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Build Your Own DVR

Posted by timothy on from the no-build-mine dept.

prostoalex writes "If you have an old computer that had been laying around for a while and are ready to spend a bit on hardware to make into a Digital Video Recorder, this article from Make magazine contains a step-by-step guide on building one. The author spent $150 on TV card and $70 on BeyondTV PVR software." (And with a Linux-friendly capture card, MythTV would save the builder $70.)

6 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. The guy is not so dumb as to waste $70 by putko · · Score: 4, Informative

    The author's description implies the guy could have saved money if he'd used free software.

    When I read this, I thought, why would someone who is smart enough to build a PVR waste money unnecessarily on software?

    From RTFA, it appears that because the software is bundled, he didn't pay the $70. It was "free as in beer".

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    http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_s tone_your_children/dt21_18a.html
  2. EFF shameless plug by NotoriousQ · · Score: 4, Informative

    In honor of Broadcast flag becoming law on July 1st, EFF hosts a Broadcast flag awareness and PVR building page with many resources on how to build you own. A good starting place to see many solutions and find many links

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    badness 10000
  3. In my experience... by grolschie · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is currently no PVR software that allows capture to DVD. The ones that offer DVD burning, do it after the capture. Time consuming, not convenient. You still can't get close to the convenience of a box-top DVD recorder.

    Also, just don't buy a TV card (or AGP card with TV tuner) made by ATI. You'll have nightmares with drivers and ATI software like the rest of us ATI users do.

    1. Re:In my experience... by gabebear · · Score: 4, Informative

      All modern DVD burners have burn overrun protection

      I've never seen a DVD burner without buffer underrun protection, but whenever I've ever burned something to fast and actually made use of that protection the DVD that it makes is either really picky about what drives it will work in or it will be a coaster. I've noticed the same thing with CDRs/CDRWs.

      Buffer underrun is nice, but it definately has serious drawbacks.

  4. Re:More than $70... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Had you read the article, you would have learned that he had an "extra" license for Win 2000, and that is what he used. He mentioned upgrading to XP, but said that he didn't.

  5. Re:Interesting but pointless by g8way · · Score: 4, Informative

    MythTV now supports capturing TV from a set-top box through Firewire-which would also save you the expense of a TV tuner card.