Cable TV vs. Satellite for the ATI All-In-Wonder

Between Cable TV and Satellite, which option is most compatible with the
features of the ATI All-In-Wonder card. I heard that hooking a cable box to
the ATI card takes away certain software features. Would satellite take
away those features?

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 13:42:03 -0400, New Question said:

Between Cable TV and Satellite, which option is most compatible with the
features of the ATI All-In-Wonder card. I heard that hooking a cable box to
the ATI card takes away certain software features. Would satellite take
away those features?

The problem with Cable and Satellite is that the AIW can only decode the
same signal that your TV can decode. That is, if you need a special Tuner
Box, then the AIW will not be able to independantly tune many channels.

For example, this is my situation:

I live in a neighborhood where my cable company sends Channels 1-22 over
normal cable (I can plug any Cable ready TV into a cable outlet and
receive channels 1-22). However, all channels above 22 are sent as Digital
Cable (whether the customer subscribes to digital cable or not). This
means that to tune in channel 23 (for example), I need to use their Cable
Box.

My AiW, plugged in to a cable outlet, can receive channels 1-22 as any
other TV can. However, to receive channels 23+, I must plug the output of
the Cable box into the input of the AiW. This restricts me to only being
able to watch the same program that the AiW is watching.

The same thing would happen with satellite, except that I don't think you
get the first 22 channels over plain Coax with satellite (i.e. anything
coming from the satellite must go through the converter box first).

The easy (but not cheap) way around this is to have a converter box
dedicated to the AiW.


--
Lenroc

I have a TV Wonder PCI and I can receive up to 125 channels thru my cable
line.

"Lenroc" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 13:42:03 -0400, New Question said:

Between Cable TV and Satellite, which option is most compatible with the
features of the ATI All-In-Wonder card. I heard that hooking a cable
box to
the ATI card takes away certain software features. Would satellite take
away those features?

The problem with Cable and Satellite is that the AIW can only decode the
same signal that your TV can decode. That is, if you need a special Tuner
Box, then the AIW will not be able to independantly tune many channels.

For example, this is my situation:

I live in a neighborhood where my cable company sends Channels 1-22 over
normal cable (I can plug any Cable ready TV into a cable outlet and
receive channels 1-22). However, all channels above 22 are sent as Digital
Cable (whether the customer subscribes to digital cable or not). This
means that to tune in channel 23 (for example), I need to use their Cable
Box.

My AiW, plugged in to a cable outlet, can receive channels 1-22 as any
other TV can. However, to receive channels 23+, I must plug the output of
the Cable box into the input of the AiW. This restricts me to only being
able to watch the same program that the AiW is watching.

The same thing would happen with satellite, except that I don't think you
get the first 22 channels over plain Coax with satellite (i.e. anything
coming from the satellite must go through the converter box first).

The easy (but not cheap) way around this is to have a converter box
dedicated to the AiW.


--
Lenroc

In article ,
says...
I heard that hooking a cable
box to
the ATI card takes away certain software features. Would satellite take
away those features?



Of course, you would lose GuidePlus scheduling, as it only permits tuner
input rather than composite or s-video.

I have a dedicated digital box feeding AIW via composite, and I've found
an online scheduler that allows you to choose composite as input:


Ultimate Guide plus...

http://www.trimind.com/UGTTV/default.asp


It is free.

"Lenroc" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 13:42:03 -0400, New Question said:
I live in a neighborhood where my cable company sends Channels 1-22 over
normal cable (I can plug any Cable ready TV into a cable outlet and
receive channels 1-22). However, all channels above 22 are sent as Digital
Cable (whether the customer subscribes to digital cable or not). This
means that to tune in channel 23 (for example), I need to use their Cable
Box.

Is "normal cable" analog?

My AiW, plugged in to a cable outlet, can receive channels 1-22 as any
other TV can. However, to receive channels 23+, I must plug the output of
the Cable box into the input of the AiW. This restricts me to only being
able to watch the same program that the AiW is watching.

I do not understand when you say "This restricts me to only being able to
watch the same program that the AiW is watching."

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 13:42:03 -0400
"New Question" wrote:

Between Cable TV and Satellite, which option is most compatible with
the features of the ATI All-In-Wonder card. I heard that hooking a
cable box to the ATI card takes away certain software features. Would
satellite take away those features?

Personally, after dinking around with PC based solutions for a while I
found that the most satisfactory solution is a DirecTivo. None of the
PC program guides work as nicely as the Tivo's, with the DirecTivo you
get direct digital recording of the satellite stream, you can record two
separate channels and play back a recording at the same time with no
fuss or bother, and, the Tivo being a Linux box, there is an active
hacking community which allows all sorts of features and capabilities to
be added.

--
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)