Mailing List Archive

On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 12:29?PM DaveD <mythtv@guiplot.com> wrote:

> I used to use Comcast's cable box's firewire to record but they stopped
> supporting that some time back. We opted to rent one of their DVR's,
> but it sucks (got spoiled using MythTV!). I had local channels working
> well with a dual antenna setup in the attic, but we had a new roof put
> on and signals all went to zero! (No, it's not a metal roof, just
> asphalt comp, but must have something in it the old roof didn't have).
> So, I'm thinking of dumping the Xfinity DVR and moving to a cable card.
> The Xfinity website says they "support" (meaning "allow") use of cable
> cards and have some example manufacturers, including HDHomeRun and
> Hauppauge.
>
> Is anyone currently using a cable card (or other compatible device) with
> Xfinity and Linux? If so, how is it working? Are there multiple
> tuners? Does Xfinity charge per tuner? Advice?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave D.
>
>
>
>

I have one with a Prime, and have had it for probably 7 years. Quality is
no different than watching through the box, and it allows for two
simultaneous tuners.

- Steve

On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 1:15?PM Steve Pearson <steve.j.pearson@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
> On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 12:29?PM DaveD <mythtv@guiplot.com> wrote:
>
>> I used to use Comcast's cable box's firewire to record but they stopped
>> supporting that some time back. We opted to rent one of their DVR's,
>> but it sucks (got spoiled using MythTV!). I had local channels working
>> well with a dual antenna setup in the attic, but we had a new roof put
>> on and signals all went to zero! (No, it's not a metal roof, just
>> asphalt comp, but must have something in it the old roof didn't have).
>> So, I'm thinking of dumping the Xfinity DVR and moving to a cable card.
>> The Xfinity website says they "support" (meaning "allow") use of cable
>> cards and have some example manufacturers, including HDHomeRun and
>> Hauppauge.
>>
>> Is anyone currently using a cable card (or other compatible device) with
>> Xfinity and Linux? If so, how is it working? Are there multiple
>> tuners? Does Xfinity charge per tuner? Advice?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Dave D.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> I have one with a Prime, and have had it for probably 7 years. Quality is
> no different than watching through the box, and it allows for two
> simultaneous tuners.
>
> - Steve
>

Didn't answer all your questions lol.. We just have to rent the card, I
don't recall the price. Works great and have had no issues with the prime
or cc. I have had issues with xfinity and a spliced run to my house, but
once that was fixed I've been issue free.

On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 12:28?PM DaveD <mythtv@guiplot.com> wrote:

> I used to use Comcast's cable box's firewire to record but they stopped
> supporting that some time back. We opted to rent one of their DVR's,
> but it sucks (got spoiled using MythTV!). I had local channels working
> well with a dual antenna setup in the attic, but we had a new roof put
> on and signals all went to zero! (No, it's not a metal roof, just
> asphalt comp, but must have something in it the old roof didn't have).
> So, I'm thinking of dumping the Xfinity DVR and moving to a cable card.
> The Xfinity website says they "support" (meaning "allow") use of cable
> cards and have some example manufacturers, including HDHomeRun and
> Hauppauge.
>
> Is anyone currently using a cable card (or other compatible device) with
> Xfinity and Linux? If so, how is it working? Are there multiple
> tuners? Does Xfinity charge per tuner? Advice?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave D.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users@mythtv.org
> http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
> MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org
>

To add to Steve's response, I'm on Xfinity and use a cable card in a Ceton
infiniTV6 eth. This gets me up to six simultaneous program recordings,
which I rarely do in actual use, but I've done it on purpose to prove it
works. It works fine (as long as my Myth machine is working). Xfinity
charges a fixed "rental" fee for the cable card -- currently $10/mo. My
only caution is that I have to pay attention to which channels I add for
recording/viewing in order to exclude those that turn on the copy-protect
flag. Some have everything copy-protected and some do it on some
unpredictable basis, so I just exclude any that don't work for live viewing
and then drop those "others" when recordings fail. It's almost a certainty
that they failed because of copy-protect, but I give it a retry or two
before I take action, just in case.

--
Craig.

On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 6:29?PM DaveD <mythtv@guiplot.com> wrote:
>
> I used to use Comcast's cable box's firewire to record but they stopped
> supporting that some time back. We opted to rent one of their DVR's,
> but it sucks (got spoiled using MythTV!).

Not sure which DVR you got, but the XG1v4 is considered
to be mostly responsive (although getting one used to be
difficult due to supply issues). Comcast is moving some
customers to their newer Xi boxes and cloud DVR for
both functionality and performance (and the newer boxes
also directly incorporate a number of the usual streaming
apps).

> I had local channels working
> well with a dual antenna setup in the attic, but we had a new roof put
> on and signals all went to zero! (No, it's not a metal roof, just
> asphalt comp, but must have something in it the old roof didn't have).

Put the antenna on the roof? If you have gotten
some pushback from a HOA you should be aware
that a HOA cannot block such an installation
by FCC rules, although some HOAs do try (before
their lawyer points out that they can't).

> So, I'm thinking of dumping the Xfinity DVR and moving to a cable card.
> The Xfinity website says they "support" (meaning "allow") use of cable
> cards and have some example manufacturers, including HDHomeRun and
> Hauppauge.

The Hauppauge is a SiliconDust device under the
covers, but limited to 2 tuners. There is still support
for the Ceton tuners in MythTV, but Ceton is a long
dead company (they got sued out of existence due
to a deal gone bad with Gibson (yes, the company
often known for their guitars)), and they have some
known (and what were acknowledged just before
they disappeared) firmware issues that one runs into
some of the time in some cases, and there will never
be a firmware fix (you can mitigate one of the known
issues by rebooting the card every so often).

The SiliconDust HDHR Prime tuner with 3 tuners
is the most likely choice. While the device is still
supported (and likely will be for some time), it has
ended feature development so no new capabilities.

> Is anyone currently using a cable card (or other compatible device) with
> Xfinity and Linux? If so, how is it working? Are there multiple
> tuners? Does Xfinity charge per tuner? Advice?

Comcast does still support CableCARDs, however
getting one is hard (most CSRs can't even spell
CableCARD ("we don't support them"), although
if you escalate (to a supervisor) you can typically
get them added to your account; AFAIK no store
carries them anymore, and you will need them
shipped (which I think they charge you for)).

As you would expect, there is no support for
recording premium (HBO etc.) channels
(although Comcast, unlike some other operators,
does mark most of the non-premium channels
as copy-freely so you can record a lot of channels).

Comcast is (slowly) moving to IPTV. Some channels
are IPTV only today, most new additional channels are
IPTV only, and occasionally they move an existing
channel to IPTV. Only Comcast STBs can access
those IPTV channels (there are some cases
where the SD channel is still linear QAM (i.e.
your CableCARD can tune it), but the HD version
is IPTV only.

The cost of a CableCARD will depend on what
version of TV contract you are in (or can move
to). In some previous contract versions your
first TV box was free (and you could replace it
with a CableCARD). Adding a CableCARD (or
a STB) was somewhere $10/mo or more. In
more recent contracts, the first box is no longer
free (but the TV price went down by the price
of the STB), but you can add any number of
CableCARDs for $0/mo (which, if you return
your STB, even means you can save money).
For some people moving to a new TV contract
is going to be the right choice, but unless you
read Comcast rate cards, it can be confusing
to know what will work best for you.

At this point I am not sure that moving to a
CableCARD is more than likely just a stopgap for
a few years until Comcast moves to IPTV only
as a likely part of the FDX HSI deployment
(the interim step of mid-split will continue to
support CableCARDs for another few years).
This is a period of change in the industry
in which you may wish to consider moving
to a streaming solution along with (or
instead of) your OTA antenna for locals.
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@mythtv.org
http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org

On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 7:50?PM Gary Buhrmaster <gary.buhrmaster@gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 6:29?PM DaveD <mythtv@guiplot.com> wrote:
> >
> > I used to use Comcast's cable box's firewire to record but they stopped
> > supporting that some time back. We opted to rent one of their DVR's,
> > but it sucks (got spoiled using MythTV!).
>
> Not sure which DVR you got, but the XG1v4 is considered
> to be mostly responsive (although getting one used to be
> difficult due to supply issues). Comcast is moving some
> customers to their newer Xi boxes and cloud DVR for
> both functionality and performance (and the newer boxes
> also directly incorporate a number of the usual streaming
> apps).
>
> > I had local channels working
> > well with a dual antenna setup in the attic, but we had a new roof put
> > on and signals all went to zero! (No, it's not a metal roof, just
> > asphalt comp, but must have something in it the old roof didn't have).
>
> Put the antenna on the roof? If you have gotten
> some pushback from a HOA you should be aware
> that a HOA cannot block such an installation
> by FCC rules, although some HOAs do try (before
> their lawyer points out that they can't).
>
> > So, I'm thinking of dumping the Xfinity DVR and moving to a cable card.
> > The Xfinity website says they "support" (meaning "allow") use of cable
> > cards and have some example manufacturers, including HDHomeRun and
> > Hauppauge.
>
> The Hauppauge is a SiliconDust device under the
> covers, but limited to 2 tuners. There is still support
> for the Ceton tuners in MythTV, but Ceton is a long
> dead company (they got sued out of existence due
> to a deal gone bad with Gibson (yes, the company
> often known for their guitars)), and they have some
> known (and what were acknowledged just before
> they disappeared) firmware issues that one runs into
> some of the time in some cases, and there will never
> be a firmware fix (you can mitigate one of the known
> issues by rebooting the card every so often).
>
> The SiliconDust HDHR Prime tuner with 3 tuners
> is the most likely choice. While the device is still
> supported (and likely will be for some time), it has
> ended feature development so no new capabilities.
>
> > Is anyone currently using a cable card (or other compatible device) with
> > Xfinity and Linux? If so, how is it working? Are there multiple
> > tuners? Does Xfinity charge per tuner? Advice?
>
> Comcast does still support CableCARDs, however
> getting one is hard (most CSRs can't even spell
> CableCARD ("we don't support them"), although
> if you escalate (to a supervisor) you can typically
> get them added to your account; AFAIK no store
> carries them anymore, and you will need them
> shipped (which I think they charge you for)).
>
> As you would expect, there is no support for
> recording premium (HBO etc.) channels
> (although Comcast, unlike some other operators,
> does mark most of the non-premium channels
> as copy-freely so you can record a lot of channels).
>
> Comcast is (slowly) moving to IPTV. Some channels
> are IPTV only today, most new additional channels are
> IPTV only, and occasionally they move an existing
> channel to IPTV. Only Comcast STBs can access
> those IPTV channels (there are some cases
> where the SD channel is still linear QAM (i.e.
> your CableCARD can tune it), but the HD version
> is IPTV only.
>
> The cost of a CableCARD will depend on what
> version of TV contract you are in (or can move
> to). In some previous contract versions your
> first TV box was free (and you could replace it
> with a CableCARD). Adding a CableCARD (or
> a STB) was somewhere $10/mo or more. In
> more recent contracts, the first box is no longer
> free (but the TV price went down by the price
> of the STB), but you can add any number of
> CableCARDs for $0/mo (which, if you return
> your STB, even means you can save money).
> For some people moving to a new TV contract
> is going to be the right choice, but unless you
> read Comcast rate cards, it can be confusing
> to know what will work best for you.
>
> At this point I am not sure that moving to a
> CableCARD is more than likely just a stopgap for
> a few years until Comcast moves to IPTV only
> as a likely part of the FDX HSI deployment
> (the interim step of mid-split will continue to
> support CableCARDs for another few years).
> This is a period of change in the industry
> in which you may wish to consider moving
> to a streaming solution along with (or
> instead of) your OTA antenna for locals.
>

Well, damn. I've had a CableCard with HDHR as my only source of content
for Mythtv for a decade or more, so this doesn't bode well. When it can no
longer tune anything, what are my options other than to abandon mythtv?


> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users@mythtv.org
> http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
> MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org
>

On Wed, Nov 15, 2023 at 9:08?PM Larry Kennedy <lunchtimelarry@gmail.com> wrote:

> Well, damn. I've had a CableCard with HDHR as my only source of content for Mythtv for a decade or more, so this doesn't bode well. When it can no longer tune anything, what are my options other than to abandon mythtv?

For those currently using a CableCARD, there is
probably no reason to immediately stop doing so.
Unless you are one of the (approximately) 60
people in a small town outside Denver, or one
of the about the same number of people in a
suburb of Atlanta with Comcast with the option
to subscribe to their D4.0 N+0 FDX trials, things
will likely continue for at least a few more years
as mid-split (which supports CableCARDs) is
the near term deployment. However, for the OP,
they are considering moving *to* a CableCARD
solution, and as such they may wish to take a
longer term view and examine their other options.

As for the future, classic Linear TV is dying
(except for things such as reality TV), as the
content providers are mostly producing new
content for their own streaming services
(where they believe their profits will eventually
be higher by cutting out the distributors).
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@mythtv.org
http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org

On 11/15/23 14:14, Gary Buhrmaster wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 15, 2023 at 9:08?PM Larry Kennedy <lunchtimelarry@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Well, damn. I've had a CableCard with HDHR as my only source of content for Mythtv for a decade or more, so this doesn't bode well. When it can no longer tune anything, what are my options other than to abandon mythtv?
> ...As for the future, classic Linear TV is dying
> (except for things such as reality TV), as the
> content providers are mostly producing new
> content for their own streaming services
> (where they believe their profits will eventually
> be higher by cutting out the distributors).

Sounds like abandoning TV in general...

Thanks to all who responded.  I was considering dumping Xfinity
altogether and it sounds like the best option (satisfying, if nothing
else!).

Dave D.


_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@mythtv.org
http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org

> Thanks to all who responded.? I was considering dumping Xfinity
> altogether and it sounds like the best option (satisfying, if nothing
> else!).


David:


I would try moving the antenna’s location within your attic. Digital TV
reception is quirky: too little signal and nothing, but also too much
will give nothing (is there a signal amplifier in the feed coax?). More
than likely too little signal so try moving the antenna a few feet from
where it is now to see if things change. If the antenna is hard to move
try a temporary one: the old circular or bow tie antennas are UHF (most
digital stations broadcast on a UHF frequency).


Another option is “something broke” while the roofers were pounding up
there. Possible a connection broke at the antenna. Also possible inside
the housing where not seen – here the test antenna could be worthwhile.


If your antenna feed is amplified be sure the amplifier has power. Also
be sure the correct coax is going to the input: most coax is black and
so they all look the same!


Good Luck!

Barry

Hi Dave!

>>> Thanks to all who responded.? I was considering dumping Xfinity
>>> altogether and it sounds like the best option (satisfying, if nothing
>>> else!).
>>
>> I would try moving the antenna’s location within your attic. Digital
>> TV reception is quirky: too little signal and nothing, but also too
>> much will give nothing (is there a signal amplifier in the feed
>> coax?). More than likely too little signal so try moving the antenna
>> a few feet from where it is now to see if things change. If the
>> antenna is hard to move try a temporary one: the old circular or bow
>> tie antennas are UHF (most digital stations broadcast on a UHF
>> frequency).
>>
>> Another option is “something broke” while the roofers were pounding
>> up there. Possible a connection broke at the antenna. Also possible
>> inside the housing where not seen – here the test antenna could be
>> worthwhile.
>>
>> If your antenna feed is amplified be sure the amplifier has power.
>> Also be sure the correct coax is going to the input: most coax is
>> black and so they all look the same!
>>
> Yea, been there done all that.
>
Figured you had but all-too-easy to overlook the basics (BTDT!) -- AT&T
had a training video entitled "It Works Better If You Plug It In"!


> Back in 2020 I wrote a program to run on my laptop that measures
> signal strength using a USB dongle tuner
> (http://www.guiplot.com/strength/). I can tune two channels (dual
> tuner) and watch them as I move the antennas around (I have two: UHF
> and VHF with a combiner/preamp).  First thing I did was remove the
> preamp and look at them separately.  They BOTH went to absolute zero
> on all channels in the attic (not just no lock, but ZERO signal!).  So
> I fed the same cable from the Myth box out through the eve vent and
> put one of the antennas on a pole and voila!  Worked just like it had
> from in the attic before the new roof.  I have no idea what's in that
> new roofing, but it shields RF really well!
>
Yes, I use a probably similar tool called femon (dvbtools IIRC). Can't
do much about the roof material and sound like the gables are 90° to the
transmitters.  Thinking possibly a vent stack mount but that might not
be located correctly either.  Just throwing out an idea.
>
> The placement of the two antennas was critical (which is why I wrote
> the app) due to our neighbors' trees.  Trying to duplicate the setup
> on the roof sounds like more trouble than I am willing to take, not to
> mention bolting stuff to the new roof or freshly painted house.  I
> think my days of antennas are done and I will be adding to Comcast's
> $billions (unless our neighbors decide to take down some trees).  :)
>
Hang from the soffit?  ...I'm think I'm out of quirky ideas now!

Personally I find Comcast/Xfinity's method of show location  (the 'Find'
option) underwhelming: almost have to know when the show is on to find
it.  MythTV/ScheduleDirect is soooo much easier. 'Course one does have
to have a signal to watch!

Good Luck!

Barry