Computer/tv nerds - attention

[lb99]

can I use my pc to decode freeview? I have a ledtec winfast card with a bt878 chip than can do sky ok, and it has a satilite input, can I combine this with a dish and some magic software to do the trick?

[turtleman]

Freeview is not encoded, therefore does not require decoding.
What is the card - is it dvb-s or dvb-t compatible ?

Freeview is dvb-s (satellite) currently. DVB-t (Terrestrial) will be available sometime in 2008.

[Fub@r]

I have Freeview...........you are not missing out on much :)

Only got it because the TV aerial on the house I purchased had crapped out so used the existing Sky dish to get Freeview.

TVNZ6 consists of kids programming most of the day, then in the evening its 25 year old episodes of Country Calendar etc :)

Stratos and Cue cater to other ethic parts of society. Parliament TV just shows you how laws get past with only 5 people in attendance and you realise that Guy Fawkes had the right idea :)

[neilwgtn]

You can even view sky using a PC TV tuner card.
much better than paying $50-80 a month for more rubbish.
you would need to do a search for sky unscrambling

[Fub@r]

You can even view sky using a PC TV tuner card.
much better than paying $50-80 a month for more rubbish.
you would need to do a search for sky unscrambling

Thats only for UHF Sky isn't it?

[turtleman]

A bt878 chipset on a tv tuner card is required to descramble sky uhf signal (not digital), using hvc software. There are some hybrid cards that can do both analogue (UHF/VHF) and digital (satellite/terrestrial digital).
Freeview requires a dvb-s compatible card and some tuning software. Also needs a satellite dish (unused sky dish will do, and is already pointing at the appropriate satellite. The Original Poster needs to advise what model his card is for anyone to be able to help him out.
I currently have freeview via a satellite compatible card running on a PC at home, so know that it works !

[Daphilps]

as below, although i understand uhf will be off the air shortly. 1-2 years

[lb99]

A bt878 chipset on a tv tuner card is required to descramble sky uhf signal (not digital), using hvc software. There are some hybrid cards that can do both analogue (UHF/VHF) and digital (satellite/terrestrial digital).
Freeview requires a dvb-s compatible card and some tuning software. Also needs a satellite dish (unused sky dish will do, and is already pointing at the appropriate satellite. The Original Poster needs to advise what model his card is for anyone to be able to help him out.
I currently have freeview via a satellite compatible card running on a PC at home, so know that it works !

i might already doing the sky uhf thing :innocent: its only uhf and the decoding is pretty basic, it gets confzzed sometimes but its a neat gimmick

My tuner card is a leadtec winfast tv2000 xp and has coax inputs as well as a svideo/something else input

[Kittyhawk]

Look to get freeview, just go to www.filecabi.com (http://www.filecabi.com) There you can download it.

[turtleman]

i might already doing the sky uhf thing :innocent: its only uhf and the decoding is pretty basic, it gets confzzed sometimes but its a neat gimmick

My tuner card is a leadtec winfast tv2000 xp and has coax inputs as well as a svideo/something else input

Yeah, your card doesn't have a digital tuner, so can't get freeview. The coax is for another (analogue) source.
The Sky UHF decoding works, but you need a strong signal for it to be watchable otherwise your picture quality is crap. You're also limited to the UHF channels, so not as much selection as Sky digital.
I only know this as I tried it out once, for purely educational purposes :whistle:

:innocent:

[Kittyhawk]

Yeah, your card doesn't have a digital tuner, so can't get freeview. The coax is for another (analogue) source.
The Sky UHF decoding works, but you need a strong signal for it to be watchable otherwise your picture quality is crap. You're also limited to the UHF channels, so not as much selection as Sky digital.
I only know this as I tried it out once, for purely educational purposes :whistle:

:innocent:

LOL are the turtles keeping you up? Mine wont sleep :devil2:

[lb99]

ok, cool so I'll have to get a suitable tv tuner card, something to look at.
I already have a pc as part of the home entertainment system, it would be useful if I could have one less set top box/remote to deal with