What's the easiest way to add recording capacity to our HD cable setting?

post #1 of 8

4/5/10 at 2:17pm

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Well, let me list out the equipments first:

HD Cable Box: Comcast RNG110
HD 52' LCD TV: Samsung LN52A
PS3 with 3.21 OS on it
a Vista Home Premium (media center) desktop with two video cards (for dual monitor) about 10 feet away.

I have an external hard drive which I tried connecting to the RNG 110 USB port to no avail. I am interested in how the PS3 and PC can serve as DVR in my setting, if not possible, please recommend a well-priced, good quality DVR unit.

Side question, do I need to pay comcast a monthly fee to have recording capacity?

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post #2 of 8

4/5/10 at 3:04pm

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You cannot add a hard drive to a Comcast set-top box. You can either rent a Comcast DVR for an extra $12.99/mo (added to cost of standard HD STB), or you can buy a Moxi or TiVo Premiere DVR.

The Moxi and TiVo Premiere use one M-CARD, the first of which is supplied by Comcast for free at the customer's request (so long as it is your "only" box). If you are adding a M-CARD and keeping another Comcast box, you may pay several dollars extra for it.

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post #3 of 8

4/5/10 at 7:24pm

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The Moxi DVR is selling for $300, that's a bit more than I imagine to spend. Is there a PC solution to this?

I also heard Comcast isn't exactly friendly to digital recording, is there another company (in DC area) that made it easy?

EDIT: Actually looking at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD, I do have a PCMIA TV tuner for my HP DV2000 laptop, looks like this: http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_im...9_tv_tuner.jpg I use it to watch OTA TV, is it the same as cablecard?

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post #4 of 8

4/5/10 at 7:37pm

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Quote:

Originally Posted by whohasaquestion

EDIT: Actually looking at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD, I do have a PCMIA TV tuner for my HP DV2000 laptop, looks like this: http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_im...9_tv_tuner.jpg I use it to watch OTA TV, is it the same as cablecard?

No.

It has a similar form factor, but a CableCard is a PCMCIA-sized device available exclusively from the cable company that provides the decryption method and access keys necessary to decrypt the programming that you pay for. Think of it as an access card that cable companies can program remotely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whohasaquestion

The Moxi DVR is selling for $300, that's a bit more than I imagine to spend. Is there a PC solution to this?

The Moxi is $499 at Moxi.com. Stolen cable company Moxis sold on ebay are doorstops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whohasaquestion

I also heard Comcast isn't exactly friendly to digital recording, is there another company (in DC area) that made it easy?

All cable companies encrypt their digital cable channels, hence the need to (a) rent a cable company DVR, (b) buy a CableCard-compatible DVR -- the Moxi from Moxi.com or the TiVo Premiere from Best Buy, or (c) buy a CableCard-compatible PC tuner -- the $399 Ceton -- for a Windows 7 PC.

If you only want to record HD local channels and don't care about other cable channels, then the SiliconDust HDHomerun is a good choice with Windows 7. Anything more than locals will require a CableCard-compatible product and a CableCard from Comcast.

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post #5 of 8

4/6/10 at 12:25am

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Thanks, bdftv.

Let me try to flip the question and assume that we install a TV tuner (thinking Visiontek TV Wonder HD 600 PCI Hybrid TV Tuner) will we then be able to watch cable channels on our PC? If so, the window media center should be able to record (I had no problem recording OTA program on my hp laptop), and getting from PC to the big LCD TV shouldn't be much of a hassle either. So instead of concentrating on a solution around TV, why not use PC's capability and transfer to the big screen? Do you see this as a viable solution?

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post #6 of 8

4/6/10 at 5:54am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by whohasaquestion

Thanks, bdftv.

Let me try to flip the question and assume that we install a TV tuner (thinking Visiontek TV Wonder HD 600 PCI Hybrid TV Tuner) will we then be able to watch cable channels on our PC? If so, the window media center should be able to record (I had no problem recording OTA program on my hp laptop), and getting from PC to the big LCD TV shouldn't be much of a hassle either. So instead of concentrating on a solution around TV, why not use PC's capability and transfer to the big screen? Do you see this as a viable solution?

If you are satisfied with HD local channels and public interest channels like CSPAN, then a solution like that will work. You may also receive some analog cable channels, but Comcast plans to eliminate those (moving them to encrypted digital, requiring a CableCard) later this year. I would suggest the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 in place of that card, however, as there appear to be various issues associated with the HD 600.

All other digital and HD channels (TNT, USA, AMC, FX, SyFy, CNN, etc) are encrypted and require a CableCard solution. Looking to the future, anything more than locals and public interest channels will require a CableCard solution.

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post #7 of 8

4/6/10 at 6:47am

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Bottom line is that HD recording of cable channels is going to cost you. Your OP initially indicated "easiest" way, but your subsequent posts indicate you are interested in "cheapest" way. In your case you might seriously consider renting the cable co DVR -- it's easy to acquire and use and the monthly outlay is small compared to the much higher lump sum you'll have to spend if you want to own the equipment.

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post #8 of 8

4/6/10 at 10:56am

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