UPC/NTL Ireland CAM

gary98

Hi,

Im currently using windows media center with NTL analog. I wish to upgrade my NTL to digital but dont want to use a STB. I would rather use a digital TV PCI card and a CAM module.

Ive seen that it is possible to do this using FloppyDTV with a Dragon CAM module for sky tv. Ive read posts on this site saying its possible for ntl too but these are all old and ntl has upgraded to nagra 3 since. Im wondering if anybody can tell me if this will still work for ntl? Or do I need a different CAM?

Also how difficult is it to setup?

Thanks for you help.
Gary

dmck

don't waste your money, NTL are on Nagra 2 (compromised) and will soon move to Nagra 3 (uncompromised), but when is anyones guess. Get yourself a cheap dvb-s card and a freesat system, which above anything else is legal to do.

gary98

I wasnt looking to hack ntl. I just dont want to use their STB.

Orthanix

gary98 unfortunately not using NTL's equipment to access their digital tv is against their terms of service and is considered illegal as far as I understand.

I have the same issue as you and wish that NTL would just provide a legitimate CAM for HTPC users so that we don't have to use their crumby STB's. I would certainly pay a little extra for it if they did.

cabrales

Hi,
I'm in a similar situation to Gary98. I have a subscription to NTL digital but I can't stand their STB. It's slow and lacks a lot of the features I was used with my HTPC. I'm not interested in getting access to any channels I'm not paying for. The only thing I'm interested in is to be able to plug my HTPC and use it instead of NTL's STB. Looking into FloppyDTV too but need more info on which CAM (if any) would work with NTL (have they release one themselves?). Any information appreciated.
Cheers!

subway

its still the same, the only way to get NTL/UPC is via an analog capture card.
this is the main reason i have moved to a subscription free DTT + freesat solution.
you can use as many tuners as you like this way and never pay a penny more than the installation cost

RunDMC

subway wrote: »

its still the same, the only way to get NTL/UPC is via an analog capture card.
this is the main reason i have moved to a subscription free DTT + freesat solution.
you can use as many tuners as you like this way and never pay a penny more than the installation cost

I'd love to know more about your solution as I'm looking to go the same way, DTT and Freesat. What hardware software combinations are you using? How is it working for you?

DMC

subway

windows 7
hauppauge nova t 500
pinnacle pctv 4000

works grea

pjuegos

Hi all, I am on the same boat. I did not find this thread before and I started a similar post in this forum...


Anyway, another alternative to floppyDTV, which is no longer in business, is Terratec Cinergy C PCI HD
Terratec's website states as follows:
"Pay TV extension for Cinergy C PCI HD (cable), installation into an available PCI slot, Common Interface for CAM plus smart card, pay TV contract necessary (not included)"
http://www.terratec.net/en/products/Cinergy_C_PCI_HD_CI_1612.html

So, they suggest they can do pay cable TV on PC.


However, I read in other posts that there is no combination of TV card + CAM that will work on a PC. In this case, is terratec lying? I do not understand.
Does it depend on cable tv provider?


Another thing is not clear to me is the switch between nagra versions and how that affects the decoder+CAM setup.
when ntl switched from nagra 1 to 2, I just had another CAM delivered at home without the need of another STB box. So, will not be the same when they switch to nagra3? Will the CAM card be the only component to replace?


Thanks

pjuegos

I think I understand now... Cinergy is an american cable TV provider and Terratec cards only work with their CAMs.:mad:

subway

upc lock the card to the box.
they will not give you the box key or link your card with a non upc device (as per their t&c)
thats why it wont work with upc in ireland.

hopfully they will change their attitude in future

pjuegos

thanks subway,

I will not waste more energy on it...

You mentioned in another post u r using a subscription free DTT + freesat solution.

I read Irish channels (RTE, TG4, TV3...) do not emit in free sat.
Any idea if they will change their view on that?

Also, what is the latency when changing channels using the pinnacle card/sat ? is it worse than NTL? Does it work in 7 MCE?

cheers

subway

the irish channels arent on freesat, and i dont think they will be in future.
you need to get an aerial if you want them for free

channel change is almost instant (<0.3 seconds) with the pinnacle card.
generally its slower when changing from tuner to tuner (dvbs1 to dvbs2 or dvbs to dvbt, etc)

its all through windows 7 media centre

pjuegos

that sounds fantastic!

u said "changing from dvbs to dvbs2", does that mean the tv card has 2 tuners (dvbs1 and dvbs2)?
Does satellite emit in dvbs2 already?
Does 7 MC have native support for both DVB S1 and s2?

cheers

subway

hi,
what i mean is the tuner has 2 dvb-s tuners (tuner1 and tuner2)

an example of when it might not have instant response is if you are watching a channel which is currently recording and then change channel.
it needs to switch to the second dvb-s tuner so there will be a slight delay (< 1 sec)

freesat is not broadcasting in dvb-s2 yet, but i think it is expeceted to switch in future for the HD channels.
7mc has native support for both standards, but still doesnt properply support the red button function

pjuegos

cool. I understand now.

Now the question is what sat TV card to to get, which should be:

• dvd s2/HD ready
• MCE compatible
• low latency in changing channels

I went to the pinnacle website and they do not seem to sell TV cards anymore. Am I right? That could be a problem for future support?

Any other recommended TV cards?
komplett sells a Terratec Tv card for only 81e http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=342676. However,whether this card is compatible with MCE is not clear to me.

another possibility is winTV NOVA HD S2. However,hauppage cards have the reputation of being quite slow in changing channels.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for all your great help

pjuegos

Does anybody have any experience using the following 2 TV cards/manufacturers?

Blackgold (will release soon a new card - dual digital satellite DVB-S2, dual digital terrestrial DVB-T, analogue)http://shop.blackgold.tv/epages/BT3159.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3159/Products/BGT3595


TBS

http://www.tbsdtv.com/english/product/6980.html


Do you know why PCI-E cards are more expensive than standard PCI cards?

cheers

subway

ill be buying the blackgold when it launches.
glad to see they have updated their site