Turning the PC into a Digital Video Recorder

gearfix2 writes "The NYTimes ran this story in today's paper about how to turn the PC into a personal video recorder (a la TiVo)... It's got pretty thorough coverage of PC-based hardware with the conclusion "the TiVo outshines the PC-based systems by being easier to use and by offering more built-in intelligence." Conspicuously absent are El Gato's EyeTV for the mac and SnapStream's Personal Video Station... Anyways, the real question is whether PC PVR will *ever* get there. No one does it quite right yet..."

ATI...

[Lysol]

I moved across the us recently and decided to ditch all my tubes (tv & monitors). i got a ati tv wonder usd and it's totally kick ass. works off either cable or antenna. plug it into a networked computer, give it a zip code, and voila!, u have tv in that local area.
my friend has tivo, and it's cool. but when i get my projector goin (ati also has a remote for this), i'll have a mobile projection system. even a 640x480 projector on a wall will look better than most tubes. i basically gave my tv away. just like the old radios yr granparents mighta dug and have since bitten the technology dust, so will tube tv's.
expect more tv wonder type devices. now, if only it worked on my tibook.. :(

Re:So let me see if understand...

[Billy Bo Bob]

Well, that is true to an extent. But the PC offers much more. I have a PVR machine set up and big-deal; record TV programs on a very overpriced Tivo. BUT I also have complete access to my audio streaming server with a web interface with my entire CD collection available (and soon adding mixes...) at the touch of a button. And 192 kb/s MP3 is pretty decent. Not to mention web access which can be fun, even with company (look up movies, trivia, etc). And all hooked up via HDTV connection. Eventually it will be hooked up to home automation.

Sure a PC PVR is overpriced (and a bit of a pain) but the potential is much better; it just needs to be realized with more turn-key software.

Now if the damn thing wasn't so noisy and stopped heating the room....

I disagree...

[eric2hill]

"No one does it quite right yet..."

I disagree. I've got a Dish Network [dishnetwork.com] PVR 501 that works wonderfully.

• All the guide information comes down through the sat signal.
• The hard drive stores the raw MPEG bitstream, not a recompressed version.
• The quality is therefore identical to the live sat broadcast.
• I have a 10-second skip back.
• I have a 30-second skip forward.
• Live pause is perfectly integrated.
• The guide search works great now.
• Built-in on-screen caller ID.

The only things I miss are the ability to change out hard drives for a bigger model, and the ability to dump a show to CD or DVD. These features I can live without. This little box works great.

Now if I can just get caller IQ I'll be all set.

Re:NYT Registration

[McCart42]

Hey, I tried "test:test", and "test1234:test1234", "fake:fake"...given more synonyms for "false", I could've tried others, but "dummy" worked, thank you very much.

EyeTV Software Bugs

[Anonymous Coward]

A friend of mine bought the EyeTV soon after it was announced. The software that ships with it is really buggy. Most annoying, you can't leave the USB connection plugged in for more than 24 hours. He's had a bunch of other problems with it too (I don't rememeber the specifics off hand) but the thing seems to be usable. Just barely. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy it until they do a lot of work on the software.

PVRs vs PCs

[Storm]

I have been working on this very thing the past feww months, and have found that while there is an associated learning curve, there are advantages to using a PC to record over a TiVO.

Since my job requires some travel, I have found that it is a definite boon to collect movies. Using my workstation as a PVR, I am able to capture to the hard drive, do some postprocessing and write a DivX to a 700MB CD-R which I can then take with me and watch on business trips. And its all perfectly legal, since I am archiving for later viewing. On the other hand, getting the same from a TiVo requires modifications of questionable legality. In addition, I can make backup copies of my DVDs on 700MB media so I don't have to risk leaving my DVDs in a hotel room somewhere.

As for the cost issue, if you have a system with the right specs (a modern PC should pretty much do it), then the only additional cost should be a tv capture card, which can be had for $20 or $30 US. The only thing that one could point out is the time cost and the learning curve involved in making the hardware and software do what you want it to. But it is that way with anything. If its worth doing, you're probably going to have to teach yourself.

Showshifter anyone?

[milo28]

None of this software holds a candle to Showshifter [showshifter.com]. Easily the best PVR software for windows. You can do any of the options talked about in the article and you're not locked into any single codec like MPEG-2 or any proprietary remote control. One of the problems mentioned was the quick use of hard drive space which can easily happen when using MPEG-2. With showshifter you control the codec used. DivX or WMV8 sure do a better job at keeping the file sizes down than MPG. I've used this software for over a year and am very happy. If you plan on trying to use your PC/TV as a PVR you should take the time to evaluate Showshifter, just like the reporter should have. I think he might have had a better experience.

-Mike

Re:Not yet...

[cowboy junkie]

MS released their first version of TiVo and it was called Ultimate TV [utlimatetv.com]. No one was overly impressed with it and it didn't sell very well at all.

That doesn't mean they won't keep banging on it. The early versions of both Windows and IE weren't too hot either, but they did pretty well in the long run. MS knows this is a critical market, and they have both time and money on their side.

Re:Cost--electricity

[endoboy]

offsetting the subscription cost is the significant additional energy cost to keep the PC running--

Even if you figure it (conservatively) at an additional 100 watts, it comes to something like 35 cents per day-- which comes out within about a dollar per month of the monthly subscription fee

Essentially, the PC solution has you paying your subscription fee to the power company instead of Tivo

Pay TV Descrambling on your PC

[Perimus]

Your cable network will NEVER support descrambling of digital channels, and pay channels on your PC :-( But, with the TIVO DirecTV tuner, you can record all channels. The PC PVR market will never be serious until we can record Six Feet Under, Sex in the City and Queer as Folk off the pay channels when we're not home!

Not on Steve's watch...

[Anonymous Coward]

He's near bit interviewer's heads off for proposing 'Set Top Boxes' and other similar TV-computer things. He's quite adamant that a Computer is NOT a TV & TVs are for lemmings... More than a little unreasonable on that subject :)