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Got a question for you HTPC moguls. I want to be able to transfer recordings from my Comcast DVR (Explorer 8300) to my PC, in HD.

 

Is there any way to do this, either by transferring the files and decrypting them, or by recording TV live to an external HDD?

 

I'd even be willing to make my own DVR/HTPC with a TV tuner and CableCard--bypassing the Comcast DVR completely. I just don't know if this would be the best route.

 

My desired setup, or my end goal so to speak, would be something that lets me record my usual shows off of Comcast, but have these recordings saved on a PC (in a common media format, not something proprietary) that I can then watch on that PC or even transfer to other PCs if I want. I am willing to get rid of my current Comcast DVR to achieve this.

 

Any ideas?

 

Edit: Hm...currently looking at this little device. Might be exactly what I need, I just wish it said whether I can record to an open format, so I can freely move recordings to different PCs and watch them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Vzt8Q9Atg&feature=player_embedded

 

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Check the model of your DVR. Then, http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/140165

 

you will need a program to convert .ts files to playable media. Then you will need some sort of video editing prog to edit out the commercials.

 

Here is a link to HDTV2MPEG's latest version. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~balazer/HDTVtoMPEG2/HDTVtoMPEG2_v1.11.94.zip

 

//Also a link to the index with older versions. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~balazer/HDTVtoMPEG2/

 

 

As far as avoiding DVR with comcast altogether, this might get you started. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19422991-PC-DVR-with-Comcast-HDTV

 

I think it really boils down to what your particular cable box allows and what it doesn't. It seems that having the DVR service and a firewire cable is your best bet at the moment.

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I have Brighthouse (Warner) cable.

 

I didn t know about that new Silicon Dust device and seems Very Interesting. Before that I analized this issue and I gave up.

 

Brighthouse DVR box has all of the output ports disabled, so there is no way to pull out files from it (bastards).

 

I found a work-around but is not HD. On my HTPC I have a SD Tuner card. I can record directly using Win 7 Media center up to channel 99, for all of the other channels I have to record on DVR first.

Then connecting the DVR to the Tuner as AUX I can record whatever I broadcast from the DVR using the Tuner Software.

 

2 limits to this:

1 - is in real time, meaning recording a 1 hour show, I have to "watch" it for 1 hour (is not a file trensfer)

2 - is SD only. Also if I record HD when copying to the Tuner card it will be SD anyway.

 

I decided to stick to this solution for a couple of reasons.

Before this Silicon Dust device whose I don t know the price yet, there were other possible solutions with similar cable boxes and you need to get the Card from your provider and you had to have a tuner in your PC as well.

 

All of that solution was expensive and unpractical. Furthermore you need to be sure your Provider (Comcast) provides a separate Card on demand, Brighthouse is not too easy about it.

 

Then I considered the effective Cost and Warranty solutions. With the Brighthouse Box I pay 10 bucka a month (120 bucks a year) and I don t have to care about malfunctioning. Doesn t work, get it back and get a new one.

Any other solution was more expensive than 120 bucks and if broken the hassle is all yours.

 

Then I considered how often i really record stuff from TV and I "keep" it. I do record shows, true, but then I delete them. The extra HDD storage is an extra cost to put on budget for this project and I am not sure is so effective.

 

About getting full shows and/or movies, I use Demonoid.me leaving to someone else all of the hassle of decoding, encoding, saving and shit. When I want something, I get there and I downloaded it at the HD quality I want.

 

Keeping all of this in consideration, I gave up about the "Kill the Box" project :)

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Thanks for the input guys.

 

@Medic: I've seen the Firewire solution, but I'm not particularly fond of it. It restricts me a lot in what I can and cannot do. Thanks for the converter links

 

@Batwing: I've already looked into the options you specified, but none of them appealed to me. Since Comcast does offer CableCards, I should be able to record HD-quality programming. If I can't, there's no point to getting rid of my DVR.

After researching this more, I've discovered that the HDHomeRun Prime unit allows me to do the following:

 

  • Record Copy-Freely content provided via Comcast--this includes all content in the "Digital + HD" package save for premium channels such as HBO and Showtime
    Note: I can still record premium channel content (which is classified as Copy-Once), but I can only view it on a Windows Media Center-capable PC, and only on the PC it was recorded on.
  • Transfer these recorded programs to any PC I wish (thumbsup_anim.gif)
  • Use the TV guide data to setup recordings (Big plus as well)
  • Runs as an external tuner, so nothing to install on my PC. I just plug it into the network and I'm good to go.

Only real con is that there is no On Demand support--but I rarely use that anyway.

 

As my PC has two ethernet ports, I think I'm going to set up a dedicated LAN network to contain just the HDHomeRun unit, a switch, a NAS device, and my PC. This way it doesn't flood my main Internet-connected network with data when it's streaming to the NAS.

 

So, hopefully with this device, I can achieve my end-goal: Record all my shows, in HD, and store them on a NAS device. I will then set up a server so that I can FTP my recordings to my work PC (as I sometimes catch up on my shows during lunch). My laptop and home PCs will all read my recordings from the NAS device. I may finally be able to get rid of the shitty Comcast DVR for good, as it's been worthless ever since they released the new firmware.

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hey MH6, tell me more about that box then.

 

You got the card from your Carrier. Do you have any limit on your program line up? I have sorta 2000 channels on my lineup, where the HD is starting from 1000 and up. Are you able to see all of your lineup ?

 

Is the Mediacenter giving you full box control? Do you use a remote control? how the remote interacts with the box?

 

tell me more !!!!

 

EDIT:

I made a search and it seems like you got the SD HDHR3-CC, which is the model with the cable card. It runs on an average price about $250 online. How much did you get it ?

Edited by Batwing~SPARTA~
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Yeah I spent $250 on the box. It get all the same channels I get on my DVR, except for On Demand.

I do not use a remote with the Media Center currently, though I may in the future. I believe they sell remotes that are compatible with WMC. I will most likely do this when I switch everything to a dedicated HTPC box, as right now it is all running on my gaming rig.

 

 

Setup was fairly easy--had some minor hiccups but they're fixed now. My next goal is to create some kind of automatic conversion system so that as recordings finish they will be converted from the native .WTV format to a more compressed format, such as .MKV, which will then be stored on my FTP server, or streamed to my other PCs.

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