AIW with DirecTV Receiver?

[Greg Lansing]

Is anyone using an AIW card and able to capture with DirecTV? I have an RCA
DTV box.

I'm considering getting a 9000 pro AIW to capture video, a cheap TIVO if you
will for this room (I have a tivo in my main room in the house), and then
burn it to a DVD burner I have on order.

Since this is my first move into this arena I thought it smart to come here
an ask some people if this can work with DTV, what pitfalls to look for or
alternatives.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Greg Lansing]

No one using DirectTV?

 

[J.Clarke]

No one using DirectTV?

Get a series 1 DirecTivo and hack it for direct video extraction and
you'll be a _lot_ happier with the result.

But yes, the AIWs work fine with DirecTV--the problem is getting the box
to change channels, and there are ways to do this--you might ask in the
home automation newsgroup (I forget what it's called, but it has home
and automation in the title) for more information on how to go about it.

 

[Greg Lansing]

Get a series 1 DirecTivo and hack it for direct video extraction and
you'll be a _lot_ happier with the result.

But yes, the AIWs work fine with DirecTV--the problem is getting the box
to change channels, and there are ways to do this--you might ask in the
home automation newsgroup (I forget what it's called, but it has home
and automation in the title) for more information on how to go about it.

--

Hi John, thanks for the reply. I'm not looking for too much functionality
here. Just good quality recording, and if I leave it on a channel on DTV I
want the timer to fire up and record it. I'll take a look in that newsgroup
and see if I can find it and see if anyone has an info.

By the way, the PC I am going to use to record off the DTV is going to be on
the other side of the room. Does anyone know if there is a max limit I
should be aware of for the S-CABLE and the wires that go into the AUDIO R&L
jacks?

Thanks..

 

[Bastard Operator from Hell]

Hi Greg!

I am running a 25' cable with no problems. Picked it up at Best Buys. If you
only need 12 feet, Radio Shack has a great cable for about 20 dollars: it is
a combination SVideo and twin RCA cable bundled.

I would be interested in hearing about your solution for automating the
recording of shows from your DTV unit via your ATI card. I really want to
ditch Comcast Cable but the only thing that causes me not to is bridging the
gap betweet the DTV box and the ATI card. If only they would make an ATI AIW
card that would accept digital signals.

Many thanks,
Logan

 

[Jon Hume]

I have an RCA tuner box (Directv) .... I currently just use the
S-Video cable connected to my AIW 7500... and it works fine.,.. but I
cannot tuen channels directly from the PC (software)...
I was thinking about trying the SnapStream Software and the "DirecTV
Cable Pack " from the Snapstream site... here is the URL:

http://store.snapstream.com/dicaparre.html

It is supposed to connect to the low-speed data port on the RCA box...
enabling you to control the external RCA tuner box from the snapstream
software.....

2 questions:

.. anyone here using a similar setup successfully?
.. does radioshack sell the low-speed/serial cable required?

 

[David LeBrun]

I am doing exactly that. I have the local cable hooked up to the coax
connector and the receiver using the Svideo/AV inputs on my AIW 7500.
Video quality is outstanding and recording is easy. The issue I'm
currently seeking answers to is the audio input...it seems that I can
only get the left channel to work. I've tried different cables,
different components (DVD, VCR, FM Tuner) but no luck. I suspect its
a driver/software issue. But there is no problem using the dish with
this card.

Dave.

 

[Lenroc]

I am doing exactly that. I have the local cable hooked up to the coax
connector and the receiver using the Svideo/AV inputs on my AIW 7500.
Video quality is outstanding and recording is easy. The issue I'm
currently seeking answers to is the audio input...it seems that I can
only get the left channel to work. I've tried different cables,
different components (DVD, VCR, FM Tuner) but no luck. I suspect its
a driver/software issue. But there is no problem using the dish with
this card.

AFAIK, Coax cables carry mono sound. Left channel only.

 

[David LeBrun]

AFAIK, Coax cables carry mono sound. Left channel only.

I can confirm that the AV input is only getting the left channel. As
for the coax signal I think it is mono but I'm not sure and if it is I
can't tell if its the left or right that I'm getting. This is why I
changed to the AV input instead of using the coax to connect the
receiver.

Dave.

 

[David LeBrun]

Do you have any coax along the line though?

I have a coax connected directly to the cable in on the card. This is
for the local cable stations. I have a coax line running down from
the dish into the receiver then I use SVideo/AV out from the receiver
into the purple box into the input on the card. Then I use the
provided splitter cord to connect the audio to the line-in on the
soundcard (no other outputs used at the moment).

When watching local cable the tv software detects the channels as
stereo when they're supposed to be (or advertised as being stereo) but
the sound I get from the speakers is NOT stereo (I just can't tell if
it's the left or right audio channel thats coming out of both
speakers).

When watching satellite through the purple box when I disconnect the
right input I get no sound difference but when I disconnect the left
input I get no sound at all. But if I plug the right output to the
left input the sound comes back.

There are a few things I'm going to try:
1) using an internal audio connector from the video card to the sound
card and see if that helps.
2) connecting the audio outs from the receiver directly to the
line-in on the sound card (to rule out the soundcard as the problem).
The problem I see with this approach is that I won't get any audio in
any video I record.
3) update the drivers for both sound and video cards to the absolute
latest available

I'll keep everyone informed
Dave.

 

[Nick M V Salmon]

I have a coax connected directly to the cable in on the card. This is
for the local cable stations. I have a coax line running down from
the dish into the receiver then I use SVideo/AV out from the receiver
into the purple box into the input on the card. Then I use the
provided splitter cord to connect the audio to the line-in on the
soundcard (no other outputs used at the moment).

When watching local cable the tv software detects the channels as
stereo when they're supposed to be (or advertised as being stereo) but
the sound I get from the speakers is NOT stereo (I just can't tell if
it's the left or right audio channel thats coming out of both
speakers).

When watching satellite through the purple box when I disconnect the
right input I get no sound difference but when I disconnect the left
input I get no sound at all. But if I plug the right output to the
left input the sound comes back.

There are a few things I'm going to try:
1) using an internal audio connector from the video card to the sound
card and see if that helps.
2) connecting the audio outs from the receiver directly to the
line-in on the sound card (to rule out the soundcard as the problem).
The problem I see with this approach is that I won't get any audio in
any video I record.
3) update the drivers for both sound and video cards to the absolute
latest available

I'll keep everyone informed
Dave.

Have you tried hitting "Toggle TV on Demand" button on the TV contol
panel..? When that looks like a TV screen I only have mono, when it looks
like an 'upsidedown Q' I have stereo - I have no idea why...

[UK]_Nick...

 

[David LeBrun]

channel.
As it
is I why
I

I have a coax connected directly to the cable in on the card. This is
for the local cable stations. I have a coax line running down from
the dish into the receiver then I use SVideo/AV out from the receiver
into the purple box into the input on the card. Then I use the
provided splitter cord to connect the audio to the line-in on the
soundcard (no other outputs used at the moment).

When watching local cable the tv software detects the channels as
stereo when they're supposed to be (or advertised as being stereo) but
the sound I get from the speakers is NOT stereo (I just can't tell if
it's the left or right audio channel thats coming out of both
speakers).

When watching satellite through the purple box when I disconnect the
right input I get no sound difference but when I disconnect the left
input I get no sound at all. But if I plug the right output to the
left input the sound comes back.

There are a few things I'm going to try:
1) using an internal audio connector from the video card to the sound
card and see if that helps.
2) connecting the audio outs from the receiver directly to the
line-in on the sound card (to rule out the soundcard as the problem).
The problem I see with this approach is that I won't get any audio in
any video I record.
3) update the drivers for both sound and video cards to the absolute
latest available

I'll keep everyone informed
Dave.

Have you tried hitting "Toggle TV on Demand" button on the TV contol
panel..? When that looks like a TV screen I only have mono, when it looks
like an 'upsidedown Q' I have stereo - I have no idea why...

[UK]_Nick...

With live tv the left channel only goes to my front speakers. In tvod
mode it goes to all 4 speakers.

I did solve the problem finally by using an internal audio connector
from the vid card to the onboard AUX input and got STEREO sound.
Watching live tv I only get sound out of the front speakers which is a
quirk with ati's tv app and many soundcards. But if I quickly switch
to tv-on-demand and then pause it the audio comes out all 4 speakers
in stereo which is exactly what I want.

I think the problem is with my onboard sound. I have an Epox 8RGA+
which can be in 2/4/6 speaker modes. The pink port normally used as
mic-in may be causing some piece of software to make an assumption
that since a mic is mono that it should begin treating any audio from
that port as a mono signal. When I get an RCA/mini adapter I'll test
the pink port for stereo capability. It could also be that the pink
port actually is a mono port. That wouldn't make sense to me since
the onboard audio can support 6 speakers (5.1). What hardware are you
running?

Dave.

 

[Nick M V Salmon]

Have you tried hitting "Toggle TV on Demand" button on the TV contol
panel..? When that looks like a TV screen I only have mono, when it looks
like an 'upsidedown Q' I have stereo - I have no idea why...

[UK]_Nick...

With live tv the left channel only goes to my front speakers. In tvod
mode it goes to all 4 speakers.

I did solve the problem finally by using an internal audio connector
from the vid card to the onboard AUX input and got STEREO sound.
Watching live tv I only get sound out of the front speakers which is a
quirk with ati's tv app and many soundcards. But if I quickly switch
to tv-on-demand and then pause it the audio comes out all 4 speakers
in stereo which is exactly what I want.

I think the problem is with my onboard sound. I have an Epox 8RGA+
which can be in 2/4/6 speaker modes. The pink port normally used as
mic-in may be causing some piece of software to make an assumption
that since a mic is mono that it should begin treating any audio from
that port as a mono signal. When I get an RCA/mini adapter I'll test
the pink port for stereo capability. It could also be that the pink
port actually is a mono port. That wouldn't make sense to me since
the onboard audio can support 6 speakers (5.1). What hardware are you
running?

Abit NF7-S onboard sound ie. NVidia 'Soundstorm' - the NF7 has the extra
backplane connectors for rear & centre/subwoofer &, although they're back to
front colours wise, they work okay.

Because of that back-to-front thing, I originally used the pink Mic & blue
Line In ports for the other four channels and they worked okay - that was
with an ordinary VidCard though, once I switched the machine to the AIW I
sorted out what was wrong with the orange and black ports.

Ciao...

[UK]_Nick...

 

[Graeme Ellis]

If the board is using a Cmedia chip, this is how they afunction.
They have three jacks, Out, IN, Mic. That depending on the speaker mode, 2ch
they are
as labelled. In 4 ch they change to remove the mic, the IN becomes the other
2 chs. In 6Ch mode they are all speakers..

Did you RTFM?

Have you tried hitting "Toggle TV on Demand" button on the TV contol
panel..? When that looks like a TV screen I only have mono, when it looks
like an 'upsidedown Q' I have stereo - I have no idea why...

[UK]_Nick...

With live tv the left channel only goes to my front speakers. In tvod
mode it goes to all 4 speakers.

I did solve the problem finally by using an internal audio connector
from the vid card to the onboard AUX input and got STEREO sound.
Watching live tv I only get sound out of the front speakers which is a
quirk with ati's tv app and many soundcards. But if I quickly switch
to tv-on-demand and then pause it the audio comes out all 4 speakers
in stereo which is exactly what I want.

I think the problem is with my onboard sound. I have an Epox 8RGA+
which can be in 2/4/6 speaker modes. The pink port normally used as
mic-in may be causing some piece of software to make an assumption
that since a mic is mono that it should begin treating any audio from
that port as a mono signal. When I get an RCA/mini adapter I'll test
the pink port for stereo capability. It could also be that the pink
port actually is a mono port. That wouldn't make sense to me since
the onboard audio can support 6 speakers (5.1). What hardware are you
running?

Abit NF7-S onboard sound ie. NVidia 'Soundstorm' - the NF7 has the extra
backplane connectors for rear & centre/subwoofer &, although they're back to
front colours wise, they work okay.

Because of that back-to-front thing, I originally used the pink Mic & blue
Line In ports for the other four channels and they worked okay - that was
with an ordinary VidCard though, once I switched the machine to the AIW I
sorted out what was wrong with the orange and black ports.

Ciao...

[UK]_Nick...

 

[David LeBrun]

My board also has the nVidia "SoundStorm" audio onboard (Epox 8RGA+)
which supports 2/4/6 channel audio. What I was saying is that the
nvidia software "names" the port "microphone" in a 4 speaker setup
even though it would be the only port usable for audio input in this
configuration. The software does not shift the "line-in" port when
going from 2 to 4 speaker setups but seems to drop it...at least it
does not show such a shift in the little picture of the ports it has
when setting up the speakers.

Dave.

If the board is using a Cmedia chip, this is how they afunction.
They have three jacks, Out, IN, Mic. That depending on the speaker mode, 2ch
they are
as labelled. In 4 ch they change to remove the mic, the IN becomes the other
2 chs. In 6Ch mode they are all speakers..

Did you RTFM?

Have you tried hitting "Toggle TV on Demand" button on the TV contol
panel..? When that looks like a TV screen I only have mono, when it
looks
like an 'upsidedown Q' I have stereo - I have no idea why...

[UK]_Nick...


With live tv the left channel only goes to my front speakers. In tvod
mode it goes to all 4 speakers.

I did solve the problem finally by using an internal audio connector
from the vid card to the onboard AUX input and got STEREO sound.
Watching live tv I only get sound out of the front speakers which is a
quirk with ati's tv app and many soundcards. But if I quickly switch
to tv-on-demand and then pause it the audio comes out all 4 speakers
in stereo which is exactly what I want.

I think the problem is with my onboard sound. I have an Epox 8RGA+
which can be in 2/4/6 speaker modes. The pink port normally used as
mic-in may be causing some piece of software to make an assumption
that since a mic is mono that it should begin treating any audio from
that port as a mono signal. When I get an RCA/mini adapter I'll test
the pink port for stereo capability. It could also be that the pink
port actually is a mono port. That wouldn't make sense to me since
the onboard audio can support 6 speakers (5.1). What hardware are you
running?

Abit NF7-S onboard sound ie. NVidia 'Soundstorm' - the NF7 has the extra
backplane connectors for rear & centre/subwoofer &, although

they're back
to

front colours wise, they work okay.

Because of that back-to-front thing, I originally used the pink Mic & blue
Line In ports for the other four channels and they worked okay - that was
with an ordinary VidCard though, once I switched the machine to the AIW I
sorted out what was wrong with the orange and black ports.

Ciao...

[UK]_Nick...