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.)

Comments

Free pvr software

[Dzimas]

Don't forget that one can get excellent free PVR software, too. In fact, I'm surprised that Make Mazazine didn't go this route -- far more the DIY style. I run GB-PVR (www.gbpvr.com), which can handle DivX, audio, etc. and has plugins for weather, cartoons, and is skinnable. It enables you to select free tv listing from zap2it which cover Canada and the USA, and also supports various XML listing feeds for elsewhere on the planet.

I also recommend checking out the Hauppage (www.hauppage.com) PVR-150 through PVR-350 series, as well as their MediaMVP box, which allows streaming your tv across ethernet to your television. I suspect you could create a very useable system with free software for well under $100. Just be warned that you'll chew through about 2GB per hour of HD space. The old 30GB drive that's serving as my PVR storage doesn't really cut it in the modern world!

$150 too much

[biryokumaru]

$150 is way, way, way too much. I got a fully functional TV tuner card that I use with mplayer as a DVR and it only cost me $6 (I got a good deal). But www.pricewatch.com puts capture cards around $20.

How to get a FREE DVR

[AgNO3]

Call current provider and say, "I'm thinking of switching to another provider because they will give me a free dvr. If you can match that I will stay with you." That's how we got our Dish netowork DVR. Which does 2 tvs. Recently talked to comcast about switching to them but said we want dvrs for 4 rooms. They said yes. (we want on demand feature from comcast) So will probably switch to Comcast when our dish contract is up in a month. Only reservation is that we hear comcast dvr sucks. Dish's is pretty nice.

Re:PC-based DVRs have massive drawbacks...

[kfhickel]

wrong, wrong, wrong.

The power of a PC based DVR (I use BeyondTV myself even though I have a linux server in the house too), is not that you put one next to every TV. That would be "stupid". Instead, you put one in the basement where you don't care if it's noisy, then you put a $90 MediaMVP box from Hauppage on each TV, and wire it to a switch.

Compare that to putting a TIVO on 4 TV's, even if you get the box for free, it's $1200 for the lifetime guide access (which is free with BeyondTV), and then more money if you want the home networking option so that you can move programs from one TIVO to another.

Now, my setup cost more than $1200 (but not that much more), but then my BeyondTV machine is also my X-10 house controller machine, is a 3.2ghz p4 hyperthreaded with 1gb of 800mhz dual channel ram, a 100gb 7200rpm disk for the OS and 4 seagate ata133 7200rpm 300gb drives in a stripe set for the data volume. It's also my backup server. And I can watch any program from any TV in the house.

I've got right aroun $1500 in the machine, including the OS and software licenses and 4 MediaMVP boxes for a total cost (not including network switches, etc) of $1820 (I got a deal on the MVPs) for 4 TVs, and I could have another TV for free if I put the server next to a TV.

4 TIVOs would cost more like $2000 (200/box plus 300 guide fee) and would have a lot fewer features and much less storage, and some amount more for the networking option.

So....

My MythTV experience

[DrJohnnie]

I put together a mythtv system from an old computer; it was a way for me to learn more about linux.

But, then after the motherboard went bad (bad caps.) I bought a new motherboard, processor, and memory ($159.) It wasn't "pretty" enough (girl friend didn't like the case next to the TV.) So I bought a silver stone case and power supply ($190.)

Can't forget the two tuners; pvr-250 ($120) pvr-150 ($60.)

Total $529...

My ReplayTV, refurbished 5040, $350/with lifetime service.

I paid $179 more for a homemade pvr and some linux experience. Not to mention a fun and frustrating hobby.

I think it was worth it, but my girl friend prefers the replay.

My DIY PVR

[xchino]

For most people I would recommend just buying a tivo or something off the shelf like that, but if you're a true geek you're going to want a mythtv system. I spent about ~$1,000 total on mine, but it's the nicest PVR me or my friends have ever come across. It's actually more of a media center than just a PVR. Here's the basic setup..

First I didnt want some clunky beige case sitting beside my TV looking akward, so I opted for a home theater PC case, specifically this one.

I've got two Hauppauge PVR-500's, which are dual tuner cards, so I have a total of 4 tuners (this way I can record 4 different shows at once if they happen to be broadcast simultaneosly. This comes in handy durin g prime time when you would otherwise be forced to pick between different shows.

The rest of the hardware is nothing special, a soyo kt400 mb, 512M ram, athlon 2100+, and a geForce fx 5200. Not a top of the line system by any means, but not bad at all. Probably overkill for doing the PVR stuff, but I do alot more with it than just that.

The software is where it really gets interesting. I use gentoo on most of my machines, and this one was no different, mythtv as well as several plugins are already in portage and installed hassle free. MythTV acts as my front end to TV, weather, DVD's/Movies, Games, etc. I scripted a little GTK frontend to all my emulators and roms, so my PVR is also a NES, SNES, SMS, N64, PSX, etc. (now you see why I needed that GeForce :P) It server as my fileserver and mp3 jukebox, and can stream all of it's data (video,tv,music) to any other PC in my house. I can browse tv listings and schedule show recordings through a web interface from anywhere.

So all in all I spent about 4 times more than a Tivo and got about 20 times more out of it. Not a bad deal I'd say...