Can't Record HD, Can Anyone Do Me a Favor? (1 Viewer)

[Brad_Mirak]

I just bought an HDTV, and I now get ESPN HD. As a K-State grad, I was thrilled to see that the KSU/Cal game on August 23rd will be broadcast in HD... except that I'll be at the game!

I would love to show off my new TV to my friends by inviting them over to re-watch the game in HDTV (if we win, of course), but here's the problem: I have no means of recording it!

I can't afford to shell out a bunch of money for an HD PVR, especially since I hear the ealiest models aren't that great. Likewise, I can't afford a D-VHS.

There is a site that rents the JVC D-VHS unit, but that unit only accepts firewire input, and the box my provider supplies only has component output.

Here's my question: Would anyone with the proper equipment be willing to record this game for me on a D-VHS? I'd pay for the cost of the tape and the shipping, but legally, I couldn't pay anything additional for the game or your services. Then, I could just rent a D-VHS player for a day to play the game.

Please let me know if you're interested, you'd be doing me a huge favor.

- Brad

**Also, I apologize if this type of thread is "unethical" for this board, but I read the forum rules very carefully, and I'm not suggesting anything illegal. Further, I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place, it's such a strange question I didn't know where it would best fit.**

 

[John Berggren]

I've been begging my cable provider for a firewire output, but they don't have any reason to provide me one.

 

[Hanson]

AFAIK, you can't record HD signals off of cable, only OTA (and some satellite depending on the modulation).

Hanson

 

[Brad_Mirak]

Actually, I beleive that HDCP (High-Def Copy Protection) only exists on DVI, not firewire. This is the biggest advantage of firewire, and why most of the industry hates it.

If someone has a tuner with firewire out, and a D-VHS with firewire in, they should be able to record HDTV broadcasts.

If there is any such savior out there looking to cut a poor (well, relatively poor, considering I could afford the TV!) schmo a break, let me know!

- Brad

 

[James Zubb]

Firewire has DTCP (5C) copy protection

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, and AFAIK it isn't actually in use. There are TVs and projectors with HDCP-capable DVI inputs, but there aren't any boxes that output it. Regardless, the only way I know to record satellite is to get a modified STB from 169time.com which costs a pretty penny, not including the DVHS recorder. They don't even have anything for all-in-one cable boxes yet, although they're saying they'll be glad to take a $1500 pre-order for it.

So, you're SOL to record ESPNHD. You could always get the MyHD card for your computer ($300). It can record--to the tune of 8+GB/hr--but it only accepts OTA signals. The good news is all Monday Night Football games will be in HD, and probably whatever local games you get if you're in a major market city.

 

[Don Black]

What HD PVR are you talking about?

 

[Brad_Mirak]

I was referring to the Zenith HDR 230. It only has 80GB storage, so-so interface, and some reliability issues. I know there are better ones out there, but nothing I can afford at this point in time.

- Brad

 

[Don Black]

Thanks for the info Brad. Would you mind listing the "better" ones that you've found too please? I'm looking into purchasing one and didn't realize they were available yet!

 

[Patrick Sun]

I've moved this from the TV area because it's totally veered into the PVR area, and PVR options.

 

[Stephen Tu]

Hanson Yoo:

Would you mind listing the "better" ones that you've found too please?

There are no HD PVRs other than the Zenith HDR230 on the market yet. The 230 is an OTA digital only device. Their 330 model due later this year supposedly also handles unscrambled QAM, so could record some HD channels off cable (but not HBO/Showtime type channels, which are usually scrambled, and ESPN would likely also be scrambled). The Motorola/SA boxes are better bets for cable HD recording.

For recording ESPNHD, the only people who are likely able to do it now are those with the 169time hacked DTC100 boxes and a D-VHS deck. Some people have integrated HDTVs that receive unscrambled QAM and can get ESPN that way have experimented with recording this but I haven't heard of success stories yet.