golinux Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Just thinking ahead as right now I do not have a DVR - still happily recording to VHS or DVD. If I record a TV show to a DVR how would I go about getting it into my computer to edit? Does it work like an external disk or would a special card with video connections be required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gi7omy Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I have a 'diy' one here (all I had to do was add a redundant hard drive) but it won't copy directly to the computer What you have to do is feed the composite video in via a capture card and audio via line-in when you play it (I use a cheap and cgheerful TV card to do it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golinux Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Thanks for confirming that I'll need a video capture card. Won't be happening for a while though as I still have 4 workable VHS players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrussell Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Might depend on brand of DVR. Are you talking about something like a Tivo that connects to cable service? Just depends on the DVR brand and cable service. Some of those have firewire or USB to transfer the recordings and need special software. Some cable companies have those features disabled. If you pay for premium channels, those will have DRM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golinux Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I'm OTA all the way - the Zenith DTT901 converter box brings in all the local digital channels and sub-channels perfectly and for FREE! Do any of the non-service oriented DVRs have a USB connection? Guess I'll have to start Googling to see what's out there. Thanks for giving me hope . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gi7omy Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Mine doesn't - SCART and composite is all - oh and a co-ax connector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karri Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I haven't tried this feature, but on my dvr (supplied by the cable co.) one of the choices for a recorded show is "Copy to VCR" so maybe that is an option on other dvr's, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrussell Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I'm OTA all the way - the Zenith DTT901 converter box brings in all the local digital channels and sub-channels perfectly and for FREE! Do any of the non-service oriented DVRs have a USB connection? Guess I'll have to start Googling to see what's out there. Thanks for giving me hope . . .I know that Dish Network will release a OTA DTV box with DVR some time this fall. We ordered their DTVPal and it's the best OTA digital tuner I've seen. Even has Guide Plus which is a great programing guide. Most likely the DVR version will have that too. The Guide is free so no subscriptions like with Tivo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golinux Posted July 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I know that Dish Network will release a OTA DTV box with DVR some time this fall. We ordered their DTVPal and it's the best OTA digital tuner I've seen. Even has Guide Plus which is a great programing guide. Most likely the DVR version will have that too. The Guide is free so no subscriptions like with Tivo. DTVPal does NOT have the best tuner according to the gurus on the AVS forum. Channel Master and Zenith/Insignia have far better tuners. The only selling point for the DTVPal is the timers (which currently don't function properly) and the guide (which screws the timers when the PSIP info is downloaded). Check out the DTVPal thread for the whole sorry story (over 3000 posts so far). General opinion is that Dish really blew it with this box. After months of researching which box to get, I decided on two Zenith DTT901s and will eventually get a box with a timer but right now the DTVPal is a non-option. Zinwell ZAT-970A (with timers) is due on the market in August. After the DTVPal fiasco, I really don't want to do business with Dish and am hoping the Zinwell will be a viable option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrussell Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Guess that is a matter of personal opinion I HAVE BOTH the Zenith and DTVPal. The Zenith has a distinctive BUZZ in the audio on all channels and the DTVPal doesn't. In my area, both 'tuners' can receive signals, but DTVPal has lots more features like the Guide Plus which puts Zenith's EPG to shame. Ono the Zenith, you can't see what will be on another channel without actually changing the channel. DTVPal also has a built-in timer so it can automatically change channels. Great for those of use who still use VCRs to record while we're away. I don't know of ANY other tuner that has either feature. Both features that I want. As far as I'm concerned, Dish is the ONLY ONE that got it right! I glanced through that forum and I didn't see that many negative posts about Dish's DTVPal. Most went on about the coupons or other model/brands of tuners. I saw some complain about the TV Guide not getting times correct, but DTVPal doesn't use TV Guide - at least not on mine. My sister bought two and loves it. Her old TV also had Guide Plus so she doesn't have to learn anything new. The images are crystal clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golinux Posted July 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 The March and previous builds of the Zenith had an audio defect that was fixed in the April and subsequent builds. Depending on when you bought yours you should RMA it. Also volume adjustments should be handled through the TV to avoid a hum when muted (just leave the box volume at 100%). Have you actually tried to USE the timers? Extensive test results are posted in that thread (start at the end rather than the beginning). Sometimes events will be deleted. Sometimes they get changed to a different channel. Timers rely on each individual station's time (many are incorrect - off by minutes or hours) and there in no way to override this behavior resulting in the Pal not turning on at the expected time. All in all, the timers are currently VERY unreliable. There are also other software problems which Dish is aware of and in the process of correcting. You have paid to be a beta tester! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrussell Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I just bought the Zenith about a month ago. I still like Dish's DTVPal better. It works for me. You have paid to be a beta tester!A lot of people have said the same thing about EMC and it works just fine for me , too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golinux Posted July 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 I just bought the Zenith about a month ago. Purchase date is irrelevant. You'll need to look at the code on the box to find the manufacture date. I still like Dish's DTVPal better. It works for me. I would be very interested to know if your timers work as expected. I think at this point in time you would have the only known consistently functioning timers and it should be reported to the testers trying to debug the mess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrussell Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 FYI, I did some testing over the weekend and the Dish Network DTVPal timer worked perfectly. It shows a small 2 min countdown in the lower left corner to let the viewer know. I filled ALL available time slots in the timer. So perhaps if there was a problem, it has been fixed or perhaps just a problem with the broadcasting stations in those areas. All I can say, it works as I would expect and I highly recommend it to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golinux Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 What is your firmware version? http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1045973 F101TCGH-N F100TCGH-N or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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