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Build Your Own DVR
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.)
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.)
Lets not forget the license fee for Windows XP -- that's significantly more than $70, I'm sure.
1. an old computer is going to be a big hulking mess compared to a DVR
2. the DVR will use much less wattage
3. the DVR doesn't cost much more anyway
Reliably?
Myth has a long way to go yet.
And some really awkward assumptions for defaults.
"No, you should not see the cursor, that would be too easy to use"
Free does not necessarily mean "best"
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-noisy
-unable to record more than one digital channel at once, and you'll still need a cable/satellite receiver to record digital at all
-terrible form factor
-clunky user interface
-limited epg (electronic program guide)
I'm usually all for tinkering and rolling your own, but in this case I would suggest just getting a Tivo, or better yet a DirectTivo or a DVR through your cable company (usually an extra $10/month). Everything will just work, you can record multiple digital channels at once (even multiple HD in many areas), and some DVR's even have music/games/pictures software built in.
1. an old computer is going to be a big hulking mess compared to a DVR
2. the DVR will use much less wattage
3. the DVR doesn't cost much more anyway
Amen, thank you.
If I could get a DVR for the price of TV card + the software, and no more hassle, I'd buy one.
In fact, it would solve the problem of getting digitised programs off a standalone DVR. However, as this would require leaving my computer all the time (wattage, noise), and more importantly, restrict what I can do with it (bad enough if you use Windows and want decent recording quality- means you can't run game X when your favorite program is on; I run Linux, and not being able to boot into that at will is a killer, straight off, for me).
The 'old computer' is, as you say, still going to be bulky and noisy (and ugly), and quite honestly, if you want analog recording, you're going to need a pretty decent machine to capture at full resolution. The only machine I can dedicate to this (I use my laptop as a wireless X server for my main machine) is my old Pentium-233. *Way* too slow...
So, buy a new PC. Cheap one? Still noisy, bulky, and power hungry; and no cheaper than a standalone box, if slightly more flexible.
Shuttle-type case (nano-ATX where the *hell* are you?); getting expensive, and I'd have to start questioning the merit of not just getting a standalone DVR.
For me, the latter are likely to come down in price to mass-market breakthrough price by the end of the year; the main problem is getting the video off them. But that in itself isn't enough to persuade me to spend more on the 'cheap' option of a new PC.
On the other hand, maybe I just don't care enough about TV to consider the ultimate flexibility that a new nano-PC based solution would give to be worth the money. I'll wait for my cheap off-the-shelf box and use my VHS recorder in the meantime.
There are around 4 shows a week our household likes to watch. If we miss one, I get it off of bittorrent. I'm sure they are fun and convenient, but just not worth it for the limited use. You know, if I really gave it enough thought, we would just do away with cable at $20/month and get our shows from the the 'net.
"He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
Before building your own PC-DVR, you should take a long look at Tivo or ReplayTV.
For example. A 40GB ReplayTV unit is $99 + $299 activation. From there you can upgrade hard drive to a huge capacity for the cost of a bare drive. It takes 5 minutes to set up. The interface is serviceable. The GUI is adequate. Video quality is good. There are programs to get files from the Replay unit to your PC.
It just works. And for god sakes it is just TV. You might save some money but you gotta ask yourself if it is really worth the time and energy.
-w
You can get dirt cheap inkjet printers and razor handles too.
Even if the software supported that feature, it would be a mistake to use it on most systems. DVD burning is something you have to do all at once, unless you're short of coasters. Running a lot of CPU intensive processes, such as recording and TV show and encoding it to DVD format, has a high liklihood of causing a fatal interruption. Maybe you could do it on a high-end system -- but a consumer DVD recorder is a lot cheaper.
USA-based mythtv users enjoy an "almost free" 14-days-ahead program guide courtesy of Zap2it; the price is every three months we have to fill out a 20 second online survey which asks about our TV viewing habits. no big deal, and no privacy issues a la TiVo.
the program guide information which comes from Zap2it is high quality, complete with a lot of metadata, and covers all possible USA channels on all possible USA networks. a happy customer here.
It costs me $71.40 to rent the DVR on top of my usual cable subscription... (yes, which subsidizes the DVR cost...) but at $71.40 a year, HDTV capability and no up front or program listing costs... It's worth the money. Now if I wanted an extra DVR for just grabbing regular television you bet I'd tinker with a homebuilt solution. It's a great learning exercise, but not for everyone.