Connecting to NTL/Sky

Westindieman · 12-04-2006, 10:41 PM

..do I absolutely need a sweetspot, cant I get reception to my media centre without it?

KraGorn · 13-04-2006, 7:36 AM

If you mean connecting an STB then yes, you need a capture device such as the Sweetspot, a standard PC has no means of accepting an external video signal.

Westindieman · 13-04-2006, 8:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KraGorn

......... a standard PC has no means of accepting an external video signal.

Are you also including a standard PC with a TV capture card when you say that?

boez · 13-04-2006, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Willy

Are you also including a standard PC with a TV capture card when you say that?

This topic is covered quite a bit in these forums so the search facility is always a good starting place...

The Sky box has three (standard) means of giving out a display, each of them can be used to view that display via a suitably equipped PC.

1. UHF (or arial out) - very poor picture quality
2. Composite out via SCART 2 (VCR) - better but still not that good (IMO)
3. RGB out via SCART 1 (TV) - good quality picture

Methods 1 and 2 can be used with most standard TV capture cards.
Method 3 works only with a sweetspot capture card (dont confuse with the similarly named sweetspot TV card - it falls into the above category).

Method 3 is by far and away the best but as expected is most expensive! Picture quality is excellent.

HTH
Andy

KraGorn · 13-04-2006, 1:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Willy

Are you also including a standard PC with a TV capture card when you say that?

No because I don't see TV cards are part of a 'standard' PC, which I guess is down to a personal definition .. but then I wasn't considering TV cards in any case for the PQ reason Andy gives, when I used to connect my NTL STB the S-video was very poor compared to the RGB connection to my Sweetspot.

Dr Hu · 13-04-2006, 3:57 PM

This subject confuses me about SweetSpot - so I would appreciate someone giving me some basic advice.

If you have a sweetspot card in your PC, along with a TV capture card - ie Hauppauge 150 - how does the hauppage card 'get' the incoming TV signal from the sweetspot?

How does the Live TV mode work in MCE if it doesnt have a feed into the TV capture card?

Or isnt sweetspot a MCE compatible device?

Please feel free to call me thick

boez · 13-04-2006, 5:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Hu

This subject confuses me about SweetSpot - so I would appreciate someone giving me some basic advice.

If you have a sweetspot card in your PC, along with a TV capture card - ie Hauppauge 150 - how does the hauppage card 'get' the incoming TV signal from the sweetspot?

How does the Live TV mode work in MCE if it doesnt have a feed into the TV capture card?

Or isnt sweetspot a MCE compatible device?

Please feel free to call me thick

Ah, the achillies heel of the sweetspot RGB card!!

First the good news is that you can have a TV card alongside the sweetspot card if you wanted. Dont forget the sweetspot card we are talking about here is a grab card ONLY. It cannot receive TV itself but just allow you to see an external RGB source i.e. sky or ntl via a stand alone program called DScaler (other programs are available but this is the recommended one).

The bad news is that DScaler is not compatible with MCE :o(

So you need to switch between the two or exit MCE.You cannot see the sky/ntl (in other words the live TV) source inside MCE.However, your Hauppauge would be viewable inside MCE but only from the broadcasts available in your area, i.e. digital or analog programmes.Again, not sky.

HTH
Andy

Westindieman · 13-04-2006, 6:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boez

This topic is covered quite a bit in these forums so the search facility is always a good starting place...

HTH
Andy

I dont think I would get my answer using the search, if you find it please point me. However you have put it clearly and that has been the most help.
I have seen suggestions about sweetspots but havent clearly seen the answer anywhere else as to why it would be needed over anything else.
I also did a google but didnt come up with what it is for or suppliers. I have seen sweetspots that I cant see would help me and that is why I have put my question so to get this specific answer. And thank you, you answered my question whilst can you not see Kragorn was a different answer and not entirely correct as I found in other searches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boez

Ah, the achillies heel of the sweetspot RGB card!!

The bad news is that DScaler is not compatible with MCE :o(

HTH
Andy

Does Dscaler work in any of the other available Media Centre software?

boez · 14-04-2006, 7:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Willy

I dont think I would get my answer using the search, if you find it please point me. However you have put it clearly and that has been the most help.

Does Dscaler work in any of the other available Media Centre software?

I suggested a search to help you find more information not to chastise you!

(BTW, I've just searched in the MCE sub-forum for sky and sweetspot and found 20 topics. Sometimes the same information from a different point of view helps too.)

Anyway....

The DScaler we are talking about here is a standalone application and must be executed as such. AFAIK it cannot be run inside another application. A free PVR called MediaPortal however, does claim to support the Sweetspot card directly, in other words, no need for DScaler, but I could not get a satisfactory picture when I tried it and anyway I prefer MCE.

HTH
Andy

Westindieman · 14-04-2006, 8:57 AM

Thanx Boez.
If you have one BTW, how do you think the picture compares to connecting directly RGB to TV, and did you have any problems as I have now found forums with people having problems configuring or getting good results from their sweetspot? Is there any signs that it will ever be supported by MCE?

boez · 14-04-2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Willy

Thanx Boez.
If you have one BTW, how do you think the picture compares to connecting directly RGB to TV, and did you have any problems as I have now found forums with people having problems configuring or getting good results from their sweetspot? Is there any signs that it will ever be supported by MCE?

Are you going to be using a plasma or CRT?

I think the PQ was better than connecting via a conversion box from sky to my plasma panel. You wont need the conversion box if you going into a CRT. Moreover, it allows you to process the picture to your hearts content via many filters in DScaler (although I tend to leave off as many filters as possible - purity for me). I share your concern, its a fairly expensive card to 'just give it a go'!

I found it pretty straight forward. Install sweetspot card in PC, run DScaler and point it to the card in its setup page and voila. However, I've been assembling PC's for many years and an IT lecturer for 8 years so I'd be embarassed if I couldnt get it to work

No I very much doubt that Microsoft will ever support this card given that its not a TV capture card and that its MPEG2 encoding is software based. In fact the chip it is based on (the BT8x8) is now very old and the basis for a lot of cheap (non-MCE compatible) TV cards. The main difference is that the sweetspot card accepts RGB as an input and the other cards are composite or s-video input only.

HTH
Andy

Westindieman · 15-04-2006, 1:49 PM

Did you have any issues with switching between MCE and Dscaler for timer recordings?

Dr Hu · 15-04-2006, 8:17 PM

When is someone (hauppauge?) going to make an RGB in compatible TV card - when when when? - they would clean up in MCE world.......

boez · 16-04-2006, 9:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Willy

Did you have any issues with switching between MCE and Dscaler for timer recordings?

Hmm, either I'm misunderstanding your question or you still not with me on how DScaler works!

DScaler and MCE should be viewed as being completely separate applications with no communication between the two. They need to be run separately and are controlled separately. It is possible to leave MCE open in the background and run DScaler at the same time but thats about it. Think separate!

So, no recorded programs, no use of the MCE remote to change channels, etc. (In fact DScaler has only a rudimentary record facility which is only a beta test so best to disregard at the moment.)

I still use MCE to listen to music, watch DVD's and view pictures but switch to DScaler to watch Sky. I use my Sky remote to change channels.

I should say here that if you use a different supported TV card, e.g. by Hauppauge, then Sky can be integrated into MCE a little bit better, e.g. MCE will change sky channels, can be viewed within MCE and can be set to record, BUT, only via Composite (S-Video if you have Sky+) and that was too poor a PQ for me to bear. And in this case DSCaler is no longer used.

HTH
Andy

Westindieman · 16-04-2006, 1:25 PM

I know they work separate. What I meant was, if you scheduled a recording in MCE from your TV/DVB card, could you also schedule a recording with Dscaler with no problems and they both run at the same time? Actually I cannot see why not, but I'm asking.

And Dr Hu, you make a good point that I am wondering on. The sweetspot is so expensive as there is no competition (surely the resources and components thats gone into it are no more expensive than TV cards/graphics etc that are no where near that cost). I cant believe that with MCE and media centres on the rise that some manufacturer cannot see the market.

boez · 16-04-2006, 1:45 PM

[QUOTE=Bruce Willy]I know they work separate. What I meant was, if you scheduled a recording in MCE from your TV/DVB card, could you also schedule a recording with Dscaler with no problems and they both run at the same time? Actually I cannot see why not, but I'm asking.
QUOTE]

Ah, so I did misunderstand your question!

Yes, you could do that no problem as long as your PC is fast enough to cope. BUT, the DScaler record to disk is very, very basic AND you'd need to get sound from your Sky box into the PC as well....

spencer_uk · 06-05-2006, 9:36 AM

If you are using DScaler to view the picture and clean it up then does the processing cause a delay in the display of the picture? So, if the sound is connected straight from my Sky+ box into my amp, will the sound be slightly ahead of the picture?

06-05-2006, 1:08 PM

That's the same set-up I have and I only get the same lip-sync issues that I used to get with a direct Sky+ to Scart connection (my sweetspots running on a 2800+ sempron). I doubt you'll notice any delay.

-Hitman- · 06-05-2006, 1:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spencer_uk

If you are using DScaler to view the picture and clean it up then does the processing cause a delay in the display of the picture? So, if the sound is connected straight from my Sky+ box into my amp, will the sound be slightly ahead of the picture?

I use an advanced setup of Sweetspot combined with a DVD Xcard encoder card to produce a pure digital DVD player as well as process and clean up RGB sky signal.

I have no audio sync issues, whatsoever and feed a 50" plasma TV.

Picture quality especially for DVD palyback is outstanding.

Get the sweetspot!

spencer_uk · 06-05-2006, 5:33 PM

I went out a bought a long stereo phono lead today and an s-video lead. The Sky+ is now connected to my Hauppage WinTV PVR PCI II and it all seems ok. No apparent lip synch problems. don't have the sweetspot card - the hauppage came with the PC.

Will need to lay the cabling properly now (as the cables stretch between 2 rooms). Also was thinking of getting a freeview dual tuner card for the PC but wanted to still watch Sky through the PC. is that possible? believe that MCE has a problem with it but is that the front end application or the whole OS?

Anyone done that?

06-05-2006, 1:08 PM	#18
BigBry Guest Posts: n/a	That's the same set-up I have and I only get the same lip-sync issues that I used to get with a direct Sky+ to Scart connection (my sweetspots running on a 2800+ sempron). I doubt you'll notice any delay.
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