using my VCR to boot the computer?

[John Doe]

Is it common to leave your computer run 24/7 when capturing video even though you may only capture one or two shows a day? After a week of doing just this, there has to be a better way. I know a pc will software power down but how can it boot? Was thinking of using the VCR, which I'm using as a tuner anyway. Anyone ever tried this, has it come up as a topic or is there some gadget that does this? I could be just thinking to hard, let me hear your view. Was going to pop open the VCR hood a peek around for some ideas this weekend.

[JamesC01]

No need to run your computer 24/7.
I record a TV show to my hd every day at a time while I am away. I have an ATI All-In-Wonder card, and I use ATI's software to capture in MPEG-2 format. ATI's software includes its own scheduler, so I can just set it to record at the right time.
I set the PC to wake up a few minutes ahead of time using the "Wake on alarm" setting in the BIOS, which runs off the the real-time-clock chip. And I have Windows set to turn the computer off again after the right amount of time. Just don't forget to leave the power on at the main power bar.

[John Doe]

Thanks jamesc01 didn't know there was any settings in the BIOS that would do that, looked around and sure enough in the power management settings found RTC-Alarm. Sad thing is, only one timer setting. Seen that Comppro I think it is has tuner cards that will power on the computer too. Wonder how good they work?