[mythtv-users] Help needed - initial setup questions RE: SA3250 and firewire

Michael Haan michael.haan at gmail.com
Wed Jun 15 14:24:18 UTC 2005


On 6/14/05, Joe Schmoe <non_secure at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> David,
> 
> First off, thanks for responding - I really appreciate
> it.
> 
> --- David Madsen <david.madsen at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > > 1. I have a Scientific Atlanta SA3250 with enabled
> > > firewire ports.  Is mythTV support for automatic
> > > recording of HD and SD channels through the
> > firewire
> > > port completely nailed down, or is it still
> > > experimental or buggy ?
> >
> > I also have a SA3250 that I use for recording, and
> > from my experience
> > they setup still has much to be desired from a
> > stability standpoint.
> > This isn't MythTV's fault per say since that side of
> > things works
> > reliably.  The problems I run into is that
> > occasionally the cable box
> > will get "confused" and for some reason will think
> > that channels that
> > do not have any copy protection flags set are "copy
> > once" material and
> > will refuse to broadcast it over the firewire bus.
> 
> 
> How often does your cable company release
> updates/fixes/firmwares for the box ?  This is not
> acceptable, and further, seems illegal - if the letter
> of the law is to mandate the existence of these ports
> and thus and such abilities on those ports, then
> having them refuse playback/record is a breach of that
> law.
> 
> I would call them and point out that unlike other
> "technical difficulties", this one puts them in breach
> of the law, and then threaten to report them to the
> FCC over it.
> 
> 
> > > 5. Will mythTV + SA3250 + working firewire allow
> > me to
> > > change channels over firewire when recording off
> > of
> > > it?  I really want to not do the lame IR dongle
> > hack
> >
> > You will not be able to change channels on the
> > SA3250 over the
> > firewire bus.  This box does not currently have any
> > support for doing
> > like the Motorola ones do.  You will have to do the
> > IR Blaster route.
> > I built a simple blaster and have had success
> > changing channels, but
> > occasionally the box drops some numbers causing my
> > recordings to fail
> > since the box is not tuned to the correct channel
> > when this happens.
> 
> 
> Ok, this is absurd.  Sorry, but the IR blasting method
> that everyone is using with their tivos and their
> HTPCs, etc., is completely lame.  It's a duct tape
> style hack that I will not be using.
> 
> Do you have any idea what the difficulty is ?  Is it
> possible, but just disabled in that particular box ?
> Or does that box not even have that ability ?  It
> seems that other (non myth) people (not with time
> warner) are changing channels with that box over
> firewire...
> 
> What advantage do the cable companies gain by not
> allowing channel changing over firewire ?  What do
> they gain ?
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
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Wow, you speak as if you're as angry towards the cable companies as I
feel.  I guess the futility of dealing with them hasn't set in for
you.  As for channel changing over firewire on the SA3250 (which I
have, and have tried with the 6200 code), I believe the box simply
doesn't support it - but I could be wrong.


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