I am looking at buying a DVDR and getting a new PC or laptop and was told why not combine the $'s and get a really good laptop through my work as save the 30% in taxes/salary sacrifice etc .

What are other posters thoughts ?

is it relatively easy to do ?

anyone done this and find it successful or not ?

presume I will be able to d/l some programmes to be able to do this ,especially edit ?
be able to set it to record at times when at work etc ?

or forget about it and buy the 2 stand alone products ?

appreciate your thoughts/advice ?

I only use the PC for some occassional music d/l and just general web browsing so most of its memory
etc can be committed to the DVDR/PVR.

Cheers

Perhaps post in the Digital Tuner Cards forum some informed responses. I'd be thinking thast you'd have some overheating issues running a laptop continuously as a PVR (but that's just my uninformed thoughts )

That said, I'm making sure I get a digital tuner with my new laptop this week and, with Toast (it's a Mac) will be able to archive to DVD if I want pretty easily.

Not sure about my reception without plugging into the outside antenna though....

Kent

Well you can definitely buy a laptop and save some dollars, but I'd suggest it maybe a touch of false economy.

One of the drawbacks of HTPCs in general is that they invlove a fair bit of management to set up and they just aren't amazingly convienient. Almost any HTPC builder I suspect would recommend that its far better to have a standalone HTPC rather than one that is heavily involved in multiple tasks (and locations).

You don't really spell out how you expect t use this setup?

Is a TV involved or is it all on the PC screen?

Is it just as you travel around or at work or mostly for use back home?

Do you work odd hours? (Can't see why you'd want to record daytime TV while at work?)

Do you really want to burn lots of DVDs? Or do you want to record watch and delete?

What sort of TV do you own? Size? HD/SD? Model?

Do you live alone or would someone else want shows recorded/the PC to use?

Would you be adverse to the idea of a dedicated PVR that you can transfer shows to your PC? (Cost maybe $450)

If you can answer some of these Qs we might have a better idea of what you can do.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

Peter

Trust you to actually make an considered response!

What he typed!

Kent

I would still watch on my TV.

Mostly at home use

And why wouldnt I want to record something on during the day if it interests me ?

Would mostly delete things after watching, burn dvd anything I wanted to keep

Sony Trinitron CRT

Would be the only person using the laptop

Have seen Toshiba Qosmio G30 which is a digital tv and recorder etc but at $3,500 thats way expensive and was just thinking there must be a programme I can download similar to what is in a DVD recorder ie to set up time to record, edit etc but would watch on the TV. As looking for a DVD recorder and new PC or laptop it was suggested to me to combine both budgets into the one unit. I am not a technical person so if it means different plugs and cards and slots and cords etc then will forget it.
If it means plugging the Foxtel into the laptop or from the TV into the laptop and downloading a programme to help set timer etc then I can do that but when it comes to all these SCART/CART/FART cards and whatevers, I am totally lost.

So its starting to sound like I should just buy the 2 stand alone units ? would have been good having just the laptop as all in the one unit, could take it with me into any room to watch if just wanted to watch it on the laptops screen or watch on the
TV etc.

Cheers and thanks for advice.

Sounds a bit like you are after a Media Centre i.e. pc with XP MCE which includes a tuner and all the software.

Rob.

Too many variables for this forum, try the forums dedicated to HTPCs. However I can tell you, you will need a modern laptop with some additional hardware, such as an external tuner. Best to use a dedicated desktop PC, called an HTPC, in a non mobile situation, and pipe it around the house with your network.

So reasonably big bickies. You should make sure you cost a separate and combined option as its quite possible you could get a better laptop and a standalone recorder for less than an all in one package.

Any way your answers raised some thoughts.

Wouldn't suggest otherwise. I'm just wondering if you actually imagine you might do this more than once in the blue moon? If not then it one less requirement to try fill - more possible options. If it is an important requirement (Wife loves Bold & Beautiful for example) then that's another case.
You will only need a SD recording device for such a TV (or your PC monitor) that lowers cost a lot and provides some good options. DVDs can also only really be burnt to SD picture quality so that's also in line.
So maybe 1-2 shows a week burnt to DVD? In this case recording the file and then downloading it to a PC for burning might be a better option.Ok so this adds another fly in the ointment. Digital tuners can't record Foxtel, you can only use something with an analogue tuner (eg DVDR). You can buy digital tuner cards and analogue tuner cards for recording on a PC but when you're talking laptop then the options become a fair bit more limited I believe.

You can defiantly set up a media centre on a PC/Laptop and its called a HTPC. There's a dedicated branch in the forum for people going down that path. Something like the Vista/WinXP Media Centre allows you to set and watch recordings etc. So yes there are software packages you can buy to setup a media centre on a standard PC.

Basically the mobility of being able to view stuff anywhere is neat however it does mean the laptop pretty much has to be on and plugged in for recording 24/7. You also need a large harddrive for all that TV (4-7Gb per hour) which can bump a laptop cost. You also can't record Foxtel unless you are at home and the PC is connected to it.

Anyway all this is to say that you may be in for more headaches than you'd like making your work laptop your main entertainment centre. Possibly much better to get a simple setup for the laptop and experiment with recording stuff and burning it etc. but just as a side project. You sound a bit nontechy so I'd imagine spending hours tweaking drivers and sorting cables and updates might not be your cup of tea?

For your recording needs then I would suggest maybe get a Hybrid PVR. These have a SD digital input and a analogue input (for Foxtel) - they're about $600 I believe. Have a read of this PVR FAQ for some general info. A true twin tuner PVR like the Mediastar / Topfield 5000 can't record Foxtel but they can transfer via USB to a PC for burning.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

PVR FAQ: http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=36191

Hybrid Links: http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=41758

Is this thread of any interest to what you want to do?

In part:-
"While I agree that setting up and managing an HTPC can take time and on-going work, there is another option somewhere in between, that hardly ever gets mentioned. Using a dedicated PC to just capture the TV shows, edit them, and make them available back to the TV playback system."

It is true that a dedicated HTPC and/or Media Centre PC can be difficult to set up well and keep running.

Thank you everyone, sounds like I wont be going down that path. As Peter indicated not the techy type ! So Peter if I am
buying a DVD recorder ( looking at Panasonic EX75 or 85 ) which has digital tuner............does this mean will have problems recording Foxtel ? or have I just really shown you all I am really not the techy type

Again thanks, this saved hours/days/weeks of researching and all answered for me in a few hours.

Cheers

The Panasonic hybrids are well regarded.

Your standard DVDR has a single analogue tuner as well as analogue inputs (composite and SVideo mostly). So you can record for example standard analogue, the analogue output of a STB or the analogue output of a Foxtel box. The primary disadvantage of the last two of these is that you have to set the STB or Foxtel box to the channel you want to record and then start the recording.

The hybrids have a number of advantages. The main one being that the SD tuner is built in so you can set timers, watch/record SD TV without any hassle (its all integrated). The analogue input will have the Foxtel signal going into it as per the standard DVDR above. Being two tuners you can watch one and record the other or record both (and/or playback a previous recording)

Regards

Peter Gillespie

As others have said, you are probably better off getting a dedicated PVR and/or DVD recorder.

I have the Panasonic EH60 (forerunner to the current models) which I did use for recording Foxtel until I got the IQ box, and that is a much better solution, but more expensive.

If you already have a laptop, then you can get a cheap (under$100 - mine was $60 from local computer fair) digital USB tuner which will come with simple PVR type software for recording FTA digital TV. Not as good as a dedicated PVR, but a useful adjunct, very cheap, and handy if you are away from home. Biggest problem is getting a good enough signal as the small aerials which accompany the tuners are fairly ordinary.

I recently had a stay in hospital and watching TV on the laptop was far better than the stupid little 6" box provided by the hospital. Couldn't get all channels, but it served a purpose. Was also good for watching DVDs.