[techie4fun]

My next question regards my direct dvr. I've got several programs that I would like to transfer over without using a dvd recorder. Can this be done with a tv tuner, and will it require a digital receiver/tuner?

[LincolnSpector]

techie4fun, on 18 July 2010 - 05:31 AM, said:

My next question regards my direct dvr. I've got several programs that I would like to transfer over without using a dvd recorder. Can this be done with a tv tuner, and will it require a digital receiver/tuner?

Probably not. I'm not sure, but I suspect that Direct TV encrypts its recordings to keep you from doing just that. Neither they nor the copyright holders for the programs want you to do just that.

Lincoln

[mjd420nova]

A video capture card using composite video would allow you to save programs/movies you have saved on your DVR but you must play them in order to capture them and the DVR must have and use the composite video outputs. There is no way to capture the digital content because the digital stream is encrypted and requires the box to view the content.

[smax013]

mjd420nova, on 19 July 2010 - 08:47 AM, said:

A video capture card using composite video would allow you to save programs/movies you have saved on your DVR but you must play them in order to capture them and the DVR must have and use the composite video outputs. There is no way to capture the digital content because the digital stream is encrypted and requires the box to view the content.

As mjd420nova suggested, you should be able to use composite/RCA connections from the DVR to a TV tuner card to send a video input to the computer that you can then "record" using the PVR or video capture software on the computer. This will be a "one to one" process...i.e. you play the video back on the DVR in "real time" and then record it...again. Thus, if the show is 1 hour long, it will take one hour to do the "transfer". If you want a slightly higher quality signal, then you can likely use an S-video cable for the video assuming both the DVR and the TV capture card have S-video connections. I am not sure if component cables would work, but I suspect not. Any digital connection (such as HDMI) will likely not work. Basically, this tends to only work with analog (and thus lower quality) connections.

FWIW, this should work with digital or analog programs and with either SD or HD programs. I essentially do this on occasion when my DVR gets full and I need to empty some stuff off that I have not had a chance to watch yet. It is not the highest quality in the world, but it is certainly watchable. The biggest downside is the time...and the fact that you are nominally "tying" up the DVR while it is happening (i.e. you cannot be watching other stuff).

[techie4fun]

Thanks for the responses. I went ahead and ordered the least expensive tuner with composite hookups so we'll wait for it to ship.

Rommel: Have you received the DVD player yet?

[mjd420nova]

I just researched my next build and found a 128GB Solid State Drive and think it would make a terrific video /TV machine. The limiting factor seems to be the HDMI outputs from the video card to the display . Sources have been found to fit the standards some, but CPU to video interfaces have been mired in just too many schemes to make it really dependable. Cable, satelite and some telephony/television (video over twisted pair) all have HDMI outputs. Establishing a home video network can be as daunting as a regular ethernet with different operating systems. Kind of like comparing your universal remote to a dedicated PC to control all inputs and functions of those devices. Allowing for control system failures, standalone functionality must also be a primary mode.