# PC for DVR with Direct?



## bbanks69 (Oct 19, 2007)

is there a way to use a regular pc to be a tv recorder on directv?


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## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

Short Answer... No.

The HDPC20, was planned for use with Windows Media Center and would have provided a dual tuner interface for WMC. The project was shelved.


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## bbanks69 (Oct 19, 2007)

thanks, i will keep trying, they cant stop me, I hope


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## bbanks69 (Oct 19, 2007)

Actually,I would pay to do this


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

bbanks69 said:


> is there a way to use a regular pc to be a tv recorder on directv?


For standard def, yes. I do this with Windows Media Center (there are other solutions too) and it works great.

For HD, there is no reasonable way to do this. If, and that's a big if, Hauppauge manages to get their HD-PVR product fully supported within Windows Media Center, and IF DirecTV isn't forced to disable/downrez the component outputs, then maybe there will be a solution in the future.


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## bbanks69 (Oct 19, 2007)

BattleZone said:


> For standard def, yes. I do this with Windows Media Center (there are other solutions too) and it works great.
> 
> For HD, there is no reasonable way to do this. If, and that's a big if, Hauppauge manages to get their HD-PVR product fully supported within Windows Media Center, and IF DirecTV isn't forced to disable/downrez the component outputs, then maybe there will be a solution in the future.


I am using standard def, could you point me in the right direction, I would love to do this


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## pyatta (Nov 9, 2005)

I did this for a while, using an old D10 box, a "media center" application, a capture card, a IR remote I got with the card, and finally software on my computer that would tell the IR to change the directv box.

Honestly, its a ton of work. I decided to stop since it was difficult to get quality tv guide data for free, not to mention the mess of cords in the back of my tv.

I will say, the "extras" such as add-on GamePlay, Local Weather Radar/Alerts, All music files, all video files, torrenting, plust the price(free) was tough to give up. But I got Boxee for most of that now.

Here's where I started.
http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Hardware/Hardware

Good luck!


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

I got Windows Media Center (Vista Home Premium), a Hauppauge HVR-2250 PCIe tuner/capture card, and a Microsoft MCE remote kit, which includes a USB connected remote sensor that also runs a pair of IR blasters, the latter of which controls your sat receiver.









HVR-2250

Note: I believe there are two versions of the card. The one I have did NOT come with an MCE remote, and the bottom connector on the card is an 1/8" stereo audio input jack. I'm not sure if this pic has that mislabeled, or if the version that comes with the remote uses that jack for a different function.

Anyway, the HVR-2250 is a hybrid card, and Vista has somewhat limited support for them, as they are a new concept. So, even though it has 2 NTSC/ATSC tuners and 2 line inputs, you can only use 2 devices total under Vista (Win7 can run them independently!). Thus, I used my OTA antenna for ATSC channels on one tuner and a D10 connected via S-Video and analog audio for the other.

Everything gets set up in Media Center and is well integrated. The HVR-2250 does a MUCH better job at video capture from the line inputs than other cards I've used in the past, both with audio and video. And the Media Center interface is great.

The only thing that makes it better is Win7. The same card can provide 2 ATSC tuners and 2 line inputs, meaning 4 simultaneous tuners from a single card! You need a second sat receiver, of course, but it's very do-able.

Now if only you could get HD into WMC as easily as you can get SD, then WMC would be the king of all DVRs. BTW, my Media Center PC has 3 Seagate 1.5 TB drives, for a total of 4.5 TB of DVR space, plus the OS on a separate drive. I've also got a DVD/Blu-Ray drive in the machine. It's hard to beat, but due to the HD issue, I still have an HR20 in use.


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## bbanks69 (Oct 19, 2007)

thank you all for your help, this will help alot


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## dorfd1 (Jul 16, 2008)

bbanks69 said:


> thank you all for your help, this will help alot


The wintv hvr's also have clear qam tuners in them.


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## DirecTV3049 (Sep 13, 2007)

> For standard def, yes. I do this with Windows Media Center (there are other solutions too) and it works great.


+1.

Using Windows XP Media Center Edition, an RCA satellite receiver (old school baby!!), ATI TV Wonder card, and the IR remote blaster (included with the XP MCE computer), and an Xbox 360 to stream it all to the LCD in the living room.

Though, honestly, haven't used it much since getting a couple of HR2x DVRs too.

Also, we're getting a Wii for our daughter's upcoming birthday (shh don't tell her) so streaming Hulu to the living room television will be coming.


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