SPDIF and digi TV set-top boxes ... ?

[Stonechatz]

Is it too simple just to get an SPDIF connexion (somehow) to directly record a digital TV signal from the set-top box straight to HD? Or am I entirely missing the point ... ?

:P

[teegee420]

I could be wrong here, but isn't that connection audio only?

[Stonechatz]

If it does prove to be an audio-only link ... how may the TV signal be lifted directly from the set-top box and committed to the HDD, without having 1st to use a digital to analog device - which data must then be re-digitised? In other words - what is the quickest route to, say, a home-made TiVo???

[Dimmer]

It is without a doubt an audio-only interface. Recording it directly requires a sound card that can pass through SPDIF signal without re-encoding. It's a bit tricky, for example, most of Creative cards can't do that. Search for "SPDIF pass-through" if you're interested.

[FokeyJoe]

You may want to check out a DVB card. It eliminates the set top box, and takes the digital feed directly into a PCI card. I can't recall if its already mpeg2 or not, but if it isn't, you want to get one with a hardware mpeg2 encoder to avoid video capturing-induced stress

Also if you like linux, then check out http://www.mythtv.org/. You can remotely queue up programs, do background encoding to divx, loads of ridiculously great things that hardware TIVO's only dream of.

There is one downside and that is that it's more effort to do ad removal with mpeg. It would require at least 1 reencode. Though if its good mpeg2, it won't be that bad quality.

I also hear stories about people who get TIVO units and put in their own interface to the HDD. As long as its not encrypted it should do the same thing.