Options for recording HDTV? (1 Viewer)

[John Morris]

As more and more prime time and sports are broadcast in HDTV, I find myself having to make the decision of what I watch live, based only on which show will look better, since I can only time shift at NTSC resolution with my SVHS or ReplayTV units. I would love to buy something that would allow me to record and play back HDTV programs at HDTV quality. Is DVHS our only currently available option for recording 1080i widescreen with DD sound?

 

[Chris White]

Merc, IMO, the best option for recording high definition material today is the htpc route. I'm currently building an htpc for that very purpose. Of course, it's only good for receiving and recording OTA material.

 

[John Morris]

Chris: OTA is all I want. But, will it allow me to watch one HD show while I record another HD show, or does my STB need to be set to the channel I am recording? I guess an easier question to ask is: Does the HTPC use an ATSC tuner or does it depend on the one in the STB? Is there a site which outlines what you need to put together an HTPC for use as a HD PVR?

 

[Robert_J]

Is there a site which outlines what you need to put together an HTPC

AVS Forum HTPC section.
-Robert

 

[Chris White]

But, will it allow me to watch one HD show while I record another HD show, or does my STB need to be set to the channel I am recording? I guess an easier question to ask is: Does the HTPC use an ATSC tuner or does it depend on the one in the STB?
The htpc uses a card that is a combination receiver/recorder. The most commonly purchased cards are AccessDTV, HiPix, and Hauppage. None of these cards allow you to watch one HD show while recording another. To do that, you would need to install two cards, which I believe some folks have done successfully. The AccessDTV card will allow you to pause live tv.
I certainly concur with Robert that AVForum is the place to go to learn about htpc.

 

[Michael Knieriemen]

The Feb/March 2002 "Sound & Vision" mag. on page 50 reviews the Mitsubishi FireWire connected digitial VCR.

It's the HS-HD200U $1499.