Community Forums

bgsc · 06-29-2012, 05:59 AM

We have a 1 1/2 Terrabite hard drive and a WD media convertor we download movies to the hard drive then play them any time we want, we have friends that use the same system so when we get together we compare new movies and simply copy them from their hard drive, we would have approx 800 movies on our hard drive at any time. This way you do not need internet or for that matter tv reception, hope this helps

Dunner · 06-29-2012, 07:48 AM

A lot of good info here, but still can't figure out if anybody makes a stand-alone DVR that doesn't require a subscription? One that works just like a VCR, where I can record OTA or cable signals. I don't see them at Sam's or Walmart. Seems like somebody has a captive audience by not allowing DVRs to be sold without a subscription.

bodean614 · 06-29-2012, 08:03 AM

Try www.veetle.com. They steam movies currently at the theaters.

Dunner · 06-29-2012, 08:17 AM

Forgot to ask, I have a couple laptops don't get much use other than going with me on trips. Can they be used as a DVR or recording device for OTA or cable? I have WinTV, Huppauge V6.0 and a USB to cable adapter, but it is jerky while watching live TV and the color sucks.

isamp · 06-29-2012, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

A lot of good info here, but still can't figure out if anybody makes a stand-alone DVR that doesn't require a subscription? One that works just like a VCR, where I can record OTA or cable signals. I don't see them at Sam's or Walmart. Seems like somebody has a captive audience by not allowing DVRs to be sold without a subscription.

I got a DVR at sears about 6 months ago for just under $300. they are very hard to find, you would do beter on line I think.

TLGPE · 06-29-2012, 11:03 AM

I got a BRITE-VIEW DVR online for about 200 bucks. The specs look good, but the actual unit is pure junk! The hard drive is erratic, so I use the USB port for an external HD. I can record, and the playback is great, but the tuner cannot find very many of the channels that the cable has for direct viewing. The setup menue is slow and clunky, and it's very hard to program.

Just a note to avoid that brand.

Tom

Dunner · 06-29-2012, 11:17 AM

Thanks Tom and Amp. I'll check ebay, Last time I looked, they were hacked TiVos, but that was years ago.

Wanabee FTer · 06-29-2012, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

Forgot to ask, I have a couple laptops don't get much use other than going with me on trips. Can they be used as a DVR or recording device for OTA or cable? I have WinTV, Huppauge V6.0 and a USB to cable adapter, but it is jerky while watching live TV and the color sucks.

Or you could try something like this, an HD USB tuner for your laptop. just add a splitter after your cable box or sat box to the TV and laptop.

Dunner · 06-29-2012, 01:26 PM

This is what I have. Is this the same thing? This is what I used and got choppy live reception. Gonna try the playback mode to see how it looks. The software that came with it was so bad, I only tried it once. I'll check online for an update. Thx for the link.

Hauppauge Computer Works : WinTV-HVR-850

Edit: I found WinTV V7 and can upgrade my V6 with it.

mccsix · 06-29-2012, 03:49 PM

Dollar Generals are all over, they have a large selection of movies to buy @ $5.

Wanderman · 06-29-2012, 07:31 PM

I was pondering this same problem a few months ago. When I did the 13" TV to 19" VGA monitor conversion. I wanted to be able to play movies in HD through the VGA input without hooking up a computer. The monitor will display 1280x1024 so 720P would look pretty good!

I wrote an article about using a Digital Media Player with VGA out, but I suppose it would work for MANY other applications since it also had HDMI and COMPOSITE and COMPONENT outputs in addition to the VGA one.

It has yet to "choke" on any kind of file I send to it. AVI, MKV, MOV, MP4, etc etc. It'll also play music and show pictures from a USB device or memory card. Uses VERY little power to boot.

The article doesn't go live until tomorrow, but here is the direct link:

WanderMan: We Don't Need No Stinkin' DVDs - Digital Media Players for your RV

So far I'm pretty happy with it. I am going to convert all my DVDs to digital media and store them on a 64Gigabyte card (or as many will fit at around 400 meg each) then I get a whole cabinet back for storage!! Yay!

Rich "The Wanderman"

Dunner · 06-29-2012, 07:40 PM

I got my WinTV device working. Much better with version 7.0. I recorded a bit of the NASCAR race. Still not the best, but watchable. Will try a TV show later. Thx for the tips.

B Bob · 06-30-2012, 07:43 AM

This thread got me to google "free movie downloads". There were lots of choices to download all kinds of movies. Can any of you that do download these, do you have trouble with virus and hidden land mines in the files?

wa8yxm · 06-30-2012, 08:25 AM

If you wish to watch "Movies of your choicoe" please watch DVD's. if you wish to stream from the net pleasy buy your own bandwidth (And prepare to pay pay pay for that much bandwidth) as the park will not love you for leaching.

How I do it: I have a pair of talkative DVR's. these let me record programs, including movies, off the air (or cable) and watch them later, I can watch on either unit or download (or stream to) computer and watch on the computer.

I can also download SLOWLY off the net and converte and stream up from the compu ter, which, in fact, I'm doing as I type. Looks real good too. Though it puts a bit of a load on this poor netbook