[mythtv-users] IR Blasting a Freeview Box

David Watkins watkinshome at gmail.com
Wed Sep 24 19:46:13 UTC 2008


On 24/09/2008, Andrew Hall <andyjohnhall at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:14 David Watkins wrote...
>
>
>  "any reason you don't want to buy a DVB-T tuner for the computer,
>  either a card or a USB? I'm sure you'll have much less hassle that
>  way."
>
>
> I'd heard cards such as the WinTV NOVA-T - although well supported -
>  provide an awful reception and that a standalone set-top-box was much
>  better.


I wouldn't really agree with that - I'm using two PCI NOVA-Ts.  If
you're in an area where freeview reception is marginal then you *may*
find that some DVB cards perform better than others.  However if your
freeview signal strength is reasonable then any DVB card should
perform as well as a freeview box.  In fact if you're connecting your
myth box to the analog output of a freeview box then the
digital-to-analog-to-digital conversion will degrade the signal
significantly below that of the DVB card.

Where a dedicated freeview box might out-perform a mythtv box is in
playback.  I'm using
the S-Video output of an NVidia 5200 connected to a Plain-old-CRT and
I find that for some sports (eg soccer) the playback is noticeably
worse than both the analog input direct to my TV and via my btvision
freeview box.  I believe that this is something to do with a 50Hz/60Hz
incompatibility between the broadcast and the NVidea S-Video output?
Scrolling text can also look a bit jerky For every other type of
programme I'd say the mythtv output looks as good as that from the
freeview box but either way it's not a reception issue.

If I were you I'd look at the some of the Freeview Quality Indicator
websites for your area and, if you're well served then I'd seriously
recommend a DVB card over a freeview box.

You could also ask on this list if anyone in your area can recommend
working cards.

Apart from the ease of channel changing, advantages of a DVB card are.

1)  No need to worry whether the freeview box is turned on.
2)  No loss of quality (due to digital-analog-digital conversion)
3)  Ability to record multiple channels simultaneously from a single tuner
4)  Ability to easily add tuners.
5)  Access to the DVB EIT (programme listing) data.

Happy mything


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list