| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/8/2009 8:55:14 PM | Anyone own one of these? TiVo® HD DVR
https://www3.tivo.com/store/boxes.do?type=special&WT.srch=1
The first one. Because I can't see having HDTV and not being able to record in it.
All I want is to be able to record from the free over the air HDTV out there. No satellite or cable. There is plenty in this city. This one records two things at once in HD. 20 hours total.
antennaweb.org is great for those of you who want to know what's available in your city free over the air in HD and which way to point your antenna.
Why does one need to pay a monthly fee? One guy at a radio shack told me it would still work without that but I just would not get the TV data. Is this true or not? Does anyone do this, just program it like an old VCR?
If football throws off the time a show starts, as every Sunday it does for the show The UNIT, will the TiVo know this and get the show?
How complex are these to run for a senior citizen?
Are there generic equivalents, maybe ones that don't need the regular monthly fee?
This box also tempts me because it works with netflix which I already do.
Are there any other equivalent technologies that allow me to record in HD? What are you using to record HD and what are your experiences so far? | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/8/2009 10:34:02 PM | Why does one need to pay a monthly fee?
The monthly fee is for the TV guide data. The guide data is displayed in a grid and allows you to browse, select, and record shows in an intuitive manner. No more manually entering the channel number and start/end times like a VCR. You can still do it the VCR way if you like but it's more prone to errors. All recordings are kept in a playlist and shown by name and date of recording. Without the subscription, you can only do manual recordings (like a VCR) and they show up in your playlist as "Manual recording" with the date it was recorded. The only way to know what the recording is is to play it back. Having the subscription also allows you to do keyword searches for particular programs. Needless to say, the subscription make the Tivo way more easy to use and a lot more useful.
If football throws off the time a show starts, as every Sunday it does for the show The UNIT, will the TiVo know this and get the show?
No. What people normally do is pad the recording end time. For instance, instead of stopping the recording at 11pm, stop recording at 12am.
How complex are these to run for a senior citizen?
The user interface is pretty easy to use, possibly the best in it's class. It's pretty much 4 way cursor control, highlighting selections, and clicking the select button. Not much too it, really.
Are there generic equivalents, maybe ones that don't need the regular monthly fee?
For HD, I don't think there are any stand-alone boxes. The closest thing is to buy a couple HDTV tuners that you install in your PC (expansion slots or USB ports) and run some of the freeware DVR software. Or you can run the Media Center Edition of Windows XP or Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate. The freeware solutions don't work with Netflix though.
There are still old ReplayTV recorders around (try ebay) that don't require subscription service but they only record analog. They can be made to work with some digital converter boxes and while the rcordings won't be HD, they're still very good analog recordings.
What are you using to record HD and what are your experiences so far?
I've got 4 HDTV tuners in my HTPC box running XP Media Center Edition. Works pretty well. It's not as refined as Tivo but it works well enough. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/10/2009 5:48:09 PM | | Just found out that without the subscription, the box is pretty much useless. The only thing you can do is play back previously recorded programs and watch live TV with a 30 minute rewind buffer. Manual recording capability has been disabled. The first generation Tivo (non-HD) did allow manual recording without a subscription. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/11/2009 10:38:40 PM | Thanks for all the answers, I've been doing some reading and see they offer some deals on tha monthly fee if you order it longer. Now it has me wondering if the lifetime fee would work if a person had two boxes in one house... or is that a per box fee?
I've got 4 HDTV tuners in my HTPC box running XP Media Center Edition. Works pretty well. It's not as refined as Tivo but it works well enough.
Wow, which brand worked best for OTA HD recording?
Now that you bring it up about 2 years ago I did have my dual tuner (analog and digital) HDTV card running AND recording in HD but something crashed it and it always seemed like it was something. Too much technical stuff for me to keep up with to keep it running. I ran out of time to put into it and was just too busy. It was Microsoft windows approved and had that logo on the box. Had snapstream and nero sw included in the package plus a really nice remote and a remote control extender IR receiver out the USB port, I think. It was a little glitchy in playback or even watching live. Switching channels took forever. A salesman told me I'd probably need to upgrade the video card and I just was never sure which one to get. Never even sure they were competent to be giving me the right answers.
When I'd check TaskManager it was taking up huge amount of resources... like 80 percent of my CPU. I could never figure out when I would read the forums why others said they'd use about 20 % and mine was chewing up 80. I guess I need a video card that can do more of what the computer was doing. Windows Media Center wouldn't change that much, I would guesstimate.
It seemed like a good product, did everything TiVO did with no extra monthly fee. I suppose I should try to reinstall it. The remote had a time lag. Even punching options in by keyboard really had a lag. Rewinding live shows never worked at all. Running an intell pentium 2.54ghz windows XP sp2 2.54ghz 760mb of ram, 120 gig drive which I partitioned off 90 GB just for the HD recording and kept it all on the D: drive. I know it's not much now but it was a lot then.
Funny thing is when I click on the shows I had recorded from back then they won't even play anymore. I get errors and I've tried upgrading Windows media player and adding codecs and stuff. I feel like I need remedial computer training.
It said it would work with regular windows, but would getting Media Home Center Edition be worth it?
The other problem I had was that it overide every other video app I try to use... like installing a camera, then a keychain picture display device, then an HD camera and so those settings would get hosed and I didn't know how to make them all work at once. So I bow to you getting 4 different HDtv cards to all work on the same box.
Any recommendations for a video card? What would you do to try to salvage this thing and get it working once and for all? | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/12/2009 5:30:51 AM | Wow, which brand worked best for OTA HD recording?
I have
DVico Fusion Gold3 HDTV card
Avermedia A180 HDTV card
KWorld ATSC 110 HDTV card x 2
Any brand will work in XP/Vista Media Center Edition as long as it has BDA drivers. Most of the freeware solutions will also work with BDA drivers. It's possible your old tuner may work if it has BDA drivers. Was it a Hauppauge?
Here are some good sites to read for HDTV tuner information and recommendations:
hdtvtunerinfo.com
thegreenbutton.com
avsforum.com - the HTPC section
It said it would work with regular windows, but would getting Media Home Center Edition be worth it?
If you want something that works out of the box (more or less), go with XP MCE 2005. It has built-in support for 2 ATSC and 2 NTSC tuners. The minimum requirement is one NTSC tuner even if you don't plan on doing any NTSC recording. If you want to use 4 ATSC tuners, you have to hack the registry. More info about that here: http://blogs.msdn.com/peterrosser/archive/2006/04/03/MCE-TechTalk-1.aspx
You will also need an MPEG-2 decoder. I'm using NVidia's PureVideo ($20) but there are others that will work as well and may be free.
www.mediaportal.com is an interesting open source MCE clone that also supports multiple tuners w/BDA drivers. You might want to look into that before spending money on XP MCE 2005.
Any recommendations for a video card? What would you do to try to salvage this thing and get it working once and for all?
I originally had an NVidia 6600GT AGP which worked fine for HDTV but I upgraded it to an ATI HD3650 AGP to get Blu-Ray and HD DVD capability. What video card are you currently using? It may already work for HDTV but you will need an upgrade if you want Blu-Ray capability.
Also, check your power supply. You will need a good 400w power supply with at least 21 amps on the 12 volt rails. You will know if your power supply needs upgrading if it shuts down while watching HDTV or playing back recorded files. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/13/2009 7:22:37 PM | I don't have a thing bad to say about my 8300HDC DVR...since they changed software, I am now hooked up to a Western Digital 2TB using eSATA...and can shove all my programs to that now...plus fill up the HD on the DVR....then burn em to DVD if I choose........... | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/13/2009 10:12:45 PM | Tech Support Instant HDTV PCI (Beyond TV) (PTV-380-EF)
http://www.adstech.com/KB/(wwmmxajww3lhoreqfxon5o45)/KB_DisplayTopTenQuestions.aspx?productId=PTV-380-EF&productName=INSTANT%20HDTV%20PCI%20(BEYOND%20TV)
That's the one I bought... seemed loaded compared everything at the time
Unfortunately I don't even know what a BDA driver is. I think it had several choices of MPEG-2 decoders and ways to save... some were TP files which were the playable/rewindable ones. Now some of those have even split into three sections and I don't know how to reintegrate them to get them to play. I used to just click on the file name and it'd run. No problems there.
Display it sats Plug and Play Monitor on Intel(R0 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV graphics controller. Does that answer your question? You've probably seen plenty of people get the new update for it and hitting the buttons and it flip sideways or upsidedown.
The real bottom line shame here is I have this HDTV Projector with a 100 inch screen and it is rarely getting used to its maximum potential. Once an awhile I download the new star trek HD webisodes.
If I try to reinstall this whole thing you reccomend doing it on the D: drive like I did before? Anything to keep it clean and less corruptible.
And how do you keep camera input separate... or rather how do I answer some of those questions like when WMP wants it to use as the standard player? I never know how to answer that without screwing up what I think I already know. I was using POWERDVD for Sony VAIO before which I really liked how it worked, very intuitive. Never had probs or glitches with it. No codec problems....etc...etc..
Thanks for the sites. If I ever get the time and ambition to totally get through they should be of great help. But you don't think I am asking too much of this computer, do you?
I was under the impression that some of the decoding done by the computer would be overtaken by onboard circuitry in the new video card -- is this true or just salesman talk? (Would I see the task manager go down from 80 on the HD app to the 20 I hear others talking about ... many even with smaller/slower systems.)
Edit: I remember what might be an issue for me with the new video cards. It has to fit inside my case and I am not sure how I tell if I have a full size case to fit a full size memory card.
Second edit: Just out of curiousity I put the Xmas special, recored OTA in HD, and its choppy. Task manager reports it as take between 87 and 96 percent of the total CPU usage. What does this tell you? It's playing on Nero 3 Xpress, sw included with the HDTV card, when I first bought it.
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/15/2009 10:36:22 AM | It looks like your tuner card claims to work with MCE 2005 so it does have BDA drivers. MCE 2005 does have a requirement for an analog tuner with hardware encoder but adstech provides a software plug-in that works with your card. Maybe you can get away with not having to buy one. On the other hand, I don't think MediaPortal requires an analog tuner card so there's another reason to try MediaPortal.
Your graphics chipset is what's causing problems. It's integrated into the motherboard and being an older model, it's too slow for HD. You will have to get a dedicated video card or replace the motherboard with one with a newer chipset. The current video cards/chipsets have hardware accelerators where most of the decoding is done. And yes, it can drop CPU usage to below 20%. You should be able to find a video card that can fit your case. Let me know if you need recommendations. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/15/2009 10:55:00 PM |
The current video cards/chipsets have hardware accelerators where most of the decoding is done.
That makes sense. Even though the tuner card I bought claimed it would work with a minimum system far less than mine.
I recall seeing an option in the sw to turn the HW accelerator off and on, as well.
You should be able to find a video card that can fit your case. Let me know if you need recommendations.
Definitely, Thank you! The sooner I can get this resolved the happier I will be.
With the DTV video change around the corner I am concerned about losing my ability to watch one show while recording others which is why I started this thread. Either get my Dual Tuner HDTV card working properly or go buy TiVo. The tuner card is definitely the better long term option because a) No monthly fee and b) upgrading storage will be cheaper than buying a proprietary TiVo Hard Drive in a box. c) The money I save on the monthly fee can buy a lot more storage time. If this succeeds it'd be worth putting in a 500 or 750 gig HD.
Better yet I'd like to do like you have and add a second HDTV card but one thing at a time. Also since I do netflix and HD movies cost no more than my regular subscription I'd be interested in doing like you did and install the Blu-Ray HD drive.
Keep in mind my DLP projector is kind of old, too, so no HDMI input. SVGA and component inputs only.
Now a video card does sound, too, right? How much more expensive is it to keep up with the TOSLINK (is that what they're called?) optical inputs on my stereo or do Dolby 5.1 via PCM coaxial cable (which I know isn't true 5.1 dolby and not proclaimed as good as the optical but I've used it and hear no major differences) also from the same video card? That kind of sound rocks with movies. I've got three subwoofers... dual 8 inch bose ones and a 15 incher with a dual voice coil. When I watch a movie in here it is a very realistic experience. Watched Solar IMAX tonight. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/17/2009 3:50:30 PM |
Even though the tuner card I bought claimed it would work with a minimum system far less than mine.
Actually, capturing ATSC requires very little resources because it's already compressed MPeg-2. Playing it back does require a lot of resources.
Now a video card does sound, too, right?
Not necessarily. It does have to have HDMI output if you want to pass one of the lossless HD formats. And not all video cards with HDMI connectors will pass sound. You have to read the specs carefully.
How much more expensive is it to keep up with the TOSLINK (is that what they're called?) optical inputs on my stereo or do Dolby 5.1 via PCM coaxial cable (which I know isn't true 5.1 dolby and not proclaimed as good as the optical but I've used it and hear no major differences) also from the same video card?
Most motherboards will have either S/PDIF (coaxial) or Toslink (fiber optics)connector to pass the audio bitstream to your receiver. With some motherboards, you have to buy an adapter to externalize the connector. There is no difference in sound quality between the two as long as you use a well constructed cable. In your case, you will need to use the motherboard connector to get sound to your receiver. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/18/2009 12:17:31 AM | I'm not up to a motherboard swap right now but would love the video card suggestions. The dual tuner card is ATSC and NTSC. Shouldn't be a problem but I see no point to re install it until I get a new video card.
What is so different about my Sony Vaio's case that I need to keep in mind for my computer?
http://www.memorystock.com/memory/SonyVAIOPCVRS220.html
I'd like to be able to just walk into office max or office depot and pick up a new video card to get the HDTV recording thing working. They're nearby, I have good working relations with them and if I have to return something it will be conveinent as will be support. Looks like I will turn this into a HT type computer. That's mostly what I use it for anyway.
Video Cards with HDMI support for the 5.1 Surround Sound
There is a bunch of them here but they also seem to have the HDMI support for the 5.1 surround sound. Is that going to be standard?
What about this one? HDTV out means what, though? Isn't my SVGA good enough? Remember I said I have no HDMI input on the older DLP projector. But I like the idea it supports dual monitors in case I want to do like you do and install another HD card or a blu ray drive (only $150 at that one site, very very tempting!) plus keep in mind I have a HD video camera so it looks more compatible with that.
How can I tell if it will physically fit in my case?
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/898740/VisionTek-Radeon-HD-3850-graphics-adapter/
So what do you reccomend? Would I save a bundle going through a mail order place? | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/18/2009 4:57:56 AM | I took a look at the specs for your computer and it says any expansion cards must be less than 9".
Also, it appears that you have only 3 PCI slots available. One slot for your modem, one slot for your tuner card, and the last slot for a graphics card. It looks like your motherboard does not have coaxial or optical output for sound so you will need to uninstall the modem and use a soundcard like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829126005
One thing that's not clear is whether or not you can use a graphics card. You need to go into your BIOS and see if there is a configuration option to disable the onboard graphics and use a separate graphics card.
None of the graphics cards you've looked at will work because you need one for a PCI slot like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187057
That card does not have HDMI but it does have DVI and HDCP. You can use it with an HDMI monitor using a DVI->HDMI adapter. Unfortunately it does not support audio so you will have to go with the separate soundcard. It does have the hardware accelerators you need for HD and Blu-Ray. One person who reviewed it said it works for Blu-Ray.
That graphics card also has a port for a component breakout cable. If you look at the closeup picture, it's the round port in the middle. It doesn't come with a component breakout cable so you will need to buy one. You will need to count the number of holes in the port. Some ports have holes for 7 pins, some have holes for 9 pins. If it has 9 holes, you can use this breakout cable:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040114&p_id=2525&seq=1&format=2 | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/19/2009 2:35:27 AM | I saw ACPI Award BIOS 1001 Version... no options to change that.
Also, it appears that you have only 3 PCI slots available. One slot for your modem, one slot for your tuner card, and the last slot for a graphics card. It looks like your motherboard does not have coaxial or optical output for sound so you will need to uninstall the modem and use a soundcard like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829126005
How did you find the stats on my computer? If there is a site for that I should be learning this kind of thing for myself. I gotta get back into this kind of thing. I did see a unit, like a soundcard, only made for the USB port. That would save me one PCI card. Not that I need the modem in there since its on DSL. The Family Ethernet is unused, too, as well as a lan system. There is a lot on this computer unused.
I did a lot of reading on that first site you posted, hours worth, and wow, it's complex but I also learned a ton. Shouldn't surprise me but it's something to see those drives go down that now a 1,5 terabyte drive is $150.
No other options for the graphics? I have USB 2.0 and firewire 1394. So since I can't shut off the onboard video graphics I am screwed? What if I do it anyway? Isn't there a dip selector switch somewhere on the MB I can change that with?
Last question I was still unclear with.... If I get the video graphics card to work on my system I don't need the MCE sw?
I feel jerked around with now by the ADS INSTANT HDTV company now only to find out, too late to return it, that the card they sold me wouldn't even work with my system. I did all the reading I could. I even bought the thing through the same company that sold me the computer in the first place -- they should have known what will or will not work in my system.
Or should I be looking at building a new system... starting with the Media Center Home edition, as many memory slots and PCI slots as I can? A superhuge tower.
Interesting reading the thread on building a new computer to see how the companies let you can punch in different things for a custom build and it will come assembled. Do they do that for HDTV tuner cards as well? Have something come that works right out of the box without spending all this time. I figured on TIVO it can get really spendy quick.... $400 for lifetime warranty, $2-300 for the Tivo (20 hours of HD, big whoop), Another about $250 for the expansion box TiVO HD. That's nearing a thousand bucks in the long run. Some conveinence there but very limited versatility and expandability.
Funny thing is that everything I googled on this it seems like there are bunches of people out there with systems that don't quite work right. Like everyone is in search of this holy grail that doesn't really exist. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/19/2009 6:50:21 AM | The specs for your PC is at http://www.docs.sony.com/release/specs/PCVRS220spec.pdf
I saw ACPI Award BIOS 1001 Version... no options to change that.
Are you sure you went into the BIOS? You have to get into the BIOS to see if you can disable the onboard graphics. To do that, press the DEL key when you turn on the machine. If it loads Windows, you're too late. It must be done before Windows is loaded.
As far as soundcard options, a USB solution could work as long as it has an optical port or S/PDIF coaxial jack, whichever is compatible with your surround sound processor.
No other options for the graphics?
You could try the NVidia 8400 GS card for $48. Don't know if it will work though. If you're going to try it, at least get one with 512MB of memory.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%201069609642%20106791921&name=GeForce%208%20series
I feel jerked around with now by the ADS INSTANT HDTV company now only to find out, too late to return it, that the card they sold me wouldn't even work with my system.
It still remains to be seen whether or not it will work in your system. It should.
Or should I be looking at building a new system
It will cost you about $70 (soundcard + videocard) and time and effort to find out if your old PC will work. If you decide to build a new system, plan on spending at least $500, maybe less if you're real careful about specing the parts. It's up to you to decide if it's worthwhile to try. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/24/2009 7:33:24 PM |
Are you sure you went into the BIOS? You have to get into the BIOS to see if you can disable the onboard graphics. To do that, press the DEL key when you turn on the machine. If it loads Windows, you're too late. It must be done before Windows is loaded
F2 and hold down through boot up until I got to the master screen where one can change drives, IRQs and all that kind of stuff. Saw the same thing.... "BIOS revision 1001" and the up and down arrow keys would let me get to all the other items on the screen except that so I assume it can't be done unless there is some way with jumpers on the computer board and whatnot. Yes, I'm from that era.
If you decide to build a new system, plan on spending at least $500, maybe less if you're real careful about specing the parts. It's up to you to decide if it's worthwhile to try.
My new HD video camera needs a pentium 4 3.2 ghz or more, 2 gig recommended... neither of which my system will do. So maybe it is time to build a new system. One thing is for sure, I have a lot of learning to do to catch up and those sites you posted in the beginning were very informational... funny seeing that one computer run in a fishtank with baby oil, too. Did he really get much advantage from that, I wonder. But anyway where would be some good sites to read to build just an HTCS? How do you tell the braggers from the real deal? I'm no up to date computer geek who wants to spend endless amounts of time on this kind of thing. That's why I ordered the "Instant HDTV card" 
What I'd like to do is order the system from someplace that will make the basic system cheap and then just add in the HDTV stuff myself. I don't think I have the ambition to build one completely from scratch nor the time. The biggest thing is this -- I gotta avoid getting trapped in a situation like I did now where things weren't more upwardly compatible.
So more memory slots, no onboard graphics card, more PCI slots, bigger case. HUGE is fine by me because my system is atop an upright piano right next to the ceiling mounted DLP projector anyway... It could be 4 feet high for all I care. I just want the HDTV part to go easier this time. Fully supprt all aspects of HDTV. Definitely want to put in a recordable blu ray drive, several HDTV tuners and be able to use this 100 inch screen to better use. In fact would it be too much to ask of one system to function like TiVo for two rooms? So two people could use it on seperate screens in different rooms at once?
One thing is for sure, I have to do a lot more computer reading. For now I'll probably just buy a couple more digital boxes for the old VCRs. I found one DTV box that could be programmed to switch channels. Maybe just read and read and read and wait for windows 7 to come out and hope it's better set up for those of us who want more HDTV support without becoming a computer scientist in the process.
What would be the computing power equivalent of a pentium 4 3.2 ghz if one goes to a dual processor motherboard? | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 2/27/2009 7:00:22 AM |
In fact would it be too much to ask of one system to function like TiVo for two rooms? So two people could use it on seperate screens in different rooms at once?
If you are running Vista/XP Media Center Edition on your main PC, you could use Media Center Extenders in each room. The XBox 360 can function as a MC Extender or you can use dedicated MC Extenders. More info about MC Extenders here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/mediacenter/features/extender.mspx
What would be the computing power equivalent of a pentium 4 3.2 ghz if one goes to a dual processor motherboard?
CPU Benchmarks here:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ | |
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Posted: 2/27/2009 2:14:53 PM | More good reading, but all the HDTV support seems to be on MCE from 2005. If I change over to MCE, since it's already a 4 year old version, how does one know how long it will still be supported? Is there any talk of a replacement I should just wait for?
If I buy it can I put it on multiple computers?
I know I hear everyone talking about it but it seems like it would be almost downgrading in a way and also the ADS instant TV box assured me with the windows logo it could be run, in HDTV with two tuners, on my current xp only system.
I saw a blu-ray DVD player on clearance for $146 the other day... very tempting except the outputs weren't compatible with mine. No optical and I'd had to convert the HDMI with two many adapters. The Upconverting Sony I have is still nice and sharp so the improvement would be minimal for a fair amount of effort. Plus it only held one movie at a time and my current holds 5. | |
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Posted: 3/1/2009 2:37:58 PM | If I change over to MCE, since it's already a 4 year old version, how does one know how long it will still be supported?
MCE 2005 is an extension of XP so support will exist as long as XP is supported - probably another 5 years at least. No new functionality added, just bug and security fixes.
Is there any talk of a replacement I should just wait for?
Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate are already available.
If I buy it can I put it on multiple computers?
One license per computer. You have to register and activate it just like any other MS software.
the ADS instant TV box assured me with the windows logo it could be run, in HDTV with two tuners, on my current xp only system.
The advantage of MCE (or Media Portal if you want to try it) is that you could install multiple tuners from different manufacturers and have a single unified user interface. If all you want is to run your one tuner, there's no need to use MCE, unless you like the MCE user interface.
It looks like the application that came with your tuner does support MCE-like functionality including multiple tuners. Maybe you should try the latest version before deciding if you want to upgrade to MCE. It seems to be actively supported.
http://www.snapstream.com/products/beyondtv/ | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 3/3/2009 3:15:08 PM | HDMI support for lossless surround sound is pretty much essential. S/PDIF (optical or coaxial) can only handle 2 channel lossless or compressed surround sound (Dolby Digital or DTS). I wouldn't buy a new video card that didn't support that, even though I don't yet have a surround receiver that supports HDMI audio.
My "HDPC" is set up for Blu-ray and HD-DVD playback using an LG combo drive. I had hoped to get lossless playback by using the 5.1 analog outputs from the sound card direct to the surround receiver, but I couldn't get that to work. Some people have resorted to ripping movies to the hard drive as .mkv files which can then be played back with free players like VLC. ("makeMKV" claims to do that in one step; haven't tried it.) With the plummeting cost of storage, this isn't such a crazy idea. (FYI, the guts of the PC are an Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 1 gig DDR, 8500GT video card, SB Audigy 2ZS sound card. Blu-ray and HD-DVD content play without the CPU maxing out.).
I haven't explored ATSC HDTV tuners yet... no reception where I live. I did use BeyondTV as a PVR with an Hauppauge standard definition tuner card; it made for a very easy-to-use PVR using the remote that was bundled with the tuner card.
If you have trouble playing back old video files, give VLC a try. It has support for almost any imaginable video file format built in without having to mess with external codecs. (It plays Quicktime movies a lot better than Quicktime does, for example. And flash video files you've saved from Youtube...) http://www.videolan.org | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 3/3/2009 8:30:12 PM | I just paid tivo 299.95 for lifetime service so no more monthly fee to tivo  | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 3/4/2009 10:20:38 PM |
One license per computer. You have to register and activate it just like any other MS software.
So how much are extra licenses?
I'm unfamilar with how all that works because I bought this preloaded and premade. Due to severe carpal tunnel syndrome I gave up computers for a decade and a lot has happened during that time.
But if I do build another system I would like to link them. Would the VAIO link sw be good for this and since I already own one legal system an extra license shouldn't be too inexpensive... I don;t have to buy the whole sw again. I'd like to set it up for the neighbor below me.
I downloaded and used the WATCH HDTV freeware and got some of it going but there were a lot of size issues. Only one channel came out full size. I spent about 4 hours with it. Will spend more later and try to fine tune things when I have more tinkering time. CPU was maxed out to 100 percent. But maybe I could record them one day and watch another and it'd be easier on the cpu. Should I try overclocking it a bit?It is near a central air vent and I was thinking of adding in a output vent right where the computer because in summer, especially with the computer and big screen projector running this room gets hotter than the rest in the unit. Could blowing that cold of air on it intermittently hurt it? Or else just find a way to tune it down from 1080 to 720...hoping it'd be easier on the CPU and work.
Then it closed down several times. But it was encouraging to see it working somewhat. Think there is any way to dial back the HD and just see if it will work as a PVR?
Get like 4 terabyte drives, flash them for Tivo and bam you will never run out of entertainment ever... i do beleive an emulator is required. (their free google em). shoot tivo's are really simple, you could build your own for like 1/4th the price. get win 7 , 8 gigs of ram and a 4 terabyte system, and hook up soundsystem through the house, get a tv tuner (100$) and have your whole house decked out with multimedia capabilities remote. any room in your house will have access to your music/videos/net. simple networking really :p
You'd be surprised. Without using computers I wired my woodworking basement shop with full audio. The best part is with IR to RF converters I can sit in my shop and use my same remote to change CDs, DVDs, and the radio of the my stereo running two floors above it. So I have no problem doing the extended networking wiring. You know a lot but you weren't listening real well. I did google what you said but everything I saw was normal, not HIGH DEFINITION which is what this thread is supposed to be about.
There is even a see in the dark capable CCTV watching it all as a theft preventative.
My front side bus is 533 Mhz. There is 1394 Firewire and USB 2.0 and the family ethernet10/100 connection which got me wondering... is there any way to use any those to hook up a higher quality video card? I noticed a lot of the tv tuners use just the USB, which is pretty lowly data rates for input. I'm looking to do the reverse.
Maybe I will try googling for that or maybe alsolook for a hack to shut off the video card in this onboard motherboard since you seem sure once I get the right videocard on it will work.. Is that unheard of? | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 3/5/2009 3:38:04 PM |
So how much are extra licenses?
I've seen the bulk packs at newegg. It's cheaper to go with multiple single copies. Each copy of MCE 2005 goes for about $115 at newegg.
CPU was maxed out to 100 percent.
That's because your onboard graphics chipset does not have MPeg-2 acceleration. Overclocking your CPU won't help. If you want to keep your old PC, you have to use a video card with hardware acceleration. Some of the new motherboards with integrated video chipsets also have hardware acceleration.
Think there is any way to dial back the HD and just see if it will work as a PVR?
Instead of recording HD, you could try recording Standard Definition or NTSC.
There is 1394 Firewire and USB 2.0 and the family ethernet10/100 connection which got me wondering... is there any way to use any those to hook up a higher quality video card?
There's no such thing as external video cards. However, you can use those ports to stream the files to a Media Center extender.
maybe alsolook for a hack to shut off the video card in this onboard motherboard
There is no hack. Your BIOS should support it - it just may not be obvious. I've read that other motherboards with integrated video chipsets allow you to specify 'Use onboard graphics' or 'Auto' or something similar. 'Auto' is the one you want. If it detects a dedicated video card, it will use it automatically, otherwise, it will use the onboard graphics. | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 3/5/2009 9:48:10 PM | If I used one of those ports to stream it to the extender would it bypass my lowly 64MB graphics capability allowing the High Def to work then?
Installed NBCs new HD P2P program downloading program for their HDTV output. Works but still jittery -- and that's only 720. BTW it's slowing my computer down quite a bit so I reset the upload speed to minimum setting. It's in the beta version.
There is no hack. Your BIOS should support it - it just may not be obvious. I've read that other motherboards with integrated video chipsets allow you to specify 'Use onboard graphics' or 'Auto' or something similar. 'Auto' is the one you want. If it detects a dedicated video card, it will use it automatically, otherwise, it will use the onboard graphics.
I found it! Nowhere near the BIOS but if I went into cp>display>settings>advanced>adaptor>properties>general then there is a way to disable the current video.
It also said DAC Type Internal. Also there is a slider in there allowing for adjusting the hardware acceleration... where should that be set for maximum benefit to my system?
So this is my HDTV fix if I buy & install that video card you mentioned above that will fit in my case? That's all that matters.
Should I consider doing two or is that just overkill on my system? Is that the major bottleneck if I wanted to add more tuners? What would be the second HDTV tuner you'd recommend?
It also said it was running in PCI bus 0, device 3, function 0.
I just reread that link you posted about the low profile card and it looks like its so wide it takes up two slots:
Pros: Nice, decent card for the pci interface. Quick, easy install. Huge upgrade over onboard gfx and my old and busted raedeon 9250. Bought me an extra year before a complete Mobo and CPU rebuild. Runs Vista pretty good.
Cons: Takes up two PCI slots. (Heastsink is huge)
Runs hot. Recommend adding a fan.
As stated a million times before, driver cd is best used as a coaster. Get drivers from Nvidia.com
Other Thoughts: Overall not a bad card if you're stuck with pci and need to update that old pc for just a lil' while longer. Be clear it does not work miracles though.
$85 there, found for $65 at a local place.
http://www.bestbuybusiness.com/bbfb/en/US/adirect/bestbuy?cmd=catProductDetail&showAddButton=true&productID=BB10932236 | |
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| HDTV TiVo or equivalent
Posted: 3/6/2009 9:19:34 AM |
If I used one of those ports to stream it to the extender would it bypass my lowly 64MB graphics capability allowing the High Def to work then?
Yep. The extender uses your main PC for data retrieval only. The extender is really a dedicated PC used only for multimedia purposes i.e. managing videos and music files, etc.
I found it! Nowhere near the BIOS but if I went into cp>display>settings>advanced>adaptor>properties>general then there is a way to disable the current video.
From Control Panel? That doesn't sound right because the motherboard has to know which video card to use while booting so it can't be done in Windows.
Should I consider doing two or is that just overkill on my system? Is that the major bottleneck if I wanted to add more tuners? What would be the second HDTV tuner you'd recommend?
Your PC should be capable of recording multiple HDTV streams. Since your PC has only 3 slots available, if you want multiple tuners, you will have to use the HDTV tuners that plug into a USB port. Another option is the HDHomerun box. It is a box with 2 HDTV tuners that you put on your network. You can share it with other PCs on your network. More info here:
http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun
That video card from BestBuy you're looking at won't fit in your PC. It's a PCI-Express card. I think your PC is just PCI which is older technology. | |
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