Best way to connect a STB to a PC

[ps3ud0]

Hi guys,

After some help - Ive got a VM STB with a RF and SCART connection and wondering the best way to connect it to my PC.

I can understand I need a cable and TV card but wondering what type of cable (and quality) so I can determine what TV card to get...

Cant you use your video card to watch TV?!?

TIA

ps3ud0

 

[ryder]

I'm confused about what you want to do.

You either have a set top box you want to connect to your pc, or you want to buy a tv card that will allow you to plug in an aerial directly, removing the need for the stb.

Connecting an stb will be more hassle than it's worth, just buy a tv card.

Or perhaps I am missing something?

 

[ps3ud0]

Perhaps I didnt explain myself ...

Im aware that you cant connect the VM cable into a PC (with or without the TV card) since the signal is encrypted (apart from terrestials) so theres little point in that. The STB obviously allows me to watch cable channels (Family Pack) which is a lot more than freeview allows...

Just want to connect the STB to the PC and the only outputs are SCART and RF connection - so wanted to check what cable/connection is best and if I really need to connect the cable to a TV card or not. I was hoping jsut to plug the STB into my monitor but I dont think that can be done...

Also would the cable carry over both sound and video or do I need 2 cables?

ps3ud0

 

[cokecan]

most TV cards come with video inputs' you should be able to connect the scart to one of the video inputs of the TV card (you'll probably need a converter to convert the scart to either s-video or a standard composite and a L and R audio) and then connect the audio to to the Line-In of your soundcard

 

[ryder]

Ahh, I see, I completely disregarded the VM part. Sorry.

Scart to VGA cables do exist, but I have never known one to work for sending a signal to a pc or pc monitor.
The only cable I can think of would be scart to s-video, but that will obviously not send sound.

Maybe somebody will have a bright idea, but it's not me.

EDIT: As above, a scart to s-video with left and right audio RCA's sounds ideal.

 

[ps3ud0]

Ah so I could do SCART to S-VIDEO easily? I Know thats better quality than composite - where does RF fit into all this?

Just need a card that has video in and audio in (or the sound card directly). Ive never seen a TV card or sound card with audio in using 2xRCAs though - need to convert that to 3.5" mini-jack I guess

Sorry for the simple questions - AV stuff really confuses me . Way too many options and its not that easy to understand why they exist ...

ps3ud0

 

[cokecan]

As long as the STB is connected up as normal to the coax cable that goes to outside your house you dont need to bother with the RF, with the TV card you can choose what source you want to view (RF, S-video, Composite) just like on an actual TV. all you'd need to do is select the S-video source, turn your STB on and just use it like you do normally

as for audio, you dont need a tv card with audio inputs on it as your PC allready has a Line In on it, as you said, you just need a L and R to 3.5mm converter to plug it into your PC's soundcard

With the TV Card software, you can select what audio source you want, so you'd set it to Line In

 

[ps3ud0]

Sorry by RF I just meant the RF out from the STB to the RF in on the TV card - I wasnt sure if that quality compares to the SCART conversion...

I presume the TV card has to be an analogue one right? Or do digital cards work?

ps3ud0

 

[cokecan]

ah i got you. I dont think you need to connect the RF from the STB to the TV card. RF is probably worse than composite in terms of video quality

As a small note, I'd probably say that in terms of Video quality/connection i'd make a list from best to worse as below:

HDMI
DVI
VGA
Component
RGB Scart
Scart (possibly swap this with s-video as it is essentially composite but with a different connector)
S-Video
Composite
RF

You can buy either analogue or digital, the analogue or digital part only refers to whether the card can pick up freeview or just standard TV channels (1 to 5 basically) on its tuner. If you only want to use the card for its video inputs and are not bothered about connecting it to an aerial then it is entirly up to you which to go for

I'd probably go for a digital one just incase I ever wanted to use the TV card for freeview

 

[ps3ud0]

Cheers mate,

Great advice...

I didnt know I could use a digital card but what you said makes sense - basically the TV card is just shunting the signal its getting down the non-RF connection and you have to select that source. The STB itself does all the tuning/decoding not the TV card itself - guess it doesnt care if its a STB or a camcorder...

I thought I had to use an analogue card because the cable signal is not DVB-T as per Freeview. Should I play it safe and get an Hybrid card or will the digital one with s-video/composite just work? (perhaps thats why I thought the GFX card could do it)..

I just wish the digiTV card I have now had inputs - its a Terratec 2400i which is meant to be really good but doesnt have any inputs. At least I know what to get now for definite, which is a relief...

BTW Whats RGB Scart? Can I get that from my STB?!?

ps3ud0

 

[cokecan]

You got it, the TV card doesnt care where the video is comming from, whether its from a STB or a camcorder etc, as long as you choose what source you want to view (RF, s-video, composite), it will show it

the digital card will work great, as long as it has an s-video/composite input then it will be fine. Imagine it as a card that has an s-video input and a composite input on it to start with, then if its going to be a digital card a DVB-T tuner is put on, if its going to be an analogue card then a standard tuner is put on instead, in both cases the s-video/composite inputs remain the same.

Without tryint to complicate things....if your graphics card is a VIVO card (Video In Video Out) then you could also use that if you wanted. If it is you should have got some kind of break-out cable or video cable you can use for video output and video input (the video input uses the same connector as the video output on the graphics card)

RGB scart is a type of connection that i think uses all the pins on the scart cable and has a seperate pin for red, green and blue unlike composite that combines all 3 colours into 1 pin essentially. TBH I dont really know exactly what it is, but I do know that it gives a better pic quality than composite. Even if your STB Supports RGB Scart you won't be able to use it with the TV Card because the card will only have either s-video or composite inputs

 

[ps3ud0]

OK Ive heard about VIVO and Im sure my GFX card does it (Asus G92 8800GTS 512Mb), but I guess Id still need software so I think the TV card route is easier (also dont want VIVO to dictate further GFX purchases).

So Im now looking for:

DTV card with S-Video connector (mini-DIN IIRC) - Im sure its better than composite...

SCART (M) to S-Video (M) cable
2x RCA (F) to 3.5mm jack (M) cable

Sound card with line in (3.5mm jack connector - standard fair)

Ill have a look and post what I find/get

Thanks

ps3ud0

 

[wolvers]

VMC + TV capture card(with video input) + media centre remote + scart to composite&audio adaptor = STB controlled and recorded by VMC and watched on your PC/HTPC.

 

[ps3ud0]

Whoa slow down there...

OK Ive got Vista Media Centre and the MS Remote (i think it was the XP MCE one as I dont think theyve made a VMC one) so thats easy, but I dont understand how the STB is controlled by that - surely Id need to use the normal VM remote?

Sounds like you have the same setup - mind telling me what card you use?

ps3ud0

 

[wolvers]

Whoa slow down there...

Sorry.

OK Ive got Vista Media Centre and the MS Remote (i think it was the XP MCE one as I dont think theyve made a VMC one) so thats easy, but I dont understand how the STB is controlled by that - surely Id need to use the normal VM remote?

The mce remote comes with IR senders that connect to the USB box. Place one of these in front of the IR receiver on the STB and tell VMC during set up which STB you have. It'll download the EPG for it and IR codes but you can teach it anyway during set up if it doesn't work.

Sounds like you have the same setup - mind telling me what card you use?

PVR150 I think. Very basic analogue tv capture card but has the composite (single yellow RCA) input needed, you can use s-video too might be slightly better picture, and is fully VMC compatible. I use an RCA to 3.5mm adapter on the end of the scart to RCA for the sound into the tv card.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

does VM output over RF then? Is it not just analogue TV for an analogue tuner.

 

[ps3ud0]

The mce remote comes with IR senders that connect to the USB box. Place one of these in front of the IR receiver on the STB and tell VMC during set up which STB you have. It'll download the EPG for it and IR codes but you can teach it anyway during set up if it doesn't work.

Wow thats awesome - thats what those things are for - how good does that work - dfoes it mean you dont need the VM remote at all

PVR150 I think. Very basic analogue tv capture card but has the composite (single yellow RCA) input needed, you can use s-video too might be slightly better picture, and is fully VMC compatible. I use an RCA to 3.5mm adapter on the end of the scart to RCA for the sound into the tv card.

Hope this helps.

As per above it looks like I can get a DTV card so it can do both the Freeview and VM STB (wonder if it can record one source and display the other - would be useful). Does yours do widescreen as I did have an old TV card at Uni and it was Hauppauge like yours but only did 4:3 .

does VM output over RF then? Is it not just analogue TV for an analogue tuner.

Yep it does - tried it on the downstairs TV and it was fine. Im gonna get a DTV card with those inputs, as it makes sense to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and save a bit of money as Ive got a roof aerial here connected to my existing DTV card - now I know that wont allow the STB to work as Ive tried it so it my tune over RF but just shunt info over the other inputs...

Feels like Im making ground ...

Thanks

ps3ud0

 

[wolvers]

Wow thats awesome - thats what those things are for - how good does that work - dfoes it mean you dont need the VM remote at all

Yep, exactly. Once set up right works well as long as the sender is pointed at the correct part on the front of the STB.

As per above it looks like I can get a DTV card so it can do both the Freeview and VM STB (wonder if it can record one source and display the other - would be useful). Does yours do widescreen as I did have an old TV card at Uni and it was Hauppauge like yours but only did 4:3 .

Nope, you can only set up VMC for one source. If you get a card with dual digital tuners then you can record one channel and watch another that way. If the hardware will support it you could install other software to record the feed from the STB maybe.

VMC will do widescreen for you. Select different aspects from the i button on the remote. It's called zoom I think.

 

[ps3ud0]

Hmm maybe my old ATV card will work then - only stopped using it because it displayed 4:3, perhaps thats a software restriction not the hardware. Its a WinTV FM PCI card with Nicam stereo ..

So if I wanted to watch VM STB and DTV freeview how would I do that using VMC? Obviously I wont watch both at the same time but will record one and watch the other. My soluton above just uses a TV card with a DTV tuner and s-video input. It sounds like you are saying that VMC wont accept both sources so does that mean I need one of those Hybrid cards?!?..

ps3ud0

 

[wolvers]

A hybrid card has more than one type of tuner, ie DVB-T, DVB-S and FM on one card.

Dual tuner cards will have 2 DVB-T(digital tv by aerial) or DVB-S(satellite) tuners on one card and it's this that you need to record one channel while watching another.

Some cards are hybrid dual tuner and give the best of both worlds. Most cards have an analogue video input like composite or s-video.

In VMC you can only configure one type of tuner but it can handle dual tuners. If you want to record from one tuner while watching a video input, or vice versa, you need a separate piece of software to handle the second source as long as the hardware supports it. This usually means having 2 cards. I can record from my STB via the PVR150 (in VMC) and watch a satellite channel via my DVB-S2 (HD satellite free to air) at the same time in a different app.