Quote:
Originally Posted by
lovinthehd 
I've never had the DirecTV screensaver come on, on several different boxes, except when I walk away in pause mode, never while I'm watching something, what exactly are you doing when it comes on? Just watching and have the dvr recording? How do you archive to BD-R?
Thanks for the question. I record using the DVR in my bedroom because of easier access. Recently when attempting to record HD video to my PC via the component outputs on the Hauppauge HD PVR the DirecTV screensaver has been coming on while the recording is occurring. I don't know if it is occurring when I record directly to the DirecTV DVR, but I haven't seen that occur yet. But it does take longer to internally record to the DVR and then have to record again to your PC.
With the Hauppauge HD PVR you can record HD to your PC's hard drive via the component outputs of your DirecTV DVR. The Hauppauge HD PVR comes with software to enable the recording. It also comes with software, albeit not too user friendly, to burn the HD recordings to DVD-R or DVD+R (you can record longer video using DVD+R DL or DVD-R DL). DVD-R and DVD+R are known as BD5 and the double layer is known as BD9. The Hauppauge HDR also lets you record in 5.1 Dolby Digital by using the optical output of your DirecTV DVR. The DirecTV receiver is connected first to the Hauppauge HD DVR and then via a USB cable from the Hauppauge HD DVR to your PC.
These are AVCHD recordings and will play back in your Blu-Ray player; e.g., Sony PS3, in HD, although the resolution is capped at 13.5 Mbps (although I have seen it higher in my recordings; the level of resolution changes from scene to scene in your recordings). Most camcorders record in AVCHD and limit your resolution to 18 Mbps if burning to DVD. To achieve greater resolution, you need to burn to Blu-Ray; e.g., BD-R or BD-RE. These give you the capability of burning at least 2.5 hours of the highest HD quality (or 5 hours with double layer). With DVD DL you are limited to about 75-80 minutes of HD at 13.5 Mbps.
The software that comes with the Hauppauge HD DVR makes editing difficult, and any edit can only be burned to a DVD-R or DV+R. You cannot burn to BD-R. However, by purchasing software such TMPGEnc Authoring Works 5 you can easily edit the recordings at the single frame level and burn to BD-R. Plus the edited file is saved to your PC's hard drive (with the included Hauppauge software any edited file is not saved to your PC's hard drive). So you can record a three-hour show such as the Grammys and by editing the commercials the entire program can fit easily onto a single BD-R, which can now be purchased for about one dollar a disk.
What is really cool is that with Windows Media Center and the Hauppauge external TV tuner (WinTV-HVR-1950) you can record over-the-air ATSC signals (HD signals) to your PC, and via using the TMPGEnc Authoring Works 5 software you can burn these recordings from your PC to either DVD or BD-R. And the quality here is better than the Hauppauge HD DVR. I have seen recordings as high as 25 Mbs. And it records in Dolby Digital 5.1
