Switching Cable Systems - Best Way to Connect X800XT to Direct TVDVR

[jj]

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast
to Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable
with the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because
the problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is
that I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't
record while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I
can connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the
best the DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I
didn't because no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's
hard drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get the
video to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to edit
out the commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making
commercial-free DVD collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it
can be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best
way to configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary

 

[Ken Maltby]

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast to
Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable with
the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because the
problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is that
I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't record
while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I can
connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the best the
DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I didn't because
no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's hard
drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get the video
to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to edit out the
commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making commercial-free DVD
collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it can
be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best way to
configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary

I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

Another possible approach would be to use a hard drive equipped
DVD Recorder. Then you could save up edited episodes on the
recorder's hard drive until you had the number you want for a DVD.
This should be possible, but I much prefer doing such things on my
computer, for one thing, on the computer I can use a keyboard and
run more useful programs to edit and author a DVD.


What I've been doing is to use the S-Video analog output, which
has been of very good quality, to feed my PCI hardware MPEG
capture card. (The card I use is no longer available, but the same
reference design which uses the same IC chips is available as the
"Snazzi III DVD Creator" PCI card http://www.snazzishop.com
http://www.snazzishop.com/vcp.asp
http://www.snazzishop.com/cart_dvdcreator_buy.asp)

With this approach you have a great deal a control over the
process and can setup a quick and easy workflow.

Depending on the power of your system and with a good
throughput, you could use the AIW and capture to DVD
compliant MPEG with software. In any case you will want
to have a separate hard drive for your capturing.

Once you have DVD compliant MPEG files from your capture
process, you can quickly and easily edit out the commercials
using www.videoredo.com (This is an essential tool for anyone
working with MPEG.) [You should edit the files off one drive
and save the results to a different drive. You will see an
improvement in processing time and throughput, for many
processes using this technique.]

You would then feed the edited files to your favorite Authoring
Program and create your new DVD. (My favorite is TMPGEnc
DVD Author 1.6 (TDA) but there are other good programs
available now, many people like Ulead's Movie Factory, and
DVDLab Pro is by far the most cost effective [but is a little
complex for many, and for many routine uses.].

You should check out sites like www.videohelp.com
www.afterdawn.com www.doom9.org for info on the authoring
process. Videohelp.com has listings of hardware and software
with user comments, that can be very helpful.

I seldom make video DVDs anymore, as I currently am
converting everything to AVC/H.264 files on hard drives,
(mostly on my NAS), but I still capture and edit out the
commercials as I described above. I have setup a system
to function as a HTPC for the livingroom. It plays the files
off the NAS over my Gigabit LAN, with no problem, so far.

( You can see some of the MMB menus I made to play
the files here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]

Just click on the pictures at the site, but to see them full
size you can download them, they are small <200KB files.)

Luck;
Ken

 

[eventerke]

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast to
Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable with
the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because the
problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is that
I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't record
while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

[snip]
I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

[snip]

AFAIK, there is *no* way to hack the DirectTV DVR at present. I went
on a search to do exactly this, mainly to increase storage space, and
it appears the DirectTV DVR's are pretty well locked down - there's a
video accesories company that even offered a $20K reward to anyone who
figures out how to allow hard drive upgrades.
If you've read differently *please* reply - I'd love to get a larger
hard drive in mine.

Kendt

 

[Ken Maltby]

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast
to
Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable with
the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because
the
problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is
that
I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't record
while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

[snip]
I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

[snip]

AFAIK, there is *no* way to hack the DirectTV DVR at present. I went
on a search to do exactly this, mainly to increase storage space, and
it appears the DirectTV DVR's are pretty well locked down - there's a
video accesories company that even offered a $20K reward to anyone who
figures out how to allow hard drive upgrades.
If you've read differently *please* reply - I'd love to get a larger
hard drive in mine.

Kendt

You couldn't be further from reality there. Did you even try Google?

If you just need to increase your storage space try:
www.weaknees.com I have a 250GB drive due tomorrow, to
replace the one in my Philips DSR 7000.

To really "hack" one, the "Zipper" disk approach is probably the easiest.

Luck;
Ken

P.S. Where do I pick up that 20k?

 

[jj]

I thought the DVR had a "video out" option. If so, couldn't you play
back the recorded video from the DVR's hard drive, and output the
play-back via a Video Out S-Video or composite to the ATI card?

You could then record the DVR's "play back" to the PC's hard drive.
It's just looking for a video/audio signal, it doesn't care where it
comes from does it, e.g., cable, S-Video, composite, component, etc.?

Thanks.

jj
=========

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast to
Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable with
the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because the
problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is that
I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't record
while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I can
connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the best the
DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I didn't because
no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's hard
drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get the video
to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to edit out the
commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making commercial-free DVD
collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it can
be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best way to
configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary

I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

Another possible approach would be to use a hard drive equipped
DVD Recorder. Then you could save up edited episodes on the
recorder's hard drive until you had the number you want for a DVD.
This should be possible, but I much prefer doing such things on my
computer, for one thing, on the computer I can use a keyboard and
run more useful programs to edit and author a DVD.


What I've been doing is to use the S-Video analog output, which
has been of very good quality, to feed my PCI hardware MPEG
capture card. (The card I use is no longer available, but the same
reference design which uses the same IC chips is available as the
"Snazzi III DVD Creator" PCI card http://www.snazzishop.com
http://www.snazzishop.com/vcp.asp
http://www.snazzishop.com/cart_dvdcreator_buy.asp)

With this approach you have a great deal a control over the
process and can setup a quick and easy workflow.

Depending on the power of your system and with a good
throughput, you could use the AIW and capture to DVD
compliant MPEG with software. In any case you will want
to have a separate hard drive for your capturing.

Once you have DVD compliant MPEG files from your capture
process, you can quickly and easily edit out the commercials
using www.videoredo.com (This is an essential tool for anyone
working with MPEG.) [You should edit the files off one drive
and save the results to a different drive. You will see an
improvement in processing time and throughput, for many
processes using this technique.]

You would then feed the edited files to your favorite Authoring
Program and create your new DVD. (My favorite is TMPGEnc
DVD Author 1.6 (TDA) but there are other good programs
available now, many people like Ulead's Movie Factory, and
DVDLab Pro is by far the most cost effective [but is a little
complex for many, and for many routine uses.].

You should check out sites like www.videohelp.com
www.afterdawn.com www.doom9.org for info on the authoring
process. Videohelp.com has listings of hardware and software
with user comments, that can be very helpful.

I seldom make video DVDs anymore, as I currently am
converting everything to AVC/H.264 files on hard drives,
(mostly on my NAS), but I still capture and edit out the
commercials as I described above. I have setup a system
to function as a HTPC for the livingroom. It plays the files
off the NAS over my Gigabit LAN, with no problem, so far.

( You can see some of the MMB menus I made to play
the files here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]

Just click on the pictures at the site, but to see them full
size you can download them, they are small <200KB files.)

Luck;
Ken

 

[James Colbert]

I thought the DVR had a "video out" option. If so, couldn't you play back
the recorded video from the DVR's hard drive, and output the play-back via
a Video Out S-Video or composite to the ATI card?

You could then record the DVR's "play back" to the PC's hard drive. It's
just looking for a video/audio signal, it doesn't care where it comes from
does it, e.g., cable, S-Video, composite, component, etc.?

Thanks.
jj

The way I've done it with a cable STB is pretty similar to what you
describe:

My STB has:
1) Video out - inferior quality. Worst of the bunch.

2) S-video.
A good option with up to DVD quality. Better, in fact, than cable hooked
directly to the card. I use this connection to record and to watch live TV.

3) Component out.
I connect Component out directly to my 2405fpw with an RCA switch to switch
the RCA audio from the STB to the Aux Line-in inputs on the front panel of
my xFi platinum sound card. (the other audio input on the switch goes to the
ATI 'block' which also accomodates the s-video connection).

4) HDMI - I don't have any HDMI capable components

5) Firewire - Still somewhat new for this purpose and as such requires more
effort and processing than the others, although (if FW is enabled on your
box), this method enables HiDef content. If you wish to find out more about
this process:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695&highlight=firewire

My ATI card is the AIW 1800XL, but I have also used this set up on the AIW
800XL.

However, this all said, I don;t care much for the recording quality on the
ATI. I presented my set up with the ATI card because that is what you are
using. I mostly record using a discontinued Navis Pro card, which has very
quirky software, but outputs very high quality video.

As you said, all you need do is set your input device for the ATI card as
s-video, play back what you have recorded on your STB DVR and record via the
ATI software (or whatever software you might be using for the card). It will
record just fine, aside from the quality issues I mentioned, which you may
not mind.

James

=========

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast
to Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable
with the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because
the problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is
that I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't
record while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I
can connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the best
the DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I didn't
because no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's hard
drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get the video
to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to edit out the
commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making commercial-free DVD
collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it can
be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best way to
configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary

I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

Another possible approach would be to use a hard drive equipped
DVD Recorder. Then you could save up edited episodes on the
recorder's hard drive until you had the number you want for a DVD.
This should be possible, but I much prefer doing such things on my
computer, for one thing, on the computer I can use a keyboard and
run more useful programs to edit and author a DVD.


What I've been doing is to use the S-Video analog output, which
has been of very good quality, to feed my PCI hardware MPEG
capture card. (The card I use is no longer available, but the same
reference design which uses the same IC chips is available as the
"Snazzi III DVD Creator" PCI card http://www.snazzishop.com
http://www.snazzishop.com/vcp.asp
http://www.snazzishop.com/cart_dvdcreator_buy.asp)

With this approach you have a great deal a control over the
process and can setup a quick and easy workflow.

Depending on the power of your system and with a good
throughput, you could use the AIW and capture to DVD
compliant MPEG with software. In any case you will want
to have a separate hard drive for your capturing.

Once you have DVD compliant MPEG files from your capture
process, you can quickly and easily edit out the commercials
using www.videoredo.com (This is an essential tool for anyone
working with MPEG.) [You should edit the files off one drive
and save the results to a different drive. You will see an
improvement in processing time and throughput, for many
processes using this technique.]

You would then feed the edited files to your favorite Authoring
Program and create your new DVD. (My favorite is TMPGEnc
DVD Author 1.6 (TDA) but there are other good programs
available now, many people like Ulead's Movie Factory, and
DVDLab Pro is by far the most cost effective [but is a little
complex for many, and for many routine uses.].

You should check out sites like www.videohelp.com
www.afterdawn.com www.doom9.org for info on the authoring
process. Videohelp.com has listings of hardware and software
with user comments, that can be very helpful.

I seldom make video DVDs anymore, as I currently am
converting everything to AVC/H.264 files on hard drives,
(mostly on my NAS), but I still capture and edit out the
commercials as I described above. I have setup a system
to function as a HTPC for the livingroom. It plays the files
off the NAS over my Gigabit LAN, with no problem, so far.

( You can see some of the MMB menus I made to play
the files here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]

Just click on the pictures at the site, but to see them full
size you can download them, they are small <200KB files.)

Luck;
Ken

 

[Ken Maltby]

That approach is also mentioned in my reply.

I thought the DVR had a "video out" option. If so, couldn't you play back
the recorded video from the DVR's hard drive, and output the play-back via
a Video Out S-Video or composite to the ATI card?

You could then record the DVR's "play back" to the PC's hard drive. It's
just looking for a video/audio signal, it doesn't care where it comes from
does it, e.g., cable, S-Video, composite, component, etc.?

Thanks.

jj
=========

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast
to Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable
with the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because
the problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is
that I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't
record while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I
can connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the best
the DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I didn't
because no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's hard
drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get the video
to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to edit out the
commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making commercial-free DVD
collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it can
be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best way to
configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary

I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

Another possible approach would be to use a hard drive equipped
DVD Recorder. Then you could save up edited episodes on the
recorder's hard drive until you had the number you want for a DVD.
This should be possible, but I much prefer doing such things on my
computer, for one thing, on the computer I can use a keyboard and
run more useful programs to edit and author a DVD.


What I've been doing is to use the S-Video analog output, which
has been of very good quality, to feed my PCI hardware MPEG
capture card. (The card I use is no longer available, but the same
reference design which uses the same IC chips is available as the
"Snazzi III DVD Creator" PCI card http://www.snazzishop.com
http://www.snazzishop.com/vcp.asp
http://www.snazzishop.com/cart_dvdcreator_buy.asp)

With this approach you have a great deal a control over the
process and can setup a quick and easy workflow.

Depending on the power of your system and with a good
throughput, you could use the AIW and capture to DVD
compliant MPEG with software. In any case you will want
to have a separate hard drive for your capturing.

Once you have DVD compliant MPEG files from your capture
process, you can quickly and easily edit out the commercials
using www.videoredo.com (This is an essential tool for anyone
working with MPEG.) [You should edit the files off one drive
and save the results to a different drive. You will see an
improvement in processing time and throughput, for many
processes using this technique.]

You would then feed the edited files to your favorite Authoring
Program and create your new DVD. (My favorite is TMPGEnc
DVD Author 1.6 (TDA) but there are other good programs
available now, many people like Ulead's Movie Factory, and
DVDLab Pro is by far the most cost effective [but is a little
complex for many, and for many routine uses.].

You should check out sites like www.videohelp.com
www.afterdawn.com www.doom9.org for info on the authoring
process. Videohelp.com has listings of hardware and software
with user comments, that can be very helpful.

I seldom make video DVDs anymore, as I currently am
converting everything to AVC/H.264 files on hard drives,
(mostly on my NAS), but I still capture and edit out the
commercials as I described above. I have setup a system
to function as a HTPC for the livingroom. It plays the files
off the NAS over my Gigabit LAN, with no problem, so far.

( You can see some of the MMB menus I made to play
the files here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]

Just click on the pictures at the site, but to see them full
size you can download them, they are small <200KB files.)

Luck;
Ken

 

[jj]

Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to know if I could record from the
DVR, as opposed to recording as I do today, directly from the cable
connection. The only thing that will be changing is the "source" of the
video.

Currently, it comes from my cable, connected to the AIW X800XT. If I go
with the DVR, just wanted to make sure I could change the "source" from
cable to RECORDED PROGRAMS on the DVR's hard drive, and use the DVR's
"Video Out" cable to connect it to the AIW.

The people at DirectTV told me their DVRs have video out, in composite
or S-Video. Just wanted to make sure I could connect that S-Video to my
X800XT, replacing the cable input.

But I would be "recording" on the PC's hard drive, programs that were
already recorded on the DVR's hard drive.

Some of you were talking about "hacking software", etc. That's what
confused me. I was looking for a more simpler solution, as described,
and wondered if it would work, and if anyone had tried something like
this before.

Sounds like it will work, but I have a funny feeling I won't know for
sure until I get the equipment, and try to hook it all up. Thanks again,

Gary
======

That approach is also mentioned in my reply.

I thought the DVR had a "video out" option. If so, couldn't you play back
the recorded video from the DVR's hard drive, and output the play-back via
a Video Out S-Video or composite to the ATI card?

You could then record the DVR's "play back" to the PC's hard drive. It's
just looking for a video/audio signal, it doesn't care where it comes from
does it, e.g., cable, S-Video, composite, component, etc.?

Thanks.

jj
=========

My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast
to Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable
with the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because
the problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive, is
that I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and can't
record while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I
can connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the best
the DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I didn't
because no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's hard
drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get the video
to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to edit out the
commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making commercial-free DVD
collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it can
be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best way to
configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary


I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

Another possible approach would be to use a hard drive equipped
DVD Recorder. Then you could save up edited episodes on the
recorder's hard drive until you had the number you want for a DVD.
This should be possible, but I much prefer doing such things on my
computer, for one thing, on the computer I can use a keyboard and
run more useful programs to edit and author a DVD.


What I've been doing is to use the S-Video analog output, which
has been of very good quality, to feed my PCI hardware MPEG
capture card. (The card I use is no longer available, but the same
reference design which uses the same IC chips is available as the
"Snazzi III DVD Creator" PCI card http://www.snazzishop.com
http://www.snazzishop.com/vcp.asp
http://www.snazzishop.com/cart_dvdcreator_buy.asp)

With this approach you have a great deal a control over the
process and can setup a quick and easy workflow.

Depending on the power of your system and with a good
throughput, you could use the AIW and capture to DVD
compliant MPEG with software. In any case you will want
to have a separate hard drive for your capturing.

Once you have DVD compliant MPEG files from your capture
process, you can quickly and easily edit out the commercials
using www.videoredo.com (This is an essential tool for anyone
working with MPEG.) [You should edit the files off one drive
and save the results to a different drive. You will see an
improvement in processing time and throughput, for many
processes using this technique.]

You would then feed the edited files to your favorite Authoring
Program and create your new DVD. (My favorite is TMPGEnc
DVD Author 1.6 (TDA) but there are other good programs
available now, many people like Ulead's Movie Factory, and
DVDLab Pro is by far the most cost effective [but is a little
complex for many, and for many routine uses.].

You should check out sites like www.videohelp.com
www.afterdawn.com www.doom9.org for info on the authoring
process. Videohelp.com has listings of hardware and software
with user comments, that can be very helpful.

I seldom make video DVDs anymore, as I currently am
converting everything to AVC/H.264 files on hard drives,
(mostly on my NAS), but I still capture and edit out the
commercials as I described above. I have setup a system
to function as a HTPC for the livingroom. It plays the files
off the NAS over my Gigabit LAN, with no problem, so far.

( You can see some of the MMB menus I made to play
the files here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]

Just click on the pictures at the site, but to see them full
size you can download them, they are small <200KB files.)

Luck;
Ken

 

[James Colbert]

Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to know if I could record from the
DVR, as opposed to recording as I do today, directly from the cable
connection. The only thing that will be changing is the "source" of the
video.

Currently, it comes from my cable, connected to the AIW X800XT. If I go
with the DVR, just wanted to make sure I could change the "source" from
cable to RECORDED PROGRAMS on the DVR's hard drive, and use the DVR's
"Video Out" cable to connect it to the AIW.

The people at DirectTV told me their DVRs have video out, in composite or
S-Video. Just wanted to make sure I could connect that S-Video to my
X800XT, replacing the cable input.

But I would be "recording" on the PC's hard drive, programs that were
already recorded on the DVR's hard drive.

Some of you were talking about "hacking software", etc. That's what
confused me. I was looking for a more simpler solution, as described, and
wondered if it would work, and if anyone had tried something like this
before.

Sounds like it will work, but I have a funny feeling I won't know for sure
until I get the equipment, and try to hook it all up. Thanks again,

Gary
======

If it has s-video out, you shouldn't have any problem. You will just need to
set the input in MMC to s-video and you can watch and record. Image quality
is higher than connecting the cable directly to the card. Of course, then
you will be using the DVR to switch channels, leaving the MMC TV app on
whatever channel the DVR requires (ch. 3 here). Recording from previously
recorded shows from the DVR to the computer is as simple as playing the show
from the DVR and setting MMC to record.

James

That approach is also mentioned in my reply.

I thought the DVR had a "video out" option. If so, couldn't you play
back the recorded video from the DVR's hard drive, and output the
play-back via a Video Out S-Video or composite to the ATI card?

You could then record the DVR's "play back" to the PC's hard drive. It's
just looking for a video/audio signal, it doesn't care where it comes
from does it, e.g., cable, S-Video, composite, component, etc.?

Thanks.

jj
=========
Ken Maltby wrote:



My condo building is switching cable companies on March 1, from Comcast
to Direct TV. Have an ATI AIW X800XT, and currently have basic cable
with the cable line going directly into the ATI card.

On March 1, will have Direct TV with a DVR. Went with the DVR because
the problem I have today with recording TV programs to my hard drive,
is that I use my PC 14-16 hours/day for personal/work reasons, and
can't record while I'm working (not enough CPU/memory for good
recordings).

I'd like to use the DVR to record the programs. But need to know if I
can connect the DVR using some sort of Audio/Video Out. I think the
best the DVR has is S-Video, unless you get the HD option, which I
didn't because no HD-TV yet).

Is there a way to connect the DVR to my PC/ATI X800XT, and "play back"
programs from the DVR, and record to the PC's hard drive?

If this is possible, it will allow me to record programs to the PC's
hard drive when not using my PC for business/pleasure. I need to get
the video to the PC hard drive, so I can use the Pinnacle software to
edit out the commercials, and burn the program to DVD. I'm making
commercial-free DVD collections of my favorite programs.

Just wondered if anyone has a setup like this, using a DVR, and if it
can be configured to do what I just mentioned? If so, what's the best
way to configure it, and connect the DVR's audio/video to the ATI card?

Thanks for any advice, help, etc. Much appreciated.

Gary


I have been recording shows off a DirecTiVo DVR for a long time
now, and find it a great way to collect up the shows I like.

There are several ways you could go with this.

Probably the method that can create the best possible results is to
hack the DVR's software so that you can extract the recorded
video on the DVR's hard drive and convert that to standard DVD
compliant .mpg in your PC. As I understand it, the DirecTV units
don't and won't implement the "TiVo-To-Go" feature to accomplish
this without hacking the DVR.

Another possible approach would be to use a hard drive equipped
DVD Recorder. Then you could save up edited episodes on the
recorder's hard drive until you had the number you want for a DVD.
This should be possible, but I much prefer doing such things on my
computer, for one thing, on the computer I can use a keyboard and
run more useful programs to edit and author a DVD.


What I've been doing is to use the S-Video analog output, which
has been of very good quality, to feed my PCI hardware MPEG
capture card. (The card I use is no longer available, but the same
reference design which uses the same IC chips is available as the
"Snazzi III DVD Creator" PCI card http://www.snazzishop.com
http://www.snazzishop.com/vcp.asp
http://www.snazzishop.com/cart_dvdcreator_buy.asp)

With this approach you have a great deal a control over the
process and can setup a quick and easy workflow.

Depending on the power of your system and with a good
throughput, you could use the AIW and capture to DVD
compliant MPEG with software. In any case you will want
to have a separate hard drive for your capturing.

Once you have DVD compliant MPEG files from your capture
process, you can quickly and easily edit out the commercials
using www.videoredo.com (This is an essential tool for anyone
working with MPEG.) [You should edit the files off one drive
and save the results to a different drive. You will see an
improvement in processing time and throughput, for many
processes using this technique.]

You would then feed the edited files to your favorite Authoring
Program and create your new DVD. (My favorite is TMPGEnc
DVD Author 1.6 (TDA) but there are other good programs
available now, many people like Ulead's Movie Factory, and
DVDLab Pro is by far the most cost effective [but is a little
complex for many, and for many routine uses.].

You should check out sites like www.videohelp.com
www.afterdawn.com www.doom9.org for info on the authoring
process. Videohelp.com has listings of hardware and software
with user comments, that can be very helpful.

I seldom make video DVDs anymore, as I currently am
converting everything to AVC/H.264 files on hard drives,
(mostly on my NAS), but I still capture and edit out the
commercials as I described above. I have setup a system
to function as a HTPC for the livingroom. It plays the files
off the NAS over my Gigabit LAN, with no problem, so far.

( You can see some of the MMB menus I made to play
the files here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]

Just click on the pictures at the site, but to see them full
size you can download them, they are small <200KB files.)

Luck;
Ken

 

[Captain Midnight]

Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to know if I could record from the
DVR, as opposed to recording as I do today, directly from the cable
connection. The only thing that will be changing is the "source" of the
video.

Currently, it comes from my cable, connected to the AIW X800XT. If I go
with the DVR, just wanted to make sure I could change the "source" from
cable to RECORDED PROGRAMS on the DVR's hard drive, and use the DVR's
"Video Out" cable to connect it to the AIW.

The people at DirectTV told me their DVRs have video out, in composite
or S-Video. Just wanted to make sure I could connect that S-Video to my
X800XT, replacing the cable input.

But I would be "recording" on the PC's hard drive, programs that were
already recorded on the DVR's hard drive.

Some of you were talking about "hacking software", etc. That's what
confused me. I was looking for a more simpler solution, as described,
and wondered if it would work, and if anyone had tried something like
this before.

Sounds like it will work, but I have a funny feeling I won't know for
sure until I get the equipment, and try to hook it all up. Thanks again,

Gary
======

Should be just like I'm doing now with the cable box. I capture from the
RF(co-ax) on stations the ATI tuner can get and use S-video from the box for
the rest. Don't forget you'll need separate cables for audio.

You'd get better quality hacking the DVR but this way will probably be
adequate. Recapturing will be in real time.