recording HDTV

[velker]

i recently purchased an HDTV. i have been a user of BTV for a while with my analog cable.

if i get a HDTV digital box from my cable provider, is there a way to record the shows through BTV?

[tscales]

There is a hack for the firewire port, but only for unencrypted channels. It's kind of ugly and doesn't work for everyone (doesn't work for me).

BTV is only designed for Over-the-air HD.

Tom

[velker]

so the only alternative is using a pvr hdtv box from my provider?

i love BTV, and i have spent a good amount of money on making my own pvr.

[encoder]

Originally Posted by velker

so the only alternative is using a pvr hdtv box from my provider?

No. You can get a HDTV tuner that supports QAM, such as the Fusion HDTV 5, and use the included software to record HDTV programs on your PC from your cable (no need for cable converter box), assuming your cable provider does not encrypt those supposedly free clear channels, ie. channels you can pick up OTA.


/e

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by velker

so the only alternative is using a pvr hdtv box from my provider?

i love BTV, and i have spent a good amount of money on making my own pvr.

You can take a look at this thread. Fonceur is working on an add on that integrates the external tuners with BTV:

BTV-Externinator - Alpha release

[tscales]

The problem is the channels for which you really want a PVR (HBO, etc). The Cable company's DVR is the only choice

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by tscales

The problem is the channels for which you really want a PVR (HBO, etc). The Cable company's DVR is the only choice

Yea - they will always make this difficult. However, I really don't record all that much content off of premium channels, so it really isn't much of a priority for me

[encoder]

Keep an eye on how things pan out for Tivo 3 with QAM tuners and Cablecard support. If it does not gain wide acceptance (for example, due to reluctance from cable providers in supporting Cablecard because devices like Tivo 3 compete with their PVRs) then there's very slim chance PC based PVRs will ever take off. For one thing, Cablecard isn't well supported on the PC, and only OEM version of Vista provides support for Cablecard.

Of course all this applies only to encrypted, premium service contents.

/e

[soyarma]

I've got the firewire HD method working (in a few different incarnations) but find that I'll be damned if I'm gonna keep a 12GB file around for a measly 2 hours. I just grab the SD signal over the s-video out on my STB and record it at 720x480 to keep the aspect ratio. BTV's zoom pops it right into full 16:9 which is really the part about HD that I like the most.

[tscales]

12GB doesn't bother me at all. I record everything in HD. I can't stand watching SD on my HDTVs -- just too ugly.

Disk is very cheap. I have four 750GB drives plus a number of others in old machines acting as servers. 4+Tb

[Darkk]

I really wish somebody makes a HDMI input card for the PC. From what I've read on other fourms is that it's a copy protection issue. They really don't want anybody be able to record perfect HD on the PC in fear of piracy of their stuff. I'm like, well, then make use of the stupid DRM crap. At least it'll give them some sense of control while I have the ability to record HD and play it back whenever I want to. Just I won't have the ability to copy the file and play it on another computer which is fine with me. I can always, hopefully, burn it to DVD.

Darkk

[velker]

Originally Posted by encoder

No. You can get a HDTV tuner that supports QAM, such as the Fusion HDTV 5, and use the included software to record HDTV programs on your PC from your cable (no need for cable converter box), assuming your cable provider does not encrypt those supposedly free clear channels, ie. channels you can pick up OTA.


/e

so this will only record the HD channels from my provider that i could get OTA? i wouldtn be able to grab say, discovery HD?

[velker]

btw, thanks for all the feedback, this is making me feel a lot better. i didnt think i had any alternatives.

what is the firewire solution?

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by velker

so this will only record the HD channels from my provider that i could get OTA? i wouldtn be able to grab say, discovery HD?

While the cable companies have to provide the locals unencrypted, everything else is up to them and can go from nothing to the whole lineup... Try searching the AVS forum for what your cable provider offers...

[encoder]

Originally Posted by velker

so this will only record the HD channels from my provider that i could get OTA? i wouldtn be able to grab say, discovery HD?

From what I've seen, it really depends on the cable provider.

This HDTV thing is still in such a state of flux that even the cable providers are just learning the ropes. To give some examples: I know someone who used to be able to record DiscoveryHD and other pay-per-view/on-demand channels using the Fusion HDTV 5 USB tuner. The fun didn't last long though. His cable company started to encrypt all channels, even the supposedly unencrypted OTA channels.


/e