EggXpert

I did a search and seen nothing pertaining to this question so I decided to make a new topic. I have Verizon Fios, which I'm not entirely certain encrypts their cable channels but I've heard they do, would a dual tuner card be completely pointless? (I use a set top box, which is why I say dual tuner may be pointless.) Maybe someone else who has verizon fios tv could tell me if they encrypt their cable channels so that only their set top box can tune them. I would test this but since I think they're required to transmit the signal digitally and then their set top box converts it back to analog so TV's can still watch without a converter box, none of our televisions tune digital.

If the set top box has a coaxial out then it'll work. Just use that out. Split it if you need to. Of course the PC will need to be near the set top box and the box will need to be left on.

But the STB is set to a specific channel, my thought was that, for instance say I have it on CBS, the tuner is only going to get CBS. Maybe I'm wrong and dont know how STB and Tuners work, in which case someone correct that thought. I had a specific dual tuner I was looking at getting but I don't know if a dual tuner will do me any good if I'm taking the cable straight from the STB.

(Assuming that the signals are encrypted) Dual tuners will do you no good unless you have dual STB's.

Also, you will need IR Blaster setups so the PC DVR software can change the channel on the STB when needed.

 

Ok thats what I figured with the dual tuner thing. And I searched online and everything I read led me to believe Fios encrypts their channels. So it looks like if I'm going this route I will definitely need an IR Blaster setup. I have a few questions on that. First, most reviews I've read on tuners all trash the tuner software, like WinTV and MythTV(something like that?), and whatever else, and Windows Media Center is like the most applauded one. Does Windows Media Center do recording? And will it work with an IR Blaster setup? And then I'm left with, do I need an analog tuner or digital tuner since its coming from the STB?

DarrellJ88:

First, most reviews I've read on tuners all trash the tuner software, like WinTV and MythTV(something like that?), and whatever else, and Windows Media Center is like the most applauded one.

Correct, the software that comes from the tuner MFR is garbage, like WinTV.

You want to use third party DVR software like:

Windows Media Center (Comes with windows depending on version)

BeyondTV (Commercial)

MythTV (Free/Open Source)

DarrellJ88:

Does Windows Media Center do recording? And will it work with an IR Blaster setup?

Yes, All three mentioned above will manage your recording etc.

Will they all work with a given IR blaster? Depends. Make sure there are drivers and check.

DarrellJ88:

And then I'm left with, do I need an analog tuner or digital tuner since its coming from the STB?

 

You will probably only need an analog tuner considering the STB is actually doing the tuning for you. You are just taking an analog signal from the STB and putting it into the tuner; whether it be via S-Video, Composite, Component, etc. 

 

Thank you for all your help. I do have a few final questions after having done more research since you helped me get to this point. I notice most tuners will say something like "125 cable channels ready", it isn't programmed to only go up to channels 125 is it? My point being, Fios practically has all their channels spread out fairly well, so you can go up to like channels 300 or so with basic cable channels, and they skip some channels like 60-70 etc. I'm not sure if you can answer this because it might vary between each TV tuner, but if it doesn't, how does it determine what channels fall under its 125 cable channels?

I believe Verizon FIOS has a set-top box so you can't use a TV Tuner card to tune your channels.. Could be wrong there, but you definitely need to do your research as Verizon FIOS TV is a bit different than Cable.

The OP is right, he can't go from the Set top box to the tuner as the set top box only outputs one channel at a time..  Same thing with digital terrestrial tuners.  I don't believe it's even possible to have Coax carry all the HD stations that FIOS has simultaneously..  That's the reason why FIOS is fiber optic..  If you were really smarter than the average bear, you could rig your Linux box up to an IR transmitter and code it to flip stations on the set-top box for you automatically..  I read about somebody doing that for the digital HD set tup boxes for terrestrial broadcast TV going into an old MythTV box running analog tuners....

When you use a PC TV Tuner in conjunction with a STB you not even tuning with the PC TV Tuner.

The STB is tuning the channel.

You will just be basically using the TV Tuner line in function to get the video into your system. 

Any kind of channel limits would be irrelevant with your setup. 

 

I highly doubt any set top box (with tuners) would work with a computer TV tuner. Computer TV tuners are designed to TUNE into channels directly from a source with digital signals, and the box out is only outputting one channel at a time, and the signal is not in the frequency language that computer tuners understand, if that makes sense.How would you even scan for channels? Right????? Encryption may well be even irrelevant... Theoretically if this were to work, the same should work with cable boxes too? Caz the source (cable or fiber optic) is perhaps irrelevant when you are talking about output from a set top box with its own tuners....

 Either way, you seem fine with the idea of having to have your computer in the proximity of your set top box, so, if recording is the only concern (I can't think of any reason why you consider stuff like that other than that you would like to record TV shows), just get Hauppauge's HD-PVR and connect component out from your STB to HD-PVR.