For the geeks out there!
Okay, boys and girls, I am writing a *very* lengthy update on my adventures all over Western Europe, which I hope to have posted tonight… But in the meantime: I know a lot of geeks read my blog. (Yes, you.) I have a question for you!
Am I missing something, or is our local cable company, Shaw, waaaay behind the times? I find myself very frustrated by the fact that in the states with ONE machine, you can actually RECORD tv shows. Yes, people, I’m talking about TiVO. How come, in British Columbia at least, I cannot get a board or external pc device that would allow me to have a tv tuner that would understand Shaw’s signal, and interface with my PC so that I could capture tv broadcast? I don’t want to have to buy Shaw’s expensive $900 PVR to do this… I want to plug in my cable to a pc card-type-setup, just like I do now with the stupid set-top box that Shaw makes me use, and record tv. (I’d like to do away with the stupid external box! Why do I need it when all the freekin’ TVs should have a digital converter built in, in my opinion?) What good is a media center pc, if I still need to interface with an external Shaw box. (Which, I might add, only has one tuner, so if I’m recording something, I can’t be watching something else on the same machine.)
Basically? I’m not paying $900 for a PVR that has Shaw’s tuner built-in. That’s hiway robbery! I’m also not monkeying around with two separate devices to record tv, which, by the way often is finicky as my many Canadian friends have found using TiVO and a Shaw box (Which, is also very expensive for what it is, a simple tuner). Why can’t I just use my computer, and a pc board? People in the States can, and so can many cable subscribers in Europe.
So, anyone have any suggestions??
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Hey ms netchick, actually we should get together for coffee because I pretty much have a solution for you. The TiVo can actually interface with the box, it’s not pretty but its there.
My dad actually set up the windows media center pc. Its an expensive option but its actually pretty impressive.
Shaw is expensive, I’m looking at satellite if you could get ADSL to completely remove shaw from the picture then I would do that.
Email me we should talk.
Er, just a question but are you talking about digital cable or just the plain old analogue lines?
Yep, digital cable. I know I can get an ATI card that will understand the analog channels (which, by the way, are disappearing soon).
So, ya… It’s the digital cable reception, and the program guide information that I’d like to be able to decode.
email me, let’s talk. a couple of my coworkers are big PVR geeks and have setups running quite nicely at home.
I’m hearing ya, T. The issue is Shaw knows this and Shaw wants to keep bilking you for as much as they possibly can.
I have a TV tuner device for my laptop but it only works with the analog stations, only goes up to about 30-40 channels and only you have to watch it through Windows Media Player.
Kinda sad.
google “cable card” that is the new technology that will allow that. But as of now it is not possible. The cable box descrables the digital signal and it needs a serial number from the box back to the cable company to authorize the programming. cable cards will be able to go from PVR’s, TV’s and PC to basically eliminate the need for a cable box… give it time…