1
00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,880
Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera.

2
00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:08,840
Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With

3
00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:14,280
Speaker 1: tech stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hey everyone,

4
00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:16,720
Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. My name is Chris Polette. I'm

5
00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,360
Speaker 1: an editor at how Stuff Works, and as usual, sitting

6
00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,200
Speaker 1: next to me as senior writer Jonathan Strickland. Hi. Everyone,

7
00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:24,480
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk to you today about turning your PC

8
00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,480
Speaker 1: into a ti Vo. And you know, a ti Vo

9
00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,640
Speaker 1: is sort of a pcally, So thank you very much. Well,

10
00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:36,680
Speaker 1: I was great talking to you again. Tune in record time. Yeah, okay,

11
00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,800
Speaker 1: so no, actually that's true. I would like to touch

12
00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,480
Speaker 1: on that. I actually own a TiVo and essentially they

13
00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,879
Speaker 1: are a PC. But not everyone wants to spend the

14
00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:49,600
Speaker 1: money to buy a ti Vo. They can be a

15
00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,559
Speaker 1: little pricey, especially for the high definition version, which is

16
00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,960
Speaker 1: very pricey um. And some people just like that feeling

17
00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,320
Speaker 1: of d I y or you know what. I just

18
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,279
Speaker 1: don't like Tvo. So it's up to you, you know.

19
00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,440
Speaker 1: But if you don't want to go the standard route

20
00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,040
Speaker 1: or you want some customization, maybe it's in your best

21
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,839
Speaker 1: interest to uh to look into building your own. Yeah,

22
00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,200
Speaker 1: because there are definitely some really cool features you can

23
00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,280
Speaker 1: add into your PC that will give you a lot

24
00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,480
Speaker 1: more functionality than you would get in the standard TiVo. UM.

25
00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:22,080
Speaker 1: But we'll get into that a little bit later. I

26
00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,280
Speaker 1: guess I was actually gonna start with literally turning your

27
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:32,040
Speaker 1: PC into a ti Vo UM, which there now is

28
00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,520
Speaker 1: an option to do that. It's through the use of

29
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:39,959
Speaker 1: the Nero Liquid TV Slash ti Vo PC, which is

30
00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,760
Speaker 1: UH an interface a card that you install in a PC.

31
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,440
Speaker 1: It has the UH the coaxial UH link in the back,

32
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,000
Speaker 1: so you hook your cable up into it and it

33
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,920
Speaker 1: it gives your PC the ti Vo functionality. It gives

34
00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,600
Speaker 1: it the same sort of software and functions that you

35
00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,400
Speaker 1: would find in your standard TiVo and UM it comes

36
00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,960
Speaker 1: with a software that you can know that obviously is

37
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,359
Speaker 1: the TiVo software. And if you already have a tuner

38
00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,440
Speaker 1: card for your PC, you can get just the software.

39
00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,400
Speaker 1: You don't have to get the card and software bundled together. UM.

40
00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:19,120
Speaker 1: But yeah, this is this UH, this service that turns

41
00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,440
Speaker 1: your PC into a TiVo. So it has the little

42
00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,399
Speaker 1: TiVo logo, it does a little it's got the it's

43
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,959
Speaker 1: got the software, and you use the TiVo remote yep.

44
00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:32,040
Speaker 1: So that's, uh, that's for people who want the TiVo.

45
00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,320
Speaker 1: They don't want necessarily a set top box. They don't

46
00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,320
Speaker 1: mind using a computer, whether the computer happens to be

47
00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,080
Speaker 1: next to their entertainment system or is in a totally

48
00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,400
Speaker 1: different room, um, and then wired over to the TV.

49
00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,200
Speaker 1: There are a lot of different options there. So that's

50
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,680
Speaker 1: the easiest one, right. I don't think it gets any

51
00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,480
Speaker 1: easier than plugging a card into your computer and then

52
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:56,840
Speaker 1: just running some software and then you're ready to go.

53
00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,600
Speaker 1: What about Windows Media Center? That's that's almost as easy.

54
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,639
Speaker 1: I supposed it depends on on whom you ask. Um. Yeah, Windows,

55
00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,560
Speaker 1: Microsoft has its own uh built in on some in

56
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:15,680
Speaker 1: some PCs, most recent pieces. Yeah, yeah, so they Windows

57
00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,320
Speaker 1: Media Center actually has uh some capability of doing this

58
00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,400
Speaker 1: on its own. Um. So you could essentially, you know,

59
00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,440
Speaker 1: hook your your PC up to your TV and you

60
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,320
Speaker 1: or a monitor. Really you would need a tuner card,

61
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,679
Speaker 1: you know, to to do that. Um, but you would

62
00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,639
Speaker 1: be able to, uh to go ahead and use your

63
00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:39,360
Speaker 1: PC as a TV, TVO DVR. Um. And uh you

64
00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:41,920
Speaker 1: know Mac even has something like that. Apple has its

65
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,240
Speaker 1: front row, which is built in. Now it's not quite

66
00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,760
Speaker 1: as doesn't handle the same kind of functionality as Windows

67
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,320
Speaker 1: Media Center, but it does allow you to watch videos

68
00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,960
Speaker 1: you may have downloaded from iTunes or some of the

69
00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,400
Speaker 1: other services where you can download video, and you can

70
00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,280
Speaker 1: look at the photos and your photo gallery, UM, play

71
00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,200
Speaker 1: podcasts things like that via you know that you have

72
00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,560
Speaker 1: a little remote control and you can you can access those,

73
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,800
Speaker 1: which is one of the advantages of doing this on

74
00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:14,160
Speaker 1: your on your TV because you know, having the PC

75
00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,000
Speaker 1: two TV hookup is you can access your media library,

76
00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,160
Speaker 1: your music files, you know a lot of you know,

77
00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 1: not so much with the TVO software, but with Windows

78
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,760
Speaker 1: Media Center or with Hope UM, with the front row thing,

79
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,120
Speaker 1: you can you can actually do that have access to

80
00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,760
Speaker 1: play back all the other things on your TV, which

81
00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:32,880
Speaker 1: is why some people get a Mac Mini, which is

82
00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 1: a very scaled down Mac and just soak it up

83
00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:36,800
Speaker 1: their TV and use it that way. That's cool. Now,

84
00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,920
Speaker 1: I was not aware of front Row. Okay, so I

85
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,600
Speaker 1: have a question for you that may or may not

86
00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:43,960
Speaker 1: know the answer. All right, is it at all similar

87
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,720
Speaker 1: to Apple TV? UM sounds kind of like it has

88
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,160
Speaker 1: some of the same features. Well, now, Apple TV is

89
00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,520
Speaker 1: a dedicated box UM and actually is very similar in

90
00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,640
Speaker 1: size to the to the Mac Mini UM and maybe

91
00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,200
Speaker 1: the exact same size for all I know, UM because

92
00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,200
Speaker 1: I'm going off the top of my head here. But uh,

93
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,280
Speaker 1: what what Jonathan is talking about is Apple TV is

94
00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:09,240
Speaker 1: basically dedicated to, um, getting movies. You can download movies

95
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,040
Speaker 1: to it over the internet, UM that you pay you know,

96
00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,360
Speaker 1: that you pay for and it is dedicated to putting

97
00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,440
Speaker 1: that content up on the TV. It's not it doesn't

98
00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,120
Speaker 1: have the same functionality as a full Macintosh computer. UM.

99
00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,360
Speaker 1: But it's not really intended to be a DVR either. UM.

100
00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,640
Speaker 1: It's not really about uh, you know, hooking up your

101
00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,760
Speaker 1: cable or satellite box directly to Apple TV and then

102
00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,600
Speaker 1: using it as a DVR, which you would get if

103
00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,679
Speaker 1: you used something like Windows Media Center or or Nero

104
00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,320
Speaker 1: the you know, the t BO box or UM for

105
00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:47,680
Speaker 1: that matter, Elgato I t V, which is the exactly

106
00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,520
Speaker 1: which is the the Mac version essentially of of Nero. UM.

107
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:58,320
Speaker 1: Basically you have a tuner card, you have the software,

108
00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,800
Speaker 1: and you can use your Macintosh uh to uh function

109
00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,840
Speaker 1: as a DVR, but um again and also lets you

110
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,919
Speaker 1: do other things. It's got a built in tuner guide,

111
00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:11,320
Speaker 1: manages disk space for you. It's got the program catalog

112
00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,120
Speaker 1: and UM you can share recordings over a network, what

113
00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,720
Speaker 1: you can't do with UH with some DVRs, depending on

114
00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,520
Speaker 1: the age of like for example, my TVO is a

115
00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,839
Speaker 1: Series one and it is a It is a real trooper.

116
00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,640
Speaker 1: It's it's hung in there. It does accept the modem

117
00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,680
Speaker 1: is a little spotty. UM, but we basically ran it

118
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:33,960
Speaker 1: into the ground. And actually that's a good point. It

119
00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,880
Speaker 1: would help me segue into my next point, which is, UM,

120
00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:41,520
Speaker 1: you can actually modify your t VO if you have one. UM.

121
00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,400
Speaker 1: When the hard drive died in my TVO, which was

122
00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,760
Speaker 1: a very sad occasion, my friend Dave helped me take

123
00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:52,000
Speaker 1: it apart. He installed a new, brand new gigantoid hard

124
00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,800
Speaker 1: drive on it, and UM, basically what we did was

125
00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,599
Speaker 1: we took this brand new hard drive, hooked it up

126
00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,960
Speaker 1: to his Lynx computer, and he ran uhically an installation

127
00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,760
Speaker 1: program that format it or formatting program that UH, you know,

128
00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,320
Speaker 1: made it ready to work with the TiVo. UM. The

129
00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,840
Speaker 1: information to run the TVO is basically in the chip

130
00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,600
Speaker 1: set that is inside the box. So it already knew

131
00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,800
Speaker 1: that I had a lifetime subscription, which is why I

132
00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,600
Speaker 1: wanted to continue using my Tvo. UM, and you know

133
00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,000
Speaker 1: you can. You can do that. Actually, since the modem

134
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,800
Speaker 1: has died, there are companies that won't let you buy

135
00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,800
Speaker 1: an upgrade your modum. You can actually install a wireless

136
00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:31,160
Speaker 1: card or uh Collas connection in the back. Now, if

137
00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,440
Speaker 1: you do this, they're going to avoid your warranty uh

138
00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,240
Speaker 1: in a big way. Um. As a matter of fact,

139
00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,720
Speaker 1: I called TiVo to ask them a question and they said, UM, yeah,

140
00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,600
Speaker 1: you know you avoided your warranty when you installed this

141
00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,000
Speaker 1: new hard drive. And I said, yeah, it's six years old.

142
00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,160
Speaker 1: They went, oh, never mind, So what can I help

143
00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:49,720
Speaker 1: you with? So they answered my question, which was all

144
00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,720
Speaker 1: I needed really from him. But UM, very very nice

145
00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,960
Speaker 1: of Tvo to do that. Um. But that you know,

146
00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,360
Speaker 1: this is essentially all you need is you've got to

147
00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:03,800
Speaker 1: have something to run the DVR, which is your processor card.

148
00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,200
Speaker 1: You've got to have a hard drive in it, preferably

149
00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,080
Speaker 1: something large and I'd recommend fast because if you have

150
00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,280
Speaker 1: a slow hard drive, it is going to affect the

151
00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,800
Speaker 1: way you watch your shows. Um. And then you are

152
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,360
Speaker 1: going to need some kind of tunor card, which can

153
00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:26,200
Speaker 1: cost around seventy dollars depending on which one you go with. Um.

154
00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,239
Speaker 1: If so you have a computer that has the media

155
00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:32,959
Speaker 1: center on it already, when does media center, then that's

156
00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,640
Speaker 1: really gonna be your Your one expense is the tuner card.

157
00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,240
Speaker 1: So you think seventy bucks. Hey, that's not so bad,

158
00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,760
Speaker 1: and don't treat about the card. You know, we say

159
00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,480
Speaker 1: card and people who may be thinking, well I could that,

160
00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:48,640
Speaker 1: you know, it doesn't sound too difficult. I could probably

161
00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:50,319
Speaker 1: do that. Oh wait, there's a card involved. I don't

162
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,079
Speaker 1: want to pull my computer up. And not all of

163
00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,360
Speaker 1: them are the kinds of cards that you open the

164
00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,120
Speaker 1: case and plug in. Or maybe you have a laptop

165
00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,199
Speaker 1: and you're thinking, you know, I'm not going to pull

166
00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:03,080
Speaker 1: that thing open. I'm never getet closed again. Um, there

167
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,240
Speaker 1: are actually cards that work. Uh there they fit in

168
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,800
Speaker 1: a USB slot. Yeah, the the hop Podge Win TV

169
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,520
Speaker 1: PVR USB two is one of them. That's like about

170
00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,880
Speaker 1: bucks yep. And uh, actually I believe Nero packages one

171
00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:20,760
Speaker 1: that comes you can get it with it, you know,

172
00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:22,959
Speaker 1: as a single package that has that in there. And

173
00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,280
Speaker 1: El Gato also has a package deal. Um or if

174
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,840
Speaker 1: you're really feeling daring, you can build a brand new

175
00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:35,280
Speaker 1: PC uh from scratch and actually put everything into it

176
00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,320
Speaker 1: that that you need, in which case what we've been

177
00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:42,200
Speaker 1: talking about already is probably extremely basic for you. UM.

178
00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:47,679
Speaker 1: But there are a number of uh freeware operating systems

179
00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:52,040
Speaker 1: for do it yourself DVRs. UM. Among them is myth TV,

180
00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,560
Speaker 1: which lets you watch live TV and it supports multiple

181
00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:01,079
Speaker 1: tuner cards, so you could theoretically watch one show record another. UM.

182
00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,320
Speaker 1: It'll let you rip c d s as a game

183
00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,679
Speaker 1: emulator in it, so you can play Nime, uh, Nintendo

184
00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,679
Speaker 1: or PC games on. It offers a slide show, you

185
00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:12,800
Speaker 1: can get the weather, let you rip DVDs, and it

186
00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,280
Speaker 1: has an RSS reader if you're feeling like not ripping

187
00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,760
Speaker 1: DVDs you just want to follow the news online yah. UM.

188
00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,439
Speaker 1: And it's it's completely uh you know, available for download. UM.

189
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,520
Speaker 1: There's another version called x MBC, which has been translated

190
00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,120
Speaker 1: into different flavors other people. It's open source, so other

191
00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,360
Speaker 1: people have modified it. Uh. There's a version for UH

192
00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:40,120
Speaker 1: for Mac, PC, Linux or Xbox, the original Xbox. UM.

193
00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,079
Speaker 1: It handles HDTV plays from different formats in addition to

194
00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:49,120
Speaker 1: the hard drive. UH you know, network Internet streams pictures

195
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,240
Speaker 1: allows you to use a remote UM. Yeah, that's that's

196
00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,480
Speaker 1: the tricky part maybe the remote, um, you know, but

197
00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:58,000
Speaker 1: a lot of these support a standard remote, you know,

198
00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,760
Speaker 1: a generic remote. Some of them come with it, um,

199
00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:05,280
Speaker 1: you know for the packaged offerings. UM. It's even possible

200
00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:06,840
Speaker 1: for you to be able to if you were, say,

201
00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,720
Speaker 1: using the Windows Media Center, you can you can network

202
00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,640
Speaker 1: that with something like the Xbox three sixty. You can

203
00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:17,040
Speaker 1: use the Xbox three sixties interface to access the movies

204
00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,280
Speaker 1: that you've stored on your Windows Media Center. And so

205
00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,000
Speaker 1: then you're just using the remote for the three sixty. Um.

206
00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,679
Speaker 1: That's kind of cool approach to where and and the

207
00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:27,720
Speaker 1: nice thing about that is if you have a wireless

208
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,920
Speaker 1: adapter for your if your Xbox, you know, but you

209
00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:32,760
Speaker 1: can wireless network. You don't even have to have the

210
00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,439
Speaker 1: computer in the Xbox three sixty in the same room,

211
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:37,880
Speaker 1: which is useful because a lot of people don't like

212
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,640
Speaker 1: having the PC just saying there right next to everything

213
00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:44,160
Speaker 1: else in their home entertainment system, right, Um, and there

214
00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,760
Speaker 1: are a number of other of other formats and uh,

215
00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,280
Speaker 1: you know, but there let's just say and and you know,

216
00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:51,880
Speaker 1: to clarify and sum it up that there are a

217
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,760
Speaker 1: bunch no matter what operating system you're using, UM, unless

218
00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,480
Speaker 1: you're one of the fans as I am of the

219
00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,560
Speaker 1: dearly departed or yearly departed Amiga UM, and there probably

220
00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:04,599
Speaker 1: is one comes back to the AGA, you know, I

221
00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:06,520
Speaker 1: got to give him a shout out, and uh, I

222
00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,440
Speaker 1: can't believe I just said shout out, but they there's

223
00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,520
Speaker 1: probably one for the Mega. I didn't see, but I

224
00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,559
Speaker 1: should go look. But really, essentially there are options. So

225
00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,959
Speaker 1: if you're considering getting a DVR or upgrading yours, UM,

226
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,959
Speaker 1: you know there don't necessarily just go look at one

227
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,520
Speaker 1: take a look there. Just about all of these have

228
00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,400
Speaker 1: a pretty extensive website UM that will let you take

229
00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,360
Speaker 1: a peek and see what what different options they offer UM.

230
00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,200
Speaker 1: And you know, it's all part of the great convergence

231
00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,760
Speaker 1: as we moved to one single box that does everything.

232
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,760
Speaker 1: Depending on whom you would ask, and if you're like me,

233
00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:44,360
Speaker 1: you might just have an old computer sitting around that

234
00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,640
Speaker 1: could completely work as a DVR. You want to make

235
00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:50,959
Speaker 1: sure that you have the a fast enough processor and

236
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,120
Speaker 1: a fast enough hard drive, as Chris was saying, you

237
00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,960
Speaker 1: don't want to just you know, plug anything in. Uh,

238
00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,360
Speaker 1: I would recommend using a computer that has at least

239
00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,319
Speaker 1: two D six megabytes of RAM. Anything less than that

240
00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,960
Speaker 1: and you're not gonna have a very good experience whatsoever.

241
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,200
Speaker 1: I'm certain. Yeah, it would probably take at least that. Yeah,

242
00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:12,040
Speaker 1: that would be the bare minimum. Um. I would recommend

243
00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:17,280
Speaker 1: faster or more RAM if if possible, because you'll need it.

244
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,760
Speaker 1: But um, yeah, if you have an old computer saying around,

245
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,400
Speaker 1: I actually do have an old computer that I may

246
00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,240
Speaker 1: look into. I have in fact, it's it's old enough

247
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:26,880
Speaker 1: now where I need to look and see if it

248
00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,480
Speaker 1: can measure up to what I would require to make

249
00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,120
Speaker 1: it into a DVR. Um. But I've been since we

250
00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,880
Speaker 1: started researching this podcast, I was thinking, Hey, this is

251
00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:37,880
Speaker 1: something it sounds like, you know, I could totally do,

252
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,480
Speaker 1: and um, considering that I also have a ti Vo

253
00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:43,360
Speaker 1: at home, but it it gave up the ghost almost

254
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:45,559
Speaker 1: immediately after coming out of the box, and since it

255
00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:48,280
Speaker 1: was a free copy, I never bothered to ever get

256
00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,960
Speaker 1: it fixed. This are the things I never lived with TiVo,

257
00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,720
Speaker 1: so I don't know what I'm missing, right, So people

258
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,880
Speaker 1: who live with TiVo, it's like talking to someone who

259
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,800
Speaker 1: just got to have a cult. Sorry about that. Yeah,

260
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,440
Speaker 1: so I kind of want to join now. I'll granted

261
00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:06,800
Speaker 1: it's many years after the cult was at its height.

262
00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:13,280
Speaker 1: But uh, I'm curious too, I'm wondering what TV I'm missing. Well,

263
00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,960
Speaker 1: DVR popularity is. It's just one of those things where

264
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,400
Speaker 1: I think people accept it now and you know, just

265
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,560
Speaker 1: just don't hear anything about the standard thing of so

266
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:26,440
Speaker 1: many cable uh cable boxes now, like you can get

267
00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,640
Speaker 1: a cable box from your cable provider that has a

268
00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,080
Speaker 1: DVR and now most people will tell you, most people

269
00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:34,280
Speaker 1: who are big fans of DVRs will tell you that

270
00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:40,480
Speaker 1: the DVRs packaged with cable provider boxes are substandard when

271
00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:46,800
Speaker 1: compared to other other products on the market. Well, I

272
00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,160
Speaker 1: would always I would always say it's a good idea

273
00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,000
Speaker 1: to look at a review site, of which how stuff

274
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,200
Speaker 1: works is not one UM, but there are other some

275
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,960
Speaker 1: really great review sites out there that will you know,

276
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,800
Speaker 1: put them against one another head to head. Um Tibo

277
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,720
Speaker 1: always does pretty well those But there are some others

278
00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:08,200
Speaker 1: that you know from companies I shan't mentioned because I

279
00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,440
Speaker 1: used to work for them UM, but you know they

280
00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,040
Speaker 1: make decent DVRs that that other people do like that.

281
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,600
Speaker 1: Reviewers have have reviewed UM and TiVo has actually had

282
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,160
Speaker 1: partnerships with some companies and then you know in the past.

283
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,040
Speaker 1: Um but yeah, I would I if I were looking

284
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,520
Speaker 1: at buying a new box right now, I would consider,

285
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,280
Speaker 1: you know, the variety. You've got all the different ones

286
00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,080
Speaker 1: that your provider might offer. You've got the third party

287
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:41,360
Speaker 1: like uh TiVo or um oh, digios box, the Moxie,

288
00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:44,080
Speaker 1: and then you have you know, the do what do

289
00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,840
Speaker 1: it yourself PC version, and each of them offers something

290
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:49,800
Speaker 1: a little bit different, and it might be worth checking

291
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,240
Speaker 1: out whether you like the interface and whether you feel

292
00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,120
Speaker 1: comfortable doing this. But I think that this is a

293
00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:58,000
Speaker 1: project that people might not necessarily need to be afraid

294
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,440
Speaker 1: of because it's right. It sounds complex, but it's really not.

295
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:02,560
Speaker 1: And keep in mind that if you do it do

296
00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,400
Speaker 1: it yourself way, it gives you a lot more options

297
00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,440
Speaker 1: when it comes to making changes further down the road.

298
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,160
Speaker 1: And mostly set top boxes, you you you aren't supposed

299
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,080
Speaker 1: to modify them, so you void, void your warranty, or

300
00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:20,400
Speaker 1: you could possibly really break something or cap. But with

301
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,000
Speaker 1: the PC, I mean you can. Let's say that you realize,

302
00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:25,480
Speaker 1: like if you could buy a ti vo for a

303
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,120
Speaker 1: certain amount of money and you say, hey that it'll

304
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,240
Speaker 1: let me store this many hours of programming. Um, whether

305
00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,920
Speaker 1: that's standard definition or high definition whatever. But if you

306
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:38,360
Speaker 1: look at a PC, you can say, well, it really

307
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,200
Speaker 1: just depends on how big the hard drive is, and

308
00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,760
Speaker 1: I can always upgrade my hard drive. I can add

309
00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,120
Speaker 1: hard drive space or switch it out or whatever. Um.

310
00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,040
Speaker 1: You can't really do that with a t VO necessarily,

311
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,120
Speaker 1: at least not without avoiding the warranty. So that's one

312
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,360
Speaker 1: of the other big, big advantages of using a PC

313
00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,600
Speaker 1: is that it gives you a lot more flexibility. Wow. Yeah,

314
00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,600
Speaker 1: I feel like I need to run home and start

315
00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:07,320
Speaker 1: recording some television. It's it's a good thing. Record one thing,

316
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,760
Speaker 1: watch another. Yeah, I'm just staying. I know what show

317
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:14,920
Speaker 1: I want to record? Okay, yeah, it starts on Noah,

318
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:21,399
Speaker 1: you know what it is? How Stuff Works? Oh, the

319
00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,800
Speaker 1: first promo of How Stuff Works the TV show, except

320
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,600
Speaker 1: we're probably being played three weeks. Yeah, it's probably by

321
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,440
Speaker 1: the time this displayed, it's already been. So I hope

322
00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:36,800
Speaker 1: you guys have been enjoying it. I know we have. Yes, certainly. Well,

323
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,960
Speaker 1: now that we've discussed this all the way to the ground,

324
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,840
Speaker 1: I want to encourage our listeners to go to How

325
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,879
Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. We have articles all about computers.

326
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,080
Speaker 1: We have an articles about DVRs and t those specifically,

327
00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,119
Speaker 1: and you can check all that out and how stuff

328
00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:54,560
Speaker 1: works dot com right now and we'll talk to you

329
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,560
Speaker 1: against soon. But more on this and thousands of other

330
00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:02,000
Speaker 1: topics because it how stuff works dot com. Let us

331
00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,960
Speaker 1: know what you think. Send an email to podcast at

332
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:10,800
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Brought to you by the

333
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,080
Speaker 1: reinvented two thousand twelve camera. It's ready, are you