Is it possible to record digital OTA video?

[whicky1978]

Is it possible to record digital over the air tv signals using a regular vcr or dvd recorder? I tried this today with a dvd recorder, but I could not get a signal.

I can use FireWire devices. I have two ports. I recently discovered these. What are the cheapest firewire devices out there?

 

[CJPC]

Well not really, some companies offer OTA HDTV cards, such as ATI's HDTV wonder (or something) for around $150 you can use to record OTA digital broadcasts to your PC

 

[whicky1978]

Well not really, some companies offer OTA HDTV cards, such as ATI's HDTV wonder (or something) for around $150 you can use to record OTA digital broadcasts to your PC

yeah, I was thinking I would need to buy something that has a hard drive, and uses firewire. Those firewire ports are the only video output ports I have on my TV. (I think that output video).

 

[whicky1978]

Yes, there is a way to record digital TV. All you need is a converter box that is ran through your recorder. The converter box could turn the digital Tv into analog. Technically, you would be recording analog signals though

 

[bobhaze]

yeah, I was thinking I would need to buy something that has a hard drive, and uses firewire. Those firewire ports are the only video output ports I have on my TV. (I think that output video).

From your mention of Firewire on your TV I assume you are using yout TV's OTA tuner instead of a Dish 811 or 211. If you have firewire out on your TV, a DVHS machine will do it for you in HD. Mitsubishi and JVC still make them. They do a fine job but the places you can play back a DVHS tape are limited.
For more flexibility, there are a number of HD PC cards available such as those from ATI, Divico, and the popular MIT MyHD card that will record transport streams directly to your hard drive. You can then use Video ReDo to edit out commercials and save in MPEG form that can be used by any of the DVD authoring programs.
If you have a, 811 or a 211 with an OTA antenna connected you can take the S-video out from the satellite receiver an go into the DVD recorder, but its scaled to only SD quality that way.

Bob

 

[OPS The Satellite Guy HI]

Burning OTA or Dishnetwork content

Simple solution Whickey1978, Get a new 622 or 942 or 921 dishnetwork receiver.
And get this, you can record OTA digital and HD content via the internal hard drive. Then if you so desire, you can 're-record' that data onto your burner. Or better yet, pocket dish. Portable media, soon to be HD directly from the receiver via 2.0 USB.:up

 

[whicky1978]

I'm no longer with a satellite company or cable company, but I post in this forum and Direct's because more people will see my thread.

My TV has 2 firewire ports. Are these used to send video or recieve video? Does the DN recievers with hard drives have firewire ports?

 

[hemway]

I built myself a Window Media Center PC that has one analog tuner card that allows me to record from a E* SD receiver and two HDTV digital tuner cards that allows me to record OTA. Works great! I have the two HD cards so I can record two shows at a time or record one show while watching another.

Great 'free' programming guide that gets updated daily and recording options are great. I looked at a couple of different software recording programs but settled on the Media Center.

I've got it hooked up to my 50" Sony and playback of HD recordings is ass good as watching the show in real time. I'm thinking of getting an XBox 360 and hooking that up the the Sony and then move the media center pc back into the office. This way I can use the XBox to watch and play recordings made on the media center pc and keep the grand kids happy when they are over.

 

[kb7oeb]

Walt's TV has the cheapest DVHS decks I have been able to find. They currently have the Mitsubishi HD1100 on sale for $100. The Mits decks only work with tv sets that have Firewire because it does not have a built in encoder or decoder. If you want to be able to record in digital from an analog source go with a JVC deck.

http://www.walts.com/

 

[Customgamer1]

Well not really, some companies offer OTA HDTV cards, such as ATI's HDTV wonder (or something) for around $150 you can use to record OTA digital broadcasts to your PC

I use the ATI HD tuner and I LOVE IT!!!

The antenna that it comes with is crap because it's not powered. But once or if you get a nice antenna set up the picture quality is very very nice but thats on my PC monitor. The monitor is 1280 by 1024 so it's good enough for 720P!

 

[whicky1978]

Walt's TV has the cheapest DVHS decks I have been able to find. They currently have the Mitsubishi HD1100 on sale for $100. The Mits decks only work with tv sets that have Firewire because it does not have a built in encoder or decoder. If you want to be able to record in digital from an analog source go with a JVC deck.

http://www.walts.com/

VCR's are obsolete, and DVD's will be in a few years.

 

[griz_fan]

VCR's are obsolete, and DVD's will be in a few years.

Actually, that's not entirely true. Almost like saying that a television antenna is obsolete

A digital VCR is actually a very viable solution to your problem. In fact, it is the ONLY solution to your problem that doesn't involve building a home theater PC. The firewire ports on your TV are fairly limited. Often, they are restricted as to what they can accept input from, and are also often restricted on output options, too. If you want to record digital off the air shows, here are your options:

1. Home theater PC
2. Digital VCR
3. Toshiba used to have a DVR that recorded from the TV's ATSC tuner via firewire
4. Dish ViP 622

For you, not an option to put a Dish DVR to use, they're locked down to subscriber use only.

So, kb7oeb's suggestion is really your only practical option, and it makes a LOT of sense, given what you've asked for.

 

[whicky1978]

I think the cheapest way is to get a converter box, since I don't care too much about HD when watching recorded shows. I record tv shows so that I don't miss them. Then I erase them. I normally use a DVD recorder since it can record 6 hours, and have no problems playing back.

I hear a converter box is only $50.

 

[mabrandt]

I have a Sony stand alone DVR that records OTA HD Digital with great results. Unfortunately, they don't make them anymore. You can check Best Buy as they have been having a close out on them for while. I have also seen them eslwhere. They come in 250 and 500GB models. Here's a link to the 500gb model.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat03021&id=1117178795519

No monthly fees either. I have had one now for about 8 months and think it's great.

 

[navychop]

Well, that price is ridiculous. Tweeter's had some in certain stores very cheap. I think I paid $250 for mine. But you're not likely to find one now. FWIW, I'm very happy with mine. Interface could be better, and a "time remaining on the HD" indicator would be nice. But that's getting picky. You might walk into a Tweeter's to check. Not on their web site, and apparently they don't admit to having them over the phone. Actually, I'd be surprised if there were any left anywhere- even at BB.

 

[kb7oeb]

VCR's are obsolete, and DVD's will be in a few years.

You asked about a VCR. The firewire ports on your DVD player only support DV video and usually not MPEG2. Even if it did the resolution used on HD signals would stop it from working.

 

[whicky1978]

You asked about a VCR. The firewire ports on your DVD player only support DV video and usually not MPEG2. Even if it did the resolution used on HD signals would stop it from working.

My DVD player doesn't have any firewire. I signed up with Charter today. I will probably wait unti the price of BlueRay's come down, and get a BD recorder, or at least a BD player that records in SD.

 

[kb7oeb]

I meant dvd recorder. Do you not have any recording devices?

 

[whicky1978]

I meant DVD recorder too. I have no devices that use firewire, except for my TV. The only recording devices that I have are a VCR, and a DVD recorder.

Just think, an entire season of CSI could fit on one BlueRay disc.