Can an HTPC do...this?

[Ken g6]

So my parents' VCR just died. I've tried getting them a DVD recorder in the past, but they just didn't get it. :\

So, can an HTPC be set up to:

1. Record ATSC on timer (I'm sure it can), without an internet connection? (i.e. just set the time to start and time to stop like a VCR?)
2. Remove commercials, automatically or manually. (It should be able to, right?)
3. Compress the video to Half-D1 DVD format (that's 352 x 480 pixels MPEG2 if you're wondering), such that six hours of video would fit on one DVD? (They don't have an HDTV, and couldn't see the difference if they did - bad eyes.)
4. Allow selection of a set of recordings of one show (eight or more), excluding other shows that were recorded during that time period (i.e. grouping by time slot), and burning of those shows onto one DVD?
5. And can all of this be done really simply, using only a remote control?
6. Can the above be done without having to type show names with the remote or a keyboard? (Just name them by time, and group by time?)

I guess both Linux and Windows MCE are options.

 

[sdifox]

short answer is no

you can do all that, but push button simple it ain't

 

[Corn]

Just have them get a DVR from their cable/dish company. Infinitely easier than a HTPC for the blue hair crowd. If they couldn't "get" a DVD recorder, they sure won't "get" a HTPC.

 

[Ken g6]

ATSC - that's over-the-air HDTV. No cable/dish company; the ongoing payments are too expensive.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The burning DVDs for storage bit is what is messing this up. I mean, you can script something in MythTV to basically do all this, but the pain involved to make it burn compatible DVDs of the content is not worth it.

 

[nsafreak]

Well you could get a TiVo unit and have it do all of those things, at least if you got a unit made by Humax with the built in DVD burner. IIRC you can setup a Tivo without an internet connection and just set it to record using timers like would a VCR. Not going to happen via easy way with an HTPC though.

 

[Corn]

ATSC - that's over-the-air HDTV. No cable/dish company; the ongoing payments are too expensive.

Building a HTPC with atsc tuner isn't going to be cheap either. Agree with nsafreak, TiVo is your best bet.

 

[bobdole369]

Building a HTPC with atsc tuner isn't going to be cheap either. Agree with nsafreak, TiVo is your best bet.

Thirded. Even if you have the parts laying around already, the really big issue is lack of Internet. ATSC is "supposed" to transmit EPG, but not every channel does it, and in my market (south florida) its often wrong, missing, and inconsistent. Also its typically only given out for a few hours in advance. Granted you could just tell your HTPC to record at a certain time, all the players will do that. Tivo will connect to a copper phone line to get its guide data.

It is essentially required to have a subscription (albeit its very inexpensive) to some place like Schedules Direct ($20/year). There are ways around that but damn they are hard and involve scripting to scrape sites like Yahoo TV and MSN TV, etc. The instant they change the sites around the script breaks.

I just decommed my Tivo HD (series3+ I guess) after 18 months as we cut the cable once we realized 80% of the shows we watch are OTA. I first tried Mediaportal and while it did a lot of the stuff I wanted, it was buggy at best, often didn't record on time with no explanation and did other wonky stuff so I moved on to MythTV which is working gangbusters. It's stable, but setup is a right bitch. I'm working out downloading video podcasts and such now and scripting to move the files into the right places.