Can a DVB-T SD receiver watch HD broadcasts?

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Socrates

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#39911 21-Aug-2009 11:08

I am looking to get a digital TV receiver for my laptop. The model I am looking at is a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-900 that uses a UHF aerial to receive a digital broadcast.

As I understand it, it can watch and record TV to MPEG2 (or SD) resolution.

What would this receiver do with a MPEG4 (or HD or 1080i) broadcast?

Would I be able to watch the MPEG4 broadcast with the MEPG2 equipment in the receivers SD format?

Thanks

davidcole

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#249404 21-Aug-2009 13:06

DVB-T tuners don't care about or know about the incoming format. All they know and care about is whether it's dvb-t, dvb-s or dvb-c (Terrestial, Satellite and Cable).

The Mpeg2 SD limitations you are seeing will be the software that comes with the tuner. Most of these will not like the NZ Freeview|HD signal. Although with a hauppauge tuner it may have WinTV7 which does support our freeview.

Unfortuneately a bigger problem for you is likely to be the size of your laptops video card and processor. Unless the laptop is pretty new it's unlikely to have a big enough cpu/gpu to process the HD signal.

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Socrates

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#249439 21-Aug-2009 14:49

Let's assume my laptop and software are fine for SD signal processing and recording. Will I be able to watch all Freeview channels, whether or not they are SD or HD broadcasts with this equipment? Or will the HD broadcasts be blocked or ignored?

sbiddle

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#249446 21-Aug-2009 15:15

If your PC isn't powerful enough it will just choke on the HD broadcasts of TV1,TV2 and TV3. TV3 requires the most resources since it's 1080i.

Providing you have a dual core machine you should be able to view the 576i SD broadcasts OK.

davidcole

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#249448 21-Aug-2009 15:16

Socrates: Let's assume my laptop and software are fine for SD signal processing and recording. Will I be able to watch all Freeview channels, whether or not they are SD or HD broadcasts with this equipment? Or will the HD broadcasts be blocked or ignored?

Nope, your laptop will try and play them. The tuner doesn't know your laptop isn't big enough. So it will try and it will probably be really stuttery (expecially tv3). If you restricted yourself to TV3+1, C4, Prime, TVNZ6, TVNZ7, Maori etc, you might be ok, as they are SD.

But TV1, TV2 and TV3 are all HD channels. One and 2 less processor intensive (as 720p) so you may have better luck with them...but no guarantees.

rlevis

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#253589 6-Sep-2009 18:11

Just to confirm, is Prime definately only SD on the DVB-T platform? I only just found out about it today while at The Warehouse. Just tuned it in on my HTPC and the picture didn't look that good so assumed SD but thought I would check. What cheapskates Sky are.

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#253599 6-Sep-2009 18:55

Yes if is def. only SD.

Looks ok on my 46" samsung. Not as good as tv1, 2, 3 but better than analogue.

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#253600 6-Sep-2009 19:04

rlevis: Just to confirm, is Prime definately only SD on the DVB-T platform? I only just found out about it today while at The Warehouse. Just tuned it in on my HTPC and the picture didn't look that good so assumed SD but thought I would check. What cheapskates Sky are.

Prime is a SD channel on all platforms.

rlevis

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#253621 6-Sep-2009 20:26

I was under the impression Prime was available in HD on the Sky platform, or am I wrong?

davidcole

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#253624 6-Sep-2009 20:50

Yes sorry, sd on there as well

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#253625 6-Sep-2009 20:57

I believe they were looking at moving it to HD before the 2010 Winter Olympics but last I heard there was uncertainly as to whether this would happen or not.