General Questions about DV-Ring on a computer

[positivehxcgo]

Hello to everyone, and I hope your holiday season is going great.

I am an advanced computer user, and have actually built a few computer systems, so I'm pretty savy when it comes to technical stuff.

However for christmas, I wanted to get my parents a TIVO or some sort of DVR recorder for their satellite dish, but those are unfortunatly out of my budget. A friend, however, suggested looking into a video capture card for their computer. I've been looking around on forums and product websites, and I'm having a hard time finding an answer to a question I need answered-

Do these Video Capture Cards change the channel on the satellite box's (for scheduling recording)? I've found various programs that will perform the schedule, but I'm unsure if it will actually change the channel (while out of the house) like a TIVO or DVR. Any and all response is greatly appreciated. Any alternative idea's is great aswell!

Thanks,

Peter

[thecoalman]

None that I'm aware of but I haven't looked at the "latest and greatest" recently. If there is anything available I've no doubt it's not going to be cheap if there is. The better cards/converters are about $150+. Just about every card has the functionality of what you would expect from a VCR, you could for example hook it up to antennae or regular cable and switch between the channels.

Why not just get a DVD Recorder that will record to RW discs? Almost like having a DVR...

[Bjs]

The answer is no ...

A capture device on pc :

Pc to be minimum 2ghz , 512mb ram if good quality direct mpeg2 recording is required .
Usb 2 devices are dependant upon xp with sp2 installed .
As much hd space as possible for storage and editing of recordings .

If pc is above spec , then consider avermedia device's ... avoid mce units .

Note : avermedia usb2 devices require power from a self powered usb hub ... they need 2 amps ... do not connect directly to pc ... belkin make's a usb hub that comes with power adapter rated for this .

Installation :

1: Satellite unit box to vcr ... video / audio out from vcr to pc via rca only (need cable to go between vcr and pc) .
2: Install program and drivers from disc , then shut down pc .
3: Vcr video via rca to capture device , usb cable from device to hub , hub usb cable to pc , plug in hub's power unit .
3: Audio in via line-in on pc sound device only . (adapter cable required)
4: Startup pc ... set up devices provided scheduler .

If doing this quite often , then frequent defrag of hd should be done at regular intervals .

Satelitte signal need's to be seen in vcr a/v mode on tv set .

Most of these satellite unit box's here in au allow you to setup channel timings ... when one show on one channel finish's , it changes channel prior to other program starting .

You either run pc in manual recording mode , or setup the devices provided scheduler to deal with it ... not all have this feature .

Less confussion :

Dvd recorder , make sure the correct media is used , and set it to video mode ... also invest in an av protection device .

[Nelson37]

Many capture cards will do this when using the Coax input and non-Digital broadcast source.

Most will work with an attachment called an "IR Blaster" to control the satellite or cable tuner.

All seperate tuners I have seen can be set to change channels at a particular time. Combined with the capture card being scheduled to begin recording at that particular time, this works just fine. Zero additional cost.

Unless your parents are very technical or are into gadgets I would strongly recommend the TIVO option. They are not much more expensive than a good capture card and MUCH simpler and more straightforward to use.

[oldandinthe way]

DirectTV is running a free after rebate promo for their DVR

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/secondaryIndex.jsp?assetId=900023

There is still a $6 per month fee. But a year is less than a TV card, and your parents would be in the outer bands of users.

I'm sure Dish network has a similar offer.

[TBoneit]

I'm totally at a loss why you are not just going to either DirecTV or DishNetwork depending on who your parents are using.

Both usually have different promotions running.

Dishnetwork for example has SDTV DVRs and HDTV DVRs as does DirecTV.

They will give the best picture since they record the video stream straight to the hard drive with no encoding to degrade quality.

I use Dishnetwork's SD DVRs and a HD DVR myself and both have a nominal 9 day guide that lets you set timers ahead. The VIP622 for sure and the 625 AFAIK both have name based timer recording that will let you set a timer that can record all shows, or Only new shows or One time only for example.