Can I turn my PC into a TV or PVR?

M

me6

I have an older Dell Pentium 3..... 800 mhz.... 512 megs ram.... 40
gig drive...and a 21" monitor

Been thinking abt turning it into a PVR..... and watching and
recording TV programs off the monitor and hard drive.

Anyone have advice on what video boards to buy to do this? What
software? And does it work well?
 
J

JAD

The ATI AIW(All in Wonder) cards I have are great for this stuff. Its
all rather easy after the driver install.
All other video card drivers have to be washed from the system to have
a easy install.
Other than 'scheduling' they work flawlessly with the supplied
software. There are other
solutions also.
 
J

JAD

the 'guide plus' software which is the TV guide as it were, for
your area- can be flakey because it has to rely on the local listings
correctiveness.
 
G

Gary Tait

I have an older Dell Pentium 3..... 800 mhz.... 512 megs ram.... 40
gig drive...and a 21" monitor

Been thinking abt turning it into a PVR..... and watching and
recording TV programs off the monitor and hard drive.

Anyone have advice on what video boards to buy to do this?
Click to expand...

Hauppauge WinTV PVR 250
What
software? And does it work well?
Click to expand...

SageTV, Snapstream MythTv.
 
J

jeff findley

S

Seth Brundle

I would not advise it.

I recently built my own multimedia PC using BeyondTV and a Hauppage MPEG
encoder card with remote.

Yes, it works, but I found the usabilty of dedicated componants to be much
easier to use, cheaper, and much quieter in the living room. I chose a quiet
Antec Media Case and fanless video card, and it is still too noisy.
 
M

me6

Yes, it works, but I found the usabilty of dedicated componants to be much
easier to use, cheaper, and much quieter in the living room.
Click to expand...

OK.... but when you say "dedicated" componenets....what do you mean?
Like stand alone DVDs, VCRs, etc?
 
J

JAD

Yes, it works, but I found the usability of dedicated components to be
much


I would have to say that's a little over the top

Cheaper - is relative to what you already have AFA hardware
Easier - everything is easier when the remote is setup
Quieter? - I just am not that extreme about electronic noise
 
G

G

Isn't a pc as pvr cheaper than say Tivo or replay as you don't have to
pay monthly fees or lifetime fees. (I think they are like $299
lifetime vs 12.95/monthly). Right there you are close to half of what
a computer pvr could cost to build and you aren't even including the
cost of the tivo.
 
S

Seth Brundle

OK.... but when you say "dedicated" componenets....what do you mean?
Like stand alone DVDs, VCRs, etc?
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. TiVo is much more reliable, consistant, dead quiet, and
has a much better user interface and remote control then BeyondTV,
which is currently considered the standard bearer of PC PVRs, and is
$149.

A DVD player is about $100 and - same thing.

There are currently some nice media componants which will play your
MP3 collection also.

Plus, you dont have to worry about some things, like whether your PC
has enough processing power to record a program while you are running
another app.

I am looking into getting 2 newer TiVos with the home media option,
which I think will do a much better job then the monster PC system I
built.
 
S

Seth Brundle

I would have to say that's a little over the top
Cheaper - is relative to what you already have AFA hardware
Click to expand...
Easier - everything is easier when the remote is setup
Click to expand...

You say 'the remote', but there is no remote that can control MS Media
Player, PowerDVD, BeyondTV, and other PC apps *and* switch between
them or close and launch them easily, or do special stuff like select
a directory or input text easily, which you will frequently have to do
with a homebrewed pc system.

And forget showing your girlfriend or housesitters how to use it.
Quieter? - I just am not that extreme about electronic noise
Click to expand...

Thats personal preference.

I can hear the fans in my computer from down the hall, and its a quiet
1-fan Antec case with fanless video and a 1 stock retail cpu fan. I
cant hear my TiVo or DVD player from the couch!
 
S

Seth Brundle

Isn't a pc as pvr cheaper than say Tivo or replay as you don't have to
pay monthly fees or lifetime fees. (I think they are like $299
lifetime vs 12.95/monthly). Right there you are close to half of what
a computer pvr could cost to build and you aren't even including the
cost of the tivo.
Click to expand...

TiVo2=$149+$299 Lifetime=$449

BeyondTV+bundled card+remote=$179

That leaves you $279 for a dedicated PC.

Figure at least $120 for a case that doesnt look like crap in your
entertainment center.

THats $150 for the actual PC itself.

And from experience with both, I can tell you the TiVo is a freaking
joy to use compared to PC PVRs.

Also - consider this - I work with over 20 Linux and Windows system
administrators - all of them have TiVo, none of them use a PC as a PVR
(most have tried).

PC PVRs are more of something you *can do*, but TiVo smooths so many
of the rough edges and cost its at least twice as easy to use.
 
J

JAD

All the ATI MMC versions having easyshare are all remote controlled...
app closures and mouse functions all located on the remote....\

No typing necessary as the 'library takes of selecting and playing any
media entered there. a little research would be in order.
 
J

JAD

your already over budget compared to a PC setup

And from experience with both, I can tell you the TiVo is a freaking
joy to use compared to PC PVRs.
Click to expand...

your personal preferences mean nothing to a well versed PC user.
 
G

gothika

TiVo2=$149+$299 Lifetime=$449

BeyondTV+bundled card+remote=$179

That leaves you $279 for a dedicated PC.

Figure at least $120 for a case that doesnt look like crap in your
entertainment center.

THats $150 for the actual PC itself.

And from experience with both, I can tell you the TiVo is a freaking
joy to use compared to PC PVRs.

Also - consider this - I work with over 20 Linux and Windows system
administrators - all of them have TiVo, none of them use a PC as a PVR
(most have tried).

PC PVRs are more of something you *can do*, but TiVo smooths so many
of the rough edges and cost its at least twice as easy to use.
Click to expand...

Tivo is crap.
 
G

Gary Tait

your already over budget compared to a PC setup

And from experience with both, I can tell you the TiVo is a freaking

your personal preferences mean nothing to a well versed PC user.
Click to expand...

Okay, starting from nothing, price a PC DVR setup, using all new
components.
 
J

JAD

That would be Your job. This would depend On your preferences. (and
who said that used equipment won't record media?) I could go into a
PAWN shop and do it for next to nothing. Cause a million people have
sold their TIVO setups cause they couldn't afford the monthly....

Like I said before, YOU find it HARD, YOU find it costly, YOU find it
noisy, YOU can't figure it out... then YOU don't use it.... pretty
simple.
Its not likely that somebody interested in TIVO -VIVO - or recording
media of any type, would start out from nothing. If they have gotten
this far (to a NG) they have been 'dabbling' in the least.

You can't just come in and say ' I ' find it noisy/hard/not
practical so, therefore its not a good way of doing something.





 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

Dell Dimension 4100 make a good PVR? 8
PCI PVR card for use with Dish Network DBS? 4
Snapstream's "Beyond TV" anyone? 9
How much RAM can I put in this free slot? 6
Looking for a PVR card (Long) 3
Can you hook up a Virgin Media+ box to a PC monitor? 3
Using a widescreen TV as a monitor question 6
HTPC or simply a PC for the living room 4

Top