Handyman Saturday - Build your own Tivo on the cheap
Tivo and other commercial DVRs have some great functionality. But Tivo, and some of the DVRs offered by cable or satellite companies have a monthly fee, require phone lines, and have limited configurability.
But a mediaPC can perform the same functionality, and you don’t have to spend a fortune on Windows Vista or Media Center operating system to do it.
Friend Thomas (as my son calls him, to differentiate from train Thomas) helped me set one up this weekend. I bought his Dell Dimension 3000 with an 80GB hard drive, a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 150 with remote control, IR Blaster and NTSC tuner, and a Radeon video card with TV out. Total hardware was about $300. If you already have the PC, you just need a large harddrive- 50-100 Gig is good; the TV-PVR 150 should cost around $50-$80 online - check eBay; and a TV-out enabled video card is available from Newegg.com for around $50 also.
The real workhorse of this setup is a program called SageTV. It has a 15-day free trial, so you can see if you like it, and willing to pay the $80 for a full license. Otherwise, look into ChrisTV-PVR or MythTV (which runs on linux). But SageTV is so easy to set-up and operate, it’s worth the money. My primary goal was that the media PC would behave like Tivo for my wife. No computer tweaking, all large buttons - clearly labeled:
The really cool thing about this being a PC and not Tivo or a commercial DVR is that it can access YouTube and Google videos, all of my music, personal photos and videos, and the local weather, all through the SageTV interface. With the addition of a wireless keyboard and mouse, a media PC can even let you browse the web from your couch (if you don’t already have a laptop for that purpose).
Having the ability to record and pause TV is great for parents. We don’t have to miss a vital part of Heroes and can rewind to hear what Dr. Suresh said when a childlike shriek drowns out sound. It also means my wife can sleep, but still gets to see the shows that come on after prime-time, and I am getting to watch Sci-Fi and Discovery channel offerings that come on during the middle of the day.
My son loves it because, though Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder are no longer aired on TV in our area, there are several episodes on YouTube or Google video.
If you like to tinker with computers, or knows someone that can help you, the Media PC with SageTV installed can be a great tool to enjoy television and music on your own terms. And if you have questions, let me know. If I don’t have the answer, I can ask Friend Thomas…
…and yes, this post was RetCon’d into Saturday. I was up until 1:30am Saturday night setting up favorite shows for it to record.