How to record my Fios programs to my HTPC

[LOUISSSSS]

I have a new HTPC and i'm wondering how i can record the shows i watch on Fios to the 2 x 1tb drives on my HTPC.

What parts do i need and how do i do it? Currently i have the FIOS hooked up to my TV via component cables out of the cable box.

 

[Muadib]

Have you looked at the Hauppauge HD-PVR?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Have you looked at the Hauppauge HD-PVR?

just did. What is this box capable of doing?

 

[nickbits]

just did. What is this box capable of doing?

1080i/720p + optical ac3

 

[Muadib]

Read this.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Also, is there a cheaper item I can use to do what I want?

 

[Muadib]

Also, is there a cheaper item I can use to do what I want?

Not that I'm aware of, but check http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

 

[s44]

ATI cablecard card (single-stream). Or wait for the imminent 4-stream one from... I forgot whom.

The Hauppage and such add in another step of re-encoding from the analog feed.

 

[jdjbuffalo]

You can either use one of the old single tuner / clear QAM solutions as suggested above or you can wait for the new Ceton 4 tuner card. This will support 4 channels being recorded at once. The cards are scheduled for release at the end of March.

Go here for more details: http://www.cetoncorp.com/buy.php

If you think $399 is too expensive then you can wait for the cheaper 2 tuner one which will probably be released sometime later this year. There are a few other companies that may be releasing a 2 tuner card later this year but there is no release information that has been announced. So you might be waiting for quite a while.

 

[Fallen Kell]

just did. What is this box capable of doing?

It is capable of capturing any channel up to 720p or 1080i resolution from component connections and 5.1 audio streams from s/pdif. It is the ONLY HD capture device which can capture premium stations (like HBO, Stars, Showtime, etc.) due to it capturing the component feed and not the QAM digital feed which is subject to encryption.

 

[Fallen Kell]

ATI cablecard card (single-stream). Or wait for the imminent 4-stream one from... I forgot whom.

However, you are subject to channel/show level settings such as the "no copy" flags, or "copy once" flags which will prevent you from capturing a show or limit it to playback only on that particular device/computer (for instance you won't be able to burn it to a DVD or something to playback on a PS3). You are also limited to using MCE for playback of those shows.

With the HD-PVR they are simply H.264 encoded ".ts" files, which you can play from any compatible device or software, and can re-encode to change the format (for instance, you might want to convert it to a standard DVD video so your friend can watch it on their normal DVD player, especially nice for when you capture movies from the premium movie channels and would like to keep in HD format for your normal use, but can still convert for a friend when they ask you if you can record the last Harry Potter movie or latest episode of 24 for them).

 

[KeithP]

Silicondust, the HDHomerun guys, are working on a cable card version of their network tuner. It will require only one cable card and input but it will have two tuners. It will even support SDV with a tuning adapter from the cable company.

$250 bucks but no word yet on availability.
http://www.silicondust.com/press

-KeithP