Recording multiple TV channels at the same time

[Namocol]

Greetings.

Where I work sometimes we do videos that end up on TV (commercials or footage for news) that we'd like to keep for our archives, and we also monitor the news for some local companies, to send clips of it to them in case some news item that talks about their companies come out. For the time being we're doing it by having some DVD recorders with HDs, one for each TV channel, recording all day long, then they're deleted every 3 or 4 days (that's when they get full)

I'd like to know if it's possible to maybe streamline the whole thing to one or two computers with tuner cards recording 24/7 several TV channels at once (we usually are recording 5 TV channels all the time, but might need to go up to 10 from time to time). I know some things like HD bandwith might be a concern, but I could go with lower quality video, it's mostly for archival purposes, not to actually work with it. If the video can be cut and converted on the fly or relatively quickly to a small format like MP4 or WMV to send trough email would be a huge bonus. Also, all of it would be standard definition, no HDTV here yet.

I was checking windows media center, but seems to be limited to up to 2 analog TV tuners (the input would be regular cable TV trough coaxial cable), also mythTV but most of what I've read on it so far seems to be too technical for me to understand, couldn't find a simple straight answer as to how many tuners it supports at the same time and wether it would work without a channel listing service (I'm in Venezuela, no such thing exists here that I know of).

Any help or idea would be appreciated.

[jagabo]

I've heard of people recording something like 6 or 8 shows simultaneously with 3 or 4 Hauppauge PVR-350 cards in one computer. Note that card is a dual tuner hardware MPEG encoder.

[yoda313]

I've heard of people recording something like 6 or 8 shows simultaneously with 3 or 4 Hauppauge PVR-350 cards in one computer. Note that card is a dual tuner hardware MPEG encoder.

Also its a good idea to have multiple harddrives to record seperate shows. That will help limit capture errors.

And use hardware capture cards like hauppauge 350's to ensure better quality. The hardware cards should also be less taxing on your system resources during capture

[jagabo]

I don't know if Hauppauge's newer WinTV-HVR-2250 or Win-TV-USB2 devices can be used this way.

[edDV]

You didn't tell us what you are capturing from? If analog cable, these are well tested. It will also tune over the air analog. They've also added some HD tuners..

http://blogs.snapstream.com/2006/01/18/godzilla-pvr/

[Verify]

How reliable must the system be? If very reliable you might consider several redundant PC’s. I notice while reading the comments to the article that edDV referenced that there were several pertinent points. You really want reliable hardware – including the power supply and the cooling parts (fans or other – the cooler the better). Also, remove all unnecessary programs (including anti-virus etc.), disable all unnecessary processes, install the absolute minimum required software, never connect to the internet, etc. – you don’t want the operating system or other tasks interfering or shutting down the computer.

[themaster1]

If u got the satellite, you must know that you can record all the channels from the same transponder (if they are free to air).Generally there are more than 2 on the same transponder. If you add to this a double tuner, meaning double LNB you can record from another transponder at the same time. So the list of channels recordable expand ....

[jman98]

I've heard of people recording something like 6 or 8 shows simultaneously with 3 or 4 Hauppauge PVR-350 cards in one computer. Note that card is a dual tuner hardware MPEG encoder.

Well, this is probably the first and maybe the only time I'll be able to say this - you're wrong. The PVR-350 only has 1 tuner. The WinTV-HVR-2250 has 2 tuners. I have a PVR-350 and it definitely only has 1 tuner.

[jagabo]

I have a PVR-350 and it definitely only has 1 tuner.

LOL, you are right. The 350 adds (over the 250) video output and FM radio reception, I believe. There was a dual tuner version -- the PVR-550 maybe? In any case, the 250, 350, and 550 (or whatever it was) are no longer in production.

Looks like it was the PVR-500:

http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:LPwys8Q8ndcJ:www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data...ient=firefox-a

[Namocol]

Thanks for all the answers, I'll definitively look into the hauppauge cards, I think I can get them here in Venezuela. One thing I'd like to know more as well is on the software side.. what would you recommend for that, plain windows XP, media edition, vista, linux?.

[rallynavvie]

I can record 5 different channels at once. I run two HVR-1600s and a PVR-250 which gives me 3 analog stations and 2 HD stations. They can all record at the same time to a single SATA drive without issue.

The trick is not in getting the PC to record from that many sources but to get a decent signal for that many tuners. I had to get a good booster for my cable outlet, but the digital tuners run off a single antenna and they've never really had a problem.

[edDV]

Thanks for all the answers, I'll definitively look into the hauppauge cards, I think I can get them here in Venezuela. One thing I'd like to know more as well is on the software side.. what would you recommend for that, plain windows XP, media edition, vista, linux?.

The best software for multiple PVR-500 cards is BeyondTV from Snapstream. At least you will have user experience there for this type of configuration. The software is described in the article. Guide support for Venezuela is unknown. Ask them.

[RabidDog]

10 cheap dvr would be better.. you could get a great deal in these present climate..also its dedicated hardware.. one pc capturing 10 streams? sounds like a recipe for disaster. What about a cctv system? they normally record at least four different streams , very low quality tho....

[edDV]

The PVR cards encode in hardware. The CPU has little stress even when recording multiple streams. To be safe, the capture drive should be separate from the OS drive and OS drive disk controller.

[yoda313]

The only problem regarding dvr's would be subscription fees. If you could still find them you could get dvd recorders with harddrives. Some have basic guide functions without subscription fees.

Remember a TIVO without a subscription is a hunk of a junk unless its an increasingly rare series 1 with unlocked manual programming. Or a hacked tivo but that is questionable legality and for an "official" corporate need I'd stay away from anything appearing improper.

Side note - replay tvs would work since they incorporated the subscription into the hardware costs. Though don't know if they finally switched to fees or not. Side note b - you might be able to land some tivos with a lifetime subscription that don't need constant updates - also I don't know if they offer lifetime subscriptions on new units anymore either.