Elgato THC User Manual
TerraTec Home Cinema User Manual
Version 6
Page 1
Introducing: The TerraTec Home Cinema .............................................................................. 2
Installation ............................................................................................................................. 3
Launching the software for the first time ................................................................................ 5
Design and controls ..............................................................................................................15
The on-screen display ..........................................................................................................21
The info bar ......................................................................................................................... 22
Picture-in-Picture (PiP) ........................................................................................................ 24
EPG—the electronic program guide .................................................................................... 25
Recordings .......................................................................................................................... 32
Timeshifting ......................................................................................................................... 44
Playback.............................................................................................................................. 45
Teletext ............................................................................................................................... 47
The settings ......................................................................................................................... 49
Context menus .................................................................................................................... 73
Key assignments ................................................................................................................. 75
General ............................................................................................................................... 75
Annex .................................................................................................................................. 78
Legend:
This symbol indicates useful information or instructions for the
functions of the TerraTec Home Cinema.
This symbol indicates functions that are included with the
TerraTec Home Cinema, but not with the
TerraTec Home Cinema Basic. You can enable these functions with a
serial number, which you can purchase at our Webshop on our
website.
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Introducing: The TerraTec Home Cinema
The TerraTec Home Cinema is your analogue and digital TV control centre. The full range of functions
and features of your new TV hardware—station selection, timeshifting, recording and teletext—are
united in the TerraTec Home Cinema.
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Installation
Before installing the TerraTec Home Cinema software, first connect your TV tuner to the
USB port or plug your TV card into an available PCI slot on your computer and install the
drivers.
You can select your location as soon as you launch the installation of the TerraTec Home Cinema
software. The installation wizard shows you what devices are already installed. Then, click "Finish" to
start the installation process.
If you are using the Basic version, and wish to use the advanced features of the
TerraTec Home Cinema software, you will have to enter or confirm a serial number. To do so, tick the
option for "I want to add or review serial numbers".
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In the next step, enter your serial number and then click "Add". Here, in the list of installed packages,
the data for your package are displayed. When finished, click "Finish".
You can expand the range of features of the TerraTec Home Cinema Basic with
upgrades that can be purchased at the TerraTec Webshop.
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Launching the software for the first time
The TerraTec Home Cinema configuration menu will open automatically when launching the software
for the first time. The basic settings, which are described in detail below, can be configured here.
First, you should carry out the following steps:
1. Start the channel scan!
2. Create a Favourites list!
3. Define the storage location for recordings!
1. Start the channel scan!
Device – Select the device for which to perform a station scan. This is only necessary once for each
standard (e.g. DVB-T). If you have installed multiple devices that use the same standard, the found
stations will be available for all of those devices, of course.
Filter – Restrict the scan to free, encrypted, or all available stations (no filter).
Scan mode – Depending on the TV standard, a variety of options are available here. For more
information, please see the Scan sections for the relevant TV standard.
Click "Scan" to start the scan.
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DVB-T scan
Scan mode: Scan by region
Region – Select your reception region from the list. If you cannot find it, simply select "All".
Scan intensity – Some countries, such as France, broadcast stations slightly off of the standardised
frequencies. This option lets you customise the scan in cases in which it does not find all stations while
in "Normal" mode.
Scan mode: Scan by frequency band or single frequency
Scan one frequency band
Scan single frequency
Frequency (kHz) – Specialists will appreciate the ability to select an individual frequency or frequency
band and its step size for scanning.
Bandwidth – DVB-T can be broadcast at varying bandwidths. 7 or 8 MHz are common in Europe,
while 6 MHz is used in Taiwan, for example.
Scan intensity – see "Scan mode: Scan by region"
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DVB-S scan
Scan mode: Scan by satellite
Satellite – Select the satellite to which you have set your dish.
DiSEqC 1.0 – DiSEqC is used to control satellite systems that receive data (TV) from more than one
satellite. Configure this setting to match those on your satellite system. DiSEqC 1.0 allows you to
receive up to four different satellites.
Example:
Your satellite system is pointed towards Astra and Eutelsat. In this case, configure the DiSEqC options
as follows:
Option A / Position A during the scan on Astra
Option B / Position B during the scan on Eutelsat
Since, unfortunately, no standardised settings exist for satellite systems, often the only
option is trial and error if no information about the satellite system is available. For the
same reason, we hope you understand that our support team may not always have the
answers regarding your settings.
Scan mode: Scan by frequency band or single frequency
Scan one frequency band
Scan single frequency
Frequency (kHz) – Specialists will appreciate the ability to select an individual frequency or frequency
band and its step size for scanning.
Symbol rate (KS) – The symbol rate is the specified data transmission speed. It must be specified
when scanning a frequency band or individual frequency.
Polarisation – A frequency can be polarised horizontally or vertically. Select the correct polarisation
here.
FEC – (forward error correction) This option specifies the error protection of the signal.
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Information on satellite programs and their parameters can be found at a number of sources,
including:
http://www.lyngsat.com
DVB-C scan
Scan mode: Scan by region
Region – Select your reception region from the list. If you cannot find it, simply select "All".
Scan mode: Scan by frequency band or single frequency
Scan one fre quenc y ban d
Scan si ngle frequ ency
Frequency (kHz) – Specialists will appreciate the ability to select an individual frequency or frequency
band and its step size for scanning.
Symbol rate (KS) – The symbol rate is the specified data transmission speed. It must be specified
when scanning a frequency band or individual frequency.
Modulation type – The modulation type is a further option for data transmission and can be specified
for certain programs.
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Analogue scan
Scan mode: Scan by region
Region – Select your reception region from the list. If you cannot find it, simply select "All".
Scan mode: Scan by frequency band or single frequency
Scan one fre quenc y ban d
Scan single frequency
Frequency (kHz) – Specialists will appreciate the ability to select an individual frequency or frequency
band and its step size for scanning.
If your TV solution has analogue inputs, then they are treated like channels. The names
for the analogue inputs are automatically assigned and depend on the type of connection
-> S-Video / composite.
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Station list import
Furthermore, you have two options for importing existing station lists. To access these, click the
following in the selection menu for the scan mode:
Import stations from file
This allows you to import a station list from a previous channel scan.
Import stations from Internet
Here, first select your transmission standard, then the file that you want to import. The lists are named
according to the region or satellite.
An Internet import is particularly recommended for the DVB-S transmission standard,
because the satellite scan can take up to an hour. With an import, the stations are presorted and can be added to your station database with just a click. This method has you
up and running fast.
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2. Create a Favourites list!
The left side of the station management tab contains a list of all of the stations found during one or
more scans. The list can be filtered according to reception types, filters (whether the stations are free
or encrypted) or whether they are TV or radio broadcasts.
Use the button to add selected stations to the Favourites list, or click the button to add all
stations at once.
You will only be able to select stations that are in a Favourites list. Analogue video inputs
are indicated by the symbols for composite and for S-Video, and can be added to
the favourites list just like "regular" channels.
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Setting up Favourites lists
To sort stations based on your interests, select them and drag them up or down the list using the
and buttons.
Use the and buttons to remove one or more stations from the Favourites list.
Special Favourites lists (only with TerraTec Home Cinema)
In addition to the standard Favourites lists for radio and TV, you can also create your own special
Favourites lists.
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These Favourites lists can perform a variety of functions, for example sorting stations according to
DVB-T coverage areas, transmission standards (e.g. analogue/DVB-T/DVB-S) or genres such as
sports, movies or news.
To add a station to a special Favourites list, select the station and then click one of the coloured
buttons . Individual stations may be added to more than one list.
Click to name the special Favourites list.
Where do I find the Favourites lists?
You can access your Favourites lists by "right-clicking" the TV picture and then opening "TV
favourites".
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How can switch stations?
There are several ways to navigate and jump through the station list.
To switch to the next station in the list, press the key on your keyboard. To return to the previous
station, press the key. To confirm, simply press the Enter key.
Or:
Right-click within the TV window and select "Station +" from the context menu to go to the next station,
or "Station –" to return to the previous.
Or:
Using the left mouse button, click the "arrow up" button in the control window to go to the next station,
or the "arrow down" button to return to the previous, and then confirm with OK.
3. Define the storage location for recordings!
In the Settings of the TerraTec Home Cinema, you have the option of changing the default storage
location for your recordings. To do so, click the button with the small file symbol next to the "Store
recordings in" field. Now you can browse to the directory of your choosing and select it by clicking the
"OK" button.
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Design and controls
The software essentially consists of the TV window and the user interface.
TV window
User interface
The user interface contains:
• Display – a context-sensitive display for additional information
• Mode button (TV, radio, playback of recordings)
• Navigation buttons (station selection, menu navigation)
• Teletext button (open/close teletext, transparent teletext)
• Subtitles
• Display functions (open/close TV window, full screen)
• Recording navigation functions (playback, record, pause, etc.)
• Audio functions (audio channel / format, volume, mute)
• Still image function
• On-screen display functions (OSD)
• Show EPG
• Settings (basic configuration)
• Timer button
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TerraTec Home Cinema functions can be accessed in a number of ways. The following options are
always available:
• The buttons of the user interface
• Infrared remote (if available)
• On-screen display (OSD)
• Context menus – right mouse button in the TV window
• Keyboard commands or key combinations
Display
The user interface display is context-dependent and shows the following:
Station number and name
The current program
Start and end time of program
The current time/recording time
Current mode (TV, radio, recordings)
Timeshift active
Timer programmed
Volume
The current audio track
Recording in progress
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Mode
(TV, radio and recording mode)
Switches between the following three modes:
TV mode
In TV mode, you can watch and/or record TV programs. TV mode is only available if you have at least
one TV station stored in your TV favourites list.
For more information, see Stations
.
Radio mode
In radio mode, you can listen to and/or record radio station programs. Radio mode is only available if
you have at least one radio station stored in your radio favourites list.
For instructions on adding radio stations to a favourites list, refer to the chapter on Setting up
DVB-T radio is not available everywhere.
.
favourites lists
.
Recording mode
In this mode, you can play back TV or radio programs that have been recorded and stored in the
configured recording folder. The display will be empty if there are no recordings in the folder. Note that
the TerraTec Home Cinema is not a replacement for a general media player, as it can only play back
recordings that have been created using this application.
Navigation functions
(TV and radio mode)
Use the navigation buttons to select your station. Press OK to display a list of TV and radio favourites
in the TV window. You can also select stations directly without navigating through the intermediate
stations.
Navigation in OSD
Use the arrow buttons to navigate through the various OSD menus (main OSD menu, EPG, timer,
recording, etc.). The menus are shown on the TV window. Press OK to select a menu item.
The scroll wheel of the mouse can also be used to navigate list fields such as the EPG and EPG
details.
Teletext
(TV mode only)
Press the button once to display the teletext page of the current station in the TV window. Pressing the
button again will display the page transparently over the current TV program. Pressing it once more
ends the teletext display and returns you to normal TV display.
For more information, see Teletext
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Subtitle
(TV mode only)
Clicking this button immediately adds subtitles (as long as the station offers them).
Display functions
(all modes)
The TV button closes the TV window. Click the button again to reopen the window.
The program will continue to be decoded if the TV window is closed. To completely
switch off decoding, if you need to conserve system resources for example, disable the
decoder using "Stop audio/video playback" in the context menu.
(all modes)
Full Screen – Use the "Full Screen" button to change to full-screen mode and hide the user interface.
Click the TV picture and the user interface will reappear, ready for your input. Press the button again
to restore the window.
(all modes)
Change Format – Use the "Change Format" button to force video format changes. Many stations
broadcast programs with the familiar black bars above and below the picture. Naturally, these bars are
extremely annoying on wide-screen displays, as a large part of the screen simply remains black. In
some cases, the black bars are transmitted as part of the program signal. These are conventional 4:3
broadcasts, even though the important part of the picture is in wide-screen format. The software
recognises genuine 16:9 broadcasts and adapts the picture automatically. While the software cannot
automatically recognise wide-screen movies being broadcast in 4:3 format, you can nevertheless force
it to display the correct format.
(all modes)
Screenshot – Use the screenshot button to save a still image of the current TV picture. The images
are saved to the configured recording folder.
For detailed information, see Still images
.
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Navigation functions
(all modes)
Use the recording navigation buttons to control the timeshifting, recording and playback functions of
the Software. Timeshifting, recording and playback are covered in separate chapters, so this is only an
overview of the individual buttons:
Transport functions that are in italics are enabled during manual timeshifting
.
Timeshifting
Record
Playback
No function
Starts playback
No function
Starts playback of the
recording
Starts playback
No function
Stops timeshifting
Stops recording
Stops playback
Pauses playback
Starts timeshifting
No function
Pauses playback
No function
Starts recording
No function
Jumps to the start or end of
the timeshift
Jumps to the
previous/next marker
position
Jumps to the
previous/next marker
position
Fast-forwarding/rewinding,
press more than once to
increase the speed
Fastforwarding/rewinding,
press more than once to
increase the speed
Fastforwarding/rewinding,
press more than once to
increase the speed
Positions playback within
timeshifting. The start of the
timeshift is at the left, real
time at the right.
Positions the playback
within recording. The
start of the recording is
at the left, real time at the
right.
Positions playback within
regular playback . The
start is at the left, the end
at the right.
To use the navigation within a current recording, press the play button once first.
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Audio functions
(all modes)
Use the audio functions to select the audio channel and audio format, adjust the volume or mute audio
output. Some stations broadcast in several languages and/or audio formats. Depending on the
recording settings, the selected audio channel will also be used for recording.
The icon is displayed in the TV window while the audio is muted.
For further information, see Recording
.
You can also adjust the volume with the scroll wheel of your mouse. Click the middle
button to activate the mute—clicking again will cancel the mute.
OSD functions
(all modes)
The on-screen display (the main menu) can be called up in any mode.
For more information, see The on-screen display
One of the most important functions is without a doubt programming via the EPG. For
detailed information, see Timer-controlled recording—EPG-programmed
.
.
.
Show EPG
Displays the electronic program guide, which provides an overview of the programming
schedule of the current station. Note that EPG data are broadcast via digital television only. If you
have a TV receiver that supports analogue TV, you can also receive EPG data via the tvtv service. For
further information, see tvtv service
.
Settings
opens the settings window. Here you can configure the software's general settings, start the
station scan and manage stations in the Favourites list.
For more details, refer to the chapter on The settings
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The on-screen display
opens the main menu.
TV - Switches to TV mode and shows the most recently selected TV station.
Radio - Switches to radio mode and plays the most recently selected radio station.
Recordings - This area allows you to manage your recordings, and lets you play back or delete your
recordings.
Online media - This is where the online media services of "myNoxon" and ZDFmediathek are located.
The colour-coded buttons
This displays scheduled recordings. Here you can schedule new recordings manually,
delete or edit existing scheduled recordings, and quit the OSD.
Selecting the green button allows you to enable the sleep timer. The sleep timer
automatically shuts down the computer at a specified time, which is particularly valuable
when watching late-night TV.
Here you can access the settings for a connected CI module.
Use this to quit TerraTec Home Cinema or shut down the computer.
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The info bar
To show the info bar, you can press either the "i" key on your keyboard or the button on the
user interface. The info bar provides you with a lot of interesting information.
The selected station is displayed in the upper left. Below this is a timeline with the key data of the
current program displayed at its end. A marker shows the current position within the program. The
start times of the current and subsequent programs are displayed below the timeline.
In the right-hand area of the info bar, you are shown the currently selected picture format (16:9 in this
case). You can press F5 to access the settings.
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To access EPG information for the current program, press the "i" key on your keyboard or the
button again. This provides you—similar to a TV magazine—a short description and other key
information about the program.
Use the arrow keys or the "Before" and "Afterwards" to navigate through the schedule for this station.
If you want to program a program, simply press the "R" key or the "Record" button in the upper-right
corner of the image.
To display the electronic program guide information for another station, press the up arrow or down
arrow button to jump to the previous/next station in your list.
Use the button or the "i" key to close the info bar again.
In the settings for the info bar, you can change the audio track, video track, subtitle track, aspect ratio
and picture-in-picture (PiP).
Audio track
Some stations broadcast their TV programs in two or more languages (Arte in Germany, for example,
broadcasts in German and French). Use this feature to select the language you want.
Video track
If there are more than one video track, you can use this to select the one you want to watch.
Subtitles
If subtitles are available for the current program, use this menu to select the one you want to see.
Aspect ratio
Here you can change the aspect ratio.
PiP (picture-in-picture)
Use this option to enable the picture-in-picture feature
, which is described in more detail in the next
chapter.
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Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
The picture-in-picture function allows you to follow the action on
two different stations simultaneously. With it, you can keep an
eye on the elections, for example, while watching sports on
another channel.
There are various ways you can enable or disable the picture-in-picture function:
Using the information bar in the OSD
.
Using the TV context menu
Using the picture-in-picture feature usually requires two tuners; in any event, two are
recommended.
One of the features of digital television is that multiple channels are transmitted over one
and the same frequency. This feature allows the picture-in-picture function to used these
channels.
While the picture-in-picture function is active, only the stations that can be watched
simultaneously are available for selection in the station list.
Using the CTRL + ALT + P key combination.
You can toggle between screens using the Z key or by double-clicking the small TV picture.
Use the CTRL + (1 – 9) keys to move the position of the small TV picture.
.
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EPG—the electronic program guide
displays the electronic program guide, which provides an overview of the programming
schedule of the current station. Note that EPG data are broadcast via digital television only. If you
have a TV receiver that supports analogue TV, you can also receive EPG data via the tvtv service. For
further information, see tvtv service
.
EPG offers several different viewing options:
View
Description
EPG - Channel
The program overview of the current channel.
EPG - Current
The current and upcoming programs in the selected Favourites list.
EPG - Favourites
The program overview of all channels in the selected Favourites list.
If you are in an EPG view, select to switch between the options listed above.
In addition to the EPG views shown above which are common to digital home entertainment devices,
TerraTec Home Cinema also offers an EPG search function—a powerful tool to help you find your way
through the data jungle. To access the EPG search, use the TV/Radio context menu or press SHIFT +
E.
For a detailed description of the EPG search function, please see EPG Search
.
One of the most important functions is without a doubt programming via the EPG. For
detailed information, see Timer-controlled recording—EPG-programmed
.
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EPG - Channel
The header displays the channel name, day of the week and date; below that, it lists the programs
according to time.
You can navigate through the list by days using the cursor keys and . Using the "PgUp" and
"PgDown" buttons, you can go to the EPG for another channel without having to switch.
While program details are not always available, they frequently contain very useful information when
they are present.
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