[H-GEN] now cable capture

Russell Stuart russell-humbug at stuart.id.au
Thu Oct 7 18:42:15 EDT 2010


On Thu, 2010-10-07 at 10:56 -0400, Robert Brockway wrote:
> > My colleague whom works for FoxTel says this is not possible.
> 
> I have used a TV capture card and MythTV to do this with the cable system 
> here in Canada.  As long as Foxtel is transmitting a signal a TV can 
> receive I can't see how they can stop it.

Well, they could encrypt the signal.  And as it happens, that is what
they do.  The keys needed to decrypt the signal are generated by a
smartcard which plugs into the decoder box they give you.

I have seen Linux HTPC setups with DVB-T tuners and a smartcard reader
that can handle Foxtel.  In effect they replace the Foxtel box.  Of
course you still need a valid, paid for, Foxtel smartcard to plug into
the smartcard reader.

While a setup like this does give you some benefits over a dumb Foxtel
box such as time shifting, recording multiple shows and the ability to
send the signal to multiple places in the house, it is dammed difficult
to get working.




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