Oooh, I got a new toy: a computer-based PVR. The original idea was that I would get this software called Beyond TV, but the TV tuner card they recommend (Hauppauge PVR-150) comes with its own more rudimentary PVR software, so I'm going to take that around the block first, then try the trial of the more TiVo-like Beyond TV and SageTV, then if I love one of those, get that. Do I need a more sophisticated version? No, but then I didn't need digital cable with Eastern time zone feeds either, and now you'll have to rip that from my cold, dead hands.
My brother told me about a free program called GB-PVR that seems to have similar functions as BeyondTV, but its rudimentary documentation and non-intuitive interface make me think I'd rather spring for the extra bucks of the paid software rather than spend a lot of time fiddling with a free version. He knows I haven't gone far enough down the open source road to be able to install MythTV, and has given up trying to convince me.
I'm sure I'll write about the PVR itself more when I can make some judgement on it besides how much fun/trouble it was to set up, and make a comparison between the different versions I end up testing. Right now, it's just reminded me of this weird glitch my brain seems to suffer from. I'll call it technoamnesia.
At my various workplaces, I've always had the reputation for being very technosavvy, which makes my technosavvy friends laugh themselves silly. The thing is, I'm good at using computers. At my current job, people in my department will often come to me before calling our computer helpdesk, because they know that:
a) I won't put them on hold for half an hour, then tell them that they have been assigned a priority 3 and someone will call them back before the next ice age; and
b) most of their questions result from not knowing how to do something, not from a technical problem, and the evil helpdesk people will snicker at them behind their backs whereas I'll do it to their faces in the nicest possible way.
But I know nothing about the inner workings of computers. It's not simply ignorance; I've been taught all this stuff. It's just that when you start talking RAM and ROM and MHz and GHz, nothing will stick to my Teflon brain.
When I bought a new computer last January, I did a ton of research and asked my geeky friends and brother for advice. My brother kindly refrained from snickering at me ... much ... when I tried to talk about memory in terms of GHz. But I learned what was what, and ordered the right specs for what I wanted. About 2 seconds after I placed the order, I couldn't have told you what I got.
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Article comments
1 - Jay Jarvinen
Despite how you arrived at your conclusion, you did well. The Hauppauge PVR-150 is an excellent choice (IMHO, the only choice in this subcategory .. i.e. non-HDTV).
Your 512MB RAM (a half GB) is plenty sufficient.
The 2GB per hour is referring to hard drive space (as you said), which is the space required for an hour of uncompressed video (MPEG2 format).
"He knows I haven't gone far enough down the open source road to be able to install MythTV, and has given up trying to convince me."
Ahh, but think how rewarding it would be to prove him wrong! MythTV is awesome, and gets easier to use with every release. In the meantime, you could try a bootable CD-only version of it called KnoppMyth:
Good luck with your quest.
2 - Lisa McKay
Great piece, Diane. I, for one, will be very interested in reading some follow-up to this!
Last year, my husband decided to build a dedicated MythTV box out of spare computer parts (he usually has the makings of a whole computer or two lying around if he looks hard enough). Setting up MythTV was not a trivial undertaking.
3 - Diane Kristine
Thanks Lisa and Jay! I'll definitely write more when I've settled on one of the ones I'm testing out. I took a look at Jay's MythTV link but it still seems pretty intimidating to get set up, so I have a feeling I'll trade money for convenience. I'll give it a try, but I'm using the BeyondTV trial right now and it's so easy ... it'll be hard to get motivated to fiddle a lot with the free versions.
4 - Lisa McKay
Diane, congratulations on being designated an editor's pick this week!
5 - Dan
Try Yahoo!Go its free! I have been using it for about 3 weeks, It still needs some work(its beta) but these are the guys behind Meedio and now Yahoo! I have a feeling this will become a excellent program soon.