Hauppauge Broadway : Watch Your Own TV Anywhere in the World!

In the world of Digital TV Tuners, Hauppauge Broadway is something very different.
It has twin digital tuners and an input for an external video device, such as a pay TV set top box, but no direct connections for a TV or other type of display.

That's because the Hauppauge Broadway streams the live digital TV or set top box output, directly to your home network via its wired or wireless LAN ports.

All you need to watch TV on Hauppauge Broadway is a device with a web brower that is connected to your network. Apple and Android devices are included.

What's more, you can connect to Hauppauge Broadway via the Internet from anywhere you may be located in the world.

Hauppauge Broadway can be purchased online from specialist AV retailers such as DPandA.com.au
Hauppauge Broadway

What's The Difference Between a PVR and DVR?

That's a good question.
With the increased take-up of Digital TV, the definition seems to be getting a little blurred.

PVR is an abbreviation of Personal Video Recorder.
Hmm, right but what does that mean?
It relates to a device that can take video/audio input in real-time and record it to a hard disk drive. The recording is virtually an exact clone of the original broadcast and, unlike the old VCR's (Video Cassette Recorders), does not lose any quality in the recording process

But isn't that the same as a DVR? (Digital Video Recorder)
Well, no. The DVR was born out of the security/surveilance industry and originally related to video devices that took comparatively low quality images at time intervals slower than real-time.

PVR's are most commonly Digital TV receivers which can record to an internal or external hard disk drive. The receiver records the broadcast transport stream as a file on the hard disk.
The Healing HHR787 is a good example of a Dual Tuner High Definition PVR

However, there are some PVR's that do not contain a Digital TV Tuner and don't have an internal or external hard drive.
Such a device is the Hauppauge HD PVR. It relies on getting it's video/audio source from an external device like a HD set top box and connects to a Personal Computer, to utilise the PC's hard disk for recording.

Some PVR manufacturers term their products DVR's, which tends to muddy the waters.

The Hauppauge HD PVR Can Record Pay TV in H.264 High Definition

Recording High Definition Digital TV TV from devices like a Pay TV set top box has been difficult until now.

The recent arrival of the Hauppauge HD PVR in Australia changed all that, after having been available in the USA for some time.

Unlike most HD PVR's the Hauppauge HD PVR doesn't have an internal hard drive. It needs to be connected to a PC.

The inputs of the device are first connected to the Component Video ports of a High Definition Cable or Satellite TV set top box using the supplied cables.

The output of the Hauppauge HD PVR is connected to a PC or Laptop via a USB 2.0 port.

The device converts the HD component video to the new H.264 format and saves the output as a file on the hard disk of the PC.

The resulting file can be played, or re-authored to other formats such as DVD, Blu-Ray, I-Phone or I-Pod
More details about the Hauppauge HD PVR can be found HERE

Digital TV on Linux? Easy!

Not too long ago, getting a DVB-T Terrestrial Digital Television card to work with the Linux operating system was a time consuming, technically involved and frustrating task.

Thanks to a team of dedicated developers and enthusiasts, all of whom donate their time and efforts to the Linux community, getting Digital TV to work with Linux is becoming mainstream.

Most Digital TV cards and USB receivers for the PC are designed to work with Windows and the manufacturers and their software developers care little about the relatively small market of Linux users.
This is changing, as each successive Linux distribution is an improvement on the last.
More users are reaping the benefits of an amazing pool of free software applications, many of which offering better performance and functionality than their commercial Windows based counterparts.

MythTV is a free Linux based Digital TV and Media Center application that can be added to an existing Linux distribution, such as Ubuntu, or as a distribution in its own right. The popular Ubuntu based derivative is MythBuntu.

There are also basic Digital TV Viewer add-ons like MeTV that can be installed using Ubuntus software manager.

So, how to get a digital TV device up and running in Ubuntu/Mythbuntu?

Here's how.

Probably one of the easiest device of all is the Leadtek Winfast Dongle Gold.

These can be sourced from specialist online digital TV sites like DPandA

Get the latest version of Ubuntu (version 9.10 - Karmic Koala) from here :-
http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download

If trying Ubuntu for the first time, you can install to spare hard drive. It is recommended you disconnect any other drives in the PC so that you can be sure you are installing to the correct drive and that other drives are unaffected by the installation.

Once the installation is finished, plug your Winfast Dongle Gold into a spare USB 2.0 port and boot into Ubuntu 9.10.

In the menu system go to System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers

The system will connect to the internet to check for drivers and then display a list of those that it finds.

Look for an entry that says "Firmware for DVB Cards"

Select the entry by clicking on it the "Activate" button.

You could also install the recommended restricted video drivers for your Video Adaptor at this stage, if they are listed under hardware drivers.

Once activated, the drivers will be available to any viewer application that supports DVB-T, such as MythTV, MeTV, Xine, Mplayer and more.

Choosing and configuring a player is something we'll cover in another post.

A Strong Digital TV Tuner for a Weak Signal

The STRONG Technologies range of High Definition Digital Set Top Boxes are aptly named.

Since the advent of Digital Television in Australia they have become the professional installers favourite, based on their performance in low strength signal areas.

This is particularly notable at the fringe of the broadcast signal area where viewers have integrated digital tuners in their new HDTV.
The sensitivity of these tuners varies from model to model and although they may perform quite well in metro areas of high signal strength, fringe viewers can be left frustrated by very patchy results.

The latest edition to the STRONG range is the Strong SRT-5409 High Defintion Digital Set Top Box.

It is a low cost solution that can allow any new or older (non Digital) TV to receive the new HD programs.

It is highly recommended for those in fringe reception areas or who are experiencing poor results from an existing Digital TV tuner.

Designed for the professional installer trade, the SRT 5409 is not available through the big city retail stores but can be bought from specialist Digital TV online suppliers like DPandA.

A Digital TV Card can Turn Your PC into a High Definition Media Centre HTPC

A digital TV Tuner Card can turn your Laptop or Desktop PC into a Media Center or Digital TV recorder for a reasonably small investment.

They can all receive the High Definition (HD) broadcasts as well as the Standard Definition (SD)broadcasts. Most of them come with a remote control and are very easy to set up.

Some are cards that need to be installed in the PC, while others are USB devices that simply plug in to a spare USB 2.0 port without the need to opeen the PC.

Both the internal and external types are available in dual tuner devices meaning you can record a digital TV channel while watching or recording a second channel. If you are recording two channels you can watch either programs that are in the process of recording from the beginning or from any point up to the current time.
You can also be watching a pre-recorded program while the two new recordings are in progress

We browsed the products available from http://dpanda.com.au who specialise in DVB-T digital tv for PC, MAC and Linux.

They start at around $39 for a basic USB single tuner.

However, we were very surprised to see an internal dual tuner card for under $90. These card cost hundreds of dollars only a couple of years ago.

With the shutdown of the analogue TV system in some areas of Australia in mid 2010, these devices are certain to represent an attractive digital TV solution for many Australians.

New Twenty Four Hour News Channel for ABC Australia on Digital TV

Announced yesterday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) will launch a 24 hour news channel, along the lines of (and in competition with) Sky News Australia.

They will be using part of their Digital TV spectrum for the new service.

The ABC currently broadcasts four national Terrestrial Digital TV channels: ABC HD, ABC1, ABC2 and ABC3

It also broadcasts two DVB-T based digital radio stations.