Everyone may know this, but I thought I'd toss it out just in case...
Disregarding fancy cable HD channels like ESPN, Discovery, Food, etc.,
everyone with even the most *basic* ~$13/mo analog cable package
should realize that your provider (Cox/TW) is also sending you a bonus
high quality digital HD feed of all the standard network channels:
PBS
CW
Fox
NBC
CBS
ABC
Yes, these are the same channels you could pick up over the air, but
doing so requires optimal real estate location and antenna setup.
Instead, you can pick up a QAM tuner like this:
http://www.silicondust.com/wiki/products/hdhomerun
Plug your analog cable coax into the back of it, and you have a free
and clear 720p or 1080i (depending on source) MPEG2 data stream for
all of the above channels that can be viewed over Ethernet in real
time with something as simple as VLC. It can also be tied into your
favorite PVR such as MythTV, and two channels can be recorded
simultaneously.
It works beautifully for me, and since a good portion of the TV I
watch is from the broadcast channels, I'd say that device handles 80%
of my MythTV recording. I've dropped my cable plan to the very lowest
$12.95/mo and look to full-season DVD releases from Netflix for things
like Discovery or HBO series.
--
Joshua Penix http://www.binarytribe.com
Binary Tribe Linux Integration Services & Network Consulting
--
[email protected]
http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
