[mythtv-users] PVR 350, TV tuning and DVD decoding

[Franco]

I see that the PVR 350 is mentioned a lot and, if I understood
correctly, it is the only hardware MPEG encoder/decoder working
under Linux (which also provides a supported ir remote control).

Before ordering one, can you confirm this? Or are there
alternatives which should be considered?

There are however a few things unclear to me:

- does the "125 channel cable ready TV tuner" work only in the USA,
  and with cable TV? Would it become just a useless piece of hardware,
  once in Europe (analog/digital TV coming from antenna) ?

- is the hardware MPEG decoder of the PVR 350 dedicated to a specific 
  function (is the USA cable TV coded in MPEG format ???) ?
  Or is it a general-purpouse device that mythtv can use for other
  things, like watching a DVD or a .mpg file ?

Also, I only found the term "stereo" on hauppauge web site.
When decoding a DVD, will I get the full 5.1/6.1/7.1 information
sent to the digital output of my soundcard?

I'll stop making questions for this night :-)
Any suggestions are welcome!

Franco