Anyone using a PC to do TV Recording?

[bocamojo]

I've got a spare PC that I'm considering setting up like a TIVO. It's an eMachines 633is (633MHz Celeron) w/ 160MB PC100 SDRAM and a 10GB HD. Nothing special, really... I guess that's why it's just sitting in my closet . Anyway, I was looking at the 32MB DDR ATI All in Wonder Radeon, which seems pretty reasonably priced at $140.00. Also considering getting a logitech cordless keyboard and mouse, to make it easier to control from my recliner . Any suggestions or experiences on the best setup for this?

 

[Adul]

i been considering something similiar for use at home. I think NFS4 has a somewhat similiar setup.

 

[RolyL]

I have an external tuner and a Gainward GF3 VIVO - don't go here though! It's a hassle. I have heard good things about the Matrox G400 TV models.

 

[KrispyKremer]

That would be a decent setup except for the 10GB hard drive. Recording video will fill that up in no time. If you can, throw in a 60-100GB hard drive - you can pick up a 60GB drive for ~$50-$75 with the sales going on.

 

[squirrelman]

That should work pretty well for you. I have the Hauppague WinTV PVR pci right now that I use to watch and record TV. The thing is though if you want to start editing the things you record, like taking commercials out, that processor will hold you back big time. Mpeg1 wont be that bad you could probably edit that pretty well, but if you wanted to start doing some Mpeg2 editing it will take forever with that celeron.

 

[Dunbar]

The hardware isn't the problem, the question is what software would you use? The advantage to TIVO is that it's easy to record and watch your programs. What software solution for a PC is going to come close to that? The logical thing to do is sell the PC and buy a TIVO

 

[hconnorjr]

gotta agree with dunbar. went through this a few months back and at the end of the thread i decided that the best solution was TIVO or its like kind. you just can't come close with current computer software.

 

[BlakkIce]

you can always mod a tivo im getting ready to add some 120gigs to my tivo

 

[bocamojo]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I went ahead and bought the ATI AIW Radeon, and should get it by this Friday. Going to pick up my cordless keyboard and mouse today or tomorrow. Wish me luck!

 

[mikeyd]

I have a similar setup. Instead of the logitech stuff, I have an airboard. Works great and is cordless.
The all in wonder is a good choice for this. All the software is included. I would recommend however a much bigger hard drive.

 

[PraetorChu]

have you considered getting a pinnaclesystem pctv studio pci card?
they are cheaper.

they also have the usb kind for easy installation.
for a few bucks more, a pctv studio pro comes with remote control. figure better than wireless mouse from recliner.

 

[bravesfan258]

You can download software from snapstream.com that will let you use your PC as a PVR. I'm using a Hauppage WinTV tuner card that sells for around $50. With the software, I can scale the recording quality, so I end up recording one-hour shows onto files under 700 Megs (so they fit on a CD-R). This quality looks pretty good on my monitor (or laptop), but I don't know how this will look ported to a TV. A 633 Mhz celoron should encode the video at this level pretty well.

 

[bocamojo]

mikeyd,
Thanks a lot for the input. I checked out that airboard, and it does look like a better solution than the logitech for a PVR setup. I found it for half the price of a comparable offering from logitech also (49 bucks, versus the 89-110 of the logitech freedom package), so I went ahead and ordered it. Thanks a lot! For any interested, here's the links to it:


SK-7100 Airboard, store 1
SK-7100 Airboard, store 2


PraetorChu,
Where were you when I started this thread? I hadn't heard about the pinnacle board that you're talking about, and it seemed like the AIW was the best solution for what I was trying to setup. Thanks anyway.


BravesFan,
Is this software better than what comes bundled with the AIW Radeon? If so, it definitely would be worth a look. Thanks for the info.

 

[DSTA]

The All In Wonders sadly lack the hardware vid encoder that cards like the Matrox G400TV had. WRT to processor load, it's just the same as using a cheap TV card with a software encoder. Getting a G400TV or a Rainbow Runner G-Series (both use a Zoran hardware encoder) is no alternative if you plan on using anything other than NT or win9X. Matrox dropped support for 2K and XP for those cards.

Celeron + AIW is still going to work, just don't expect to be able to record full res MPEG2 at low bitrates.

 

[BreakApart]

Just buy a TIVO and add an 80-120gig drive...

Makes life so much easier....

 

[rbV5]

<< The All In Wonders sadly lack the hardware vid encoder that cards like the Matrox G400TV had. >>



MJPEG is not like MPEG actually, it is more closely related to frame by frame Raw AVI capture using a compression codec to lossy compress the frames as in "Motion JPEG" rather than the mpeg method of basically comparing frames before and after creating tween frames. So you're comparing apples to oranges, as the Rage theater is a hardware YUV encoder.



<< it's just the same as using a cheap TV card with a software encoder >>



Name the "cheap" TV card that uses software mpeg capture in real time. Even the new matrox eTV cards dropped MJPEG and now use the SAME Ligos Go-Motion software MPEG encoder that the Radeon uses, and I believe these days the AIW is cheaper and has far more features.

 

[DSTA]

I think you overlooked the part where I said "WRT to processor load". Anyway:



<< MJPEG is not like MPEG actually, it is more closely related to frame by frame Raw AVI capture using a compression codec to lossy compress the frames as in "Motion JPEG" rather than the mpeg method of basically comparing frames before and after creating tween frames. >>



Yes, but of course MPEG is lossy as well - and you'll need some serious CPU horsepower to do IBP-MPEG with the AiW (or eTV). Go back to I frame only and you basically have MJPEG, which also has the advantage of being much nicer to edit.



<< So you're comparing apples to oranges, as the Rage theater is a hardware YUV encoder. >>



But it's no hardware MPEG encoder. MPEG2 encoding with a Radeon AIW will use 70% CPU on a GHz Athlon at 352x576.



<< Name the "cheap" TV card that uses software mpeg capture in real time. >>



Any ancient Hauppauge starting with a 5 year old Wincast PCI. MPEG1 is available free, MPEG2 for a fee.



<< Even the new matrox eTV cards dropped MJPEG and now use the SAME Ligos Go-Motion software MPEG encoder that the Radeon uses, and I believe these days the AIW is cheaper and has far more features. >>



Yeah, and I think it's sad for people that want to do decent quality captures on older systems. The vid card manufacturers have apparently decided that current computers are fast enough for software capture, so they save a few bucks and drop the hardware encoder.

 

[rbV5]

<< Yes, but of course MPEG is lossy as well >>



Thats why it works for Tivo..filesize, but not so great for capturing/editing. IMHO, unless you're simply capturing and watching/burning (only reason to capture mpeg-2 AFAIK) I wouldn't recommend using mpeg for capture at all.



<< But it's no hardware MPEG encoder. MPEG2 encoding with a Radeon AIW will use 70% CPU on a GHz Athlon at 352x576 >>



As long as its not dropping frames, what difference does the cpu load make?(and I could capture that resolution on my 650 duron using appx 50-70% cpu load without dropping frames) Its not like you would be burning a cd while capturing with your extra cycles. Quite honestly, the software encoder of the Radeon coupled with adaptive de-interlacing and the guide plus with MMC is a powerful combination that handles timeshifting rather well, adding a hardware encoder IMHO would unnecissarily add cost to an already expensive package without adding alot of functionallity.




<< Any ancient Hauppauge starting with a 5 year old Wincast PCI. MPEG1 is available free, MPEG2 for a fee >>



hehe true there, but honestly that combination is limited to 320x240 AVI, everything above that is upscaled, no adaptive de-interlace and that little proggy is a bit suspect as well. I think I'll stay with my setup. Lately I've seen refurb AIW Radeons going for $110, thats a lot of functionality for the price, no need to pay for codecs or software and comes with a DVD player and excellent 3D gaming as well.




<< Yeah, and I think it's sad for people that want to do decent quality captures on older systems >>



See, thats the part I don't get. Raw AVI uncompressed captures are as high quality analog capture as you can get. That takes little cpu power and fast, large hardrives(which keep getting cheaper). Why is that sad? The newer cards offer conveniance, not higher quality video, that just makes older but still useable hardware available cheaper.