Dennis
02-16-2011, 01:14 PM
I'm trying to pry my wife away from cable TV. I just can't see paying for all those cable channels we never watch. Those that we do want to see can be solved by Hulu.com and Netflix - which we can stream thru our kids' Wii right now. We tend to watch the broadcast networks almost exclusively, which we can pick up for free with an antenna - and they're ALL in HD. Her big sticking point now is losing the Bright House DVR. She wants to be able to record and playback TV shows at her convenience. The old VCR won't do.
So I'm looking at using one of our computers as a PVR. Right now, rather than get into any sort of major investment, I just want to show her that it would work off broadcast TV (OTA). So I'm looking to do it on the cheap.
We have 2 Toshiba A205 Satellite laptops with Windows Vista Home Premium with the Service Pack 2. No Windows Media Center (seems to come only with Windows 7). I'm looking at using one of the TV tuner sticks that plugs into a USB port. I'm not worried about memory capacity at this point - as I said, it's a proof of concept for my wife at this point - later on I'll add an external hard drive later if it works.
So what TV tuner stick should I use? I already have a "Stealth Hawk" antenna (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=123803) that pulls in everything that TV Guide says I should be getting, so I don't need an antenna or coaxial cable included. And is there freeware that will do what the Windows Media Center will? Again, it's "proof of concept" for the wife, so ease of recording and playback is vital.
So I'm looking at using one of our computers as a PVR. Right now, rather than get into any sort of major investment, I just want to show her that it would work off broadcast TV (OTA). So I'm looking to do it on the cheap.
We have 2 Toshiba A205 Satellite laptops with Windows Vista Home Premium with the Service Pack 2. No Windows Media Center (seems to come only with Windows 7). I'm looking at using one of the TV tuner sticks that plugs into a USB port. I'm not worried about memory capacity at this point - as I said, it's a proof of concept for my wife at this point - later on I'll add an external hard drive later if it works.
So what TV tuner stick should I use? I already have a "Stealth Hawk" antenna (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=123803) that pulls in everything that TV Guide says I should be getting, so I don't need an antenna or coaxial cable included. And is there freeware that will do what the Windows Media Center will? Again, it's "proof of concept" for the wife, so ease of recording and playback is vital.