To convert your Windows PC to a DVR, you will need a TV Tuner card and an antenna. There are USB tuner cards available; however, I tend to stick to the cards for a media PC solution because they are more robustly attached to the system.
TV Tuner Cards are available with dual HD tuners so you can record two HD broadcast simultaneously. I have tried a few Tuner cards and have settled on the AVerMedia brand, available at Newegg.com. They work very well with Windows 7 and Vista, tuning in all the available HD broadcasts. Single HD TV tuners are also available, costing less than . You can add two dual tuner cards to enable recording of four broadcasts at the same time.
Before purchasing a card, make sure that your computer has an expansion slot that matches the card you intend to purchase. Many of the TV Tuner cards of today come with the PCI-Express x 1 (PCIe x1) interface. So do many of the Desktop motherboards. Cards are also available with the PCI interface.
Each hour of recorded HD TV broadcast takes up about 6 to 7GB of data storage, so if you want to be able to record several hours of HDTV, be sure to get a high capacity hard drive, 2TB or so.
Installing and setting up your DVR:
Assuming you are installing a TV Tuner Card, first shut down your PC and then locate the power supply switch at the back of the computer and turn it off. You should always do this before doing any installations on your PC.
WARNING!! Shut down is not enough since some components remain energized as long as the computer is switched on. If you do not switch off, and you accidentally drop a screwdriver on an energized component, you may cause a short and kill your motherboard.
Insert your card in the appropriate slot. Connect the antenna cable and restart your PC.
Some TV Tuner Cards come with software to allow you to watch or record TV; however, Windows Media Center, which comes with Windows Home Premium version and above, does a really good job at this.
The following description pertains to windows 7.
Click START > All programs and click on Windows Media Center to open the program. If Media center is not on the list of programs, you may need to turn the feature on. Open Control Panel, click on "Programs", click on "Turn Windows Features on or off". Click the + next to "Media Features" to expand the items. Make sure Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player are checked and then click OK. You will need Media Player turned on in later
The first time you start Media Center in Windows 7, you will see a setup page about the features and two setup options. Choose Express for the quickest method to get going. Otherwise, you will see the screen below.
By selecting "Guide", you can see what's showing, and you can also select what you want to record. You can have it record a single episode or the whole series.
Select "Recorded TV" to view your recorded TV shows.
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