C Block 1487 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 I was wondering if some of the more tech adept users could help me out. I am working on a special video logging project in which I need to record 4-5 hours of video everyday from AJAM, BBC World, CNNI, France 24, RT, and Euronews. Surprisingly, all of these except Euronews are already available on my Comcast subscription. I'll be recording each one for 30-60 minutes everyday for a week on a schedule, and I won't be around to manually record each one. I don't *need* to transfer the video to a computer, so I was just planning on upgrading my Comcast bill to get a Motorola DVR and watch from there, though it would be really helpful if I could get it onto a computer, and quickly. A long time ago, I had a Comcast Motorola DVR where I could transfer the video from the DVR onto my Mac using the FireWire port, Apple's (very buggy and ancient) FireWire SDK software, and QuickTime to convert the files from .m2t to .mov. The experience was hit or miss, and some of the channels were encrypted or always recorded corrupt onto the DVR, so I couldn't even use all the video. My question is, before I invest in anything, is there some other solution out there that I haven't found where I can schedule recordings and somewhat easily transfer them for viewing on a computer? Should I try to still go the FireWire route? Or could I find something to take line out video/audio through component cables to USB? Anything helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caliwxdude 252 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 It'd be more expensive than simply renting a DVR from Comcast, but you could buy a CableCARD tuner (like the HDHomeRun Prime) which works with Windows Media Center for watching live TV and recording. You'd also need to rent a CableCARD from Comcast (~$3 a month, I think). I use WMC and HDHomeRun as my primary DVR (running on an HTPC) and it's the best I've used—and I was a TiVo fan. WMC records shows in a proprietary format, but supposedly you can edit them in Windows Movie Maker if you need to (ick). The HDHomeRun Prime also has three tuners, so you could record three shows at the same time (Cable DVRs are usually dual tuners). HDHomeRuns have a pretty good resale value on Craigslist so you can probably unload it for close to what you paid for it if you don't want to keep it around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToriElectra 291 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 For editing, I'd say go Sony Vegas- very good for my TV and radio program here at my tech high school; it'll be good for editing these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCAUTVNBC10 408 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Simply get a DVR from Comcast and then invest in a PVR card/box (I'd recommend Hauppauge's offerings either the Colosseus HD Card or the USB PVR2 Box. Both will run you around $100-150 depending where you shop). Both devices can accept HDMI and Component connections (and I'd recommend the latter to get around video encryption). WMC can accept feeds from these devices or you can use the PVR software that comes with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1675 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Simply get a DVR from Comcast and then invest in a PVR card/box (I'd recommend Hauppauge's offerings either the Colosseus HD Card or the USB PVR2 Box. Both will run you around $100-150 depending where you shop). Both devices can accept HDMI and Component connections (and I'd recommend the latter to get around video encryption). WMC can accept feeds from these devices or you can use the PVR software that comes with them. I second the component option. Depending on your capture software you may be able to capture the closed captioning which I believe is transmitted simultaneously over component video. HDMI will give you encryption errors and any closed captioning will be burnt into the video feed. You may also want to try using a flash video capture solution and hook that up to the XFINITY Online Streaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Thanks for the responses, everyone. It really helps. Simply get a DVR from Comcast and then invest in a PVR card/box (I'd recommend Hauppauge's offerings either the Colosseus HD Card or the USB PVR2 Box. Both will run you around $100-150 depending where you shop). Both devices can accept HDMI and Component connections (and I'd recommend the latter to get around video encryption). WMC can accept feeds from these devices or you can use the PVR software that comes with them. I think I might go this route. Just to make sure, I'll be able to schedule recordings on the Comcast DVR, and then when I replay them later, the line out will direct them to the capture card and instead of to my TV, right? Will I need capture software that I don't already have, or will these cards/boxes just show up like a camera would in Final Cut Pro/iMovie/QuickTime? You may also want to try using a flash video capture solution and hook that up to the XFINITY Online Streaming. This did occur to me, as QuickTime has screen capture built in, so I wouldn't even need to buy anything. I'll have to do this with my Euronews webstream, but I couldn't logistically do this for all the channels that I need to record. I have to record them at the exact same time everyday at mid-morning when I won't always be home, and I don't have a spare computer that I could do this on other than a prehistoric iBook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkolsen 1675 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Thanks for the responses, everyone. It really helps. I think I might go this route. Just to make sure, I'll be able to schedule recordings on the Comcast DVR, and then when I replay them later, the line out will direct them to the capture card and instead of to my TV, right? Will I need capture software that I don't already have, or will these cards/boxes just show up like a camera would in Final Cut Pro/iMovie/QuickTime? This did occur to me, as QuickTime has screen capture built in, so I wouldn't even need to buy anything. I'll have to do this with my Euronews webstream, but I couldn't logistically do this for all the channels that I need to record. I have to record them at the exact same time everyday at mid-morning when I won't always be home, and I don't have a spare computer that I could do this on other than a prehistoric iBook. If you want an easier system you could get a TiVo (upfront cost $200) plus you will need a subscription and cable card which world out to the price of a Comcast DVR. The TiVo will allow you to transfer files easily to your computer (you can leave the computer on over night) so you won't have to physically be there to transfer videos in real time. Plus the TiVo has other features like OnDemand (in certain areas), Hulu, Amazon Instant Video and netflix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 As an update, Comcast sent me the ultra new X1 DVR instead of one of those Motorola DVRs that I used to know really well. This thing is strange. It doesn't have HD component as an output— just SD yellow/white/red component and HDMI. That's a bit of a shame, though the X1 DVR has the ability to watch recorded shows on a computer from anywhere online, sort of like a Slingbox. It's not what I had imagined, but it does get what I wanted to do easily, which was to just be able to watch recordings on a computer. So I guess I'm set, even if it's playing a recording from a cloud and not my local disk. Also, when did Comcast start putting "Designed by Comcast in Phildadelphia" on everything? It's printed on the remote, it appears in the DVR OS, and it's in the iOS app. Somebody should tell Comcast that they're not Apple. Saying that the worst company in the world designed something in what is probably a fine city but one that still has a little bit of a blue collar reputation isn't saying much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToriElectra 291 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Well component wasn't really used much, and you can get HDMI cables for a lot cheaper now. Why aren't you using one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Well component wasn't really used much, and you can get HDMI cables for a lot cheaper now. Why aren't you using one? I use one for connecting it to my TV. HDMI is better technology, though the concern was that using HDMI to a separate recorder or tuner would include encryption. I've never used HDMI to record off a cable box, but when I used to use FireWire on my Motorola DVR in Denver, it carried encryption, so it would block certain channels from being copied. Apparently component cables don't carry encryption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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