HDMI from cable box in to PC via Windows Media Player?

oxf77 · 12 Sep 2014 at 19:36

Hi guys,

I have a USB dongle which allows me to "plug" my TV aerial in to my PC and I can watch all the Freeview channels on my PC through Windows Media Player.

I also have a virgin media box which outputs to my old TV via SCART. It also has an unused HDMI output. I would like to send this to my PC, so that Windows Media Player can effectively show the virgin media channels.

I can't do a HDMI to HDMI to my PC monitor directly, because then I will just have television projected on my PC monitor, whereas I want my PC to function normally and the channels to be input via Windows Media Player.

In short I think the HDMI signal from the cable box needs to be converted to coaxial, which my USB TV tuner dongle can then send to Windows Media Player.

Is this possible?? I dont want to lose signal as the whole point is to get the HD channels....

CinderzFTW · 13 Sep 2014 at 16:10

no pal... I have a tivo box... the HDMI port on the box is OUTPUT only, not input

NexusK · 13 Sep 2014 at 16:17

No matter how you display the picture you are still going to have to point the remote at the box to change channels etc, you cannot control it via the PC. Your best bet would be HDMI straight into the monitor and an IR extended for the cable box if it's not somewhere you can point the remote at it.

oxf77 · 13 Sep 2014 at 18:06

CinderzFTW said:
no pal... I have a tivo box... the HDMI port on the box is OUTPUT only, not input

Do you know if its possible to record things on the box and then transfer them to a hard drive?

CinderzFTW · 13 Sep 2014 at 18:48

yes, you can use an external HDD and record to directly to the exHDD but you won't be able play them using your PC... VM use their own/tivo software to decode and play recordings on the tivi box itself.

I know this because I do the same thing... my 500GB HDD in my tivo box is always getting full, so i use the exHDD to basically give me a bigger capacity to record with