[opendtv] Re: LG LST-3410A PVR
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 10:12:57 -0500
At 9:26 AM -0500 11/9/05, John Shutt wrote:
>Craig,
>
>This archaic notion that I can only watch one program at a time is going the
>way of the buggy whip.
>
>In this world of 500 channels of nothing to watch, there are times when I
>want to PVR two shows simultaneously while watching a third, and I want my
>set to have a PIP or two of a fourth or fifth.
>
>How am I going to do that with one tuner??? I want every device to have its
>own tuner. I want my PVR to have at least TWO tuners, and my set at least
>TWO or more.
>
>Well, no I don't, but there are plenty of people who do.
I never said one tuner.
The question is WHERE are the tuners that you need, and how do you
deal with your N+1 problem.
If every device has one tuner you are still screwed. A PVR needs 2 or
more depending on how many streams you want to capture
simultaneously. The display may not need a tuner at all; what it
needs is the ability to convert bit streams into pictures; i.e.
decoders.
The reality is that if you put enough tuners into every device, you
will soon have far more tuners than you need, or are using at any
time. A better approach is to centralize the tuners and distribute
the bit streams that will be coming from the tuners, network attached
storage (i.e. PVRs, hard disks and computers with hard disk), and any
other component that may produce a bitstream.
This all comes back to the notion of some kind of in-home media
center. My Scientific Atlanta HD PVR is fine, as long as I don't try
to exceed its limits - two tuners and two decoders. If I am recording
two programs I cannot watch a third - unless it is coming from
another source or the internal NTSC tuner in the display.
This is the classic N+1 problem. Now multiply this by a factor of 2-4
(the number of people in the home who want to do the same thing ) and
you will quickly be paying for a ton of tuners that will be unused
most of the time. Sooner or later it makes sense to design the system
around a hub that handles centralized services including demods for
any signals coming into the home, and decoders at the points of
consumption.
Regards
Craig
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