Geeks Corner:
Building a PVR (Oy Vey!)

Earlier this month my Pioneer DVR/DVD-R succumbed to a typical Zionsville power surge. It didn’t completely fail, it just blew out the software that let it access the TV Guide, and schedule record times. Alas, as much as I love the device, I can not be home to turn it on for all those shows I love to watch.

Now as it turns out, the over the counter DVR/DVD-R recorders out there are mostly out of production. While it is hard for me to understand, I read the reviews on the internet and it seems that they are either too complicated or not complicated enough for the average American. Some people can not figure them out; some people want them to make flavored coffee in the morning.

Now TIVO is flourishing, and it is basically the same thing, except there is a monthly fee. But even TIVO has abandoned the boxes with built in DVD-R recorders. I can only assume the class action lawsuits against the manufacturers of these machines have brought them to an early demise. Still you can network a TIVO box to your home network and transfer the files to a computer to burn the disks. It is a clumsy slow process but it can be done.

There have been some TIVO boxes with DVD-R drives available in the past, and some of those come with TIVO Basic, a free limited version of the TIVO product. These are commonly found on eBay, but while I was watching them, they seemed to be selling for about $250 to $300 used, in “as is” condition.

So I decided to build my own PVR, after all they are just computers really and I should be able to do that. So I set out on the internet to learn more about the process. I discussed the issues with those on my staff that have already built their own DVR/PVR’s and they were all for it.

I started out learning what devices would do the job, and which ones were preferred by those addicts that do this stuff. It seems that Hauppauge is the company most preferred for TV Capture devices and they offer a wide range of products that are compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. This is where I took the first detour.

You see we are a Microsoft shop. There aren’t enough hours in the day to service the customers we have with Microsoft products, let alone learning to do a really good job with Linux. However, Linux has come a long way, and a basic Linux desktop is just about as simple to build and configure as a Windows desktop these days. You don’t want to get into unusual devices, because then you have to start building driver packages, and frankly it gives me a headache.

Since there is a ton of info on the web about Linux based PVR’s, and how to build them I decided to check it out. I was doing great until I got into the meat of it, and there they were telling me to build repositories and the reviewer said things like

“so if you are used to running GNOME, you will find it easy to work with. KnoppMyth uses Fluxbox, and provides the text-mode Aptitude package manager, but does not offer much in the way of additional software to install.”

That sounds to me like Charlie Brown’s mom in the cartoons “whah, whah, whah,wahhhhh”.

So the decision was to go with a Windows machine, at least here I will understand the techno-babble. I started out with the fact that Windows Vista Premium and Windows XP Media center both have built in software that handles most of the functions of running your DVR, and can be ordered with a remote control if you wish. You see I really want this to be a “set-top box” in the end; I don’t want to use a keyboard and mouse. Having a keyboard and mouse available will be a plus if I would choose to do some web surfing while I’m sitting in front of the TV. Since the TV Guide functions are all internet based, a wireless connection to my network would be necessary, and so web surfing would be a welcome option.

Now with the OS issues and basic media and recording features settled, we need a method to get the TV signal into the computer, and decoded. There are two popular options, the previously mentioned Hauppauge TV Capture cards, and ATI’s All in Wonder, or TV Wonder cards.

From what I can see there are some issues with the ATI product. Since AMD bought ATI in 2006 it appears the All In Wonder (AIW) cards are being squeezed out in favor of the TV Wonder cards. The main difference here is that the AIW cards will input the signal, decode it, and then out put it to your TV, while the TV Wonder input the signal for display on your computer monitor.

Now I want a set top box, I don’t want to watch TV on my monitor, so now I have to either use the All In Wonder card, or buy a video card that can out put to a TV after the TV Wonder captures the video. Alternatively I could buy an LCD/TV Monitor combo, but when you get one with a screen size comparable to a 27” TV the cost really soars. Besides I have a TV; I really don’t want to reinvent the whole setup here.

Back to the AIW card, it appears the only one available right now is the X1900 AIW. This card is retailing over $200, averaging around $350, depending on where you shop. That’s pretty much out of the question.

Next choice, I looked up the top of the line Hauppauge with premium software and a remote control. This thing will cost in the neighborhood of $149 retail, and I can get it wholesale. So I need a video card that can output to a TV, and I find for $50 to $80 I can get an Nvidia Geforce card with S-Video TV-out capable of resolutions suitable for a full sized TV. My TV is older and doesn’t have an S-Video in, so I found that I can buy S-Video to Composite conversion cables. Now I need to get the sound moved from the computer to the TV via the composite cables, so I will need an adapter from the sound cards mini plug to stereo RCA jacks.

Now I need a slimline case, so it will sit in the VCR slot in my entertainment center, a motherboard, CPU and RAM. You know nothing special, something micro ATX with 3GHz CPU or Core 2 Duo and a gig or two of RAM. I’ll need a hard drive, a big one would be best, I’ll figure 500GB. Let’s see here Windows Media Center, $200, a slimline case, $59, a motherboard and CPU $199, RAM $60, hard drive $150, Hauppauge 1800 $90, Geforce card with TV-Out $60, miscellaneous cables and adapters $20. Ok I’m over $800 here, and I don’t have it working yet.

I picked up the phone and called TIVO and ordered a set top box with a wireless card, one year subscription, including delivery $226.00.

So much for building my own PVR.

~Steve