How can I build my own DVR/PVR?

Question

I have found many resource on Internet but they are all dated from before 2006.

Any people have good information to build a setup to record video from tv to computer?

Answer 1

MythDora (www.mythdora.com, free) is a relatively easy to set up MythTV installation. Mythtv is a complete DVR application, which will allow your PC to function like a really awesome Tivo. Burn it to CD and boot from the CD, it will do most of the rest during installation.

If you just want to record, and you don't care for a remote-control interface, automatic recording, et cetera, you just need a tuner card, and you can probably use the software it came with to tune and record. But since you mentioned DVR/PVR, that probably isn't what you want.

For hardware requirements, see this page.

For hardware, you need a modest (2-3 years old is fine, 512MB RAM is fine) desktop or laptop system, a cheap nVidia graphics card/chip, and one or more ATSC tuner cards, and an IR remote with USB receiver like the Windows MCE remote. And some setup time; while setup does most of the work, you may need to troubleshoot a few things.

Benefits:

• Cheap
• Works really well once installed

Drawbacks:

• Troubleshooting can be slow for Linux newcomers
• May not be compatible with all hardware, so check compatibility before buying anything.

This is what I use and I am very happy with it. If you have more money than time, I would instead go with a prebuilt Windows 7 Home Premium/Ultimate desktop machine that comes with a remote control.

Answer 2

What about Windows Media Center and a TV tuner?

Answer 3

windows media center with tv card or Mythtv

Answer 4

I've been thinking about something like this too, to build a PVR that could record the free over-the-air ATSC digital signals. A friend had mentioned the following product to me recently: HD HomeRun

Quote:

One Box, Two Digital Tuners, Anywhere on Your Network
- Watch TV from any computer on your network.
- Record full 1080i broadcast resolution.
- Pause, rewind, fast-forward live TV.
- Schedule and record all your favorite TV shows.
[...]
Compatible With:
- Windows Media Center:
- MCE 2005 (32/64-bit)
- Vista WMC (32/64-bit)
- WMC TV Pack (32/64-bit)
- Windows 7 (32/64-bit)
- Elgato EyeTV - DVR for Mac
- MythTV - DVR for Linux
- SnapStream BeyondTV - DVR for Windows
- SageTV - DVR for Windows/Linux/Mac
[...]

Answer 5

Get a Hauppauge video capture card and GB-PVR. That's probably the cheapest and easiest way to do it.

Answer 6

I highly recommend getting a network TV Tuner. Namely one from HDHomeRun. They're several different models and offer ethernet ports so that effectively you can share the tuner with other computers. I do this at home currently, but I don't do it over wireless (CAT6).

Having a network tuner is much more valuable than putting in a tuner into an actual PC. When you have a tuner in the PC itself, no one can really use the tuner but whoever is using that PC. With network tuners, if demand grows for more TV streams, you just simply buy another tuner and set it up on the network. No hassle or fuss. HDHomeRun is simply awesome. It's also compatible with MediaCenter and MythTV.