I think you have the layout wrong. The DTV converter is not a tuner, just a converter. The card should be able to receive the signal and send it to the HD. If you had a newer TV, that is all you'd need, but since you don't, you still need the DTV converter after the PC and before your TV.
One of the electronics newsgroups can probably give you better information on how to do what you want..
I see others mentioned having some sort of service. With cable or satellite, you get all sorts of nifty option, but they do come at the price of a subscription. Things like series recordings, program information, choosing to record only new shows, no re-runs, etc. is very nice to have. Of course, with cable you get the better channels, like History, Travel, Discovery, Science, etc. Without them, I could do away with the TV as the networks have little to offer.
I was told it was one of the poorest brand/models, a Tomtom model One. Either way, the only way I'd ever own another GPS is if it's given to me free, and would probably use up shelf space in the closet.
I've driven for about 40 years without a GPS, using free maps from the D.O.T. and I always got where I was going with little problem. Using maps, I occasionally wasted a couple miles and 15 minutes of time. With that GPS, I once wasted over 100 miles and 2 1/2 hours. That was the last time I trusted it, and soon afterwards, I caught it leading me the wrong way once again, for probably the 50th time. Thats when it went in the trash can at some gas station.
I tried a early version of a Tom-Tom and it literally sucked. Since I couldn't even trust to get me home from work, there was no way I was going to trust it out on the open road.
My Garmin 350 is a totally different story. It's not perfect (none are) but it *will* get me where I want to go.
I describe (decent) GPS's this way:
While they may not always get you to your destination via the most direct path, they will get you to your destination.
The various GPS units I have/had have paid for themselves 1,000 times over.
Maybe you had a defective unit?
I would never go back to trying to decipher a postage stamp map depicting 6 highways that may or may not connect while in the dark in an unfamiliar area like say last night when I was traveling and the exit I was supposed to use was shutdown in an unfamiliar area.
Much better to go with the HD version Happauge card or adapter. They aren't expensive. First the quality issue as you noted. Quality will be much better because those boxes were a kludge to convert DTV to modulated NTSC. So using the RF input (none of those boxes offer any other outputs by design) would mean two conversions with the first having degraded the signal a lot. Second, there is a lot less tinkering because the popular distros know how to change channels directly using the Happauge card.
You are missing most of the goodness of a DVR if you do what you are describing.
DVRs are one of those things you could spend hours explaining to someone and they still don't get it or you show them how it works and they say "I want one". Maybe ask a friend for a demo?
I built my first one maybe 9 years ago and no one could get how it worked until I showed it to them. I then built a number of them for friends. At that time there wasn't much to pick from commercially.
You're right that you don't need the program information service to do the task that you describe above. The issue is that probably 95% of the market for a DVR does not want to set it by channel, time, and day to record. They want the convenience that the program service provides. If you've never tried a Tivo it's hard to describe the great features that it offes that make use of the program information. For example, I can set up a wishlist to auto-record any movie with Robert Deniro. Or anything to do with Ronald Reagan. The latter will capture everything from any movie he was an actor in, to documentaries, to even the presidential debate last night at the Reagan libarary.
The fact that you are using it with just an antenna limits how much you could use it for that purpose. But for the mass market that has cable or sat, there a hundreds of channels and being able to capture programs of interest in the above way is a huge advantage. Hence, Tivo has their product designed and priced to serve that mass market.
The older Tivos would work to record by time and channel without paying for the subscription service. Not sure about the current ones. You could look on Ebay for a used Tivo. You would have to decide if you want HD or only standard and make sure that what ever one you buy is compatible with digital broadcast. I think all starting with Series 2 are, but all but the newer ones would require an external digital tuner that you can also buy cheap. Some of those Tivos will come with lifetime service, which means that the service is included for the lifetime of the unit. The service is transferable with the unit if you sell it. I have an original Tivo Series 1 here that I would sell, but the Series 1 is not compatible with an external digital tuner so it would not work with an antenna, only cable or sat.
If you get one without the service, you need to be sure it will work doing just channel, day, time recording. If you get one with lifetime service you need find out if it uses phone for the service updates or internet. Older ones use phone, newer require internet.
As others have said, there are people doing this using a tuner add-in card for the PC. I don't know of any doing it using a capture only card and feeding it with an external tuner. The obvious problem there is that the PC card would need to output an IR signal to change the tuner channel. Having it all on one card probably makes more sense and doesn't add much in cost. The only thing is, from what I know, you then watch it on the PC, not the TV.
I would think the used Tivo idea would be more attractive from a price/feature standpoint than doing the PC integration thing. Also, if you're going the Tivo route, you might want to check what their repair costs are. I had my Tivo Series 1 damaged by lightning and back then the repair policy was for $100 they shipped me a refurbished unit, which I think is a good deal.
If you have the Guv'mint "converter", it has a tuner in it. You snatch the digital signal over the air and down convert it to NTSC for your old TV or old DVR/VCR.
I agree, I have a $60 Compaq D500 connected to the PC port of my big screen for internet TV (Hulu etc) and Netflix streaming. It is also my MP3 player since the big screen feeds an audio system.
Uh, wrong- all of the low-end DTV boxes I have also offer the VCR-style R-W-Y cable option. Noticeably better picture than the 'channel 3' game-style RF output. If his old TV has inputs for R-W-Y of course. My ancient Hauppage has the jacks, which I assume are for input, but have never really played with.
I've used a Garmin for a few years now. Handy device if used properly. Like you, I've travelled cross country a couple of times using regular maps. Even with the GPS, I use a map to see just where I'm going. I can drive to any major city in the US with no map at all, just a little knowledge of geography. If I wanted to attend the Indy 500 race, I know I have to cross PA, then OH, and into IN. What I use the GPS for is once I'm in the general area, it will guide me to the motel, or Bob's house, or whatever.
They are not perfect, but they do work. I also have preferences the gps does not have. An electronic device finds the shortest or fastest route based on pre-programmed information. There may be "better" routes though, if you have driven that way before. The computer does not know that a particular town is awash with school busses so the next street over is easier, and that type of thing, but it will take you to the destination you asked for.
I was scratching my head as Ed said that it's not a tuner. My Guv'mint "converter", does have a tuner in it. The tv is ALWAYS set to AUX. All channel changes are done on the DTV converter.
Yea, but I cant get the service to use a commercial DVR because I cant get cable tv. Rural areas like mine dont have cable, and SatTV is just too expensive. We cant get any internet except dialup either.
I'd like to see one in action. I dont know anyone who has one. Everyone I know still uses a Vcr.
I'd like to see a blowup of what you built.
What I'm most interested in doing, is just recording a movie off the air, or saving something off the news, such as when a tornado did severe damage in a nearby town in June, I now have a video tape with 5 minutes of news on it. Really what I want most is just a digital "VCR", something to record to in digital format, and where I can edit it, out the commercials or parts I dont want, and maybe save it to DVD, or turn a few minutes of tv news coverage into a youtube (like) sort of video.
I'm sure an actual DVR can do a lot more and the weblinks posted on some replies from this thread showed me what it can do, but none of that will work off my antenna, and I could not justify the cost of the service even if I could get cable.
I agree the networks have little to offer, but in the last couple years they came out with THIS-TV and ME-TV. I love those oldies programs. That's about all I watch now. But that's just what I want this DVR for. For example, I have around 20 video tapes just for Mister ED the talking horse. (my favorite program). It sure would be nice to be able ot remove all the commercials, and burn that huge stack of tapes to a few dvds. But I've never found a way to connect a vcr to a computer either (other than the audio portion).
It's pretty easy to navigate the Interstate system, cross country. ;-)
It also doesn't know that a particular route is a RPITA during rush hour. All roads (at an equal hierarchy) are the same.
I have a Magellan. The thing has a habit of giving the wrong directions but displaying the correct information (sometimes). Very annoying. It is still better than a map for navigating a large city. I would never buy a Magellan again. I'll likely replace it with a Garmin.
The Tivo service works with any or all of over the air TV, cable and satellite. The service information itself is not downloaded in one of two ways. Older units used dial up where it makes a toll free call once a day. Newer ones use an ethernet connection to your home network.
=A0Rural areas like mine dont have cable, and SatTV is
Try looking on Youtube. I bet there are videos demonstrating how they work.
From the standpoint of editing, I agree a device like Tivo isn't going to do what you want. It has no such capability. As for service cost of a DVR, you can find older Tivo units on Ebay with lifetime service bundled in for a reasonable price.
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