Recording OTA HDTV?

I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?

wrote:
I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?
Do what I did. Buy a ATSC tuner for your computer (I have a Kworld
ATSC110) , a large external hard drive, and some decent software like
Beyond TV. Then run coax for your antenna to the PC. Also f you want to
put this on DVD, get decent software for that. I happen to use Sony
Vegas Movie Studio Platinum. It allows me to edit out the Commercials
and burn a DVD.

wrote in news:458d2c38.157635237
@news.dallas.sbcglobal.net:

I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?


I use a jvc HD VCR it works for me

wrote:

I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?

LG offers several HD TVs with a built-in HD-DVR. I have not read any
reports on how well the DVRs work or how good the software is.

Sony used to offer two HD-DVRs models with one set of ATSC, NTSC, QAM
tuners with a single cable card slot. These are the DHG-HDD2550 (250 GB
HD) and the DHG-HDD500 (500 GB HD), but they were discontinued early
last summer. I brought the HDD250 model at Best Buy at 1/2 price at a
closeout sale last August. The Sonys use the TVGOS guide system and
there is no monthly fee for guide info. But you need to be able to get a
PBS station OTA or via analog cable which provides the guide info
embedded in the sidebands of the broadcast signal. The unit works fairly
well, but is a single tuner system so you can only record 1 program at a
time. Most people, I gather, use the Sonys for OTA ATSC recording,
rather than with cable systems. May be some to be found on Ebay or
unsold inventory at a few places.

The Series 3 Tivo has two sets of ATSC, NTSC, QAM tuners with 2 cable
card slots. Very capable, but current list is $800 and does require a
monthly fee. There have been reports of a Panasonic HD-DVR, but I'm not
clear on whether this will be sold to the public or is aimed at cable
companies.

As already mentioned, your other option is a PC with a ATSC tuner.
There are a number of ATSC tuners available for PCs now, either PCI
cards or USB 2.0 external tuners. These do require PCs with respectable
horse power. Should be a lot of on-line info and forums on how to put
one of these system together.

Alan F

On Sat, 23 Dec 2006 13:37:42 +0000, NOSPAM wrote:

I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?

I don't know about builtins, but you can buy standalones. But if you want
the best there is, you'll DIY with MythTV. You can build it as cheap or as
expensive as you want. The cheaper one will work just as well as an
expensive one.:-) MythTv works as a server client system. Each box can be
both. The easiest way to build one is to get the PC if you don't already
have one you can use, plug in 1 or more HDTV tuner cards. I have 5 and use
the cheap ones. last I bought on ebay cost me $17.50. get Knoppmyth or
Mythdora and install it. there are abosolutely no cost to this other than
the hardware. All software and guide data are free. See sig line.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

Alan F wrote:
snip
As already mentioned, your other option is a PC with a ATSC tuner.
There are a number of ATSC tuners available for PCs now, either PCI
cards or USB 2.0 external tuners. These do require PCs with
respectable
horse power. Should be a lot of on-line info and forums on how to
put
one of these system together.

Alan F

The old 500 MHz K-6 or Pentium will not be up to the job. My first DVR
machine 2 years ago was a $75 Fry's board/processor combo - a lowly
Sempron 2500. In cluding the (at the time) $180 ATI HDTV Wonder, the
machine came in at $475. I now have a second DVR and watch MPEG2 files
over the network. I'm currently looking to get a 3rd machine running.
Not as grand as Wes Newell's setup but adequate to the task.

Merry Christmas and Happy HiDef

GG

"Alan*F" wrote in part:

****Sony used to offer two HD-DVRs
models with one set of ATSC, NTSC,
QAM tuners with a single cable card slot.
These are the DHG-HDD2550 (250 GB
HD) and the DHG-HDD500 (500 GB
HD), but they were discontinued early
last summer.

I have the DHG-HDD250 and love it. Does anyone know why these units were
discontinued? I would think that there would be a viable market for
them.

wrote:
I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?

Count me as another happy Sony DHG-HDD500 user. I doubt I would have
ever picked up the Sony except Tweeters was clearing them out this
spring at "fire sale" prices. I got the last one in the store. I use
it for OTA only time shifting. There is no to download the programs
off the unit unfortunately.

As others have noted a computer with a large hard drive and any number
of Windows packages or MythTV ( www.mythtv.org ) could be used to time
shift OTA broadcasts.

-Eric
http://brontide.blogspot.com/

Ericew wrote:
wrote:
I want to watch HDTV over-the-air with the capability of recording
programs (on a hard disk?) for later viewing without paying any
monthly fees. How can I do so? Can I buy a HDTV with a built-in
recorder? Can I buy a standalone HD recorder?

Any ideas or suggestions?

Count me as another happy Sony DHG-HDD500 user. I doubt I would
have
ever picked up the Sony except Tweeters was clearing them out this
spring at "fire sale" prices. I got the last one in the store. I
use
it for OTA only time shifting. There is no to download the programs
off the unit unfortunately.

As others have noted a computer with a large hard drive and any
number
of Windows packages or MythTV ( www.mythtv.org ) could be used to
time
shift OTA broadcasts.

-Eric

Added marginal bonus of the PC route - PowerDVD and ATI DVD players
will both play PAL discs from Europe or Australia - provided the PC has
a DVD drive. Now you have a region free DVD player to boot.

GG

On Sat, 23 Dec 2006 10:07:47 -0800, G-squared wrote:

Alan F wrote:
snip
As already mentioned, your other option is a PC with a ATSC tuner.
There are a number of ATSC tuners available for PCs now, either PCI
cards or USB 2.0 external tuners. These do require PCs with
respectable
horse power. Should be a lot of on-line info and forums on how to
put
one of these system together.

Alan F

The old 500 MHz K-6 or Pentium will not be up to the job. My first DVR
machine 2 years ago was a $75 Fry's board/processor combo - a lowly
Sempron 2500. In cluding the (at the time) $180 ATI HDTV Wonder, the
machine came in at $475. I now have a second DVR and watch MPEG2 files
over the network. I'm currently looking to get a 3rd machine running.
Not as grand as Wes Newell's setup but adequate to the task.

ROFLMAO. There's nothing grand about my system. it's just 3 cheap boxes
networked together with 2 used 19" monitors, and one old 32" SDTV. It's
close to as cheap as you can get. $100 worth of 5 tuner cards, 2 really
cheap PC's (thanks for closeout Fry's) and untilk recently an older A64
server. Everything. including the monitors, is probably less than $900.
But I wouldn't trade it for anything else to use. i'm spoiled.;-)

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm