RCCrawler Forums

Jeckler · 12-14-2006, 09:10 PM

Has anyone else built their own PVR/Freevo/BeyondTV/SageTV/GBPVR box?

I bought a Hauppauge PVR150 and Media MVP running GB-PVR and got it set up tonight. It's sweet. Record a show, listen to net music, watch a slideshow. Then watch a video while another show is recording. Or watch live TV. On my TV. Better than Tivo. Mainly because there's no monthly fees.

mudplower · 12-14-2006, 09:14 PM

Do what?

S-Dog · 12-14-2006, 09:15 PM

I run a windows media center in my bedroom with 2 happauge 150's I can record 2 shows while watching a 3rd and have full access to my video file server. Also I use a program called orb and can watch any show I have recorded anywhere in the world(as ling as there is high speed internet)

BUBBA069 · 12-15-2006, 06:09 AM

I'm working on build an HTPC running Ubuntu Linux and mythTV, so when its done it will be a an opensource TiVO.

http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures

Also if you have DSL or cable internet you can get a sling box and watch whats on you pc or phone from anywhere. So if your on vacation and want to watch a show and can't wait to get home or get it where your at, just dial in watch.

http://us.slingmedia.com/page/home

S-Dog · 12-15-2006, 06:15 AM

Orb does the same thing and its free.

Jeckler · 12-15-2006, 06:49 AM

I don't currently have an extra PC, so put the 150 in my wife's computer.

I thought about doing a Linux box in the future, but have heard that MythTV can be a royal pain to set up, especially if you don't have any Linux experience. But with this one working, I can spend some more time figuring it out. Will I? Maybe, probably not. But I will probably build another Windows box, as the PC it's in right now is in our bedroom, and the wife hates to leave it on all night (noise, lights).

We were messing around with it last night. Total setup time was less than 20 minutes. Woulda been less if I hadn't installed the Hauppauge apps, and went straight to GBPVR. I spent more time running back and forth getting the screen centered on the MVP than I did installing it. My WAP is on top of the entertainment cetner in the living room, so Ethernet was right there.
The first thing my wife asked me this morning was how to setup a recording schedule that would record the entire season of The View.

I also showed her how she can pause live TV so the kids will eat breakfast, then they can go back to watching Curious George without missing anything. Silly monkey.

I think I saw a plugin that will do something similar to a Sling. S-Dog, is Orb a separate app specifically for this function, or is it its own PVR?

S-Dog · 12-15-2006, 06:52 AM

Orb is an app that runs on windows..... you can then go to the orb website and login...you then have access you all of your recordings.. with my media center I can also watch live tv and schedule recordings... Its pretty pimp!!

Cloak · 12-15-2006, 07:23 AM

I used to do the same with my old Hauppauge card (pronounced hop-hog btw) and mythtv. It is really cool.

payableondeath6 · 12-15-2006, 08:07 AM

I've got an extra desktop lying around and we're just getting cable hooked up at our new house...but I'm a total newb when it comes to the PVR stuff, can anyone point me in the write direction of what I'd need to buy, maybe some links or a list? Thanks, that would be awesome, I'd love to have a PVR

S-Dog · 12-15-2006, 08:11 AM

My original PVR was a custom built PC that I put an OEM version of Windows media center....It costs abotu 120 bucks...The nice thing about using media center is the ability to use a decent remote and also an IR keyboard. I just upgraded to a prebuilt media center... I have 450gb of storage and can hold about 200hrs of programming... In addition to that I have 600gb on my file server with videos I can pull off the network.

payableondeath6 · 12-15-2006, 08:32 AM

if my pc already has a video card with a tv output can i just purchase something like this: http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0213370
and then hook my speakers into the computer and it'll be like a Tivo kinda deal? I'm really clueless on this stuff, and when I saw the thread titled DIY PVR I thought it was going to actually show how to DIY.

S-Dog · 12-15-2006, 08:34 AM

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/produ...ta_pvr150.html

I run 2 of these... GREAT success!!!

payableondeath6 · 12-15-2006, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S-Dog

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/produ...ta_pvr150.html

I run 2 of these... GREAT success!!!

So if I were to buy one of those I can just install it in the computer and then run the cable back out to the TV? Would the picture quality be the same on the TV? Any other software or parts I'd need? Just seems too easy. And this would allow me to schedule shows off my cable?

S-Dog · 12-15-2006, 09:37 AM

Essentially yes. I use windows media center, so I am not sure how well the programs work on the hauppauge CD.. Media Center works flawlessly..

payableondeath6 · 12-15-2006, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S-Dog

Essentially yes. I use windows media center, so I am not sure how well the programs work on the hauppauge CD.. Media Center works flawlessly..

I just have XP. Looking at NewEgg.com there seem to be a lot of complaints on the bundled software, would I be better off with something else? At least now that I know what I'm looking for I can do a little searching. Thanks

Jeckler · 12-15-2006, 10:13 AM

Media Center is completely unneccesary. Remote and IR capabilities are built in on the Hauppauge PVR 150. It comes with its own TV application, called WinTV2000. That's all you need in order to view TV, ON YOUR PC. In order to get it out to the TV, there's a couple of different ways to do it. If the TV and PC are reasonable close to each other, get a video card with TV or (better) S-video out. If the TV and PC are in separate rooms, like me, then you can get a Media MVP and use it as a media extender.
That's where GBPVR comes in. GBPVR, and BeyondTV can both use the MVP as a thin client and you'll be able to do just about everything you do on the PC, on the TV instead. I think someone's done it with MythTV too but I'm not sure.
You need either ethernet running to the TV, or Hauppauge now makes a wireless version of the MVP, but, IMO, is insanely expensive.
GBPVR is not necessary unless you want to be ablew to watch live TV over the MVP.
If you have a CompUSA nearby, you can get a PVR150 for $40 after rebate.
Also, on buy.com you can get the MediaMVP for either $71 using Google checkout, or $61 if you apply for and are approved for a buy.com credit card. Those expire today or tomorrow.
GBPVR is free, and can be obtained from http://www.gbpvr.com

Lot's of info there for the software, and http://www.byopvr.com for general info.
I've never done anything like this before, but am a PC geek. It's very easy to set up. Tweaking it for your needs is what takes time.

Here's the article to do what I did.
http://byopvr.com/Sections+index-req...10-page-1.html

payableondeath6 · 12-15-2006, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeckler

Media Center is completely unneccesary. Remote and IR capabilities are built in on the Hauppauge PVR 150. It comes with its own TV application, called WinTV2000. That's all you need in order to view TV, ON YOUR PC. In order to get it out to the TV, there's a couple of different ways to do it. If the TV and PC are reasonable close to each other, get a video card with TV or (better) S-video out.

My TV and the PC would be close (I'd just put the pc in the entertainment center) and I've got a video card that has a tv output. So if I bought the PVR card I'd just be able to run the cable to the PVR card then run from the video card to the TV? Would the bundled software be enough for all the PVR functionality and to handle this kind of setup? How would the picture be on my 32" CRT TV?

Jeckler · 12-15-2006, 11:57 AM

That's all you would need.

And, you can use GBPVR anyway. It's a much nicer looking application IMO.

badger · 12-15-2006, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeckler

Better than Tivo. Mainly because there's no monthly fees.

I have set a couple of them up and it is far from being better then Tivo. And how much do you pay for Tivo fees? I pay only $5 a month for Tivo fees with 6 Tivo's on my account, because I have the integrated Tivo/DirectTv receivers.

payableondeath6 · 12-15-2006, 12:10 PM

awesome!! any opinion on how the picture would be?

the computer i'm putting it on has either a burnt up MB or power supply. if it's the MB it might be time to upgrade the 1.8ghz Celeron at the same time. it's got 1.5gb ram and a 256mb video card as well. what kind of processor would you recommend? keep in mind i'm trying to keep this cheap, but i know you can find a little faster processor/MB bundle that would work with my existing ram and video card for fairly cheap. all in all if i could do everything (PVR card & repairs/upgrades) for $200 or less i'd be happy.

12-14-2006, 09:10 PM	#1
Jeckler Rock Crawler Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Round Rock, TX Posts: 597	Diy Pvr Has anyone else built their own PVR/Freevo/BeyondTV/SageTV/GBPVR box? I bought a Hauppauge PVR150 and Media MVP running GB-PVR and got it set up tonight. It's sweet. Record a show, listen to net music, watch a slideshow. Then watch a video while another show is recording. Or watch live TV. On my TV. Better than Tivo. Mainly because there's no monthly fees.

12-15-2006, 06:09 AM	#4
BUBBA069 Pebble Pounder Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: st. louis Posts: 115	I'm working on build an HTPC running Ubuntu Linux and mythTV, so when its done it will be a an opensource TiVO. http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures Also if you have DSL or cable internet you can get a sling box and watch whats on you pc or phone from anywhere. So if your on vacation and want to watch a show and can't wait to get home or get it where your at, just dial in watch. http://us.slingmedia.com/page/home Last edited by BUBBA069; 12-15-2006 at 06:14 AM.

12-15-2006, 10:13 AM	#16
Jeckler Rock Crawler Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Round Rock, TX Posts: 597	Media Center is completely unneccesary. Remote and IR capabilities are built in on the Hauppauge PVR 150. It comes with its own TV application, called WinTV2000. That's all you need in order to view TV, ON YOUR PC. In order to get it out to the TV, there's a couple of different ways to do it. If the TV and PC are reasonable close to each other, get a video card with TV or (better) S-video out. If the TV and PC are in separate rooms, like me, then you can get a Media MVP and use it as a media extender. That's where GBPVR comes in. GBPVR, and BeyondTV can both use the MVP as a thin client and you'll be able to do just about everything you do on the PC, on the TV instead. I think someone's done it with MythTV too but I'm not sure. You need either ethernet running to the TV, or Hauppauge now makes a wireless version of the MVP, but, IMO, is insanely expensive. GBPVR is not necessary unless you want to be ablew to watch live TV over the MVP. If you have a CompUSA nearby, you can get a PVR150 for $40 after rebate. Also, on buy.com you can get the MediaMVP for either $71 using Google checkout, or $61 if you apply for and are approved for a buy.com credit card. Those expire today or tomorrow. GBPVR is free, and can be obtained from http://www.gbpvr.com Lot's of info there for the software, and http://www.byopvr.com for general info. I've never done anything like this before, but am a PC geek. It's very easy to set up. Tweaking it for your needs is what takes time. Here's the article to do what I did. http://byopvr.com/Sections+index-req...10-page-1.html Last edited by Jeckler; 12-15-2006 at 10:20 AM.

12-14-2006, 09:14 PM	#2
mudplower Pebble Pounder Join Date: May 2006 Location: Willmar Posts: 139	Do what?

12-14-2006, 09:15 PM	#3
S-Dog Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Burrillville, RI Posts: 778	I run a windows media center in my bedroom with 2 happauge 150's I can record 2 shows while watching a 3rd and have full access to my video file server. Also I use a program called orb and can watch any show I have recorded anywhere in the world(as ling as there is high speed internet)

12-15-2006, 06:15 AM	#5
S-Dog Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Burrillville, RI Posts: 778	Orb does the same thing and its free.

12-15-2006, 06:49 AM	#6
Jeckler Rock Crawler Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Round Rock, TX Posts: 597	I don't currently have an extra PC, so put the 150 in my wife's computer. I thought about doing a Linux box in the future, but have heard that MythTV can be a royal pain to set up, especially if you don't have any Linux experience. But with this one working, I can spend some more time figuring it out. Will I? Maybe, probably not. But I will probably build another Windows box, as the PC it's in right now is in our bedroom, and the wife hates to leave it on all night (noise, lights). We were messing around with it last night. Total setup time was less than 20 minutes. Woulda been less if I hadn't installed the Hauppauge apps, and went straight to GBPVR. I spent more time running back and forth getting the screen centered on the MVP than I did installing it. My WAP is on top of the entertainment cetner in the living room, so Ethernet was right there. The first thing my wife asked me this morning was how to setup a recording schedule that would record the entire season of The View. I also showed her how she can pause live TV so the kids will eat breakfast, then they can go back to watching Curious George without missing anything. Silly monkey. I think I saw a plugin that will do something similar to a Sling. S-Dog, is Orb a separate app specifically for this function, or is it its own PVR?

12-15-2006, 06:52 AM	#7
S-Dog Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Burrillville, RI Posts: 778	Orb is an app that runs on windows..... you can then go to the orb website and login...you then have access you all of your recordings.. with my media center I can also watch live tv and schedule recordings... Its pretty pimp!!

12-15-2006, 07:23 AM	#8
Cloak I wanna be Dave Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 2,206	I used to do the same with my old Hauppauge card (pronounced hop-hog btw) and mythtv. It is really cool.

12-15-2006, 08:07 AM	#9
payableondeath6 Pebble Pounder Join Date: May 2006 Location: Charleston Posts: 104	I've got an extra desktop lying around and we're just getting cable hooked up at our new house...but I'm a total newb when it comes to the PVR stuff, can anyone point me in the write direction of what I'd need to buy, maybe some links or a list? Thanks, that would be awesome, I'd love to have a PVR

12-15-2006, 08:11 AM	#10
S-Dog Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Burrillville, RI Posts: 778	My original PVR was a custom built PC that I put an OEM version of Windows media center....It costs abotu 120 bucks...The nice thing about using media center is the ability to use a decent remote and also an IR keyboard. I just upgraded to a prebuilt media center... I have 450gb of storage and can hold about 200hrs of programming... In addition to that I have 600gb on my file server with videos I can pull off the network.

12-15-2006, 08:32 AM	#11
payableondeath6 Pebble Pounder Join Date: May 2006 Location: Charleston Posts: 104	if my pc already has a video card with a tv output can i just purchase something like this: http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0213370 and then hook my speakers into the computer and it'll be like a Tivo kinda deal? I'm really clueless on this stuff, and when I saw the thread titled DIY PVR I thought it was going to actually show how to DIY.

12-15-2006, 08:34 AM	#12
S-Dog Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Burrillville, RI Posts: 778	http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/produ...ta_pvr150.html I run 2 of these... GREAT success!!!

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12-15-2006, 09:37 AM	#14
S-Dog Rock Crawler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Burrillville, RI Posts: 778	Essentially yes. I use windows media center, so I am not sure how well the programs work on the hauppauge CD.. Media Center works flawlessly..

12-15-2006, 11:57 AM	#18
Jeckler Rock Crawler Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Round Rock, TX Posts: 597	That's all you would need. And, you can use GBPVR anyway. It's a much nicer looking application IMO.

12-15-2006, 12:10 PM	#20
payableondeath6 Pebble Pounder Join Date: May 2006 Location: Charleston Posts: 104	awesome!! any opinion on how the picture would be? the computer i'm putting it on has either a burnt up MB or power supply. if it's the MB it might be time to upgrade the 1.8ghz Celeron at the same time. it's got 1.5gb ram and a 256mb video card as well. what kind of processor would you recommend? keep in mind i'm trying to keep this cheap, but i know you can find a little faster processor/MB bundle that would work with my existing ram and video card for fairly cheap. all in all if i could do everything (PVR card & repairs/upgrades) for $200 or less i'd be happy.

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