This pvr has been abandoned and replaced with DirecTV with Tivo. Beyond TV was great, but Tivo was only $5 a month and everything is automatic and intergrated with Directv. Since I watch this on my tv and not my pc, this worked out better. I now have 2 Tivo's and only have to pay Directv $5 for the Tivo service a month. Nice!!!!
Another new project. This one is being worked on by a friend. It looks very promising. We are attempting to make a Digital VCR that can do all the things that TIVO does without paying for the service. I would also like to be able to burn DVD's directly from this unit.
Currently we are looking at software that runs in windows and uses a TV in and TV out card. The remotes for the cards also work. This will allow us to use the DVD burner software that runs in Windows to burn DVD's!
We are also looking at some cases for the PC that will blend in decently with the existing TV and DirecTv units. We have found several, but they are a little high in price. Still working on that issue.
Total cost for this unit looks like it will be around $500, but that is better than the TIVO unit that burns DVD;s which costs $800 and you need to sign up for service to get the guide.
Jan, 31, 2004 - Well we have completed our DVR. We went with Snapstream software called Beyond TV. This software is great. It allows you to watch live tv and be able to pause it, replay, and record. I am not sure how I watched TV without it. I record all kinds of shows that are on later so that I can go to bed early :) It has a program guide that is free that allows me to set it up to always record the shows if they are new. Awesome.
The system that I am using is currently my desktop. I am using the PVR-250 input card and the Geforce MX 440 output card. Pretty happy with both.I am hoping to get a new micro ATX case in the next few months, but I am working on my projection TV again, so this one will have to wait.
I am not sure what else I can say about the software, but it works great and the program guide is free. It is also connect to my DirecTV via the com port and can change the channels itself. So when it needs to record a different channel, it can change to that channel.