Inspired by an add for an HP laptop that I saw on TV.
If it does what features/quality issues should I consider in acquiring the card and/or the software to run it?
Check out byopvr.com. This is a site dedicated to “Build Your Own Personal Video Recorder” information. It has a lot of FAQ’s and tips as far as what equipment and software are required/recommended for this purpose.
FTR, if you wouldn’t need cable internet to do this, just some way to get guide data.
Far as I know, you’ll need a computer (obviously, where else would the tuner card go?), and some sort of DVR software.
My roommate set one up using MythTV(Linux) and a Hauppage tuner card he got at CompUSA. Works like a charm, and there’s even a website for guide information (the DVR box will need internet access for that).
I have such a setup. I have an ATI TV Tuner card and cable TV (the card also allows me to plug in a video source like my old analog camcorder and record that digitally). It shipped with software to download TV schedules and record shows. But unlike a true DVR like TiVo, I cannot pause live TV. Maybe you could with the right software.
I think you are saying that if you have DSL it will work also. That leads me to ask the question whether the single cable that I already have hooked to the computer (via a router) will serve the dual purpose of TV input and cable input.
IOW, does the cable have to be connected directly to the tuner card for the TV part of it to work? The more I think of it, I’m thinking yes.
If you have cable internet, you should have a coaxial cable going into your modem. You will need to put a splitter on that cable, and route one cable to the modem and the other cable to your tuner card. The network cable from the modem to the computer does not carry any TV signal information.
I have a computer at home set up for expressly this purpose. It has two TV tuner cards in it, is hooked up to my cable modem, and runs Windows Media Center 2003.
The media center software is built into windows and works very closely to any other DVR. I can record, pause, and rewind live TV. I can schedule shows to be recorded while I am away. With two TV tuners it is possible to watch one channel and record another simultainously. With seperate software it is also possible to record your DVD’s to my computer so I can watch them without having to get up and put the DVD in.
With the high speed internet attached to my computer, I can stream live and recorded television to my cell phone and laptop anywhere I can get an internet connection. I can also stream my recorded DVD’s to my laptop and phone anywhere.
The way you connect to the Internet is unrelated to how you get the TV signal. The cable going to your computer from a router is unrelated to the TV.
Yes. You have one CAT5 (or whatever) cable going to your computer for Internet. You need a coax cable from the cable TV feed to connect to the TV card in your computer.
My setup is that I have cable for both TV and Internet, and a wireless router. I put a splitter on the cable coming out of the wall, like FatBaldGuy says. One feed goes into the cable modem/router and then WiFi goes the last 12 feet. Then I take the other coax cable and wire it to the TV card.