hdtv dvr tuner
Easy Dvr Recording With Analog, Digital, or Satellite Television
Television and video are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, but differ in their technical meaning. Video is the visual portion of television, whereas television is the combination of video and audio modulated onto a carrier frequency (i.e., a television channel), so that the signal can be delivered to the receiver (TV or computer/PVR with a TV tuner). The DVR resolutions differ from the way in which a video is recorded.
Analog television
Analog television in NTSC, PAL or SECAM formats, analog cable, or regular VHS tapes use a signal that is fed directly to the electron beam within the television set. There are a number of details on how this is done, but in essence each line in each frame corresponds to a specific fraction of time within the signal.
To record an analog signal a few steps are required. A TV tuner card tunes into a particular frequency and then functions as a frame grabber, breaking the lines into individual pixels and quantizing them into a format that a computer can comprehend. Then the series of frames along with the audio (also sampled and quantized) are compressed into a manageable format, like MPEG-2, or WMF, usually in software. Some TV tuner cards like the DVR-250/350 or the TiVo chip deliver an MPEG-2 or other compressed stream directly to the computer, performing both the frame grabbing and compression in hardware. This greatly reduces the load on the CPU allowing an overall cheaper implementation.
Digital television
Digital television contains audio/visual signals that are broadcast over the air in a digital rather than analog format. Recording digital TV is generally a straightforward capture of the binary MPEG-2 data being received. No expensive hardware is required to quantize and compress the signal (as the television broadcaster has already done this in the studio). The MythTV DVR supports both international DVB signals and American ATSC signals while the TiVo Series 3 supports only the ATSC signals. In the U.S., the FCC attempted to place a road-block before digital DVRs with its "Broadcast flag" regulation. Digital video recorders which had not won prior approval from the FCC for implementing "effective" digital rights management would have been banned from interstate commerce as of July 2005. The regulation was struck down on May 6, 2005.
DVD-based PVRs available on the market as of 2006 are not capable of capturing the full range of the visual signal available with high definition television (HDTV). This is largely because HDTV standards were finalized at a later time than the standards for DVDs. However, DVD-based PVRs can still be used (albeit at reduced visual quality) with HDTV since currently available HDTV sets also have standard A/V connections.
Satellite or digital cable
Recording satellite or digital cable signals on a digital video recorder is more complex than recording analog signals or broadcast digital signals. This is so because the MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 stream is usually encrypted to prevent people from viewing the content without paying for it (usually via subscription).
The satellite or cable set-top box does two things. First, it decrypts the signal. Second, it decodes the MPEG stream into an analog, DVI, or HDMI signal for viewing on the television. In order to record cable/satellite digital signals you must get the signal after it is decrypted, but before it is decoded (between steps one and two); this is how DVRs built into set-top boxes work.
About the Author
Written by David Johnson. Find the latest in Dish Network as well as Dish Network Satellite
 |
Kworld HDmi Dvi VGA Qam/atsc External Digital Tv Tuner Box Hdtv List Price: $89.65 Sale Price: $89.65 Used From: $89.00  |
|
KWorld KW-SA295-Q DE External ATSC/QAM TVBox HDMI Edition |
 |
Hauppauge 01200 WinTV-HVR-850 USB2.0 Hybrid Video Recorder 1200 (HAUP1200) List Price: $72.35 Sale Price: $44.95 Used From: $44.98 |
|
Amazon.com Product Description The Hauppauge 1200 WinTV-HVR-850 Hybrid TV Stick External TV Tuner/Video Recorder will bring high-definition television directly to your PC. This handy device lets you watch your favorite TV shows through your computer and record them digitally for future playback using high quality MPEG-2... |
 |
Channel Master CM7400 1080p Internet Compatible HDTV DVR List Price: $399.99 Sale Price: $398.00 |
|
Channel Master Internet compatible subscription free HDTV DVR. RJ-45 Ethernet/ USB 2.0/HDMI/eSATA/ Digital audio (optical)/ RF output/ RF antenna/cable input/RCA component andcomposite video Stereo audio |
 |
Mygica Hybrid USB HDTV Tuner, with Clear QAM, ATSC TV, FM radio, Video and TV Capture / Recording - With Bonus Antenna and Remote Sale Price: $23.95 Used From: $28.00 |
|
U6012A is the latest generation hybrid USB HDTV tuner for your laptop and PC. It integrates multiple tuners supporting following: Digital Cable (Clear QAM), ATSC free-over-air HDTV, traditional NTSC TV, and digital FM radio... |
 |
Hauppauge 1192 WinTV HVR-1950 External USB HDTV Tuner/Video Recorder List Price: $149.99 Sale Price: $92.00 |
|
Amazon.com Product Description With the Hauppauge 1192 WinTV HVR-1950 External USB HDTV Tuner/Video Recorder, you can turn your PC into a virtual television and personal video recorder, or PVR. By simply plugging this video recorder into one of your computer's USB ports, you can watch, pause and record live HDTV or cable TV directly on your computer... |
 |
SiliconDust HDHomeRun Dual High Definition Digital Television HDHR3-US (Black) List Price: $156.00 Sale Price: $89.92 Used From: $149.00 |
|
The HD HomeRun Dual- Two Digital Tuners, Anywhere on Your Network: Watch TV from any computer on your network, Record full 1080i broadcast resolution, Watch, Pause, Record, & Rewind Live TV, Schedule and record all your favorite TV shows, Expand # of tuners with multiple HDHomeRun devices... |
 |
Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box (for Antenna Use) List Price: $49.99 Sale Price: Too low to display Used From: $39.99 |
|
The ZAT-970A ATSC Digital to Analog Converter from Zinwell is a digital to analog converter that supports analog pass through. It converts digital TV signals to analog and offers several convenient features including multilingual support digital parental control and an IR wireless remote control for making volume and channel adjustments from a comfortable distance... |
 |
Leaf Plus Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna List Price: $84.99 Sale Price: $73.99 |
|
Leaf Plus HDTV Antenna |
 |
Mygica HDTV Thriller ATSC, QAM, NTSC, FM, HDTV PCI card for Desktop PC - PCI HD TV Tuner Card with Remote - Supports up to 1920 x 1080i Resolution Sale Price: $28.99 |
|
X8350A is the ultimate PC TV tuner which supports both digital cable (Clear QAM) and free-to-air HDTV with the built-in dual tuners. You can enjoy the crystal clear HDTV with resolution up to 1920 × 1080i... |
 |
Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Control (Black) List Price: $95.10 Sale Price: $64.25 Used From: $59.00 |
|
Amazon.com Product Description The Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q Hybrid TV Stick External TV Tuner/Video Recorder will bring high-definition television directly to your PC. This handy device lets you watch your favorite TV shows through your computer, and record them digitally for future playback using high quality MPEG-2... |