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I'm just thinking about getting into satellite on Windows and don't know much about the cards or format, so you'll have to excuse me if these are stupid noob questions (sorry).
I already have a media center set up for streaming my archived and downloaded video files over wireless, I'm using a couple of D-Link DSM320's to play the media on my TV's. I also have the MyStar box from Austar in my lounge, and after a few weeks of use I have quickly come to the conclusion that it is not fit for purpose; there are a number of forums that describe how crap this box is, so I won't go on.
It had occurred to me that I could ditch the box and consolidate all my media onto my media server PC if I added a DVB-S card to it. I lived in the U.S. for several years, so I'm already in the habit of only watching pre-recorded shows on a DVR/PVR, so I'm thinking I could consolidate all my media in one place and get at it from all over the house with some D-Link boxes.
Anyway, if someone could help me out with some answers I would be grateful:
MyStar and all other DVR boxes I've used have two tuners so you can record 2 shows at once, I use this a lot, so I need to keep this functionality. I'm figuring I need a dual tuner card that can share the single CAM/CI card that I have in my MyStar box; it would be capable of using the card to decrypt two channels at once. Does anyone know of some cards that can do that, and are reasonably priced?
The cards seem to come with some kind of CI slot, but there are also some gadgets that insert into them...do I need to buy the gadget too? Which one do I need to hold an Austar card?
I'm probably going to pick up the relevant model from the U.S. or the U.K. (probably on E-Bay) because it seems a lot cheaper, and there are more available, anyone see any problems with me buying a DVB-S card with CI overseas for use here?
I would be more concerned about how you are going to get a satellite tuner, let alone a dula one to work in media center. Others have but its tricky. Fiji is meant to solve all the tuner woes supposedly but it doesnt look like many here will be lining up to upgrade due to the EPG thing. The "gadget" you want is a CAM module. You need a module for the particular encrytion that Austar uses. From www.lyngsat.com I see that they are using Irdeto and videoguard. Irdeto is easy, videoguard is a problem. I dont think you can buy modules for it. Someone else might be able to help you out there.
With anything from overseas I would be checking on the PAL/NTSC thing and modulation (gets too technical for me here). Most stuff seems to be universal these days. And for the future see if it will handle hi-def DVB-S2.
Good luck. If you get a good working solution I want to read about it.
Thanks for the info. I'm figuring it will be hard work to find one card that works with everything so I'm flexible on the media server software, I'll use Windows Media Center if it works with a card that also decodes Austar and has two tuners, but Austar and two tuners are a must, so I'll take some other media server software if I get those two, I was thinking of using GB-PVR.
I'm good with video processing and manipulating, so the PAL/NTSC thing is no big deal (it's not normally an issue with digital video data anyway; I'll probably cram down from the the DVB MPEG-2 input to an MPEG4 for storing and playback. So I'm figuring I can get the card from the U.S. and then buy a CAM that works with Austar to put in it from Australia....does any CAM fit in to an CI slot, or are there compatibility issues?
The Irdeto+vidoegard thing seems like it might be a problem, but I've noticed other posts here that have gotten cards working with Austar, although they all seem to be old, and one mentioned that Austar had changed it's encryption at some point. Can anyone confirm that they have a card that works with the current Austar broadcasts? Which CAM are you using?
One other important thing is the schedule info; I'm looking to set up intelligent "series" recording and would expect it to record the same program every week without re-setting, but that requires good schedule info....does the card pick up the broadcast schedule in electronic format from the DVB broadcast or do I need to find that somewhere else?
Maybe I'm expecting a little more that the Australian broadcast system can give me right now? I just took all this stuff for granted when I lived in the U.S.
Yes cams are standard. They go in the CI slot and the sub card goes in to a slot in the cam. They only differ by what they will un-encrypt. You will will find plenty of info on this on the Austech forum. EPG info via satellite in my experience is pretty good. They have been doing it for years before DVB-T came along. It depends on your receiver/decoder (they vary in amount of EPG they will provide) and the service sending it. I dont know what Austar provide but I would be surprised if it wasnt a lot better than "now and next". Encryption and our pay tv providers insisting we use their equipment is the only difference here. Except for Selectv, which I have and enjoy. But it might be a bit light on for you and they dont carry the FTA's. They are also only Irdeto standard which is a readily available cam and the service is cheap!
Thanks again Ivan; it would appear that there is some good news:
After some research, I found out that it seems that Austar does indeed use both Irdeto and Videoguard, but this is because the same Optus satellite, using the same channels, serves several providers including both Austar and Foxtel. The Foxtel Boxes decode using Videoguard, the Austar boxes decode using Irdeto. The dual encryption is known as "sumulcryption", the idea being that the signal can be decrypted with either of the encryption methods, it doesn't need both, this enables boxes that use either encryption method to receive the signal, so both Austar and Foxtel boxes can decrypt.
So the good news for DVB-S cards and CAMs is that you should be able to decrypt the signal with either an Irdeto CAM or a Videoguard CAM, but of course you have to have the right card to put into the CAM. It appears that Videoguard CAMs just don't exist, so if you're a Foxtel subscriber you are S**t out of luck because you have a Videoguard subscriber card, but if, like me, you're an Austar subscriber, you have an Irdetor based subscriber card, and you should be able to buy a standard Irderto cam to decrypt the signal.
So it looks like what I'm after is a dual tuner DVB-S card with a CI, a standard Irderto CAM (which I think I can even get in the U.S.), and my Austar subscriber card, and I'm good to go. Does anyone know anyone know any DVB-S cards that fit my description?
Thanks again Ivan; it would appear that there is some good news:
After some research, I found out that it seems that Austar does indeed use both Irdeto and Videoguard, but this is because the same Optus satellite, using the same channels, serves several providers including both Austar and Foxtel. The Foxtel Boxes decode using Videoguard, the Austar boxes decode using Irdeto. The dual encryption is known as "sumulcryption", the idea being that the signal can be decrypted with either of the encryption methods, it doesn't need both, this enables boxes that use either encryption method to receive the signal, so both Austar and Foxtel boxes can decrypt.
So the good news for DVB-S cards and CAMs is that you should be able to decrypt the signal with either an Irdeto CAM or a Videoguard CAM, but of course you have to have the right card to put into the CAM. It appears that Videoguard CAMs just don't exist, so if you're a Foxtel subscriber you are S**t out of luck because you have a Videoguard subscriber card, but if, like me, you're an Austar subscriber, you have an Irdetor based subscriber card, and you should be able to buy a standard Irderto cam to decrypt the signal.
So it looks like what I'm after is a dual tuner DVB-S card with a CI, a standard Irderto CAM (which I think I can even get in the U.S.), and my Austar subscriber card, and I'm good to go. Does anyone know anyone know any DVB-S cards that fit my description?
If you can actually get this all to work with Austar I would love to know how you do it.
If you look at the FloppyDTV (S2 card for satellite, C/CI card for cable) they already support HD and windows media center (although not together because of media center not currently supporting H264/Mpeg4)
I'm hoping to get a couple of cards out here from some testing in the coming weeks but it is taking a while.
There are a few problems I do see and are really more just a matter of time rather than not possible at all.
So here is what I understand and can give you so far:
You will need along with these cards an Irderto 2 CAM if you are subscribed to Austar or SelecTv as that is what they are currently using, however, Austar is apparently steadily rolling out new set top boxes that use NDS Videoguard encryption and there is a plan to switch off the Irdert 2 system (I have yet to be able to confirm when or even if this is completely true)
Be careful not to get a Irderto 1 cam as that may not read your subscribed card.
As for the NDS Videoguard system, in the UK they have been able to read the NDS Encrypted cards using a CAM known as the T-Rex or Dragon cam, by itself it doesn't read NDS, however if you program the firmware with Predator software via a CAS3 programmer or loader card it will read the NDS encryption. Unfortunately it seems that foxtel in australia have some sort of additional encryption and as yet appears to be unreadable.
If anyone can provide further information on this it would be greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately these cards are single tuners and therfore you would need two cams and possibly two subscriptions. There is however this card sharing device: http://www.smartwi.net/prods.html that may resolve that issue altogther but that assumes it can also read the Irderto/NDS systems depending on your needs.
There was another post in here (off memory by LogiFuse) about the above cards, it had a link that explained what they have managed in the UK especially when it came to the EPG and pre-organising the channels prior to scanning but I haven't researched that in much detail until I have a couple of cards to play with.
Unfortunately it seems that foxtel in australia have some sort of additional encryption and as yet appears to be unreadable.
If anyone can provide further information on this it would be greatly appreciated.
Woz
Yes, they like it that way. If you are contemplating getting in to the whole encryption thing and firmware just be careful. There is a thin line between small hacks to make your valid sub card work with your gear and pay tv piracy, which the law looks pretty dimly on.
Still the DVB-S cards look interesting. I've checked them out before. Let us know how you go. Cheers.
Yes, they like it that way. If you are contemplating getting in to the whole encryption thing and firmware just be careful. There is a thin line between small hacks to make your valid sub card work with your gear and pay tv piracy, which the law looks pretty dimly on.
I agree completely, if it does prove to be possible, there could be a very legal issue and it does seem a bit grey on the difference between cracking the encryption and reading a legit subscription card.
Thanks again guys....I think I've found myself a CAM, it's Irdeto S/N 900264; It appears to be able to support Irdeto2 (possibly with a FreeCAM firmware upgrade). Can anyone confirm that this card decrypts Irdeto2?
From what I can tell after researching a bit, it would be impossible for Austar to move away from Irdeto2 without replacing all of their boxes that are out in the field, which seems like a pretty expensive venture, that would probably take several years. In the meantime I'd be happy to take what I can get.
I agree on the piracy thing. All I'm trying to do is get myself a halfway decent DVR/PVR setup for the channels I'm already subscribed to, because the one Austar currently provides is next to useless.
I took a look at the digital-everywhere stuff, and I really like the FireDTV box.
One thing I hadn't realized when I started this is how expensive this setup could be; at standard prices I could be looking at close to $200 for a dual-tuner with CI, and another $100 for a CAM.
I write low level multi-threaded DBMS Server system code in C for a living, so flashing firmare, hardware fiddling, or other scary low-level stuff doesn't phase me too much. If it's possible to get something to work, I'll get it working.
Looks like I'm on the cutting edge here. If I get it set up, I'll report back on this thread so everyone else can benefit.
