Anybody using a DIY PVR?

[Sam Conder]

Adele and I eliminated our sattelite dish and so far the thing we miss the most is our PVR. I have an "extra" Pentium 4 PC lying around and I want to turn it into a PVR.

I have tried MythTV and the demo of BeyondTV but was not impressed with either. I am currently downloading LinuxMCE and it looks promising:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2176025602905109829

http://linuxmce.com/

Has anyone else built a PVR "on the cheap"? Any guidance to offer?

[bmyers]

I've been using MythTV for about 2 years now. Until recently it was free but now you have to pay a subscription for the TV listings ($20 a year). Even my wife likes it so it passes that test.

I use it to store all the photos and movies of the family, record shows, remove commercials, transcode for playback on my cell phone.

I haven't checked out LinuxMCE but I will now. What didn't you like about MythTV? Have you tried KnoppMyth? Saves alot of time.

Bill

[Sam Conder]

What didn't you like about MythTV? Have you tried KnoppMyth? Saves alot of time.

You know... it was KnoppMyth, not MythTV.

[Ed62]

At the risk of sounding like a real dummy, is a PVR like a TIVO? If not, how is it used?

Ed

[ragswl4]

At the risk of sounding like a real dummy, is a PVR like a TIVO? If not, how is it used?

Ed

you are not a real dummy, unless of course I am also. I don't know what it is either but sounds like it might be interesting. I'd like to know as well.

[MilDoc]

PVR = Personal Video Recorder, functions "like" a TIVO. Here's a link for building your own:

http://www.byopvr.com/

[radhak]

Yup, PVR = Personal Video Recorder.

Theory is, TiVO being just a sophisticated recorder, anybody should be able to do it themselves with a nice personal computer and adequate software.

For all my wish, I have not yet got around to doing this myself. One of these days the monthly $12.99 on my CC should move me off my butt to do the right thing.

[Stormbringer]

Yup.

Running Windows MCE2005 edition that came with my HP.
This is a PVR and more and I would strongly encourage this over a straight PVR, YMMV.


Love it Love it Love it!!!

For those that don't know, a MCE (Media Center Edition) PVR is so much more than a Tivo. You can store all your photos, dvd's and movies, watch, record, rewind and pause live TV and Radio, have all your music at the click of a button. Plus, the tv, radio, movies and music all can be allowed to contact the internet to retrieve tv programming info, movie and tv show descriptions, music album art and song info etc....

Here is a much better description than I can provide right now. Video demo's here.


Sam, I strongly encourage you to check out GBPVR. It's a kind of a clone of Media Center and it's free. It's been around for years and those that have it love it. If my pc didn't come with MCE2005 that's what I would be using. Screenshots.

If you get carried away recording stuff (and it's very easy to do so since you just click the name of the program as you view the tv guide) you'll need another hard drive or four. I've got almost two terabytes but I record everything in the highest quality which eats up space. My P4 3.02mhz 1gig RAM runs it with no prob (I've since upgraded to 3gig of RAM to do video editing and the such).

The only thing you most likely need is a TV tuner card (Mine didn't come with one either). I bought two of Hauppauge 150. The best IMHO. This use harware encoding not software like many other cards which can bog your machine. Having two allows you to record two shows while watching a third. Definitely the best card at the best price. I also have the remote...yeah changing channels on my pc screen. It's a trip.

Keep in mind, the above cards come with PVR software so you really don't need the mythTV, Beyond TV, GBPVR, MCE etc... if you don't want it but they are better than what comes with the cards.

Whoa, freaky. I just realized, the video card I bought is a Hauppauge 150. Check out where the reporter chick is broadcasting from - Hauppauge (Twilight Zone music playing)

Good luck,
Greg


Here are a couple of screenshots I just took while writing this:

[Lonnie in Orlando]

An analog TV tuner came with my HP 6150 notebook. Only used it a couple of times ... recorded PBS "The War" and a couple of other programs. Like Stormbringer, I use Windows Media Center. It can download program schedules and record automatically. Also has a simple one touch DVD burn program that will reduce quality if needed to fit the recording onto the DVD.

Works as advertised.

Intel T55, 1.66GHz, 2gig ram, Vista Home Prem.

- Lonnie

[p8ntblr]

I thought you couldn't get an OEM version of MCE? Aren't they only available, in computers already installed with it? If not, that would a great option to consider as I've heard great things about it.

[maxparot]

I've been running a computer with Beyond TV on it for a few years now. www.snapstream.com it's a great piece of software at a reasonable price. I'd have to ask what version you tried and with what hardware. I have mine set up with 3 Avermedia TV/Capture cards and use it to control 2 cable converters. My HTPC is a Pentium D935 with 2 gigs of ram on an Intel D945PVS MB. 2-250 gig SATA 150 harddrives and a ATI X850 videocard. Basic setup is easy but as you add more inputs and options you need to do a bit of research or be an advanced computer geek. Once it is set up though it is a simple package to operate through a remote control.

[MilDoc]

OK, so I know what a PVR is.

But what I do not know is how much disk space it consumes to record a program.

So, to record an average 30 minute program ... how many Mb? Gb?

[maxparot]

OK, so I know what a PVR is.

But what I do not know is how much disk space it consumes to record a program.

So, to record an average 30 minute program ... how many Mb? Gb?

That depends on the recording quality that you want and the compression that is used. I have mine set to DVD quality and it uses roughly 2Gb/hr.

[jziegler]

Adele and I eliminated our sattelite dish and so far the thing we miss the most is our PVR. I have an "extra" Pentium 4 PC lying around and I want to turn it into a PVR.

I have tried MythTV and the demo of BeyondTV but was not impressed with either. I am currently downloading LinuxMCE and it looks promising:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2176025602905109829

http://linuxmce.com/

Has anyone else built a PVR "on the cheap"? Any guidance to offer?

I think that LinuxMCE uses MythTV for it's PVR software, although it has other programs too. I've played with MythTV off and on for a while, I like it overall, but always end up needing the hardware more for something else, and don't want to spend the cash for another computer.

There are some small machines that you can use for a frontend only (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815116617) and then hide the server in a closet/basement. When I make another attempt, that's what I plan to do.

You might also want to look at Freevo. It wasn't very advanced when I first started trying stuff, but it sounds OK now.

Jim

[JR]

I have mine set to DVD quality and it uses roughly 2Gb/hr.

More likely its 2GB/hr. There's an order of magnitude difference.

JR