n00b question about pc and hd cable

[NateDizzle]

so i have my pc hooked up to my tv, and i just got rogers vip hd cable installed, with a hd digital box, not a pvr. so now im curious, how can i connect my hd cable to my pc and use my pc as a 'pvr' ?? im pretty sure this can be done, just wondering what i will need for it? and will the picture quality or signal be effected in any way since its going thru my pc instead of directly thru my tv outlet.
im not in the mood to pay 500 bucks for a hd pvr box

[edDV]

1st opt - Connect IEEE-1394 to the box and follow guide. Rogers decides which channels (if any) are unblocked.
http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/

2nd opt Hauppauge HD-PVR ~$150

[yoda313]

m not in the mood to pay 500 bucks for a hd pvr box

Don't they have a rental option? I know most cable/sat companies in the US offer hardware dvdrs for a rental fee.

Edit - if you want to go with what you have now then follow eddv's suggestions.

[Brad]

Worth noting that most or all channels will be blocked from edDV's 1st option. And that's if there is an active Firewire port. Unlike in the US, Canadian cablecos have free reign to prevent recording options.

Check digitalhome.ca's forums if you want to know more about that situation.

[NateDizzle]

ok so first option will be a bust then, so this second option, Hauppauge HD-PVR ~$150 is that a straight up pvr, or is it for a computer to pvr?

[yoda313]

ok so first option will be a bust then, so this second option, Hauppauge HD-PVR ~$150 is that a straight up pvr, or is it for a computer to pvr?

It's not a settop unit with its own tuner if that is what you mean.

Go to hauppauges website for more information.

You connect it to your pc via usb and then you run the component cables and fiber optic to the hauppauge hdpvr. Than you can watch live or prerecorded shows.

It does have an ir blaster for changing channels but i have yet to use it so I don't know its pitfalls or limitations.

[NateDizzle]

ok so its pretty much like an external pvr that is connected thru the pc?
this is my local computer store and they have hauppauge, http://www.megacomputer.ca/index.php/main/ProductList/544.296
what would i need exactly from that list?

[Brad]

I think edDV must have been referring to either the Colossus or used prices for the USB box. There was recently a sale on the USB version on Amazon.ca for $170 but prices have jumped back up. The PCIe card will run you about that.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116030&Tpk=hauppauge%20hd%20pvr
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59174&vpn=1414&manufacture=HAUPPAUGE

[usually_quiet]

The retailer you want to buy from has no external devices for HD capture. This internal device is the only item they listed suitable for HD capture: http://www.megacomputer.ca/index.php/main/Product/CCAM0001 (The price there is very good, by the way.) However, it encodes via software and is limited to stereo audio. The system shown in your computer details exceeds its minimum requirements, but not by a huge margin, so you may not be able to use it for other tasks while capturing. It has the ability to capture using HDMI but only sources without HDCP protection, so it may not accept HDMI output from your cable box. There is a hack to use with its original Windows drivers to get around this, but HD component capture would still work without doing anything extra.

Their other offerings are only useful for over-the-air reception or capturning SD output from your cable box.

Here are other Canadian sources for Hauppauge's HD capture products:

HD PVR USB version
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116030
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hauppauge-wintv-hdpvr-video-recorder-1219/10107...0a2c94ac15en02
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4146200&CatId=1428

HD PVR Colossus (A new PCIe card with abilities similar to those of the HD PVR). It has the ability to capture using HDMI but only sources without HDCP protection, so it may not accept HDMI output from your cable box. HD component capture should still work just fine though.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116065

AverMedia has an external box too AVerMedia AVerTV USB HD DVR, but again it only captures stereo audio. I can't seem to find a Canadian retailer selling it though. It offers HDMI output, but otherwise no advantages over Hauppauge's external box.

[NateDizzle]

thasnks usually quiet, nice post
so this unit will put tv on the pc correct? so i dont have to switch between tv mode and pc mode every single time

[usually_quiet]

so this unit will put tv on the pc correct? so i dont have to switch between tv mode and pc mode every single time

I'm not sure which device you are referring to here.

With the Hauppauge Colossus or Hauppauge HD PVR, you have the option to watch what is being recorded using the devices' video and audio passthrough. It would be as if you connected the cable box directly to the TV using component for video and stereo or S/PDIF for audio. ...but you would need to watch pre-recorded material stored on the PC using VGA, unless you want to disconnect the HD PVR and change the connection from the PC to the TV to component. With the PC and HD PVR shut off, you could use HDMI out from the cablebox to watch TV. (I'm assuming your VGA card allows component out)

While using the AverMedia AVerTV HD DVR PCIe you would watch both pre-recorded material stored on the PC and live TV being recorded using either VGA, or component out, depending on how you choose to connect your video card to the TV. However, I'm not sure that you can watch while you are recording without any A/V stuttering problems using the PC in your computer profile and the AverMedia AVerTV HD DVR PCIe's software. .

There are a couple of things that concern me regarding the use of your VGA card in conjunction with an HD capture deice. The Hauppage devices only perform H.264 encoding. Can that old AGP video card and CPU in your profile successfuly handle the H.264 decoding required to watch their recordings? The Avermedia card gives you a choice between MPEG-2 and H.264, plus an iPod profile for encoding HD. ...but now I'm not sure you can use AverMedia's device either. I could not find anything saying your VGA card meets the DXVA requirement to use AVer MediaCenter (the manufacturer's PVR software). I looked at the manual to find out what codecs can be used for encoding and found ihe basic system requirements shown for the AverMedia AVerTV HD DVR PCIe don't tell the whole story. The manual elaborated as follows:

Before using AVer MediaCenter , verify that your PC meets the requirements below:
Pentium 4 2.4GHz (Hyper-Threading) or Equivalent AMD CPU
VGA card with 128M memory supports DirectX 9.0 or above. For HDTV, VGA card should support DXVA
512MB RAM or above
Sound Card
200MB HD size
Windows XP / Windows Vista™ / Windows 7

For TimeShift and Record in MPEG-2
Intel Pentium® 4 3.0 GHz (Hyper-Threading) or Equivalent AMD CPU

For HD Input Source (HDMI/YPbPr Component) Full Function
Intel® Core™2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz or Equivalent AMD CPU
1G RAM or above