New to this

[grizgrand]

Hi all,

I am looking to set up a myth tv box with cable access. My brother has a DBOX2 which can access all the encrypted channels, which i would like to duplicate.

So far i have a small form factor pc, via c7 processor (1 gighz) and plenty of ram. connects to a telly. There is only 1 pci slot, which is taken by a DVB-T card (the DVB-C card will replace this)

Questions.
1. Can cam software decode every channel on v*rg*n?
2. Is all the decoding done on the CPU or can a DVB-C card handle some?
3. Depending on 2, which card should i go for and do i NEED a CI?
4. Best place to get the card.

Also if you think winMediaCentre is a better route than Myth please let me know, but im fairly confident with linux and c coding.

Cheers
Griz

[willin]

Originally Posted by grizgrand

Hi all,

I am looking to set up a myth tv box with cable access. My brother has a DBOX2 which can access all the encrypted channels, which i would like to duplicate.

So far i have a small form factor pc, via c7 processor (1 gighz) and plenty of ram. connects to a telly. There is only 1 pci slot, which is taken by a DVB-T card (the DVB-C card will replace this)

Questions.
1. Can cam software decode every channel on v*rg*n?
2. Is all the decoding done on the CPU or can a DVB-C card handle some?
3. Depending on 2, which card should i go for and do i NEED a CI?
4. Best place to get the card.

Also if you think winMediaCentre is a better route than Myth please let me know, but im fairly confident with linux and c coding.

Cheers
Griz

1. yes
2. afaik, cpu
3. depends what you want to spend! don't need a CI but with cam and smartcard AU (auto updates) when there is a keyroll (but overall very expensive), there is a softcam that seems to be AU (free) which you would need a card only (no CI).
4. you will have to pm me.

I think your processor will struggle with this, maybe someone else can advise better.
Have you looked at _http://linvdr.org/projects/linvdr/index.en.php as an alternative to myth.

[Cafe.Rcaer]

2. Depends on the route you take, if you go for the plugin decoder route, then the CPU will do the decoding (I'm thinking decryption), if you go for the CI/CAM route, then the CAM will do the decryption. It might depend on the card, but most work with MPEG2 format, so there is no decoding to do.

I don't know much about via processors, but it doesn't sound that fast, I wouldn't risk plugins, I go with a CAM - but then if you're trying to keep costs down.

Also, if it's a SFF PC - how much room do you have inside for a TV Card? A FireDTV might be a good option (if you have firewire) as it's external and has a CI Slot.

I suspect that you could try a FireDTV with plugins, then if that doesn't work, try a CAM.

[grizgrand]

Thanks guys. Well the Via C7 is designed for low power, but has hardware mpeg2 decoder onboard, so the idea is that it can play mpeg streams straight from a dvb card without any processing overhead. It works fine with FTA dvb-t.

Encoding is another matter (but recording is easy too if the program directly writes the mpeg stream to disk) So i am glad to hear that the CI can handle the decryption alone without cpu overhead. This CI reader (as an attachment to a TT budget card) would fit inside the space for a compact flash disk?

so questions again

1. What is the deal with CI cards. do i have to get a card writer and make them up, or is there "people" i can buy from and do they auto update etc, what are the options.

2. LinVDR looks good and lightweight. Is there any alternatives with english as the development language. I am a good coder and like to get hands dirty with the internals, but can't read german as of yet.

[willin]

Originally Posted by grizgrand

Thanks guys. Well the Via C7 is designed for low power, but has hardware mpeg2 decoder onboard, so the idea is that it can play mpeg streams straight from a dvb card without any processing overhead. It works fine with FTA dvb-t.

Encoding is another matter (but recording is easy too if the program directly writes the mpeg stream to disk) So i am glad to hear that the CI can handle the decryption alone without cpu overhead. This CI reader (as an attachment to a TT budget card) would fit inside the space for a compact flash disk?

so questions again

1. What is the deal with CI cards. do i have to get a card writer and make them up, or is there "people" i can buy from and do they auto update etc, what are the options.

2. LinVDR looks good and lightweight. Is there any alternatives with english as the development language. I am a good coder and like to get hands dirty with the internals, but can't read german as of yet.

I’m sure you need a pci slot for the budget card CI and one for the card (check that out).

1. you will need :- a card writer, the correct cam (card goes in cam) for the CI slot, not sure what will work with linux os (if that is what you use) – twintown or cafe racers dyslexic brother cafe rcaer have lots more experience with cams and cards (they will advise better)

2. A while ago I looked at installing linux (never did) and looked at hxxp://linuxtv.org/vdrwiki/index.php/VDRdon’t know if it is what you are after but has a english manual. lol