Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with PVR

How can I save the shows from my PVR to my computer?

Solomon — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:47:01 -0800

I have a Logik lpvr168 freeview PVR. I'd like to save some of the content I've recorded to my computer. How can I accomplish this? I've taken the case off, and added the HDD to my computer. However, it causes Windows XP to crash during startup. I've tried running Knoppix, and while it will mount the drive, it only shows 280mb of the 160gb drive, with none of the content visible. I figure there's another partition I need to mount but I only know very basic Linux commands, and I've no idea how to find out what the partition is called.

I've looked at the back of the device, and it has 1x "optical out" jack, 1x RS232 jack, 2x SCART sockets, 1x CVBS socket (yellow), 2x Antenna In, 2x Antenna Out and 2 red/white audio jacks. It doesn't have a USB socket. I figure I can use at least one of these to output the data.

I'm fairly handy, and am prepared to take the case apart and try again. I'm also prepared to buy necessary cables and other interface devices to get it to transfer the data.

By what method(s) can I transfer the information?

Windows Based PVR Software

backwards guitar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:51:33 -0800

I'm looking for free PVR software, preferably for Windows XP. Criteria:

- Free

- Ideally able to run on Windows XP, but Ubuntu would work if absolutely necessary

- Able to setup programming remotely using web, VNC or remote desktop (iphone would be an added bonus)

- No need for HD

- Just need the ability to record programs. Ability to select a program and select "RECORD ALL NEW EPISODES OF THIS SHOW"
or "RECORD ALL EPISODES OF THIS SHOW"

- Will be playing files on an xbox running XBMC over a wired network

- Nice to have: Auto-conversion from MPEG2 to xvid/divx or similar (compatible w/ XBMC is the main requirement)

- Nice to have: Removal of commercials.

I used to have Snapstream's Beyond TV which did most if not all of this (not the iphone stuff, but this might be supported now). Had a massive hard drive failure a couple of years ago, and am pretty sure I lost my registration information at the same time. I'm going to see if I can recover it, but in the meantime if there's something else out there... I've read previous threads on HTPC / PVR setups, but for different reasons they didn't fit my criteria, and I imagine there's been new stuff released since.

I'm using a Hauppage 150 I believe. Thanks.

Please help identify this weird RF connector?

Orb2069 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:32:57 -0800

Can anybody identify or adapt this connector on my Terratec cinergy 850e PVR box? This device is labeled [ Cinergy 850e PVR] and is apparently made by TerratecI bought this thing out of the $.99 bin at a local thrift store, so I don't have most of the cabling that shipped with it. This website review refers to it as a 'European slip-on connector', but that's not exactly lighting up Google.

It's too big to be an RCA connector, dosen't have bayonet lugs like a BNC connector - The center is too big to be an F-Connector. The outside metal ring is exactly 1cm in Diameter, if that gives any help...

Standalone or vendor lock-in?

Liver — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:36:08 -0800

What's the deal with DVRs in America in 2009? Can I buy one off the shelf and take it home and hook it to the cable and use it successfully like a digital VCR or am I "supposed" to get one from my cable provider and get billed a monthly fee for some program-guide service I do not want? Asking for an acquaintance, but I'm interested in the answer myself. My friend apparently is dead-set against getting a DVR from his cable provider. All he wants is the ability to record TV and watch it later, like a classic VCR but using a harddrive instead of video tapes. He's not interested in paying extra for any other services like easy recording of an entire season or a browsable program schedule.

Caveat: Building one out of a PC is not an option for him.

Also, how will the DTV transition affect him (I say it won't since he gets his signal from cable already but maybe I'm mistaken) with regard to his desire for an unencumbered DVR?

A PVR which manages channels on a cable box?

imperium — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:27:10 -0800

I'm looking for a DVD/HDD recorder which can control a cable box. Does anyone have such a combo up and running? The aim is to record regular scheduled programmes from a PACE 4000 cable box. I don't really mind what kind of recorder I end up using, but I want to be able to archive selected programmes to DVD, and for the recorder to be able to switch channels on the cable box. Help!

Is the Blue Screen of TiVo fixable?

AgentRocket — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:56:29 -0800

Does my TiVo Series 1's "Blue Screen of TiVo" mean that it is dead, or do I have my settings messed up? We have a TiVo Series 1 from October, 2001. It is a beloved member of our home but was relegated to the basement when TiVo HD moved in last year.

For 7 years it worked without complaint, but recently it has stopped being able to show live TV; instead, it kicks out the Blue Screen of TiVo that says something like "We cannot display live TV; check your settings." I did not change anything on my setup, but my kid could perhaps have monkeyed with it when playing with the remote.

I thought maybe the cable box was overloading TiVo, so I went around it and went directly in to the back of the TiVo. No luck. I repeated Guided Setup. No luck.

My TiVo still does everything else, including the setup functions, the playing of already-recorded shows, the programming guides, the clicky clicks, etc. Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do to save TiVo? Is the patient already dead?

What is the best HTPC software?

jpdoane — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:46:27 -0800

What software (or set of software) should I use on my new HTPC for both DVR functionality and streaming internet video? I have a new homebrew PC dedicated as a HTPC that I will be setting up tomorrow. I plan to use it for watching and recording over the air TV, as well as streaming content from Hulu, Netflix, etc. I also may use it for watching DVDs or playing other sorts of media (music, videos, photos), but this is secondary. I have a copy of Home Premium Vista for this machine, which I hear works great as a DVR.

Is there some software that seamlessly integrates all the functionality I'm looking for? If I can't have it all, what is the best combination of packages? Is there a way to painlessly switch between programs with the remote?

I have looked around a lot, but most programs seem to either be DVRs or fancy video players. Boxee seems promising as it streams online content, but it only runs on mac/linux. Perhaps something like boxee+sage tv on linux? Is there a good way to watch hulu/netflix on Vista without using a browser?

Free is great, but I'm willing to spend a little $

Tivo vs. Time-Warner DVR

theora55 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:22:10 -0800

I have a Series 2 Tivo. After 5 months of no TV at all, I have TimeWarner cable again. In my area, T-W uses the Sci. Atlanta DVR tuner. It's less expensive than Tivo, by several $ a month. Is Tivo worth the extra $ and hassle? Tivo will only get the 1st 100 channels, unless there's been some sort of upgrade, so no BBCTV, and a few other channels that occasionally have good content and are above 100. I don't have a wifi adapter for my Tivo, and don't want to run a cat5 cable, so I'd have to buy one. But the reviews of the Sci. Atlanta DVR are really bad and Tivo has a pretty great interface.

Motorola PVR FF driving me nuts!

jimmythefish — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:33:44 -0800

Motorola PVR fast forward freezing, and no ability to jump when it makes me go back to the start. Argh... I've been recording the Tour de Fance on my Motorola DCT3416 PVR. I'm using it through the Shaw Cable service in Calgary. I'm sitting here watching my recording of today's stage (5 or so hours). When I fast forward through the commercials and/or through flat/boring bits the playback regularly freezes and then asks me whether or not I want to delete the recording. I don't, of course, and I've found no way to do anything but go back to the beginning of the program and then fast forward through to my spot. During a 5-hour feed this can take more than 5 minutes. It's driving me crazy. So...

1. Is there a way to continue playing, even when the 'fail' dialogue box comes up asking me to delete, rather than starting from the beginning?

2. Is there a way to select a given time in the program to jump to? Say, if I enter 255 on the keypad it'll take me to 2:55? This seems too obvious, and yet I can't do it.

Thanks...

How do I hook up a homebrew HTPC to an analog TV?

Ponsonby Britt — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:51:29 -0800

How do I hook up a homebrew HTPC to an analog TV? I've got a 6-year-old analog TV which, aside from coax, only offers RCA connections (two sets). In hopes of creating a quasi-TiVo, I took a 5-year-old HP unning Windows and added a wireless-G adapter (for my home network) and a Hauppauge PVR-350 tuner. Add in GB-PVR software, and it's working great on my monitor - which I do not want in my living room permanently.

I'd planned to use the TV outs on the Hauppauge card, only to discover that they only really work with the accompanying software (or an older version of GB-PVR that doesn't do much else). And even then, it only shows THAT program, not the desktop or menus you'd need to actually open said program. It doesn't appear adding a new video card is an option (there's no AGP slot and I think the tuner & wireless cards took care of the expansion slots).

I'm really NOT a techie, so I'm out of my element here. Since this is sort of a tinkering/hobby-type thing, I'm trying to keep costs fairly low (ie, don't want to have to spend as much on it as I'd spend on a new TV that'd work right out of the box.) I'm pretty sure this is a hardware issue, but software suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

a tivo we will go, a tivo we will go...

griffey — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:47:59 -0800

What's the best TIVO for me? We're completely fed up with our cable company (Charter) and their DVR service. We just got a new Motorola DVR from them, and the interface is so bad its impossible to use...looks like they let the engineers do User Interface work. Horrible.

I'm looking at grabbing a Tivo to replace it with, but can't find answers to a few questions: will replacing the cable box affect the channels we can receive? I could ask Charter, but don't think I'd get a straight answer, somehow.

Also, what's the difference between the Tivo HD Series 2 and the Series 3, besides nearly $200? What's the Series 3 got that makes it worth the extra cash? In a situation where we've got one central TV room, and a (right now) non-HD TV (although that will change within the year), and both of us would love to be able to use Tivo-to-go...what's the right Tivo for us?

Is MythTV any good? Is TiVo worth the crazy costs?

chrisamiller — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:30:07 -0800

I'm getting cable for the first time in 5 years soon, and I'd like to get one of these new-fangled PVRs. I've found plenty of info on TiVos, but I'm having trouble finding recent information on alternatives, like MythTV. Does anyone have first-hand experience or quality links? I'm a tech-savvy Linux user at home, so installing something like MythTV isn't going to be a problem. I also love the idea of having all of my recordings freely accessible, so that I can load them on my iPod, watch them on my computer, burn them to DVD, etc.

I'm a bit worried about the details of MythTV though. The old reviews I can find were all kind of halfhearted, and I haven't found anything that reviews the latest and greatest versions.

What particularly worries me (and my non-techie fiancee) is the usability of the system:

- Are the menus as easy to navigate?
- Is scheduling shows as easy?
- Are there advanced features of TiVo that I'll regret not having?
- Is the maintenance relatively pain-free?

If I do go the TiVo route, how difficult is it to get my recordings off of a PVR like that? I read something about hacking the TiVo, but I'd prefer a simpler solution. (bonus points if that solution is linux-friendly)

Homebrew PVR with HD?

joshuaconner — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:30:33 -0800

Just switched from cable to DirecTV (7 HD channels on cable just wasn't cutting it), and we have a Mac Mini we'd like to use as a DVR. Possible? Practical?

Need help Building a PVR

WizKid — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:41:05 -0800

I'm planning on building a PVR and need advice on TV card, PC and the PVR software. Hi All,

I'm planning on building a PVR and have some questions. I have looked in these places.
1 http://www.byopvr.com/
2 http://ask.metafilter.com/28294/How-to-record-tv-on-my-PC
3 http://ask.metafilter.com/51757/Recommendations-for-a-TV-Tuner-Capture-Card
4 http://ask.metafilter.com/72954/Help-me-find-the-best-TV-tuner-card-for-my-setup
5 http://lifehacker.com/software/dvr/screenshot-tour-roll-your-own-dvr-and-media-center-with-mediaportal-244343.php
6 http://lifehacker.com/software/dvr/hack-attack-build-your-own-dvr-165963.php
7 http://www.makezine.com/extras/4.html

TV Card
1. For the TV card I'm looking at Hauppauge products. I know that PVR-500 is the only card with dual tuners. But what is the difference in other cards. (150, 150MCE, 150LP, 250, 250MCE, 350)

2. Which would be better an Internal card or an external USB device?

3. Which would be better, 2 single tuner cards or one dual tuner card ? (I'm planning on buying used from ebay.)

4. Should I buy NTSC or PAL? (I think USA is NTSC, but anyway I'll ask just to be sure)

5. My TV is a regular Toshiba CRT TV. How do I connect the TV to the PC? This image[http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6471/pvr500epbgpc7.jpg] of PVR-500 shows Composite Video In [Yellow port] and Audio In [white and Red ports]. I have similar ports in my TV which I use to connect the DVD player.
Can I connect the TV to TV card using these ports [similar to connecting a DVD player]? [I also have a S-Video port in the TV.]
If the TV card doesn't have such A/V ports do I need to buy a VGA card with A/V ports?
If so whenever I change from TV to Video on my TV can I see the computer desktop on my TV?

PC
6. Currently I don't have a PC for this and I'm planning on buying a used one. [Looking for something above 2GHz] Any advise on the PC?

7. I could find a Celleron 500MHz PC for free. Will it do the job? probably not :-)

PVR software
8. I'm torn between MediaPortal and GB-PVR. Any advice?

9. Planning on using Schedule Direct for TV guide. Any better/free sources?

10. Any advice on plugins for skipping commercials and Intelligent program suggestions.

Any other tips and tricks welcome!
Thanks in advance

Best PVR for a DirecTV subscriber?

owen — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:22:52 -0800

PVRFilter: Please save me from my VCR. I'm a DirecTV customer, wondering what my best option is. DirecTV PVR receiver? Tivo? Or something else?

Watching TiVo shows on another computer

shinynewnick — Sat, 26 May 2007 08:50:42 -0800

Is there one of the PVR software systems (MythTV, SageTV, etc) I can use to access my TiVo shows over my network? I currently have a networked Series2 TiVo in the living room, and a spare Via Epia-M computer sitting around that I'd like to use for media viewing in another room. Ideally, I'm looking for any of these media center front end programs that can transfer TiVo files and play them on the second computer. While I have a TV tuner card to install, that's a secondary concern, I really want to use this unit for watching shows from my TiVo or from the TiVo shared files on my desktop computer (these are normally unencrypted MPEG2 files). While I realize I can just run Windows and the TivoDesktop software, I'm looking for a setup that allows me to do the transfer and watching in an easy-to-use interface (preferably to watch while streaming - like I can do on the TiVo when transferring from my computer). Any suggestions?

build my own media center?

stupidsexyFlanders — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 12:09:39 -0800

I'm building a media center PC for my living room and I'm trying to plan out the hardware/software I'll need. So I have several questions. I currently have an HDTV LCD TV in the LR, with a comcast HD/DVR box, audio goes through an AV receiver out to 5.1 speakers. I've also got a Lite-On DVD recorder/player in the LR. I have an XP box in the kitchen with wifi, and a laptop with XP media center.

Here's details:

1. Want to play my music files (currently on a kitchen PC) in either the LR or the kitchen, independently. I use iTunes and I like the interface. Can I just use another instance of iTunes in the LR, sourcing the same files through ethernet?
2. Same deal with digital photos, but I like Picasa for that. View only, not edit. The whole premise of this LR PC is view only, actually.
3. want to store my video files (avi, divx, mpeg) so I can save them in the kitchen but view them in the LR. Assuming this is just a matter of saving to a network share?
4. want to use the LR PC as a DVR. Software recommendations for that? Would like to record 2 shows at once while watching a third.
5. want to use comcast as programming source. Do I swap the HD/DVR box for a vanilla hd box, and go out from there into a PC tuner card? Minimum requirements for the card, please, given my DVR requirements and the HD requirement. What's the optimal connection between the cable box and the tuner card? Currently I run hdmi from the cable box to the TV. What's the optimal connection between the tuner card and the TV?
6. What are minimum requirements for the video card?
7. Planning on 1 GB of RAM. enough? (it's not DDR, it's whatever the previous gen is called.)
8. To control the whole thing -- Windows Media Center 2005? It's got to be some flavor of windows.
9. Remote control -- what hardware do I need there? Recommendations? Don't want a wireless keyboard, would just program everything into my current universal remote. Does the IR receiver usually plug into USB, serial port, what?
10. Planning on using a soundblaster live card (no frills) out to A/V receiver. Sufficient?

Any answers addressing any of the above much appreciated, or links to same.

What would be my best source for HD Content and the best PVR to capture that content?

willnot — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:02:06 -0800

What would be my best source for HD content and the best PVR to capture that content? I just purchased a new HDTV. I have a Direct TV Tivo box that is only standard def. I figure as long as I have an HDTV though, I should try to get the most out of it. It seems my options are Direct TV with their HD PVR, a Direct TV HD receiver and an HD TiVo or MythTV set up, cable and one of their PVRs or cable and a Tivo or MythTV set up. I live in Los Angeles (Torrance), and if I were to switch to cable, my provider would be Time Warner. They provide my high speed internet, so there is some bundling that I could take advantage of there. I think the pricing might be a wash or might still slightly favor satellite after whatever introductory specials I could get, but I haven't put it all in a spreadsheet to make sure yet.

I've been reasonably happy with DirectTV up to this point, and I generally like the Tivo interface pretty well. It's just that the old DirectTivo box isn't capable of anything other than standard def.

I have an OTA antenna plugged into the set, and I don't seem to receive a number of local channels in high def. The antenna may need to be tuned a bit better, but I only seem to have digital equivalents for about half of the stations I should.

I've been looking a little at the Mythtv Dragon 2.0 system. That looks pretty sweet. I've heard that Myth is a pain to set up and maintain though. I'm not really a Linux guy. I can CD and LS, but not much beyond that. I can follow instructions pretty well though if somebody lays it out for me.

Does anybody here have a Dragon or has anybody used one? How does that compare to Tivo? Would it be better to use a system like that with cable or with DirectTV? I know the Tivo HD receiver says that it won't work with a satellite receiver. I find that hard to believe, but I guess it's smarter to trust them on that. Would that be true of the Dragon as well?

I don't currently have an upscaling DVD player either. I assume if I got a Dragon, it could serve as that device as well. Is that correct?

Is there even enough HD content out there to make this worthwhile? I know a lot of shows/channels are still broadcast in standard def. I don't know if standard def shows over component or HDMI look any better than standard def shows over s-video (which is the highest quality I have available to me now).

Want to set up Mac-based DVR for non-basic digital channels. SOL?

galaksit — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:32:57 -0800

I'd like to use my computer (an 867MHz G4 Mac) to record European soccer (to me, football) matches from digital cable when they are shown live on US cable channels like Fox Soccer Network and ESPN. These matches are typically shown during office hours here on the east coast of the U.S., so I can't watch them and often they are not repeated later.

Our cable provider is Comcast and I'm pretty sure it is a digital box. I was looking at websites about devices like the Elgato EyeTV range. All seems possible with my aging machine, except for one detail: these EyeTV devices apparently cannot record "encrypted" digital channels.

FSC (and possibly ESPN, I'm not sure) was an "upgrade" on our cable package which we had to phone in to enable.

Does this mean the channel is coming through the cable itself encrypted? Because if it does then I assume I just can't do this. If Comcast somehow decrypt the channel upstream then the EyeTV wouldn't care. But I could see the encryption working by for example using an identifier in the hardware of the cable box as part of a decryption key.

I don't really have any idea how this all works. I'd be grateful for advice. Has anyone succeeded getting these kinds of offboard tuners to record non-basic digital cable?

How to replace my Sky Plus box?

salmacis — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:39:05 -0800

How do I replace my Sky Plus box? I'm in the UK. For reasons of price I've decided to ditch Sky Plus. Since I already get my broadband from Virgin Media (formerly ntl) I can get a TV package with them for virtually no extra money. One thing I am going to miss though is the easy recording with Sky Plus. Virgin Media have a Sky Plus-type box which apparently has the same function, but it's £15 a month, which I will not pay. (Does the VM box work as well as Sky Plus anyway?)

What alternatives are there? I could go the old route and hook up my old VCR, but there must be a better way in this day and age. All hard disk recorders seem to have Freeview built in. Are there any which will work with cable? Is a DVD recorder going to fitthe bill? Failing that, is it possible to build a bare-bones system myself, and if so, where should I start?

Please do not asnwer this question if you're not in the UK and do not know about UK broadcasting or what boxes are available here.

How to stream video from a PC to a TV?

WinnipegDragon — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:52:26 -0800

What is the simplest and least expensive way to stream MP3s and video in various formats to a standard TV? Considerably I have a standard Windows XP Pro box with a pair of 320GB HDDs that I use for video editing and basic digital recording, specifically NFL games. I am a hardcore Lions' fan. Pity me.

Until now, this is the process I have for getting these games replayed on my TV:

I have been manually editing the 4hr+ long video sessions that I record with my Hauppage PVR-250 card. This gives me a really nice quality MPEG-2 video, but they often run 8 to 10 GBs or more. Using an inline MPEG editor, I cut out halftime and the commercials and get them down to about 5GBs or so. Then I run them through a DVD creation package to convert the MPGs to VOBs and throw on a menu. Then I run the whole DVD through DVD Shrink to get them down to 4.7GB to be burned on DVD-R.

This is a rather long process and it ties up my system while all the conversion and shrinking happens. In order to cut back on the time, I've purchased a DivX capable DVD player, but the conversion to DivX is less-than optimal quality and very time consuming. I also purchased a Dual Layer burner, but I still find I end up editing out the commercials if I want to keep the quality high, so it doesn't save much time.

So, I'd like advice on building or buying a simple media centre that I can throw on my stereo shelf and stream video and music from my PC in various formats. Most software packages like MythTV, BeyondTV and SageTV seem to be more interested in the PVR functionality, and most simple hardware solutions, like the D-Link DSM-320 have software or compatability problems.

Can this be done inexpensively or should I just bite the bullet, move the PVR-250 to a new box and build a full PVR system?

I want to have files on my comp show up on my Tivo's browser sorted into groups, not as a flat list.

John Kenneth Fisher — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:48:01 -0800

I want to have files on my PC or Mac show up on my Tivo's browser sorted into groups, not all as one flat list like they seem to do by default. So I have a Macintosh running Tivo Desktop 1.9.3 (with the Video tab enabled) configured for a folder of properly mpg'd videos to show up for transfer in the Now Playing list of my Tivos. This works very well and displays/copies/plays just fine... except that I have literally hundreds of files in there and they all show up in one massive (and very very slow to load page by page) list. I would instead like to have it show up sorted into subfolders, so I can select first a series, and THEN see every episode for that series, rather than have to navigate through very slow pages of, say, 29 years of Doctor Who episodes everytime I want to copy over something that starts with L.

I have tried just putting them in folders on the Mac, and this does not work. Another thing I tried, is that the Tivo Desktop software creates .properties files that I can edit that are in the format

#Fri Jan 05 02:38:10 EST 2007
description=
title=filename.mpg

and, while changing the title or description works as one would expect, trying to add "group=SeriesName" or guesses like that had no effect. (Should be noted these were tried on the Mac version. If TivoDesktop for Windows supports folders or editing these files better, please let me know, I can pull one of my old PCs out of storage, but my failed Google searches implied it did not.)

(As a side note, I don't care if they 'group up' once actually copied to the Tivo, as I'll likely only import a few at a time, only how they appear when I am browsing the computer from the Tivo.)

I am not adverse to using a third party program (though hacking my TiVo is not an option), and the fact that programs such as Galleon offer this grouping feature shows it is not something blocked by Tivo for whatever reason, but unfortunately Galleon itself has tons of other bugs that made it more trouble than it was worth in this regard.

So, I ask you, fellow mefites, is there a way to make this work? Does TivoDesktop for Windows support this? Can I edit the properties file to add a group? Is there a third party program for Mac (Best) / Linux (Good) / Windows (If Need Be) that will do this? I can't be the only one with large collections of files served to my Tivo who is driven nuts by this, can I?

Pre-built MythTV boxes?

jewzilla — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:27:04 -0800

I'd like to buy a pre-built MythTV box. Any recommendations? I'm not particular about features. Single or dual tuner is fine. HD is nice to have but not necessary. I would, however, like to be able to record and play back DVDs. It is important to me that most of the code is open source so I can hack it. I am NOT interested in building one from scratch because I don't have the time and I need something that actually works right away. Also, I want something that isn't too big or too ugly. I prefer a minimalist design. My budget could go as high as $1000. From doing some Googling, it looks like a lot of companies outside the US make them but I'd rather not deal with shipping from overseas. Also, having not found any decent reviews, I hope the hivemind can provide some personal experiences.

SCART-hate and a mysterious Freeview signal

boudicca — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 04:52:41 -0800

I have disconnected the SCART connector between our television and PVR. I did this in part because I think Freeview sends some signal at 4am which wakes up the TV and therefore everyone in the house. Is it really a disadvantage not to use a SCART connection? I have a history of SCART hate. Before the PVR we had a VCR. I pulled out the SCART connector for that because I was irritated by the way the TV (years-old Bang & Olufsen) would be switched on and in video mode by having the VCR on, even when just in standby. We briefly connected a Freeview box which had to be connected via SCART as it had no independent RF connection. As well as turning the TV on when turned on, it also switched itself and the TV on at 5am (this was in the summer, so 4am GMT) for no reason I could discern. Both the TV and the Freeview box have timers, but neither were set. So I disconnected the Freeview box and left the VCR connected by RF only. We’ve now bought a PVR (Humax 9200T) and my life would be one of audio-visual joy were it not for the fact that the PVR switched itself and the TV on at 4am very loudly waking up the entire household. I’ve pulled out the SCART connector and that’s stopped my problem and everything seems fine. Are we really significantly disadvantaged by not using SCART and what is happening at 4am?

Please suggest a cheap/simple pvr

aeighty — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:14:49 -0800

My grandpa enjoys recording TV shows off his satellite feed (DishNet, I believe). The problem is, while the VCR (heh) has a timer, it cannot change the channels and what not. So I found out that he gets up a few times a night to change the channel and what not. I think some sort of PVR is in order. What is the cheapest/simplest thing I can get? I know there's TiVO. Can I get an older version that integrates with the sat box somehow? It really needs nothing beyond the simplest record/playback.

I apologise for the simplicity of the question. I know nothing about satellite tv.