Satellite Receiver Card For Computer Pci Slot

[hyperdimension]

Has anyone had any experience with using a Satellite TV receiver card installed in a computer?

The usual way of viewing satellite television is via a receiver box that goes between the satellite dish and the television screen. However there isn't much talk here about using a computer in place of such a box (though technically a Dreambox receiver contains a small computer running linux).

Using a computer can open up many possibilities, such as recording and viewing high definition channels. Most standalone receivers can't record nor show high definition channels, and those that can do these are quite expensive, e.g. the Dreambox DM800HD PVR is 6900 THB.

I got a new 40 inch full HD TV connected to my computer yesterday. I also already have a 6 ft. C-band dish installed a while ago and tried a Dreambox 500S but it was a bad clone - on a few occasions during testing the screen went black for some minutes (I suppose it was rebooting). So I returned it.

Here are examples of satellite tuner cards for use inside a computer: http://www.satthai.t...pro_pcicard.php

[Mrjlh]

I've own satellite TV setups in a couple of places but never used the card that installs in a computer. Just a couple of suggestions to think about. Of the ones listed in the link you provided, the ones "out of stock" appeared to be the best. The in stock WInHD has a requirement of a "IR receiver". I'd be asking why? Doesn't say in the info provided.

Many of satellites have "encoded" transmissions. So how are you going to get the code? With the computer connected to the Internet the program provided will search those out. They are periodically changed usually once a month. The computer should solve that. Not sure how it gets around the "smart card" as the desk top receiver does this. Ther is actually a litlle research needed once everything ios set up to find all these treasures you'll get.

What is your field off view? Blocked by buildings or 180 degrees of unblocked sky? Top of the house? The more sky you can see the better. The closer to the equator the better. If you have the dish already, I would strongly advise installing a "3 Axis" actuators with remote control. Depending on your location in Thailand you can get over 14 satellites for viewing. The ThaiSat Com3 really is limited on programing. I can email you a very simple program to use for determining on how to get the best use out of your system if you want. It is very technical but easy to follow. That leads to the next issue, where to point it? How are you planning on doing it. What's nice about the 3 axis once you find only one (zeroed), all the rest are easy to find.

[hyperdimension]

The in stock WInHD has a requirement of a "IR receiver". I'd be asking why? Doesn't say in the info provided.

The IR receiver is so that you can use a remote controller to change channels, as you may want to sit back some distance from the mouse and keyboard.

Many of satellites have "encoded" transmissions. So how are you going to get the code? With the computer connected to the Internet the program provided will search those out. They are periodically changed usually once a month. The computer should solve that.

Yes I believe that there are plugins for the various software players that can access the latest keys via internet, much like how the Dreambox does so.

Depending on your location in Thailand you can get over 14 satellites for viewing.

My fixed dish is already installed and pointing to Thaicom 5. I intend to access the Truevisions package.

I can email you a very simple program to use for determining on how to get the best use out of your system if you want.

What is this program?

[Mrjlh]

Check your PM

[hyperdimension]

Ok I checked and it's a dish alignment program. I don't intend to do any aligning myself as it's already pointing to Thaicom 5, where I want it at the moment.

I've been doing more research on satellite receivers for computers and came across this page listing amny different ones out there with links to the manufacture web sites (globe icon): http://www.dvbdream.org/supported_devices.php

I'd get a DVB-S2 one as it is a newer standard.

The Prof Revolution PCI 7301 looks particularly good based on the Revolution PCI 7301 review, and it's 72.40 USD from their own shop:

I think something like this would be an excellent alternative to a Dreambox, with possibly more functionality.

To really make good use of a Dreambox there's a steep learning curve as it runs Linux which is very much a command line operating system. I'd prefer to work within the Microsoft Windows operating system, and there are a variety of Windows software out there for these kinds of computer satellite receivers (often called "DVB cards") such as:

• DVBDream
• AltDVB 2.2
• DVBViewer Pro
• ProgDVB
• Media Portal
• SkyView
• SmartDVB
• SichboPVR
• WinClipDVB
• BlazeDTV
• MyTheatre

and there are plugins around that can be installed in the programs above that do the same thing as the Dreambox's CAM sharing feature.

Has anyone seen such DVB cards sold in Panthip Plaza?

[Darrel]

I used a DVB-S2 PCI sat tuner card all the time back in Europe for watching UK TV via satellite, including the HD channels from BBC and ITV.

Some models of PCI sat tuner have a facilty for adding a CAM and viewing card. Some dont.

I used DVB Viewer Pro for live viewing, recording and playback via an HDMI connection to a 42in plasma screen.

It all worked extremely well and cost about 6000B total for the PCI card and the software.

[Mrjlh]

Nice setup.