Hi,


I want to record HD TV and re-encode to DVD, SVCD, XVID, or whatever.
It is my understanding that the HD TV cards cannot decode HBO and other pay channels. They can only pick up unscrambled channels with a HD antenna. (I saw an awesome recording of the latest Sopranos episode and I would like to be able to do that too). If this is true then shouldn't I go with a digital hidef cable box with a firewire output? If so how do I use the firewire output... as in, do I need a driver for it? How can I watch what is coming into the firewire on my PC from the cable box.



PS
I did look at AVS forums but alot of it I don't understand right now.

If you know the model number of the digital cable box, it may be worth searching around to see what PC software or drivers are available, e.g. pop the model number, and the keywords 'firewire' and 'record' into Google and check out the results

Just note that the FCC are enforcing the copyright protection flag on digital TV equipment , so it may also be worth looking up news groups (e.g. Google groups) for recording issues. I am not sure if it would be the drivers or software that enforces the restrictions. If only the software makes use of the broadcast flag, there may be 3rd party software that does not check.

Hi,

I am just going through a huge thread at avsforums and found most of the information I am looking for. I called my cable provider to ask which HD box is supplied but she could only tell me it is a moto. I am assuming it will be a 6200 or 6208 which should work depending on the firmware..It seems to be alot of work and am now considering getting a HD TV card (since I won't be able to record the pay channels anyway). Either that or looking into hacking Tivo..

I was just going through all my subscribed threads and found this. I was able to capture HD from the cable box over firewire. It was actually very easy but looking through the huge thread at avs makes it seem complicated. Within 20 minutes of getting the cable box I was recording with cap dvs.