OT: Best way to record TV shows

[matthewk]

I'm way behind the times when it comes to recording TV. Haven't recorded a thing in years. Which is why I'm looking for advice on the best set up for recording shows.

We currently have cable. I assume they will rent us a box that will record shows, but I'm not real keen on giving them even more money each month. I figure we can still buy a DVD recorder or DVR (same thing?). Recording one place and being able to watch on any of TVs would be nice, but not needed.

What are my options?

[dbdynsty25]

DVR from your cable provider is the easiest and usually most powerful option. Meaning, they have integrated systems that will allow you to watch on other tvs and other stuff that you can't get with a standalone Tivo unless you start using Slingbox or some other TV streaming software. It's much less hassle and relatively painless to pay the 5 bucks a month for DVR service from your provider.

[Brando70]

I wouldn't go the DVD recorder route. More trouble than it's worth and not the same thing as a DVR -- you're literally recording to DVDs.

For full-home viewing, you will need to go the cable DVR route. You'll have to pay the monthly DVR fee, probably per box. I think that's usually $5-10 per month depending on the provider. However, this way the DVR is fully integrated with your service. You find what you want to record, schedule it, and that's it. Very easy to use.

The other option is to buy a TiVo box. You should be able to return your cable box and stop paying the rental on that. However, you have to buy a TiVo and either pay $20/month or a one-time $500 fee for lifetime TiVo service. You also still have to pay for your cable service.

TiVo will usually be more expensive than the cable DVR route, but it's also a much better product. The interface is great and it has a ton of features like suggesting shows/movies you might like based on previous recordings. It also has online streaming for Netflix and Hulu built in, which means you could downgrade your cable to a cheap package and use the streaming features instead.

My suggestion based on what you want is to switch to the cable DVR. You will have to pay more but it's the easiest way to record. As much as I like TiVo, I think it's overkill unless you watch a lot of movies/TV/streaming content. For someone like me who watches a few shows regularly and records some movies and kids stuff, the simple DirecTV DVR is all I really need.

[Spooky]

Dude...cable provider DVR box. Easy peasy.

[wco81]

Doesn't Comcast charge something like $15 per DVR?

And Tivo is $13 a month unless you get the lifetime?

HTPC might be worth looking into but to get a tuner with CableCard support may not be cheap. Heard the HD Home Run may actually start shipping soon.

[pk500]

Dude...cable provider DVR box. Easy peasy.

Agreed. Worth every extra penny.

[F308GTB]

Threaten to drop cable and maybe they'll toss you a free DVR to stay.

BTW, only problem with DVRs is the limited space and DRM. We've got a DVD recorder, and my wife is a history buff. She clogs up the DVR with a ton of documentaries, some of which are on channels that encode to prevent transfer to a DVD recorder.

[vader29]

I've been using windows media center exclusively for recording tv on my pc for the last few years, works great with the free week and a half of guide listings and streaming playback through the Xbox.

[Diablo25]

DVR from your cable provider is the easiest and usually most powerful option. Meaning, they have integrated systems that will allow you to watch on other tvs and other stuff that you can't get with a standalone Tivo unless you start using Slingbox or some other TV streaming software. It's much less hassle and relatively painless to pay the 5 bucks a month for DVR service from your provider.

DB speaks the truth. Co Signed.

[Diablo25]

I've been using windows media center exclusively for recording tv on my pc for the last few years, works great with the free week and a half of guide listings and streaming playback through the Xbox.

I like WMC for stuff I want to record and keep (burn to DVD) but you can't record in HD (at least that I know of). I have become an HD whore!

[vader29]

I like WMC for stuff I want to record and keep (burn to DVD) but you can't record in HD (at least that I know of). I have become an HD whore!

As long as you have a tv tuner card that has a tuner for HD channels and are running Vista or Windows 7 you can. I have a dual tuner tv card that lets me record the regular and HD channels.

Edit: This is the card I am currently using on my Windows 7 PC: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UU88WC

[Diablo25]

I like WMC for stuff I want to record and keep (burn to DVD) but you can't record in HD (at least that I know of). I have become an HD whore!

As long as you have a tv tuner card that has a tuner for HD channels and are running Vista or Windows 7 you can. I have a dual tuner tv card that lets me record the regular and HD channels.

Edit: This is the card I am currently using on my Windows 7 PC: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UU88WC

How do you get HD using that card? I have a Comcast box which I have piped into my TV card using SVideo. There are no component hookups, etc. on that card. Is this a stupid question?

FYI, you must have a Comcast box to get ANY HD channels with Comcast. Will your card work with a cable box?

[vader29]

How do you get HD using that card? I have a Comcast box which I have piped into my TV card using SVideo. There are no component hookups, etc. on that card. Is this a stupid question?

FYI, you must have a Comcast box to get ANY HD channels with Comcast. Will your card work with a cable box?

The card is a dual tuner card, I have my cable split into two to go into the inputs on the card and it works perfect. I only have basic cable and get the free over the air QAM HD channels from CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX. You should be able to get it to work with Comcast, you don't need a cable box, just the coax input from your cable as the tv tuners are on the card.

Back of my card: first cable is for the analog stations (regular cable), second cable is for digital stations, then there are s-video and composite video inputs, audio and IR inputs.



My regular cable ends at channel 75 and the digital HD channels follow it:

[Diablo25]

How do you get HD using that card? I have a Comcast box which I have piped into my TV card using SVideo. There are no component hookups, etc. on that card. Is this a stupid question?

FYI, you must have a Comcast box to get ANY HD channels with Comcast. Will your card work with a cable box?

The card is a dual tuner card, I have my cable split into two to go into the inputs on the card and it works perfect. I only have basic cable and get the free over the air QAM HD channels from CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX. You should be able to get it to work with Comcast, you don't need a cable box, just the coax input from your cable as the tv tuners are on the card.

Back of my card: first cable is for the analog stations (regular cable), second cable is for digital stations, then there are s-video and composite video inputs, audio and IR inputs.



My regular cable ends at channel 75 and the digital HD channels follow it:

Sadly you DO NEED a box with Comcast even if you only have basic cable. I used to just plug the coax right int the TV and get the networks in HD but now you use a tiny little box even for the lowest basic cable. At least that is what I think...could be wrong.

[wco81]

If you have any premium channels, you have to have a tuner card which can work through Cable Card.

It also sounds like most cable systems scramble cable HD channels like ESPN, TNT, FX, etc. in addition to premiums like HBO and Showtime. So most QAM tuners cards can't get those channels. Vader's picture of the guide shows that his local channels aren't scrambled but their channel numbers don't line up to what they would be if he used a cable box. Not a big inconvenience but still a hassle.