Q: Does FireDTV work under MS WindowsXP Media Centre Edition 2005?
A: Yes. Both the bundled FireDTV application software and the FireDTV BDA driver run perfectly under WinXP MCE 2005. BDA driver can be downloaded here.
Q: Does FireDTV work with third-party PVR software?
Q: Can I use two FireDTV units to watch and record two different TV channels simultaneously on the same PC?
A: Yes, two FireDTV units can run independently on the same PC for watching, recording and timeshifting any TV channels simultaneously, even audio can be heard simultaneously. Timeshifting can be perfectly operated on both FireDTVs independently. There is no other digital TV tuners in the world that can perform these so flawlessly. On a Pentium4 2.66 GHz PC recording and watching two different High-Definition TV Channels with two FireDTVs only uses roughly 55% CPU.
Q: What kind of two FireDTV units can be used on the same PC to watch and record two different TV channels simultaneously?
A: Any kind: the two FireDTV's running on the same PC can be of any combination of Satellite and/or Terrestrial models, that is: two Terrestrial, two Satellite, or one Terrestrial plus one Satellite.
Q: Can two FireDTV units work together on the same PC with a third digital TV tuner to watch and record three different TV channels simultaneously on the same PC?
A: Yes, here is a screen shot with an Inventa PCIHDTV tuner running with Media Centre "MyTV" application: watch and recording triple digital TVs on the same PC. Products running more multiple tuners simultaneously on one PC will be gradually released by Inventa Australia.
Q: What Terrestrial Antenna Do I need to receive Terrestrial digital TV broadcasting?
A: The same TV antenna as you use for analogue TV reception.
Q: Can We Burn FireDTV Recorded Digital TV Programs onto DVD disks as DVD-Movies?
A: Yes straight away after recording using DVD authoring software such as Ulead DVDMoviefactory, Nero, Adobe EncoreDVD, etc.
Q: Can Other PCs play FireDTV Recorded Digital TV video files?
A: Any PCs with appropriate MPEG2 decoder, inc. Windows PCs, Mac PCs and Linux/Unix PCs will play them immediately, because the recorded files are generic MPEG2 video files with .mpg extension.
Q: Can FireDTV run off a 6-pin Firewire port from a Laptop's motherboard without using the optional external power adaptor?
A: Yes, many new laptop PCs have 6-pin Firewire ports that worked perfectly with FireDTV without using external power adaptor.
Q: What kind of Satellite Antenna/Dish work with FireDTV-DVB-S ?
A: Any satellite dish aiming at any satellite.
Q: What kind of Satellite TV channels can be receive by FireDTV-DVB-S?
A: Any free TV channel on any satellite, plus PayTV channels enabled by appropriate PayTV cards plugged into the CI slot of FireDTV-DVB-S.
Q: Does Inventa Australia offer satellite antenna/dish installation for FireDTV?
A: Yes please call/e-mail for details.
Q: Is Video Output Quality from FireDTV-DVB-S much better than Satellite Receiver Set-top Boxes?
A: The Video Output from FireDTV-DVB-S surpasses all satellite set-top boxes when viewed on either pc's monitor, or on TVs connected to the video output port of PC's graphics card. Even using normal RCA connector linking a PC's video-out to a TV monitor, video display from satellite set-top boxes are no match of the clarity and sharpness of FireDTV's video output.
Q: How many Satellite TV channels, on which satellites, can we receive using FireDTV in Australia?
A: Hundreds of TV channels at least, on all satellites beaming towards Australia, these include:
AsiaSat 2 (
http://www.asiasat.com.hk/eng/02_satellites/system_02.html)AsiaSat 3S (
http://www.asiasat.com.hk/eng/02_satellites/system_03.html)AsiaSat 4 (
http://www.asiasat.com.hk/eng/02_satellites/system_04.html)ChinaStar 1 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/china1.html)Intelsat 701 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/i701.html)JCSat 3 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/jc3.html)NSS 6 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/nss6.html)Optus B1 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/optusb1.html)Optus B3 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/optusb3.html)Optus C1 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/optusc1.html)Pas 2 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/pas2.html)Pas 8 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/pas8.html)Palapa C2 (
http://www.lyngsat.com/palapac2.html)Thaicom 3 (http://www.lyngsat.com/thai3.html)
Q: Does FireDTV-DVB-S work on motorised Satellite Dishes via DiseqC?
A: Yes works perfectly.
Q: On PayTV channels via Satellite, once the appropriate CAM+Smartcard is plugged into the CI slot of FireDTV-DVB-S, is there anything else needed to make the PayTV channels work?
A: Nothing else, pay TV channels enabled by that CAM+Smartcard will become viewable/recordable automatically.
Q: Does FireDTV work on slow PCs?
A: FireDTV can even run on a Pentium3 600MHz PC with a 64MByte GForce AGP card, with all standard-definition TV channels displayed smoothly within a half-screen sized window. Full-screen mode and HD channels are slightly jerky, but the recorded TV files can be played back on Pentium4 PCs with perfect quality.
Q: Does FireDTV work on Linux PCs?
A: Linux driver for FireDTV will be released in May 2005.
Q: Is there software for Apple Macintosh Desktop/Laptop PCs to receive the digital TV signal from the Firewire port of FireDTV ?
A: Yes there are free software to do so:
(1) VirtualDVHS --- http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040426151111599
(2) HackTV --- http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2005/01/26/hacktv.html
Generic Question on Digital TV:
Q: Can I Receive Digital TV Program?
A: Most Australian cities inc. small township can receive digital TV broadcasting, please check
http://www.dba.org.au/index.asp?sectionID=89
Q: How Many Terrestrial Digital-TV Channles Can I Receive in Sydney?
A: Currently (Jan. 2005) about 45~46 TV channels from 6 TV Stations: ABC(Digital Channel 12), SBS(Digital Channel 34), 7(Digital Channel 6), 9(Digital Channel 8), 10(Digital Channel 11), and DigitalFortyFour(Digital Channel 35). Each station has several sub-channels.
Q: What is the maximum resolution of video we can receive in Australia' digital TV program?
A: Currently 1440X1080-Pixel interlaced. This probably will change to 1920X1080i by 2008 when full conversion to digital TV broadcasting is in place.
Q: What is the maximum data rate we can receive using digital TV Tuner cards in Australia' digital TV program?
A: 19.3 Mbits/sec.
