ALLINWONDER software question

[Joel Crum]

Hello,

I'm using an Allinwonder 9300 (I *think* it's the 93) in a middle aged
system (30 gig hard drive, 850 MHz athlon, 256 meg PC 133 memory, new
DVD-RW) as a component of my entertainment center. My TV is being used
as the monitor. There's currently no internet access on this machine.

I'm looking for a TV Recorder program that can capture broadcast quality
video in real time, has controls large enough to see from my couch (I've
set my font size to 200% but most TVR programs seem to use custom
interfaces rather then system fonts), which can be programmed to capture
shows at a specific time without connecting to the net. Interfacing with
the ATI radio remote would be a big plus.

Any suggestions?

So far I've tired the included software (wants to connect to the net),
some programs that came with a friends DVD-RW (no timed record), and some
programs from Honest Tech (best but the controls are very tiny!) None of
the programs offer the compression I've seen elsewhere;
alt.binaries.startrek has near DVD quality captures of 45 minutes at only
400 meg! Though I understand I might not be able to achieve that quality
in real time with my system.

 

[J.Clarke]

FWIW, the OP has not yet appeared on my server, so I'm responding to
it here.

I get the echo when I try to time-shift:

AIW 8500
P4 2.4B
lotsa RAM

I don't see an antecedent for the echo issue, so can't help
there except to say check the audio connections--the AIW 8500 audio is
easy to screw up, and there is at least one configuration that will play
properly but won't record properly. If the problem is a lag rather than
an echo then it's a driver problem--download the latest drivers and it
will go away.

-irv segal [remove spambot foiler in return address to reply
directly]

Hello,

I'm using an Allinwonder 9300 (I *think* it's the 93) in a middle aged
system (30 gig hard drive, 850 MHz athlon, 256 meg PC 133 memory, new
DVD-RW) as a component of my entertainment center. My TV is being used
as the monitor. There's currently no internet access on this machine.

I'm looking for a TV Recorder program that can capture broadcast quality
video in real time,

Not going to get broadcast quality off-the-air out of a consumer SD
capture card.

Download MMC 8.5 and the latest Catalyst drivers. They've got a new
interface, "Easylook", that displays large enough to be usable onscreen
with a TV for a monitor. If you've got a 9000 series the download
should be free.

Any PC software with a program guide is going to want to connect to the
net. Otherwise it can't download the listings. The ATI software does
timed captures just fine without an Internet connection as long as you
set the times manually and don't try to use the program guide.

Take a look at Showshifter or Snapstream or MythTV.
<http://www.showshifter.com/>
<http://www.snapstream.com/>
<http://www.mythtv.org/>

All are designed specifically to address the sorts of issues you are
describing.

Most likely the compression was done in a separate step from the
capture. And if the quality is that good then it was probably an HDTV
capture, video extraction from a DirecTivo, or RIPped from a DVD.

Harris

Seriously, for the situation described here, a Tivo suitably
hacked is going to be a much more satisfactory solution than a PC. It
doesn't require an Internet connection and the capture quality is about
as good as you're going to get off-the-air with SD broadcast. The hacks
are a pain in the butt to set up, but once set it becomes a very
flexible and versatile device.

If the budget won't handle a Tivo then you have to put up with the
limitations of PC-based capture.