more 15 yr olds hacking the encryption, they do it for everything else!

Encryption is used to avoid piracy. Digital Home Canada does not condone piracy.

Are not the basic HD channels (CBC, Global, CTV, NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox) included as part of the basic cable package? Seems to me that Rogers could unencrypt these channels without running into piracy issues. Also, given the availability of OTA and the FCC mandating firewire availability in the States I don't think encrypting the basic HD channels is accomplishing much against piracy beyond annoying their customers.

You can tune to all the analogue channels that you pay for with an analogue (NTSC) tuner. These channels are not encrypted, they are blocked or unblocked via a filter, sometimes called a notch filter if it goes after specific channels.

What we are discussing here is the digital channels, of which HD is a subset. I see no reason for Rogers to provide any of these unencrypted as there would then be a disparity between those people who pay for digital channels (and a STB) and those who simply purchase a QAM tuner either separately or part of the TV. This has been discussed before in previous similar threads.

What we are discussing here is the digital channels, of which HD is a subset. I see no reason for Rogers to provide any of these unencrypted as there would then be a disparity between those people who pay for digital channels (and a STB) and those who simply purchase a QAM tuner either separately or part of the TV. This has been discussed before in previous similar threads.

I know we are discussing digital channels, I completely fail to see how encrypting the basic HD channels stops piracy, i.e. the ripping off of something you would otherwise have to pay for. As far as I know if you get the basic cable package HD is included right? Yes Rogers probably makes some extra bucks on a sale or rental of an STB, but I could buy a used 3250HD and Rogers wouldn't make an extra dime so no different then me using a QAM tuner in a PC rather then buying a used box IMHO.

I could buy a used 3250HD and Rogers wouldn't make an extra dimeOnce you get a STB, there is a digital services fee, so they make about 30 extra dimes. ;) As you stated, many people rent the STBs, and there are many extra dimes associated with that, or people then go for digital VIP once they have a STB, etc.

PS. I wasn't talking about piracy at all (although someone else mentioned it), but encryption of digital cable signals does completely stop cable theft of those (encrypted) signals.

The tuner card on the other hand, I get some of the channels when plugged in through analog. I am missing channels like time shifted, Leafs and Raptors TV (though they are eliminated shouldn't be static), Rogers on Demand, are examples. These I presume are digital channels that the receiver box decodes? What I do notice though is through the HTPC, the channels don't even look like 480 so thinking I am only getting an analog signal.You can connect the s-video output of the cable box to the Hauppauge card and get all of the non-HD channels into your PC and,I believe, you can use an antenna to receive OTA HD channels, assuming that you are in a city where OTA is available. You will need an IR blaster to change channels on your cable box. This can be done with the MCE edition of this card or by adding an external IR device like a USB-UIRT.

Wayne, why do you restrict your first sentence to non-HD? Once you have an HD-STB, you have access to the "free" HD channels and they are output on the S-video also. You also have access to all digital channels you pay for and if you subscribe to the HD pack, along with the appropriate SD channels, you can see those too. Of course, since they're 16:9, they will either be letterboxed if true HD or windowboxed if upconverts. They are downconverted to 480i on the S-video output.

Of course SD-STBs don't tune HD channels...

You're right - you can get the downrezzed HD channels out of the s-video output as well. But is there any point since pretty much all of those channels are also available in SD? I believe the 1600 is a hybrid card that can act as both an NTSC and ATSC tuner simultaneously. Therefore the most optimal way to use this card would be to use OTA for HD, or other ATSC channels, (if available) in addition to s-video for SD giving you the best quality when available and also the ability to record two shows at once. That is the way that I have my setup (with a Hauppauge PVR-150 analog card plus a Hauppauge 950 ATSC tuner) so I use an SD digital cable box.

But is there any point since pretty much all of those channels are also available in SD?OAR. Also some channels/programming are not available SD.

Apologies if this has been asked/answered already.

If I have Rogers cable through a set-top box, can I feed the output into the HTPC and get all the channels in a recordable format? Also will the Windows Media Centre guide be able to display the correct TV guide.

Sorry if I'm asking some basic questions, but I'm moving to Canada from the UK and don't 100% know the setup there.

You can feed the HTPC from the set top box using the standard analog outputs such as s-Video. And then you will control the channels using the media center remote which sends the IR signal (for each digit you press) to the Rogers box to change the channel (the IR sender is an LED that attaches to the front of the Rogers box). It's slow to change channels because it sends each digit to the box as if you pressed the remote buttons. The guide will be the Media Center's guide, not the Rogers one built into the Set top box. The Media Center guide is much more feature rich so that's a good thing

This won't work for HD channels (yet)

Thanks for the reply warpdrive! :) If I had an HD set top box is there a way to still get the non-HD channels fed into the HTPC from it, and just watch the HD ones direct on the TV, or is it best to just get a regular set-top box for now for the HTPC? Also, if I get a universal remote like the Logitech Harmony that should solve the issue with changing the channels being slow right?

I don't believe there's anything stopping you from getting the HD channels, however, they will be downconverted to 480i on the SD connections mentioned. They will also be 16:9 in the 4:3 recording when viewing HD. They will be "windowboxed" (black bars all around) when the programme on the HD channel is upconverted 4:3 and not true HD, in which case you'd record the equivalent SD channel.