But then how do you record?
That’s not just saying a lot; that’s saying everything.
As I said above, I was a Tivo early adopter. I loved it; I got addicted. But as technology progressed, it didn’t progress with me. I wanted to watch videos on my hard drive, and photos from iPhoto, and music from iTunes, and so I abandoned Tivo for mediocre-but-functional things, mainly MythTV as the backend (five tuners, one of which was HD) and XBMC as the frontend. But MythTV, MythWeb, and the XBMC Interface all sucked from the human standpoint. I finally decided on HDMI distribution, matrix switches, and separate DishPVR and HTPC sources, which work excellently; the only real drawback is that the DishPVR interface still sucks royal ass. If I could get Tivo for Dish, even at the $10 premium (my old price, not current price), I would. But not for $20. Seriously, Tivo’s now $20 per month???
With a DVR.
Windows Media Center has a record function, plus you can use WMC to program the shows you want to record.
Sure, that’s what I was getting at when I asked if she had a HTPC. But this isn’t likely to be free - you have to pay for the computer.
How is that free? Did you find it in the street?
No, I mean that I don’t pay a monthly fee to use it or pay a monthly fee for cable/satellite. Sorry for the confusion. Best $200 I ever spent three years ago.
I just plugged the USB tuner into a laptop I already have. I did have to pay for the USB tuner. The biggest problem is that I can’t pick NBC most of the time. For some reason it uses a VHF frequency instead of a UHF frequency like the other stations. Luckily Chuck and 30 Rock are on Hulu.
I also had to pay for the antenna.
I also have over the air TV, and am satisfied with the pal DTV DVR.
It records in HD, but I can eaither replay in SD (on my old CRT) or HD (on my front projector) It also makes a decent HDTV convereter box (with live recording)
I like that it is a) free to use and b) virtually untraceable what I record
Brian