Converstion kit for a DIY DVR

[colofan]

Has anyone seen a kit that one could take a older PC and convert into a TiVO like box? It seems that all one would need is a satellite receiver on a card (maybe two) a card access reader for the D* card to make it a valid receiver.

I would like to be able to have a faster box and receive HD and not pay $1000 for a single purpose box...especially since I have many Pentium 3 boxes laying around.

 

[riggscm]

colofan, I'm certain you'd need a DTV receiver to do the signal decode, but you can use a good video capture card to grab the output.

Usually ATI cards ship with software that will work like a Tivo

 

[colofan]

The only downside is when I want to change channels then I have to figure some remote access way to do so with an outboard receiver. Basically if they had a PCI card with the receiver so I could have program controls similar to the Tivo except with a more powerful computer and memory to enhance the capabilities of the machine. I have been tracking all these HTPC but none of them have satellite receiving capability. I mean even a stand alone receiver with usb connection could work to for controls. If the concern is the signal would be digital data just provide analog video out from this unit.......maybe I am just dreaming

 

[riggscm]

We could mod your PC and DirecTV Receiver.

Seriously... if you took the case off of the direct receiver, fashioned a mounting plate for the circuit board to mount inside your PC case, then routed the IR receiver to the front or top of the case, then routed the coax feed to a expansion plate and finally route the video/audio outputs to your video and audio in... well then its done. oh Hell yeah!!

You'd want to use a decent size form factor case, no less then a mid-tower I think, but then again if you arent using any expansion cards in your slots (PCI and AGP) then you can get away with a skinnier case.

 

[Bear]

An easier solution would be to look into www.sage.tv and a PVR-250 tuner/capture card.

 

[riggscm]

well that Could work but you still have the problem of decoding the D* signal. my solution puts it all in one box, albeit a tad involved