Homemade DVR/PVR

[sammm]

In the constant pursuit of cheap-bastardness, I want to make my own DVR/PVR. I'm dumping the dish and going back to digital cable TV for now. I've been doing some reading and it doesn't seem difficult.

Anyone been down this road? Anyone have an old PC laying around they would like to unload cheap (free)?

[channelmaniac]

Sammm,

That's a very open question... how 'bout giving us the minimum specs for said PC...

[Nexus Flux]

You're going to need a TV tuner card, and some drive space.

I'd say something in the neighborhood of 80 to 120 GB HD to start off, OS of your choice (ie XP, linux, etc), about 1 GB RAM, 2.4 Ghz or higher CPU, and accessories of your choice (ie remote control, software).

Is this going to be purely a DVR capture/storage box or more of a media boxfrom which you will also watch the recorded shows?

[sammm]

how 'bout giving us the minimum specs for said PC...

I was hoping you (or whoever) would tell me. From what I've been reading, I probably need at least a 1Ghz if I want to record HD broadcasts.

Is this going to be purely a DVR capture/storage box or more of a media boxfrom which you will also watch the recorded shows?

If I understand the question correctly, a media box. I want to be able to watch the recorded shows on my TV, not on the PC.

[wrxmr2eater]

LINK I have seen this PVR software in use and set it up. Take a look at its requirements. A lot of the requirements are going to depend on the software. Windows Media Center would be much more than the one above.

[sammm]

LINK I have seen this PVR software in use and set it up. Take a look at its requirements. A lot of the requirements are going to depend on the software. Windows Media Center would be much more than the one above.

Saw that one, and also this one -
http://www.byopvr.com/

In the Hardware FAQ, they state -
-=Here is the minimum suggested setup for a PVR=-
* A 500mhz CPU or more (If you don't get a tuner card with hardware encoding/decoding you will need more mhz)
* 128mb of RAM or more
* 30gigs of HD or more (the more gigs the more saved shows)
* Sound card (nothing fancy required)
* CD-ROM drive (you need to install that OS)
* Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 (w/ hardware encoding/decoding)

All of the above should be Linux friendly if you want to install MythTV. Otherwise SageTV/Snapstream/Showshifter will probably work fine.

[tailchaser]

Sammm... if you want to do HD, you're gonna have to spend some $$$ on the RIGHT video card... Check the commercial DVR software sites for the current wisdom on video cards that actually work. So far that aspect has been the killer for me. SD is easy, though, and a 1GHz PC should be enough. For HD, I wouldn't try anything less than a 2.4G equiv machine...

[Radio-Active]

Fry's is cheap.

[Mathews2004]

the negatives might be that you have a computer next to your tv, your wife won't be able to use it, and only a few setups include a remote, though many can be controlled from your laptop, or remotely via a web based interface.

[Kags1969]

You might do a search on the Poloroid DRM-2001G, nice and cheap.