![]()
Post
#1
|
|
Experienced Member ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Advanced Members Posts: 1,427 Joined: 12-February 04 From: Huntingtown, MD Member No.: 193 ![]() |
My wife wants a Tivo badly. But after looking at them and some of the very limited features I think I can build something better for the same price using an old PC. Computer wise I have an old 550 MHz P3 that I would like to use becuase currently it's just sitting in the corner taking up space. I realize this may not be enough, but I plan on using the Hauppauge 500 card which has hardware encoding, so I don't think I need a powerfull PC. If I use hardware encoding all the processor is going to do is control the streaming of data to disk and run the interface program, which I think a P3 should be able to do. Anyone have any advice as far as software (Beyond TV, Sage, etc.)? I'm leaning toward using windows since my wife will be using this and I really don't want to put myself through the pain of teaching her Linux (which I'm sure she doesn't want either).
As far as hardware/software I think I need: 1. TV tuner card (leaning towards Hauppauge 500 so I can record one channel while watching another) 2. Video card with TV out (not sure want I want, but a Matrox G200 TV should be cheap) 3. Need a lot more then the 8 GB harddrive the computer currently has. I'm thinking about 300 GB should do it. 4. Software (Beyond TV, Sage, Windows Media Center, etc.) 5. Remote I guess I should say that I want to go the PC route instead of Tivo becuase my wife likes to review her favorite shows all at once. So I plan on burning her shows to DVD, so that she can watch them all at once. The only feature that I have not seen is that when you are looking at a show is there any software that will tell you what season and episode number the show is? That would make it alot easier to put the shows in the correct order on the DVD. Does a Tivo even do this? Any advice is appreciated. |
|
|
![]() |
![]()
Post
#2
|
|
Advanced Member ![]() ![]() Group: Advanced Members Posts: 604 Joined: 30-December 03 From: Columbus, OH Member No.: 70 ![]() |
I built a system about a year and a half ago with a dual tuner card and Beyond TV and an ATI video card with DVI output on a XP home box. I have a HD TV the has DVI in so the picture is better than with a standard video out port. The only down side is that the tuners can only record analog stations off cable. To record the digital channels (Speed) I had to get a another DVR from my cable company. But I like having the Beyond TV DVR, I often copy shows to other computers and sometimes recompress them for my PSP. I have a 260 GB drive and it can easily record 80-100 hrs of shows. I even have remote control for it.
If you install an HD tuner you can record over the air HD shows. |
|
|
![]()
Post
#3
|
|
www.skulte.com ![]() ![]() Group: Advanced Members Posts: 345 Joined: 26-October 04 From: W. Hartford, CT Member No.: 515 ![]() |
To record the digital channels (Speed) I had to get a another DVR from my cable company. Many of the TV capture cards come with a remote IR Blaster (such as the Happauge PVR-150). Place that in front of your digital box, and the computer can change the channels. Sure, it ties up up that TV, but your wife should understand that 24 hours worth of Rolex is more important that the HGTV how to faux finish a bathroom! Another thing to consider if you've got a Motorola digital box, is that many of them can be controlled by the firewire connection. I've got the Moto 6200/2005 digital HD box, and now need to get a 6 pin to 6 pin cable to try it out. AVS Forums has a big thread at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695. Are there any TV capture cards with a cablecard port? Comcast will give you a card for a whopping $2.50/mo, I believe. Anyways, if you guys just want speedvision, and have Comcast in the area, you can get basic cable for $12/mo (the standard network channels), and the digital sports pack for $8/mo. No more 100 channels of other useless crap for $50/mo! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) |
|
|
![]() ![]() |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 22nd May 2025 - 01:25 PM |