Getting TV onto a Linux box

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Thu, Dec 23, 2004 at 09:49:52AM -0500, Paul DiRezze wrote:
> Apart from Paul Mora's post on the Hauppauge WinTV GO PCI TV tuner card, 
> are there any peripherals out there that let me replace my digital cable 
> box or satellite receiver with a Linux box?  It's my understanding that 
> current Linux PVRs the WinTV only do basic cable.

The day those systems start using open standards for their transmission
it might happen.  In europe where almost all digital satelite is DVB-S
or similar, it is fairly easy.  They have PCI cards that connect to the
satelite dish and can tune to the appropriate channels and they can
decode DVB signals (which are mpeg2 streams) and channel guide data and
all that.

In north america on the other hand we have a lot of digital cable using
DigiCipher II encryption, as does starchoice (and 4Dtv systems in the US).
Bell and EChostar use nagravision I believe for encruption, and DirecTV
uses their own encryption.  I think they all use DVB or a variation of
DVB for the encoding, but each encryption system makes receiving it
hard.

I have read messages of people claiming to be receiving Bell Expressvue
streams on a DVB card and somehow decoding them in software (who knows
what software) to record the shows to hard disk.

In europe there are DVB cards with a CAM (Common Access Method) slot
where a standard decoder card can be plugged in (provided by your
satelite service provider) to deal with decoding the channels you pay
for making things much simpler.  We on the other hand have to use the
equipment provided to us as part of the service and hence get little
choice in how to use it.

Anything you can receive off the air is easy, as is basic cable (neither
are encrypted or have any kind of system to control who can watch it).
Once encryption and such get involved to control who can watch the
shows, it becomes nearly imposible to get it to your computer.  If there
was a connection on the digital receiver box that could send firewire or
dvi signals to the computer and let the computer send channel change
commands, we would be much better off, but I don't even think they want
to let you record shows.  The Comapnies making the shows and stations
airing them want you to watch commercials, and watch on their schedule,
so you are stuck with it.

Lennart Sorensen
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