Recording OTA broadcasts
We used to use VCR's to record Over The Air programming. Is there any low cost method of doing this with digital signals? I don't have satellite or cable and probably won't be getting either one. I...
Forum Discussion
az99 wrote:1492 wrote:Not criticizing your method but that is a lot of work to record and watch OTA HD programming on the TV. Isn't there a HD recorder that can record OTA in HD so you can watch directly back on the TV?
I use a combination of suggestions posted to record OTA TV programs. I basically split the antenna signal, one of which is connected to a recycled Channel Master DTV converter I picked up from Goodwill for $13. It has an s-video output to my old DVD recorder's input. Then output from the DVD via component to my HDTV LCD. So can still watch programs in HD, even a different channel, while recording to a standard rewritable DVD.
I also have a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR USB stick with remote, also found at Goodwill for $8, connected to my PC which will record pristine 1080p HD OTA programming. Can either transfer the HD file to a USB stick for playback on my BluRay player, or make a separate BluRay disc on a standard DVD ~ 1 hour using 1440 x 1080i HD resolution. Basically, to limit data rates to 8Mbps. The only issue is that the conversion time to a BluRay compatible DVD is about 2.5-3x real time on a quad-core PC.
I was recording on the computer but that became more of a PITA to do than the quality of the shows were worth.:)
Not really if you already have a BluRay player that can either playback compatible HD video files from USB stick, or WiFi enabled to stream from a PC. Making a BlueRay disc does take time, and only for those programs worth keeping. But if you have an old PC that you are no longer using, you can convert it fairly inexpensively to a dedicated HD DVR. Must have a powerful enough processor and adequate hard drive space.
I find that most OTA programs I want to watch don't need to be recorded in HD, nor did I want to discard my DVD Recorder just because the technology changed. Use it mostly for time shifting, and for viewing a program only once. BTW, I did switch from using component to HDMI output from the DVD recorder, so the recorded 480i DVD is upscaled to 1080p on my LCD HDTV.
