I have now added an USB tuner to watch and record cable tv (DVB-C). The hardware I am using is the Terratec Cinergy HTC USB XS HD which is a Analogue, DVB-T and DVB-C tuner.
The software I am using is DvbViewer. Which is pretty easy to use, and also comes with a server part, so multiple front-ends can be connected if I need that later on. It has a web interface that is very easy to use so I am able to schedule recordings easily even when I am away from home.
Another nice thing about DvbViewer is that it works great with the BroadCom Crystal HD chip (BCM70012). In order for it to show up in the configuration though, you need to bump the merit of the filter using e.g. the Direct Show Filter Manager.
Furthermore, there are some nice plugins that offer much of the functionality that the scrapers in XBMC do. So at the moment I am using DvbViewer to watch both live tv, recorded tv as well as movies.
For music I am using twonky as upnp server and foobar2000 and an iPod touch as renderers, and another iPod touch or my iPhone as controllers.
I do however have a slight problem with watching live HD TV (DR HD). The audio is delayed slightly (0.5 ~ 1 second). When watching recorded HD TV there is no problem, so it does not seem to be a problem with being able to process the video. Besides, the CPU load is only around 30%.
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Hej
ReplyDeleteVirker din optager med Yousee?
Jeg har ikke YouSee, men Stofa, så det ved jeg ikke. Men jeg kan ikke se hvorfor den ikke skulle gøre det, nu hvor de har åbnet for DVB-C uden kort og boks.
ReplyDeleteHi, a very interesting blog. Great to know that you can make a good HTPC from a D945gSEJT board. I hope to build something similar myself.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what your power consumption is when watching a film or TV?
Hei,
ReplyDeleteI've just got the D945GSEJT with the BCM70012 too.
And also wanted to using the dvbiewer to viewing the HDTV.
Howver, i've got lag and the Crystal HD is not working with the DVBViewer.
May I know which filter you have bump the merit?
I've installed the TotalMedia Theatre and it works with the HD(1080) video fine.
Also i've bump all arcsoft filter merit to prefered(00800000).
But still no luck.
Please tell me how to do this with dvbviewer. Thank you.
Oh...I've seen the trick is bummping the
ReplyDeleteBroadcom Video codec?
I've just seen that after to post out the comments. =P
Is there any other tricks of that?
Please let me if you know it. ;)
Hi, I have a question about the TV-tuner. Terratec writes on their homepage that the required specs for the Terratec Cinergy HTC USB XS HD is above an Atom (2,0 GHz Intel or AMD CPU needed).
ReplyDeleteThe Terratec H5/H7 is said to be working with an Atom.
But, you havent had any problems with your tuner?
No the tuner works just fine with the Atom platform. I have read in other forums, that the HTC XS HD is the same as H5 inside.
ReplyDeleteHow about adding two Cinergy HTC USB XS HD to and Atom platform. Is there enough bandwith to record a show and watch another? Also in HD?
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried using two tuners, but I don't think it would be a problem since recording doesn't take up many system resources. It is just a stream of data that is saved to disk. As mentioned previously, I have a problem with audio sync when watching HD tv (DR HD) live through DVBViewer. When watching recorded shows there is no problem.
ReplyDeleteIf the two channels you wish to record/watch are on the same frequency(mux) you don't even need two tuners, as DVBViewer supports tuning multiple channels when they are on the same mux.