makezine.com— Ever had the urge to build your own TiVo box? Here is how to do it. Instructions on how to build a better DVR out of an old PC.
Jan 16, 2006View in Crawl 4
If you going to pay for DVR software SageTV <a class="user" href="http://www.sagetv.com/">http://www.sagetv.com/</a> is better than BeyondTV IMO. I have it set up to transcode my shows to mp4 and automatically throw them into iTunes for iPod viewing enjoyment.
vypergts: "Believe it or not but you can buy a TiVo and not pay the monthly fee and it still works."I thought TiVo had gone to service agreements back in Sept., like a cell phone carrier. Not that I'm complaining... a TiVo with the lifetime service is gold, baby! As for saving money on the DIY, sure you'll save money and have some great pride in ownership. However, I paid for the TiVo interface and the fact that it took me less than a half hour (mostly downloading guide data) to have it working.master_of_fm: "they arent that quiet, espcially when the hard drives get old and start to crankand whine."My Series 2 is dead quiet. If it weren't for the green on light, I'd think it was busted. Yeah, it's that quiet.I'd say, personally, that buying a used Series 2 with paid lifetime service off of eBay is the cheapest, easiest way to get a PVR. Windows MCE is pretty slick. I'd say it's probably the nicest interface that Microsoft ever developed prior to the XBox 360. The DIY PVR's are great, but require far too much front-end work and maintenance to rely on for home theater use. They're super geeky cool, but just too complicated for most users.
sys9five (0) said: well I have no tivo monthly charge because I have directv :Dto which I replied:Uh, how is that? I have directv with a dual tuner series 2 receiver and there's a tivo monthly charge on my directv bill. how'd you get out of paying it?
Geez. Ok, benlevon, you have only been a member since yesterday and you have been a real pain in at least 3 threads on here. Quit being a newb and let the big people talk.
I am building a DVR out of my old desktop. I have a copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 so I'm just using that for the DVR functionality. It's only costing me a little over $200 to upgrade the box to have a tv tuner card, new video card that has s-video out and a 250GB hard drive.Take that TiVo!
navinjohnsonJan 16, 2006
If you going to pay for DVR software SageTV <a class="user" href="http://www.sagetv.com/">http://www.sagetv.com/</a> is better than BeyondTV IMO. I have it set up to transcode my shows to mp4 and automatically throw them into iTunes for iPod viewing enjoyment.
super_structureJan 16, 2006
vypergts: "Believe it or not but you can buy a TiVo and not pay the monthly fee and it still works."I thought TiVo had gone to service agreements back in Sept., like a cell phone carrier. Not that I'm complaining... a TiVo with the lifetime service is gold, baby! As for saving money on the DIY, sure you'll save money and have some great pride in ownership. However, I paid for the TiVo interface and the fact that it took me less than a half hour (mostly downloading guide data) to have it working.master_of_fm: "they arent that quiet, espcially when the hard drives get old and start to crankand whine."My Series 2 is dead quiet. If it weren't for the green on light, I'd think it was busted. Yeah, it's that quiet.I'd say, personally, that buying a used Series 2 with paid lifetime service off of eBay is the cheapest, easiest way to get a PVR. Windows MCE is pretty slick. I'd say it's probably the nicest interface that Microsoft ever developed prior to the XBox 360. The DIY PVR's are great, but require far too much front-end work and maintenance to rely on for home theater use. They're super geeky cool, but just too complicated for most users.
sacrifusionJan 16, 2006
Double Dupe!<a class="user" href="http://www.digg.com/technology/Free_TiVo:_Build_a_Better_DVR_out_of_an_Old_PC_2">http://www.digg.com/technology/Free_TiVo:_Build_a_Better_DVR_out_of_an_Old_PC_2</a><a class="user" href="http://www.digg.com/technology/Free_TiVo:_Build_a_Better_DVR_out_of_an_Old_PC">http://www.digg.com/technology/Free_TiVo:_Build_a_Better_DVR_out_of_an_Old_PC</a>Not only is this old news but this exact same story have been Main Paged 3 times now. Try doing a little research.
kyoteJan 16, 2006
sys9five (0) said: well I have no tivo monthly charge because I have directv :Dto which I replied:Uh, how is that? I have directv with a dual tuner series 2 receiver and there's a tivo monthly charge on my directv bill. how'd you get out of paying it?
sacrifusionJan 16, 2006
Geez. Ok, benlevon, you have only been a member since yesterday and you have been a real pain in at least 3 threads on here. Quit being a newb and let the big people talk.
cerberus047Jan 16, 2006
ive already got one its called bittorrent...
jk_baller23Jan 16, 2006
too much to read. Also, how much are you actually saving rather than buying an actual TiVo box?
cell_gfxJan 16, 2006
"Old as the hills" should be an additional option : check the date of the article - April 25, 2005. Nice. Badger's arse.
nullmindJan 17, 2006
Just use MythTV.
crpietschmannAug 17, 2006
I am building a DVR out of my old desktop. I have a copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 so I'm just using that for the DVR functionality. It's only costing me a little over $200 to upgrade the box to have a tv tuner card, new video card that has s-video out and a 250GB hard drive.Take that TiVo!
crpietschmannAug 17, 2006
And Windows Media Center Edition 2005 doesn't make you pay a monthly fee to get the TV listings data. ha...