Questions about Tivo and video capture

[Arkitech]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to get a Tivo setup or should I try to build the functionality into my PC.
What I want to do is record TV shows, sports and movies without the commercials and then be able to burn it all on disk.


The tivo sounds good because I can program it to record every episode of my favorite shows when I'm not home, and if I'm not mistaken I think it automatically edits out the commercials.

But the downside is I would have to pay a monthly fee and I would have to rig the Tivo recorder to my PC to be able to burn the recordings on CD.


on the other hand:


If I setup my PC with a capture card I could record all of the programs that I want directly to my hard drive and burn it to disk.

The downside is that I need to figure out how to convert and compress everything so I can record it to CD and then I need to figure out how to edit all of the commercials out which will probably be a hassle. But at least I would'nt have to pay a monthly fee and I would'nt have to spend money on device that only has one dedicated function.



Anyone have some thoughts or knowledge on this.

Is Tivo really worth the money or is it better to try and customize the PC to video capture

 

[Arkitech]

A couple of more questions for people who have Tivo

Will the Tivo automatically skip over commercials while recording?
Also what is the real length of a 30 minute program when the commercials are taken out?

I'd like to figure out how many episodes can be recorded to a CD with the commercials edited out

 

[Arkitech]

up

 

[royaldank]

The TiVO doesn't skip any commercials.

It is simply a harddrive in there that records whatever is inputed. You can buy the monthly subscription for their ultra crappy menu guide and season pass stuff, which is where it will record a show for the season unless it's a re-run.

You can get TV Tuner cards that do about the same thing as TiVo. However, Tivo is nice because it has a somewhat friendly interface and doesn't require a computer. I usually store 7 or 8 hours of stuff and then move some off to a VHS tape for archive (if I'm keeping it). It's nice to be able to flip over to TiVo and watch shows that you set it up to record. If you don't buy their guide, there is still a manual VCR-like setup to set the record timer. But, there is only 1 input right now so you have to watch what you record (or use a PIP and split the cable before going in).

 

[StageLeft]

I've heard that the ones that record on your comp only work if you're not doing anything on computer, but then the person who said that I am unaware of how fast his comp was.

 

[SALvation]

Tivo can't edit out commercials. I think the average 30 minute program has 20 minutes show, 10 minutes commercials.

I have a tivo and I love it. I hate having to play with tapes and its nice to just delete it when you're done. Thumbs up and thumbs down is nice too and has recorded some pretty good stuff on its own.

 

[CanOWorms]

Can you extract the video from Tivo to the computer? I thought I've read somewhere that you couldn't.. but I don't have a Tivo so I don't keep up with that stuff much

 

[SALvation]

I don't think so.

 

[Arkitech]

I was hoping those devices automatically left out the commercial. I might as well just get a capture card and a third hard drive and hopefully I can find some free programming/editing software.


I guess the real question is has anyone ever successfully setup a PC to capture video? and can you easily edit out the junk you don't want? (commercials, station identifications)

 

[royaldank]

I'm not aware of any way to extract the data from the TiVo to the computer. Your best bet is getting a tuner card or some other way to get video to the computer. Then again, though, you'd be recording the video signal again, so that would then be 3rd generation (which is not the absolute best quality).

Best bet is get a tuner card. You can record and use it the computer at the same time.

There is a way to get into the TiVo, add an ide slot, and then network it to your computer but it's a pretty lengthy project and not easy.