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| 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | America's Funniest Home Videos Oct 2 | Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sep 25 | Desperate Housewives Sep 25 | Grey's Anatomy Sep 25 | ||||
| cbs | 60 Minutes Sep 25 | Cold Case Sep 25 | CBS Sunday Night Movie Sep 25 | |||||
| fox | misc. anim. series rpts | King of the Hill Sep 18 | The Simpsons Sep 11 | The War at Home Sep 11 | Family Guy Sep 11 | American Dad Sep 11 | ||
| nbc | Dateline NBC Sep 25 | The West Wing Sep 25 | Law & Order: Criminal IntentSep25 | Crossing Jordan Sep 25 | ||||
| upn | ||||||||
| wb | Reba repeats | Reba repeats | Charmed Sep 25 | Blue Collar TV Sep 25 | ||||
Monday
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | Wife Swap Sep 12 | Monday Night Football Sep 12 | ||||
| cbs | The King of Queens Sep 19 | How I Met YourMother Sep 19 | Two and a Half Men Sep 19 | Out of Practice Sep 19 | CSI: Miami Sep 19 | |
| fox | Arrested Develop- ment Sep 19 | Kitchen Confidential Sep 19 | Prison Break Aug 29 | |||
| nbc | Surface Sep 19 | Las Vegas Sep 19 | Medium Sep 19 | |||
| upn | One on One Sep 19 | All of Us Sep 19 | Girlfriends Sep 19 | Half & Half Sep 19 | ||
| wb | 7th Heaven Sep 19 | Just Legal Sep 19 | ||||
Tuesday
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | According to JimSep20 | Rodney Oct 4 | Commander-in-Chief Sep 27 | Boston Legal Sep 27 | ||
| cbs | NCIS Sep 20 | Amazing Race Sep 27 | Close to Home Oct 4 | |||
| fox | Bones Sep 13 | House M.D. Sep 13 | ||||
| nbc | The Biggest Loser Sep 13 | My Name Is Earl Sep 20 | The Office Sep 20 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Sep 20 | ||
| upn | America's Next Top Model repeats Sep 27 | Sex, Love & Secrets Sep 27 | ||||
| wb | Gilmore Girls Sep 13 | Supernatural Sep 13 | ||||
Wednesday
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | George LopezSep28 | Freddie Oct 5 | Lost Sep 21 | Invasion Sep 21 | ||
| cbs | Still Standing Sep 21 | Yes Dear Sep 21 | Criminal Minds Sep 22 | CSI: NY Sep 21 | ||
| fox | That '70s Show Nov 2 | Stacked Nov 2 | Head Cases Sep 14 | |||
| nbc | The Apprentice: Martha Stewart Sep 21 | E-Ring Sep 21 | Law & Order Sep 21 | |||
| upn | America's Next Top Model Sep 21 | Veronica Mars Sep 21 | ||||
| wb | One Tree Hill Oct 5 | Related Oct 5 | ||||
Thursday
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | Alias Sep 29 | The Night Stalker Sep 29 | PrimeTime Live | |||
| cbs | Survivor Sep 15 | CSI Sep 22 | Without a Trace Sep 29 | |||
| fox | The O.C. Sep 8 | Reunion Sep 8 | ||||
| nbc | Joey Sep 22 | Will & GraceSep29 | The Apprentice Sep 22 | ER Sep 22 | ||
| upn | Everybody Hates Chris Sep 22 | Eve Sep 22 | Cuts Sep 22 | Love, Inc. Sep 22 | ||
| wb | Smallville Sep 29 | Everwood Sep 29 | ||||
Friday
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | Supernanny Sep 23 | Hope & Faith Sep 23 | Hot Proper- ties Oct 7 | 20/20 | ||
| cbs | Ghost Whisperer Sep 23 | Threshold Sep 16 | NUMB3RS Sep 23 | |||
| fox | Bernie Mac Show Sep 23 | Malcolm in the Middle Sep 23 | Killer Instinct Sep 23 | |||
| nbc | Dateline NBC Sep 23 | Three Wishes Sep 23 | Inconceivable Sep 23 | |||
| upn | WWE Smackdown! Sep 9 | |||||
| wb | What I Like About You Sep 16 | Twins Sep 16 | Reba Sep 16 | Living with Fran Sep 16 | ||
Saturday
| 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |
| abc | ABC Movie of the Week | |||||
| cbs | misc. crime series repeats | misc. crime series repeats | 48 Hours Mystery Sep 24 | |||
| fox | Cops Sep 10 | America's Most Wanted Sep 10 | ||||
| nbc | NBC Saturday Night Movie Sep 24 | |||||
| upn | ||||||
| wb | ||||||
on hiatus:
| American Idol (FOX) returns in 2006 The Bachelor (ABC) returns in 2006 The Contender (ESPN) returns Apr 2006 Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) returns Sep 25 Fear Factor (NBC) returns in 2006 Huff (Showtime) returns in 2006 Jake in Progress (ABC) returns in 2006 The L Word (Showtime) returns in 2006 | Less Than Perfect (ABC) returns in 2006 MI-5 (A&E) returns in 2006 Nip/Tuck (FX) returns Sep 20 Scrubs (NBC) returns in 2006 The Sopranos (HBO) returns Mar 2006 Strange Days at Blake Holsey High (NBC) 24 (FOX) returns in 2006 The Wire (HBO) returns in 2006 |
cancelled/ended 2004-2005:
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Free TiVo: Build a Better DVR out of an Old PCby Ken SharpApril 25, 2005 | Technorati | del.icio.us |
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Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) have become a necessary luxury over the last several years. Millions of people rely on these devices to pause and rewind live television, and to keep track of broadcast schedules and record programs for them. Many consider them just as essential to their daily lives as their cell phones.
Several months ago, I finally became sufficiently jealous of the millions of DVR owners to motivate me to put a DVR in my own living room. But I wanted something more versatile than a normal TiVo, ReplayTV, or Ultimate TV system. I envisioned an all-purpose media server that would function as a full DVR, but would also work as a music server and play console games. It would have an easy remote-control interface, just like a commercial DVR, and a way to program it through the internet. Finally, I wanted to avoid the monthly fees that many DVR owners pay to keep their machines' schedules up-to-date.
I earn a living as a computer engineer, so I understand how long it can take to write custom software. So, in order to build my dream machine as quickly and easily as possible, I wanted to use only off-the-shelf software and components. I knew this was all possible, and after a month of research and a few late nights of construction, I had my custom DVR box. It works just as I'd hoped and does even more. For instance, it streams music over the internet, so I can listen to my music collection from work (or anywhere else).
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Here's how I did it.
SET UP:
You'll need:
- Windows machine with at least 256MB of RAM (512MB is better), plenty of hard drive space, and a good video card.
- TV and receiver presumably from your existing home theater system).
- TV card I used a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 card, $149 at hauppauge.com.
- PC DVR software I used BeyondTV, which was bundled with the Hauppauge card, but is available from SnapStream separately for $70 at snapstream.com.
- WinDVD I already had an old copy of this from my video card, but it's $50 from intervideo.com.
- Winamp The standard Windows MP3 player, free at winamp.com.
- VNC Remote PC access software, free at realvnc.com
- SlimServer Lets your server stream music remotely through the internet, free at slimdevices.com.
- Various game emulators Run console game ROMs, many free ones listed at zophar.net.
- Playstation or Nintendo game controllers These work much better than PC gamepads for the price, and are available lots of places for $15 and up.
- PSX/N64 to USB converter Lets you use console gamepads on the PC, $13 each at lik-sang.com.
- Girder Automation software, $20 at promixis.com
- Cygwin and server software Linux-like operating system, free at cygwin.com.
- Dynamic DNS service Lets you connect to your home server using a fixed domain name if your broadband account allocates your IP address dynamically. I got this from dyndns.org.
MAKE IT:
The basic sequence of steps is:
- Build the PC
- Install the TV and receiver
- Install the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 card and BeyondTV
- Install video, music, and game utilities
- Install PSX/N64 to USB converters
- Install and configure Girder
- Install Cygwin and server software
- Set up firewall and dynamic DNS service
1. Build the PC
I started with an old PC (a Dell Dimension 4500) that had unfortunately been destroyed by lightning. After some experimentation, I figured out that the only bad portions of the PC were the motherboard and the modem (which I didn't need anyway). I decided to replace the motherboard and keep the same case and other hardware because I really liked Dell's clamshell case design. I did some research at my local Fry's electronics store and got a motherboard that would allow me to use the same memory, processor, and case. After getting the PC back up and running with this hardware, I had a pretty decent machine with a 1.8 GHz P4 processor, 256MB DDR2100 RAM, and a 20GB HD. Not bad for a resurrected PC.
I then formatted the hard drive and put Windows 2000 on as the OS. I did this mostly because I had an extra license for Win2K lying around that I wasn't using. I may eventually upgrade to XP, but right now, everything is working well with 2000.
After I had the machine up and running, I decided to add some extra hardware. I added 512MB of RAM, since this would be a server machine and could probably use a little extra RAM. I also added a lot of hard drive space and ended up buying two 120GB hard drives. I figured that I would need quite a bit of space for use with the DVR software, and I would also need quite a bit of space to act as a general file server (for MP3s, movie files, etc.). So I assigned one of the 120GB drives for DVR duty and the other for general file storage. This ended up giving me plenty of room for file storage and about 50 hours of good quality video with the DVR software.
Any modern Windows PC can be used for DVR duty. When choosing an appropriate PC, keep several key features in mind: 1) make sure to have enough memory. If you want to run several applications (for instance, watching a DVD while recording a TV show), then you will want more RAM. You can probably get by with 256MB of RAM, but 512MB of RAM is better. 2) You'll want plenty of hard drive space for your DVR to record TV shows. The more hard drive space, the better. 3) Make sure your power supply is rated high enough to allow you to power the devices in your system. If you add multiple hard drives, a DVD drive, and a hefty 3D graphics video card, then you'll probably want to have a 350 - 400W power supply in your PC.
2. Install the TV and Receiver
Next I needed to hook up the PC to a TV and a receiver. Luckily, I already had a 32-inch TV and a receiver. I also had a working Gainward GeForce3 video card, inherited from the old lightning-struck PC. The card had an S-Video out, and it came with an S-Video to RCA conversion cable, which I used to connect it to the RCA input of the TV. This way, to switch to the the PC, I just hit the TV/Video button on the remote, like I'd do with a Playstation or DVD player. Then I connected the line-out from the PC's sound card to one of the receiver's inputs. I checked out both the video and sound quality by playing a DVD on the PC, and it looked pretty good.
3. Install Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Card and BeyondTV
Next, I wanted to get the DVR functionality up and running. I wanted to create a TiVo-like experience, so I researched what PC DVR software was available. After a bit of searching, I narrowed the prospects down to BeyondTV and SageTV. After toying with the trial versions of each of these, I decided I liked BeyondTV better. There weren't any good technical reasons for this, as they both seem like excellent products, but I just liked the look and feel of BeyondTV a little better. One of the advantages of BeyondTV is that it has a free program guide service to keep your TV listings up to date. It also has a free service through snapstream.net which allows you to remotely set a show to record via the internet. This is really nice if you've gone on vacation or on a business trip and you suddenly see something that you want to record.
Snapstream, the makers of BeyondTV, offer some very well-priced bundles that include a TV card and a copy of BeyondTV. I did a little more research and found that I couldn't get both the TV card and BeyondTV software any cheaper elsewhere. I ended up getting BeyondTV bundled with a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 TV card. This card is pretty cool because it includes an IR remote, which is natively compatible with Beyond TV. It also has a hardware MPEG encoder, which offloads demand on the CPU when recording MPEG files. I thought this was important since I knew that the PC would have other things running (HTTP server, WinDVD, etc.) while it was recording shows.
Installation of the TV card and BeyondTV was pretty simple. I won't put a detailed blow-by-blow of it here, because I just followed the included instructions and that worked fine.
One thing to note with the most recent version of BeyondTV is that it can now record TV from multiple tuner cards. This means you can simultaneously record multiple shows on different TV channels.
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4. Install Video, Music, and Game Utilities
At this point, I needed to install the rest of the software I would need:- WinDVD (www.intervideo.com): I had a copy of WinDVD 3 that came with the aforementioned Gainward GeForce3 card. This is a pretty old version of WinDVD, but it plays DVDs, VCDs, and SVCDs perfectly, so I didn't see the need to shell out any more cash for a new version.
- Winamp (www.winamp.com): This de facto standard MP3 player is simple and works great. Why change what works? I did increase the font size and the front panel dimensions to look better on the TV screen, though.
- VNC (www.realvnc.com): I don't know if you've ever seen a PC's output on a TV, but it pretty much sucks. TVs just can't handle a resolution that high. BeyondTV and WinDVD are made to look good on lower resolutions, but regular Windows programs are a bit hard to read. VNC is a free program that can be used very similarly to the Remote Desktop feature in Windows XP (basically, it allows a graphical remote desktop view). I use VNC on the PC so that I can login and manipulate the desktop from my laptop at full PC resolution, rather than having to do it from the TV screen.
- SlimServer (www.slimdevices.com): This is a free, open source program that allows you to remotely stream your MP3 collection through the internet. The beauty of it is that you only need an internet connection, a web browser, and a media player on the client side (Winamp and Windows Media Player both work fine) in order to listen to your entire MP3 collection from anywhere in the world. I use this to listen to my music collection at work, so I don't have to lug around a stack of burned CDs. This is one of the coolest free programs I've seen.
- Various game emulators: At this point, I also installed a slew of emulators. Emulators allow you to play games from various consoles and arcade machines. All you need is the appropriate emulator for a given system and ROM files, which are binary dumps of game cartridges. Some of my favorite emulators are ZSNES (Super Nintendo), Visualboy Advance (Nintendo Gameboy Advance), 1964 (Nintendo 64), and MAME (Multiple Arcade Games). There are many other emulators available; the best place to find them is www.zophar.net. If you don't already know where to get game ROMs, you should do some searching on the internet for sources of ROMs. Note that it is illegal to have a ROM for a game unless you own the original game cartridge.
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5. Install PSX/N64 to USB Converters
In order to play emulators well, you usually need a good gamepad. For some reason, most of the gamepads for PC aren't very good, and if a PC gamepad is good, then it's usually really expensive. So a while back, I found a cool product that converts a PlayStation or Nintendo 64 controller to a USB interface. This allows a PC to see it as a regular PC gamepad. I bought two of these from www.lik-sang.com, and they work really well. I took two slightly used PlayStation controllers, plugged them in, and now I can use the controllers in any emulator which supports Windows gamepads (which is nearly all of them). This really enhances the gameplay experience, and the USB converters aren't that expensive.
These converters are also easy to install. Just plug them in, and Windows will automatically recognize them as Human Interface Devices.
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6. Install and Configure Girder
Girder is a very handy program that allows you to automate Windows. Basically, it acts as the "glue" between different programs. In my case, it acts as the glue between pressing buttons on my Hauppauge IR remote and taking actions in WinDVD and in all of the other programs on my system. This completes the home-theater-style experience. For example, Girder lets me set up commands so that pressing a button on the remote simulates pressing the "Play" button in WinDVD.
Girder also has a flexible plug-in architecture that lets third-party developers create plugins to enhance Girder's capabilities. Girder doesn't natively support my Hauppauge IR remote, so I installed a plug-in that allows Girder to receive button events from the remote.
One important thing I discovered is that it is a good idea to disable the standard IR remote application that installs by default with the Hauppauge TV card drivers, because this application makes the Girder plug-in respond less quickly. You can disable this application by going to the Startup folder in the Windows Start menu and deleting the "Autostart IR" shortcut.
I installed another plug-in for Girder called OSD Menu, which allows me to easily create my own On Screen Menus. Using this, I created a custom menu that allows me to open and close all of my players and game emulators. This menu corresponds to a Girder configuration file (GML) I created, which talks to all of the programs: WinDVD, BeyondTV, Winamp, 1964 (Nintendo 64 emulator), Snes9x (Super Nintendo/SNES emulator), FCE Ultra (NES emulator), Visualboy Advance (Gameboy and Gameboy Advance emaultor), Kega Fusion (Sega Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear emulator) and MAME (multiple arcade machine emulator). This way, I can launch, play, and close everything from my Hauppauge remote. Note that the best SNES emulator is ZSNES, but it uses a very nonstandard Windows interface which Girder has trouble connecting to. As a result, I use the Snes9x emulator instead, which is almost as good.
I'm going to leave out the part where I explain how I set up all of the functions for these different programs, because it's essentially the same process anyone would have to go through to automate a program with Girder (and because it would take me forever to type it all out). Check out the GML file to see how I did it, if you're interested. I created separate GML files for all of the different programs and then imported them into a top-level GML file, which implements a nice OSD menu and enables or disables the different programs' commands based on which program you're currently running. I've included the individual GML files (named appropriately for each program) and the top-level GML file (named toplevel.gml; clever name, eh?). And if you still want more info, check out Girder's homepage at www.promixis.com; they have an excellent user forum where you can get pretty much any question answered by true Girder gurus.
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7. Install Cygwin and Server Software
To finish up my TV PC, I wanted to add in the functionality of an HTTP server, FTP server, and an SSH server. I chose to do this in Cygwin, which is an environment for Windows that simulates the *NIX operating system interface. Many of the free software packages that are available for Linux are also available in Cygwin versions. I chose to use Cygwin for much of my server software because I like the Linux command-line interface, it's free, and I wasn't able to locate a SSH server available for Windows. Another side effect of using Cygwin is that I can install many of my favorite development tools, such as GCC, Perl, Flex, bison, and Python, and have those tools available if I need them for another project.
I chose to use the Apache webserver (httpd), ProFTP (proftpd), and OpenSSH (sshd) for my server installations. All of this software is available for download via Cygwin's standard installer (I didn't have to build any of them from source code). To set up these three programs, I used the instructions which install to the /usr/share/doc/Cygwin directory. The documents in this directory show you how to install these three programs as Windows services (they need to be services to run properly in Windows).
The only addition I had to make to these instructions was with HTTPd. To get this service to start without error, I had to go into the Windows service manager and set the service to logon as Administrator (instead of the default Local System). This can be done by right-clicking on My Computer and choosing Manage. From here, go to Services and Applications -> Services, and right-click and choose Properties on the "CYGWIN httpd (apache)" service. In the dialog that comes up, change the Log On from Local System account to the computer's Administrator account. Now the HTTPd service should start up correctly.
I also changed some of the default configuration for ProFTPd. The first thing I did was to remove Anonymous user access. Usually the authorized users for an FTP server are the same as the authorized users for the computer. But I didn't want everyone to have access to the entire system, so I used a configuration directive called AuthUserFile to set a passwd file for the FTP server only. I used a Perl script called ftpasswd to create this alternate passwd file and add users to it (the script is available at www.castaglia.org). I also set up a feature called a root jail that allows you to restrict user access to a subset of the PC's hard drive(s). Next up, I set permissions on my directories such that FTP users could only write to their home directories and to an incoming folder. Note that the entire ProFTP configuration is controlled by editing the /etc/proftpd.conf file. For more info on modifying the proftpd.conf file, refer to the documentation at www.proftpd.org.
8. Set up Firewall and Dynamic DNS Service
For remote access, I needed to configure the firewall on my D-Link router to allow connections to the FTP, HTTP, SlimServer, and SSH servers. After these ports were open, I added port forwarding, so that requests coming over these ports would be forwarded my TV PC.
Finally, I wanted to make it easier to access my servers from the outside world. As with many broadband users, I am at the mercy of my ISP's DHCP server. What this means is that the IP address of my network is dynamically assigned by my ISP and can change at any moment (in reality, it usually only changes every couple of months). I also have no DNS access, so I have to remember an easily-forgotten 12-digit number to get to my computer.
I found a free solution to this problem by using a Dynamic DNS service. Basically, a service like this allows you to configure a Domain Name for your IP address, so instead of typing "192.168.42.13" you can type something like "ken.isageek.org". These types of accounts also allow you to automatically update your IP address by using a small utility which checks your IP at set time intervals and updates your account automatically if anything changes. I chose to use www.dyndns.org for my service provider and a small utility called DirectUpdate, which runs on my TV PC to automatically update my IP address if it changes.
USE IT:
This project came together very well, and I now have a DVR PC that far exceeded my original expectations. The real beauty of this project is its versatility. If you have some additional programs or features you'd like to add, it's very simple to install the software and integrate it into the system using Girder.
MAKE: Noise Discussion
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Showing messages 1 through 43 of 43.
- minor lessons learned
Reply
Hi, I've been mucking around with making one of these for the past few months and I thought I'd just pass on some quick items I've learned.
1. Controllers for games - Instead of buying the good stuff, I opted for the $20 Logitech® Dual Action™ Gamepad. Connected by USB and controlled by their profiling software, I at first had a hard time getting MAME to recognize the controllers. The gamepads are not recognized as HID (Human Input Devices). The trick is (I found after much searching through www.wingmanteam.com) open up the Profiler program, map each of the gamepad buttons to common keys (i.e. coin, player 1 start, P1 Button 1, P1 Button 2, etc), save it as a MAME profile and set that profile as the persistant profile. Then leave the Profiler program running (minimized, but NOT in the system tray) and run whatever MAME game you want. Once in the MAME game, hit TAB to set the controls for that game and set all the controls to the keys you configured in the profile. Use these SAME key mappings for every MAME game you want to play and you should have few problems. So far I've tested it with Rtype, Street Fighter 2 and Guantlet and had few problems. Make sure, however, you program one of the controller buttons for the ESC key and one for the keystroke sequence 'OK'.
2. Burning shows to DVD - Since we desired to use the DVD player in our new van on long road trips to keep the kiddies entertained with the shows they like to watch on TV, I bought a DVD burner. The DVD burner came with the OEM version of Nero. The fact that it is OEM version is important because the OEM version will not burn MPEG2 or AVI files to DVD. Only items that have been converted to *bup, *.vop and *.ifo format. You must read the really really really small print to figure that out. While there are freeware methods to convert your files, I was a little pressed for time and was prepared to buy the full Nero version just for the convenience when I found a $24 upgrade on the Nero website that adds that extra functionality into the OEM version. Just buy the DVD-Video plug-in, download and install and voila! Turn MPEG2 recordings into DVDs that play on most players.
My current setup is a P4 with 512 MB RAM with Directv TIVO box (I wouldn't have done this if Directv allowed dowloads of the stuff you record and I was a little nervous about hacking the Directv TIVO box. If you want to do it, there's lots of instructions on the net) and a Pinnacle card. I forget which type, but it's one of the low end ones cause it doesn't even have video out, I had to buy an external monitor out converter.
Anyway, hope that helps someone somewhere. Feel free to reply if something doesn't make sense.Posted by Reswob on August 25, 2005 at 06:15:01 Pacific Time
- minor lessons learned - MAME tip
Reply
Cool!
One tip re: "OK" in MAME:
There's a built in alias in MAME where you simply press "left" then "right" on the control stick. No need for a dedicated "OK" button ;)
give it a try!
rampyPosted by rampy on August 29, 2005 at 08:27:59 Pacific Time
- Using the Dvd r/w drive to record
Reply
Hi, like the tivo to record to hard drive, is it possible to design with your system to automactically record to dvd-r at the press of a button? Thanks
Posted by pauljones on July 19, 2005 at 05:16:24 Pacific Time
- TV Out
Reply
Does the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 or 150 card have a TV out? If it does, I can not find anything that says so.Posted by sarcastro on June 23, 2005 at 11:09:28 Pacific Time
- TV Out
Reply
"Does the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 or 150 card have a TV out? If it does, I can not find anything that says so."
Neither has TV out. You use your video card's TV out to display on your TV.
The WinTV PVR 350 *does* have a TV out and a hardware decoder but there's a ton of caveats around using it. (i.e. no DVD, no desktop, only certain software supports the TV out)
your best/most flexible option is to go with a pvr150/250 and a decent video card with TV out i.e. a Nvidia Geforce 5200 or higher.
rampy/byopvrPosted by rampy on June 24, 2005 at 13:48:58 Pacific Time
- TV Out
Reply
Does anyone have experience with another card? Since I would like to view DVD's of course, I am looking for an alternative to the Hauppage cards.
I found this review for the VideoMate card, which is only about 62$
http://www.extrememhz.com/VideoMate-p1.shtml
Please comment!Posted by Stoertebeker on July 20, 2005 at 11:08:41 Pacific Time
- TV Out
Reply
It's pretty simple, dont' combine your TV tuner/encoder with your TV output.
Most people just use a semi-modern or modern nvidia or ati video card with tv out. Combine that with a decent software DVD decoder (nvidia's pure video seems to be really good IMHO) and you're in really good shape output wise on a SDTV!
I can't really comment on that card as I've never used it, but remember you'll want to get a hardware encoding tuner card that is also supported by the software you intend to use. That's kinda why I lean towards the Hauppauge WinTV PVR cards... heck the pvr150 is like 80 bucks and you probably have a decent spare video card with TV out laying around =P
*shrug* that's just my thinking on the subject. Others are welcome to disagree =P
rampyPosted by rampy on August 12, 2005 at 11:10:10 Pacific Time
- built my PVR
Reply
i started out by buying the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 Card at circuit city (i already had a tv video card so i didnt need that).
it is very easy installing the Hauppauge card. a 10 yr old can do it. if you can follow pictures - then you can do it. it took me less than a minute to install the card.
Next, i made my connections to the computer and my firewall. Presto!! i am in business!!
i was up and running and recording my shows right away!!
Posted by madmex15 on June 14, 2005 at 15:03:23 Pacific Time
- MythTV on much older boxes
Reply
Having an extra 1.8-GHz machine may be be a bit of stretch for many, but there are a lot of old P2 boxes sitting idle. If you can afford a little extra money to go with a PVR-350 over a PVR-250 (the '350 has a hardware MPEG decoder), you can run on a very old PC. I've got a 366-MHz Celeron (I think you could go slower if you had it). Not to plug my own page, but it's URL is: http://hawley.homeip.net/recycled-machine-mythtv.htmlPosted by gregh3285 on June 07, 2005 at 13:48:05 Pacific Time
- MythTV on much older boxes
Reply
on the happ website it says the 150 and 250 have built in hardware mpeg-2 encoders. If so what is the advantage of the more costly card ?
Thanks
Posted by freebird1963 on August 05, 2005 at 06:22:46 Pacific Time
- MythTV on much older boxes
Reply
"on the happ website it says the 150 and 250 have built in hardware mpeg-2 encoders. If so what is the advantage of the more costly card ?
Thanks"
Are you asking what's the difference between the pvr 250 and pvr 150? Functionally they do the exact same thing.
The PVR150 is the newer cheaper version of the PVR250 that'll eventually be discontinued. It uses less chips so it's cheaper to manufacture. The pvr150 also comes with an IR blaster which is handy if you have a digital cable or satellite set top box you need to slave to your PVR.
*shrug* all things being equal the PVR250 isn't really worth the extra money... unless you're going to use linux, and only then because the linux 250 driver is more mature, but that's just because the pvr150 is "newer" and it'll eventually be just as mature a driver (if it isn't almost there already!)
rampyPosted by rampy on August 12, 2005 at 11:13:46 Pacific Time
- Kind of related...
Reply
I found this article while searching for another product and I'm hoping one of you guys can help me.
I have a standard DVR (from the cable company--Time Warner) and I know that there is a "copy to VCR" function on there. Now we know that most VCRs are obsolete--I don't even own one--so it seems that there may be another way; perhaps copying it to a hard drive on a PC/Laptop. There is a USB port on the front of the box and it seems as if it is as simple as copying from one device to the other but do any of you know if it can be done? Has it been done? Is there software I can buy to do this?
Thanks for your help!!Posted by PrncsDianna on May 11, 2005 at 12:02:44 Pacific Time
- Re: Kind of related... PrncsDianna
Reply
IF you have a *Replay* DVR, you can transmit shows across your LAN (wired or wireless) direct from the unit to your PC or laptop using a program named DVArchive. It was created by a Replay owner specifically for the purpose its name suggests. I don't know if the software as is would work with other type DVRs, however.Posted by BeauTochs on June 18, 2005 at 13:50:09 Pacific Time
- Kind of related...
Reply
"There is a USB port on the front of the box and it seems as if it is as simple as copying from one device to the other but do any of you know if it can be done? Has it been done? Is there software I can buy to do this?"
Sorry, I don't think so. Those usb ports are usually disabled (only used for loading stuff at the factory), are slow 1.1, and no one to my knowledge has bothered or been succesfull in doing digital transfer.
However some people have been succesfull using firewire on some cable boxes/companies to transfer content to a PC.
The only other way to get content off your DVR and into your PC, and it's kinda redundant/ugly... would be to get a tuner/encoder card (like in this article) and use your PC like a digital VCR.
rampyPosted by rampy on May 11, 2005 at 18:18:10 Pacific Time
- Here's another cookbook - Haup and SageTV
Reply
Hi gang,
great thread -- I did a similar "cookbook" post to my blog a few months ago that those of you who are thinking about using Haup cards and SageTV software might find useful.
It also addresses the problem of a noisy machine in a quiet place that was mentioned a little ways up in the thread.
Here are some links;
my SageTV PVR "FreeVo" cookbook
and a great site for those of you who want to make your FreeVo quieter...
Silent PC Review -- an amazing resource for us Makers who want to build machines for quiet environmentsPosted by MikeOConnor on May 07, 2005 at 07:26:47 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
Did you use Satellite or Cable with your TV? Or does it really matter? I have a DVR downstairs, but I'd really like one upstairs as well, but not shell out another $375 for another unit, since I already have 2 old PCs just looking for a use (including a Dell).Posted by Martianman on May 04, 2005 at 14:42:00 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
"Did you use Satellite or Cable with your TV? Or does it really matter? I have a DVR downstairs, but I'd really like one upstairs as well, but not shell out another $375 for another unit, since I already have 2 old PCs just looking for a use (including a Dell)."
Does it matter? eh, A little. Analog cable is the easiest to work with as there's no need for intermediaries like a cable or satellite box (and analog cable can be split very easily for multiple tuner configurations).
With digital cable/satellite for the most part you need an set top box that is slaved to the PC, and in general is controlled by the PC/software via an IR blaster. If you bought a stand alone TiVo you'd have the same kinda of configuration (with satellite or digital cable)
So which do you have? cable or satellite?
rampy@byopvrPosted by rampy on May 05, 2005 at 20:23:08 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
I've got satellite. I had attempted a mini-version of this about 4-5 years ago with an ATI-All-In-Wonder card with TV Tuner. Problem was, the ATI software for the TV was terrible, and would lock up my machine when I tried to set up the sound. Plus, the picture was awful, I'm assuming because the signal from the sat was too powerful (it ghosted a lot). I put like 2 attenuators on the line, and that helped a little. I'm sure the tuners have come a ways since then.Posted by Martianman on May 06, 2005 at 10:27:21 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
cool! good luck with your project!
rampy
Posted by rampy on May 11, 2005 at 09:04:05 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
cool... it has come a long way.
If you get a hardware encoding tuner card (like the hauppauge wintv pvr 150/250/350/500 etc) there's a few sold 3rd party PVR applications that support those cards. GBPVR which is free as in beer, beyondTV like Ken used, SageTV, Meedio, MythTV (linux), etc.
Basically, I'd suggest getting a pvr150 retail edition (under a 100 bucks, even cheaper this week with Circuit City ads/rebate) taht comes with a decent remote and the aforementioned IR blaster.
Basically plop that into a reasonable spare machine. Take the svideo (and audio) out of your satellite receiver into the svideo input on the tuner/encoder card, configure the IR blaster to control your satellite box, configure the software you choose to get the EPG TV guide listing, spit, polish and tada! (oh and run svideo out back to the TV if you don't want to watch on your PC monitor).
There's a wee bit more than that to it, but hopefully that frames the subtle difference between using satellite and analog cable.
if it's not too shamefully self promotional, there's a whole community over at byopvr with an active forum for discussing this sort of thing.
Good luck!
rampyPosted by rampy on May 06, 2005 at 13:26:49 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
Actually, one question...to run the signal back to my TV, do I need a video card (not the PVR) that has a video out (S-Video, Composite, etc.)? If so, I think my old ATI All-In-Wonder has a TV out (I hope).Posted by Martianman on May 13, 2005 at 11:37:55 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
"to run the signal back to my TV, do I need a video card (not the PVR) that has a video out (S-Video, Composite, etc.)? If so, I think my old ATI All-In-Wonder has a TV out (I hope)."
Yes, assuming you had a normal standard definition TV, you'd need a video card that has a TV/video out.
Most AIW do have TV out to my knowledge (I'm using the TV out (but not the tuner) on my ATI AIW 9600XT right now.
S-video would be the preferred connection method, if possible.
You'll probably also need a little adapter to go from your soundcard stereo minijacks to RCA for your audio. (or to your home audio receiver or however your setup is configured)
hope that helps!
rampy
--
byopvrPosted by rampy on May 13, 2005 at 12:50:01 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
I use DTV (Direct TV) with my ATI AIW 9600XT.
I wish the Remote Wonder 2 was programable, but it does control things like Windows Media Player and Winamp when used with the correct plug-in.
Outside of that, I get outstanding picture!
S-video is BARELY above RCA in terms of video playback.
I run emulators on here too, but they look much better on the PC screen, that is until I get my LCD TV which will solve several issues with a system like this.
For those that can't afford a LCD or HDTV yet, I would suggest a good tube TV with Component Inputs and if you use an ATI card there's a available VGA to Component adaptor and DVI to Component adaptor.
These are available for less than $30 directly from ATI.
That will give you the best possible screen playback.
WinDVD supports progressive scan
and RCA makes DTV boxes that have 480i outputs.
ATI's MMC software has improved greatly over the years. I had a 2nd gen AIW card in my OG P1 266Hz PC and it worked pretty well even then. Picture was very comparable to a standard tv with basic cable connected.
The problem with using a DTV box is you have to set the box to change the channel the time you want it to come on. Newer DTV boxes have that funtion, too bad that the channel display bar stays up about 5 seconds after channel change...
I think Im one of the few people using MMC for everything and not using aftermarket software like Beyond TV.
I also have an ATI USB 2.0 tuner that will be connecting as soon as I get the LCD.
Also I'll be upgrading to a DVI-Output video card and a second ATI tuner card, all run by a 2G DDR, Athlon 64FX CPU and (2) 300GB Seagate harddrives.
Nice web page...
Posted by dj4monie on August 06, 2005 at 19:55:27 Pacific Time
- Satellite or Cable?
Reply
Bought a PVR-150 card yesterday ($74.99 from CC after rebates), and will be getting the PC this weekend from my sister-in-law (she just bought a new one so I'm getting her old one). Can't wait to get started! Thanks for all your help!
TomPosted by Martianman on May 11, 2005 at 07:43:08 Pacific Time
- Speaking of Noise
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Hi Ken,
How did you handle fan noise?
Is audible audible when the cabinet
is closed?
I have a supposedly "super quiet"
thermaltake, but it would still
seem a bit loud for a living room.
Posted by TitoSon on April 30, 2005 at 20:00:19 Pacific Time
- Speaking of Noise
Reply
Good question. I was a bit worried about noise when I started this project, and I thought about installing a water cooling system. But after building the PC and trying it out, I found that with the cabinet closed it really isn't too bad. If the TV is off and you're listening for it, you can definitely hear some fan noise, but while you're watching DVDs or TV it isn't noticeable.
Of course, this all depends on the PC you're using, the PC's enclosure/cabinet, your personal sensitivity to noise, and the acoustics of the room the PC is in. So in other words, what's OK for me may not be OK for you.
If you're really worried about noise, you might consider looking into a water cooling system of some kind.
-KenPosted by fbm60 on May 02, 2005 at 09:32:46 Pacific Time
- Speaking of Noise
Reply
One possibility that I take advantage of: my basement is just below my livingroom. The PC is in the basement and wired up to the livingroom. No noise, no unsightly PC case (and it stays cool). I also keep it wired to a spare monitor/keyboard/mouse in the basement so I can work on it more easily.Posted by Shindigo on May 03, 2005 at 16:18:31 Pacific Time
- Suggest UiMimic - for beyond TV
Reply
There is an add-in for beyond tv called uiMimic It has a lot of features left out of beyond tv. you can visit the site here (http://uimimic.sourceforge.net/).
Features like music, Pictures, Radio, Weather, and system monitor.
Thanks for the article
Posted by jimiz on April 30, 2005 at 18:40:33 Pacific Time
- Cable tuner?
Reply
The part that sucks the most here is that whenever someone writes up one of these reviews, they always seem to forget to mention that if you have a cable box, you need to tune the cable box to the channel you want to watch because the TV Tuner cards don't decode digital cable signals (unless you have one of those high end jobs with the CableCard slots and a cable provider that supports them). Last I checked, Time Warner Cable of New York doesn't.
So, having multiple tuner cards doesn't do you much good unless you have multiple cable boxes attached since I don't know of any cable boxes that have dual tuners with separate outputs for each.
BUGGER.
If anyone has any thoughts on elegant solutions to this issue, I'd love to hear them.
Greg
The EpicenterPosted by schergr on April 28, 2005 at 08:52:20 Pacific Time
- Cable tuner?
Reply
I'm not sure it's an "elegant" solution... but you can use an IR blaster to control/Slave a digital cable box to your PC pvr. FWIW this is the same thing I do with a series 2 stand alone tivo box that you'd do with a DIY PVR. For some motorolla boxes you can use a serial cable to control it.
You're right, a PC CableCARD type solution would make for a more elegant solution. There's just no such animal... as of yet.
If you wanted two tuners, both to be PVR'd and both be digital you'd need two cable boxes... unfortunately.
there's been some interesting developements on the HD side of things as far as using the firewire port to both control HD digital cable boxes and pull the video over, but I digress...
Although I bet this isn't the case with time warner... most people with digital cable get an analog feed along with teh digital feed. The analog feed, you can split across multiple tuners pretty easily...
That's my current setup... digital cable box to Tivo, analog split before then going to a sageTV box, a beyondTV box, and one straight to the Tv's tuner to if I want to watch, non pvr-live TV for some reason...
*shrug*
rampyPosted by rampy on April 28, 2005 at 14:29:27 Pacific Time
- resource suggestion
Reply
If I can be so bold to suggest:
Build Your Own PVR community site as a possible resource to list.
another free (as in beer) option is GBPVR
another interesting commercial solution that I think is worth checking out is SageTV as it does, out of the box, a little bit better with some integration of the HTPC extras (like photos, mp3's, etc).
of course i'd be remiss to not mention on the linux side of things the MythTV project and specifically the easy(ier) to install KnoppMyth distro/installer
*Shrug* when I first heard the call for Make articles I thought there should be a DIY PVR article, glad someone submitted one! Is this going to be in the next edition? I can't wait for it to arrive!
rampyPosted by rampy on April 27, 2005 at 19:38:17 Pacific Time
- resource suggestion
Reply
darnit borked two of the links, sorry:
my site build your own PVR community
free as in beer windows PVR software GBPVR
rampyPosted by rampy on April 27, 2005 at 19:44:11 Pacific Time
- Rather than Slipstream, Try Orb
Reply
Orb can stream anything from Tv shows to photos to mp3s and its free. So even when you are the go you can still snag a tivoed show or movie.
I never tried it so I can't swear by it.
Sincerly
SpyderPosted by SPYDER on April 27, 2005 at 19:34:25 Pacific Time
- Minor correction: VNC != VLC
Reply
VNC Multi-format video player, free at realvnc.com
This is not quite right. VLC is the video player (www.videolan.org/vlc); VNC is the remote software.Posted by llemarie on April 27, 2005 at 15:30:27 Pacific Time
- Alternative FREE software
Reply
You might want to consider media portal software http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/ it's free/opensource and can handle up to seven capture cards. It also can use winlirc and usbuirt to save a girder licence.
usbritPosted by usbrit on April 26, 2005 at 21:03:00 Pacific Time
- Alternative FREE software
Reply
You might want to consider media portal software http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/ it's free/opensource and can handle up to seven capture cards. It also can use winlirc and usbuirt to save a girder licence.
usvritPosted by usbrit on April 26, 2005 at 21:02:39 Pacific Time
- Alternative FREE software
Reply
I have been doing some similar tests with an old PC. I have tried Media Portal and the problem I had was with system resources. Media Portal requires a pretty nice system to run smoothly, and I think the purpose of this project was to turn your old PC into a media center.
MythTV doesn't require as much system resources, but I doubt you can run the console games with it.Posted by asilcott@gmail.com on April 29, 2005 at 19:42:00 Pacific Time
- Alternative FREE software
Reply
No console games on Linux? Try MAME! ;)
http://x.mame.net/
and/or
http://advancemame.sourceforge.net/
It's too bad the author does not even discuss Linux and MythTV as an option, and IMHO the better route.
Kudos for mentioning Cygwin though...a windows machine is UNUSABLE without Cygwin!
L8!
Posted by kNightNi on May 01, 2005 at 07:48:34 Pacific Time
- Do you mean the Haupp 150?
Reply
Do you mean the Hauppauge 150, because the only bundle in the snapstream store within the price that you list is the Beyond TV 3 and Hauppauge WinTV PVR-150 Kit (PCI)which is $159. I could be completely wrong but I love Make and don't want you to be wrong so just in case I am posting this.
Sincerely
SpyderPosted by SPYDER on April 26, 2005 at 20:15:53 Pacific Time
- Do you mean the Haupp 150?
Reply
you could use either with BeyondTV.
The PVR150 is the newer/cheaper version of the PVR250 and the 150 is actually technically better.
The "retail" version of the pvr150 comes with a decent IR remote and IR blaster, but if you're shopping on the snapstream site it's worth considering the FireFly remote.
one small hint check out pcalchemy.com for some good prices on the stuff you'd need to do a DIY PVR... also I believe amazon.com has the PVR150 retail with free shipping for pretty cheap as well.
hope that helps!
rampy
--
build your own PVR sitePosted by rampy on April 27, 2005 at 19:42:45 Pacific Time
- Do you mean the Haupp 150?
Reply
So which is better in for use in a lower end machine ?
The WinTV 150 @ $90.00
the WinTV 250 @ $130.00
the WinTV 350 @ $ 170.00
(prices were from a quick search).
Thanks
markPosted by freebird1963 on August 05, 2005 at 06:51:58 Pacific Time
- Do you mean the Haupp 150?
Reply
what do you consider a lower end machine?
What speed? A decent test is to playback a DVD on the system now.. how does it handle that task? How much CPU is left while decoding/playing a DVD that should give you a good sense.
The 150/250/350 use the same amount of overhead roughly encoding video.
The pvr350 can help with decodin but with some caveats (read my other post higher up on the pvr350's TV out/mpeg decoder)
rampy
--
byopvrPosted by rampy on August 12, 2005 at 11:16:37 Pacific Time
- Do you mean the Haupp 150?
Reply
nevermind I found it on the sale page. I will be quiet forever now.Posted by SPYDER on April 26, 2005 at 20:22:43 Pacific Time
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