[mythtv-users] MythTV + Verizon FIOS: Can MythTV change channels?

[Christian Convey]

On 9/30/07, Jerry Rubinow <jerrymr at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/30/07, Christian Convey <christian.convey at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > I'm new to MythTV, and I've always had analog cable, so I'm kind of
> > clueless about this:
> >
> > If I switch from analog cable to Verizon FiOS, will MythTV be able to
> > select which channel it records from at a given time?
> >
> > I know with analog cable, the video capture card can be
> > programatically driven to tune in different channels at different
> > times.  But I can't find any info on how tuning is done on a system
> > like Verizon's, and whether or not the MythTV-hosting computer can
> > control which channel is being recorded.
> >
> > I guess my fear is that if I want to record some stuff from
> > ComedyCentral, SciFi, and CartoonNetwork all at different parts of the
> > wee-morning-hours, I'll need to wake up to manually change the channel
> > between shows.
>
> I have Verizon FiosTV, and I can tell you that all channels above 49
> are digital channels (ie comedy central, sci fi, toon), so in order to
> tune them, you need some way for your computer to tell the STB to
> change channels (yes, in order to get those channels, you must have a
> STB).  You can do this in two ways.  Either setup an IR blaster and
> install LIRC, or use firewire to directly control the STB.  Unless you
> pay extra for an HD STB, you likely will not have a firewire port on
> your STB.
>
> For channels in the 1-49 range (OTA and superstations), you can use
> your analog card to directly tune them.

Thanks Jerry.  Do you know anything about the relative easy of
configuring and using LIRC vs. the firewire approach?

LIRC sounds like a neat project, but I'm fairly short on free time
right now, so I wonder if the firewire approach would be worth it for
me.