Question on how to run HD Digital Cable box through PC.

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CLock3

Gawd
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Oct 9, 2007
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Hello. Here's what I'm wondering. I have Digital Cable through Time Warner, and in my room I have my computer, and an old 21" tube TV. I would like to be able to ditch the TV and just run the cable through my computer so that I can just use my monitor as my TV instead. How would I go about doing this? The other thing is I want HD capability. Time Warner offers free HD, so I would just have to go there and swap out the boxes. In the apartment I previously lived in with a friend of mine, we had the HD service, and I tried to hook the box up to my monitor using an HDMI -> DVI cable, but it wouldn't work. No matter what I tried, not to mention I wouldn't be able to get sound using that method. So basically what I'm looking for I guess, is some sort of TV tuner card or something that I can run component cables from the HD cable box to, and give me nice HDTV on my computer. Also, just to note, the monitor is a 22" wide Samsung SyncMaster 225bw, so I know I won't get full 1080p, but 1080i should work fine. Thanks a ton in advance for any help. Also, one last thing, I would like it if the product isn't much more than around $60, if that's possible. Thanks again.
 
I'm not too sure you're going to get HD over composite. I think you need at least component for that. As for the cable box -> PC thing, you'll have to talk to your cable provider about how to hook it all up. I know with mine, 1/2 of the outputs and all of the inputs are disabled for some reason or another.
 
One other thing. After looking through newegg at the TV tuners, I can't find any that seem to have component connectivity. Most of the cards, even the HD ones, have coax input. The digital cable boxes have a coax input, as well as a coax output. If I run the cable to the cable box, and then from the box to the tuner card, will that work? Will that give me HD picture and all of the channels I get on my cable box? Thanks again everyone.
 
If you want HD on digital cable encrypted channels, the only option is the Hauppauge HD PVR that has component inputs.

The HDTV tuner cards only tune unencrypted QAM which may be your local networks if you are lucky. The cable box doesn't decrypt the channels then re-output them on coax.
 
ambientZ said:
If you want HD on digital cable encrypted channels, the only option is the Hauppauge HD PVR that has component inputs.

The HDTV tuner cards only tune unencrypted QAM which may be your local networks if you are lucky. The cable box doesn't decrypt the channels then re-output them on coax.
Click to expand...

Blackmagic intensity has component inputs.
 
Ah, alright. So there's no way of doing what I want to do without spending $200+. Alright, well thanks anyways everyone. I appreciate the help.
 
If you have a video signal available in component, you don't need a tuner card, you just need a capture card. Older Radeon AIWs, for instance, had a cable assembly to which you could connect and capture component. You're doing the "tuning" on the HD box, not your computer, in this case.
 
Belgain Roffles said:
Blackmagic intensity has component inputs.
Click to expand...

And it's a piece of crap due to little to none HTPC support. :rolleyes:

Anyways, Hauppauge is the only one with a component in tuner card; their HD PVR.

The bit about your moniter, I would hope you understand that all PC moniters operate as progressive scan moniters and never as an interlaced display. If the moniter only supports 1280x720 then thats progressive and not interlaced, etc.

Anyways, unless you want to start recording TV and all then I would just suggest going with this: http://www.x2vga.com/
 
Thanks for the info. That product looks interesting. May be what I'm looking for. Also, as for the monitor thing, I guess I always thought that the monitor's native resolution was the max it could do and anything less would be interlaced to that resolution. For example, if you were watching something from a 1080 source the monitor would have to (in my case) bring it down to 1050. Feel free to fill me in though, as I'm most likely wrong about it all by the tone of your post. You gotta learn somehow, right?
 
PC moniters work exclusively in progressive mode, they don't do interlace at all. The PC (CPU or video card depending) is what takes an interlaced video signal (like regular SD TV) and deinterlaces it making it into a progressive video signal before it's displayed on your moniter; if your moniter is like a 1620x1050 resoution (which is going to be progressive) and your video source is something like 1920 res then the PC (CPU or video card) redraws the video source and scales it to your set resolution. Anything higher then 1620 is going to be redrawn to that resolution. This has nothing to do with being either interlaced or progressive.
 
Alright, that's what i thought for the most part. I guess I'm just not good at describing, haha. Thanks for the explanation though.
 
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