1st HTPC: completely confused about tuner/PVR options

[SpacemanSpiff2000]

Will try to balance info w/ brevity here: trying to spec my first HTPC build with some frustration because I don’t understand much entertainment tech. The sea of unknown acronyms is killing me.

I want the HTPC to do a lot, but to stay focused, my main confusions are around the h/w to accomplish the following:

1) re-record my favorite shows from the now-full FIOS DVR into the HTPC

2) digitize my kids’ 14yr old videos from VHS

3) record new shows into the HTPC (bypassing the Verizon DVR)

4) have the HTPC be the DVR … this could be with non-DVR Set Top Box or with no STB

So, some device/s are necessary for this, but when I shop for which ones, I get confused about what actually does what in the real world in order to understand the selections.  So I don’t know which or how many but I want the fewest without sacrificing. My questions are (from another similar thread):

Is a Hauppauge Colossus 1414 the best internal answer? It sounds like it would handle 1 & 2, but what about 3 & 4? But with a STB, would it only record the channel I’m watching, or can it record something I’m not watching?

I’ve also read some about the different types of signals from channels (NTSC, ATSC, QAM) but I don’t know how to tell which channels are which or how that might limit the 1414.

Then there are similar cards with tuners, but not cablecards (e.g., Hauppauge 1129 WinTV-HVR-1850). How do they figure into my intended design? Is the “tuner” part necessary? Is there a difference between this and the 1414? What should I be looking for?

If I went as far as a Ceton card, would that eliminate the need for a PVR card because the Ceton would do it all? Or would I need a Ceton + a PVR card to do all 4 things above?

Or do I even need a Ceton at all if I have no premium channels and my family (who would kill me if this all makes TV harder) only watches the HD versions of Disney, Nick, NickJr (no HD), Cartoon Network, Univision/Telemundo, and the basic network stations? Would it be better to get what I can over the air? I’m try to cut Verizon costs as much as possible.

And what do things like Sage and Boxee even do with respect to all this? Same stuff? Different?/How?

Attempting to summarize:

• I get what it’s like to have a cable box
• I think I get what it would be like to have the cable box entirely in the HTPC (i.e., a Ceton)
• but in between those 2 points, I’m so lost about what PVRs and Tuners and such can/can’t do.  I would rather know/understand what I can choose between all and nothing.

If you can’t address any of this in this thread, can you point me to a primer or something out there for beginners that addresses this and was written sometime after 2008. My eyes hurt after reading for months, and I’m running out of time.  I’d be so grateful … thanks! :^{D

[Mike Garcen]

Either the Hauppauge Colossus or the HD-PVR will work for all of your needs, with one caveat–they both require the usage and rental of your set top box. But even with the STB, it is the actual COMPUTER that is the DVR in this scenario, so the STB is just a dumb tuner (you use IR blasting to change channels).

If you want to save the cost of the STB altogether then you can go the CETON route, but that would leave you 100% without options for importing your previously DVR’d content and VHS.

So that’s the first thing you need to decide, then from there you can decide on which tuner.

[swoon]

Based on your requirements, I recommend the Hauppauge Colossus (assuming you caught our review) to fulfill your first two objectives. The Colossus will do an excellent job in digitizing your VHS content and liberating the STB content.

For a FiOS DVR replacement, I recommend you go with a Digital Cable Tuner (DCT) because it will allow you to tune all of your subscribed package without requiring a STB any longer. Verizon can provide you with a CableCARD which you can use with the Ceton InfiniTV, the soon to be released Hauppauge WinTV-DCR-2650 or the soon to be released Silicon Dust HDHomeRun.

While you can use the Colossus to accomplish 3 & 4, it will require the use of a STB to tune and decode video to send to the Colossus and you can only view and/or record 1 program at a time per Colossus installed. As you add STBs and Colossus cards, the solution quickly becomes more expensive, more difficult to maintain and more bulky than a DCT.

Since SageTV has been purchased by Google, you can no longer purchase a license so you can really forget about using it since you don’t already have one. You also need not worry about Boxee which is a solution designed to play back local media files or stream Internet content. Boxee has no electronic programming guide (EPG) or support for tuners. This basically leaves you with a solution based on Windows 7 Media Center which is included with Windows 7 Home Premium and will work with DCTs as well as the Colossus.

So, the choice in DCT is would you rather have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 which fits an internal PCIe slot and offers 4 tuners, a Hauppauge WinTV-DCR-2650 which is external, connects via USB and offers 2 tuners or the Silicon Dust HDHomeRun Prime which is external, connects via Ethernet network and offers 3 tuners? For the easiest setup, I recommend the Ceton or Hauppauge solutions because in some cases, the networking solution can be a little more tricky and advanced to figure out.

[jrandeck]

 

I agree with what’s been said about the Colossus and a cable card tuner being the best approach, but I thought I’d try to answer some of your other questions.

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

So, some device/s are necessary for this, but when I shop for which ones, I get confused about what actually does what in the real world in order to understand the selections.  So I don’t know which or how many but I want the fewest without sacrificing. My questions are (from another similar thread):

Is a Hauppauge Colossus 1414 the best internal answer? It sounds like it would handle 1 & 2, but what about 3 & 4? But with a STB, would it only record the channel I’m watching, or can it record something I’m not watching?

[/quote]

The Colossus uses the component video output from your set top box, so it can only record what the box is tuned to.  You can watch recordings from the HTPC form other channels while recording with the Colossus, but the only live channel you’ll be able to watch is the one that’s being recorded.

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

I’ve also read some about the different types of signals from channels (NTSC, ATSC, QAM) but I don’t know how to tell which channels are which or how that might limit the 1414.

Then there are similar cards with tuners, but not cablecards (e.g., Hauppauge 1129 WinTV-HVR-1850). How do they figure into my intended design? Is the “tuner” part necessary? Is there a difference between this and the 1414? What should I be looking for?

[/quote]

NTSC = the old analog broadcast standard.  I don’t think FIOS uses this at all, and even if it does, you’ll be happier with digital options.

ATSC = the new digital broadcast standard used for over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV.  You won’t get those over FIOS, you’d need an external antenna. This is also an option you don’t need to worry about because you get your local channels via FIOS.

QAM = digital cable.  Most QAM tuners such as the Hauppauge 1850 record only unencrypted QAM which generally limits you to your local channels.   I thought at at one point Verizon sent all of their channels in the clear, but that might have changed, or I might be mistaken, so there’s a risk for this type of tuner.  On the other hand, they’re inexpensive. 

DCT = Digital Cable Card Tuner.  This is the only type of tuner that can decrypt encrypted cable channels (encrypted QAM). 

Hope that helps.

 

[umdivx]

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

1) re-record my favorite shows from the now-full FIOS DVR into the HTPC[/quote]

HD-PVR, however you will still need to manually play back each recording and manually record each show, it won’t be automatic.

Your best bet would be to either netflix the shows, or re-record them off of FIOS with a cable card tuner like the Ceton infinitv or the new upcoming silicon dust cable card tuner.

[quote]

2) digitize my kids’ 14yr old videos from VHS[/quote]

Any analog capture card can accomplish this. Again might be better off purchaing the DVD’s for those VHS’s and then digitizing, you will get much better quality as a DVD is already getting you the digital format.

Going from Analog to digital is time consuming and the quality is extremely poor.

[quote]

3) record new shows into the HTPC (bypassing the Verizon DVR)[/quote]

Cable card tuner, Ceton Infinitv or Silicon dust cable card tuners.

[quote]

4) have the HTPC be the DVR … this could be with non-DVR Set Top Box or with no STB[/quote]

again Cable card tuner, much much easier to setup, plus you get 4 tuners, or 3 depending on which route you go.

 

[quote]Is a Hauppauge Colossus 1414 the best internal answer? It sounds like it would handle 1 & 2, but what about 3 & 4? But with a STB, would it only record the channel I’m watching, or can it record something I’m not watching?[/quote]

The colosus will capture off of a STB or VHS player yes, but honestly is it worth your time? it will take you hours upon hours to capture all that DVR’d content off of your fios DVR. Again same goes for your kids VHS tapes.

Not trying to be a downer here but there are much easier ways. Get netflix streaming account and stream all of your kids movies, you will get much better quality over a VHS capture.

And again for #3/#4 cable card tuner all the way, you then no longer need a STB at all, and you get more tuners, more space, a better interface and can do multi room with xbox 360’s.

[quote]

I’ve also read some about the different types of signals from channels (NTSC, ATSC, QAM) but I don’t know how to tell which channels are which or how that might limit the 1414.[/quote]

the 1414 is capture only, it is NOT a tuner. the Ceton Infinitv4 is a tuner and will tune/record all your fios content.

BTW Fios is 100% digital QAM. NTSC = Analog for traditional cable tv (ie comcast, time warner, ect..) ATSC = over the air digital tv (ie antenna “rabbit ear” tv).

the 1414 you will ALWAYS need the fios STB to capture and record tv off of fios.

So you pay all that money for the 1414 and still need to have a STB which then limits you to only recording one show at a time. Cable card tuners like the Ceton or Silicon Dust allows you to record or watch multiple shows/channels at once.

you would need multiple 1414’s and multiple set top boxes to record more than one show at a time.

[quote]

Then there are similar cards with tuners, but not cablecards (e.g., Hauppauge 1129 WinTV-HVR-1850). How do they figure into my intended design? Is the “tuner” part necessary? Is there a difference between this and the 1414? What should I be looking for?[/quote]

They don’t. the 1850 is a ATSC over the air, or un-encrypted QAM tuner. Last I heard Fios tv is 100% encrypted QAM so you would need a cable card tuner to accomplish the task of recording tv off of Fios.

[quote]

If I went as far as a Ceton card, would that eliminate the need for a PVR card because the Ceton would do it all? Or would I need a Ceton + a PVR card to do all 4 things above?[/quote]

Yes it would. All you would need to get from Verizon is a cable card, looks like a pcmcia wifi card but what it does, is un-encrypts the fios signal so you can record it.

The Ceton card wouldn’t accomplish #1 or #2 though. the Ceton card is a tuner only, it doesn’t capture analog signals which is what you are trying to accomplish in task #1 and #2.

[quote]

Or do I even need a Ceton at all if I have no premium channels and my family (who would kill me if this all makes TV harder) only watches the HD versions of Disney, Nick, NickJr (no HD), Cartoon Network, Univision/Telemundo, and the basic network stations? Would it be better to get what I can over the air? I’m try to cut Verizon costs as much as possible.[/quote]

My wife and kids use my htpc to watch tv every day with a ceton card setup. The only difference is you will have a different interface, which IMHO is much better than the fios interface.

Basically you will have a pc running windows 7, a ceton card, and that is it. Media Center is your DVR then, has the guide, the gui, everything. You won’t get Disney, Nick, NickJR, ect… via over the air.

 

[quote]

And what do things like Sage and Boxee even do with respect to all this? Same stuff? Different?/How?[/quote]

SageTV is a PVR/DVR interface/front end just like Media Center for windows 7. IT does DVRing, ect.. but it doesn’t have native, out of the box support for a ceton cable card tuner. It can be accomplished but it harder to setup, Also with the purchase of SageTV by google, if you don’t already have a license for SageTV there is no way to purchase one right now.

Boxee is a media front end, great if all you do is online streaming of content and have all of your movies and videos ripped to a network storage device. Boxee doesn’t have any DVR/PVR capabilities.

I hope this was helpful.

-Josh

[swoon]

[quote=umdivx]

[quote]

2) digitize my kids’ 14yr old videos from VHS[/quote]

Any analog capture card can accomplish this. Again might be better off purchaing the DVD’s for those VHS’s and then digitizing, you will get much better quality as a DVD is already getting you the digital format.

Going from Analog to digital is time consuming and the quality is extremely poor.

[/quote]

I was assuming that the VHS videos were home videos, if not, I agree that purchasing the DVD or BD of that content is a better solution.

If these are home videos, another option besides purchasing something like the Colossus is to find a service that will capture and digitize them to DVD. Depending on the amount of video though, this may be more expensive than purchasing a Colossus which you could also use for liberating your FIOS DVR content.

[umdivx]

[quote=swoon]

I was assuming that the VHS videos were home videos, if not, I agree that purchasing the DVD or BD of that content is a better solution.

If these are home videos, another option besides purchasing something like the Colossus is to find a service that will capture and digitize them to DVD. Depending on the amount of video though, this may be more expensive than purchasing a Colossus which you could also use for liberating your FIOS DVR content.

[/quote]

Great point. Didn’t think about family movies. So if they are family movies that is a different ball game there.

-Josh

[phoneguyinpgh]

[quote=jrandeck]

QAM = digital cable.  Most QAM tuners such as the Hauppauge 1850 record only unencrypted QAM which generally limits you to your local channels.   I thought at at one point Verizon sent all of their channels in the clear, but that might have changed, or I might be mistaken, so there’s a risk for this type of tuner.  On the other hand, they’re inexpensive. 

DCT = Digital Cable Card Tuner.  This is the only type of tuner that can decrypt encrypted cable channels (encrypted QAM). 

Hope that helps.

 

[/quote]

 

I am not sure about all Verizon areas, but, I just installed a 2nd Ceton tuner card.  I do not have the cable card from Verizon for it yet (placed the order today, scheduled for friday afternoon).  I set everything up and tried to tune a local channel but, No Joy.  So it would appear that even the local channels are blocked on the Ceton card. 

Several years ago I tried a tuner that I have for my laptop that does ATSC (off the air) and clear QAM and it was able to tuner the local channels and the music choice channels surpizingly.  Might be that the Ceton needs a cable card to work period.

[umdivx]

[quote=phoneguyinpgh]I am not sure about all Verizon areas, but, I just installed a 2nd Ceton tuner card.  I do not have the cable card from Verizon for it yet (placed the order today, scheduled for friday afternoon).  I set everything up and tried to tune a local channel but, No Joy.  So it would appear that even the local channels are blocked on the Ceton card. 

Several years ago I tried a tuner that I have for my laptop that does ATSC (off the air) and clear QAM and it was able to tuner the local channels and the music choice channels surpizingly.  Might be that the Ceton needs a cable card to work period.

[/quote]

The ceton can do clean (un-encrypted qam) but you have to set it up in media center to do so.

-Josh

[SpacemanSpiff2000]

I can’t thank you all enough for providing all this help; it’s esp. appreciated after I’ve searched and read and posted and got basically none of this before.

So my way seems more clear now …

Phase 1: I need either a Colossus 1414 or a 1212 PVR (in case I want the PVR to be more mobile).  I was going to pull the trigger on the 1212, but everyone except Hauppauge is out of stock right now and the eBay market is getting pricier. So I’m thinking 1414 also due to price (even though the 1414 seems to get few, and sometimes convincingly bad, user reviews on Amazon & Newegg). Makes me nervous but y’all sound convinced. That handles 1 and 2.

Phase 2: Dumping the DVR for a Ceton can come after the (non-silicon) dust settles to handle 3 & 4.

Still wondering, though, if it’s better to build a smaller, component-looking unit in the TV stand now and go with an extender later … or just build it bigger in the office and go extender immediately.  I only have this 1 family room TV being used for the next year/s or so. (The tube TV is still on the kitchen bar, but that’s probably hopeless, beyond maybe getting an OTA converter just because we have it sitting there.)

To clarify:

While Netflixing is a great idea that hadn’t hit me yet, my #1 is actually >1yr of cooking shows (in SD) my wife & I use for reference … not on Netflix.  DVR has done a great job of filling up with non-repeats. We used to collect them on 6hr VHS and catalog what was where, but obviously doing the same thing digitally makes it a whole lot easier, and then I can start collecting them slowly in HD (but I’d rather have them at all first).

And my #2 is actually home made movies on VHS-C from when my 14 & 11 yrs old were ~2yrs old (from a 1995 RCA “small wonder” CC612, which is larger than my DSLR and my Canon Vixia put together).  No choice there; the time on both will be worth it to me. But for anything Netflixable, I totally get it; thx for the idea.

You all have also taken the amorphous sea of products, as seen by a noob, and helped me distinguish parts … so I now know I don’t need pay attention to non-CC tuners or other boxes that are not extenders. To a noob, at first, all this stuff really does look like one might need one of everything, and then different combinations for different purposes without redundancy are indistinguishable for a cost/benefit analysis. It’s also helpful to know that a Ceton can work w/o a card and a sense of what Verizon FiOS (in MD) may provide.

So, again, I can’t thank you enough.  I have a 3D BluRay drive question but I’ll research/post that separately.  :^{D

[SpacemanSpiff2000]

P.S. – A reach out to Facebook also led me to a few knowledgable friends and to articles like this one, which also helped:

http://lifehacker.com/5632722/how-to-pick-the-right-tv-tuner-for-your-diy-dvr

[swoon]

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

So I’m thinking 1414 also due to price (even though the 1414 seems to get few, and sometimes convincingly bad, user reviews on Amazon & Newegg). Makes me nervous but y’all sound convinced. 

[/quote]

My experience with the Colossus is that it performs very well as a pure capture device. The only issues I have experienced came when I attempted to use the Colossus as a capture device for DVR functionality which you do not plan to do.

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

Still wondering, though, if it’s better to build a smaller, component-looking unit in the TV stand now and go with an extender later … or just build it bigger in the office and go extender immediately.  I only have this 1 family room TV being used for the next year/s or so. (The tube TV is still on the kitchen bar, but that’s probably hopeless, beyond maybe getting an OTA converter just because we have it sitting there.)

[/quote]

I have used both models in the past and much prefer having a HTPC connected to my display instead of an extender because it is much more flexible and can be built to suit my needs. With an extender, you are completely locked into what the device/model can and can’t do which is okay if it suits your use case.

When you are ready, come back with your Blu-ray questions and we’ll see if we can help.

[jrandeck]

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

Phase 1: I need either a Colossus 1414 or a 1212 PVR (in case I want the PVR to be more mobile).  I was going to pull the trigger on the 1212, but everyone except Hauppauge is out of stock right now and the eBay market is getting pricier. So I’m thinking 1414 also due to price (even though the 1414 seems to get few, and sometimes convincingly bad, user reviews on Amazon & Newegg).

…

While Netflixing is a great idea that hadn’t hit me yet, my #1 is actually >1yr of cooking shows (in SD) my wife & I use for reference … not on Netflix.  DVR has done a great job of filling up with non-repeats. We used to collect them on 6hr VHS and catalog what was where, but obviously doing the same thing digitally makes it a whole lot easier, and then I can start collecting them slowly in HD (but I’d rather have them at all first).

And my #2 is actually home made movies on VHS-C from when my 14 & 11 yrs old were ~2yrs old (from a 1995 RCA “small wonder” CC612, which is larger than my DSLR and my Canon Vixia put together).  No choice there; the time on both will be worth it to me. But for anything Netflixable, I totally get it; thx for the idea.

[/quote]

 

One point that just occurred to me that should probably be made regarding your #1 & #2 use cases is that if the content is standard definition (VHS tapes and your cooking shows) then the Hauppauge 1212 or 1414 might be overkill.

  If you have a lot of HD shows on your current DVR that you want to move off, then great, go ahead with that, but if you have mostly SD and don’t need the HD stuff to remain in HD, then an SD capture card or analog (NTSC) TV tuner card with an S-Video input (or composite if that’s all your STB has) could get the job done for less money.  I’ve converted VHS Tapes by setting up a manual recording and using the S-Video input on my ATI tuner card in the past, but I’d imagine that a dedicated capture device would have software that’s a little easier to set up and use for that scenario.

Other than cost, the other thing to consider is that the 1212 or 1414 might give you smaller files for a given quality since they use a more advanced codec than the SD cards (at least the ones I’ve used which had mpeg-2 encoders.)

Hopefully, this won’t confuse the issue, but it might be a valid option. 

[SpacemanSpiff2000]

[quote=jrandeck]

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

Phase 1: I need either a Colossus 1414 or a 1212 PVR (in case I want the PVR to be more mobile).  I was going to pull the trigger on the 1212, but everyone except Hauppauge is out of stock right now and the eBay market is getting pricier. So I’m thinking 1414 also due to price (even though the 1414 seems to get few, and sometimes convincingly bad, user reviews on Amazon & Newegg).

…

While Netflixing is a great idea that hadn’t hit me yet, my #1 is actually >1yr of cooking shows (in SD) my wife & I use for reference … not on Netflix.  DVR has done a great job of filling up with non-repeats. We used to collect them on 6hr VHS and catalog what was where, but obviously doing the same thing digitally makes it a whole lot easier, and then I can start collecting them slowly in HD (but I’d rather have them at all first).

And my #2 is actually home made movies on VHS-C from when my 14 & 11 yrs old were ~2yrs old (from a 1995 RCA “small wonder” CC612, which is larger than my DSLR and my Canon Vixia put together).  No choice there; the time on both will be worth it to me. But for anything Netflixable, I totally get it; thx for the idea.

[/quote]

 

One point that just occurred to me that should probably be made regarding your #1 & #2 use cases is that if the content is standard definition (VHS tapes and your cooking shows) then the Hauppauge 1212 or 1414 might be overkill.

  If you have a lot of HD shows on your current DVR that you want to move off, then great, go ahead with that, but if you have mostly SD and don’t need the HD stuff to remain in HD, then an SD capture card or analog (NTSC) TV tuner card with an S-Video input (or composite if that’s all your STB has) could get the job done for less money.  I’ve converted VHS Tapes by setting up a manual recording and using the S-Video input on my ATI tuner card in the past, but I’d imagine that a dedicated capture device would have software that’s a little easier to set up and use for that scenario.

Other than cost, the other thing to consider is that the 1212 or 1414 might give you smaller files for a given quality since they use a more advanced codec than the SD cards (at least the ones I’ve used which had mpeg-2 encoders.)

Hopefully, this won’t confuse the issue, but it might be a valid option. 

[/quote]

[quote=jrandeck]

One point that just occurred to me that should probably be made regarding your #1 & #2 use cases is that if the content is standard definition (VHS tapes and your cooking shows) then the Hauppauge 1212 or 1414 might be overkill.

  If you have a lot of HD shows on your current DVR that you want to move off, then great, go ahead with that, but if you have mostly SD and don’t need the HD stuff to remain in HD, then an SD capture card or analog (NTSC) TV tuner card with an S-Video input (or composite if that’s all your STB has) could get the job done for less money.  I’ve converted VHS Tapes by setting up a manual recording and using the S-Video input on my ATI tuner card in the past, but I’d imagine that a dedicated capture device would have software that’s a little easier to set up and use for that scenario.

Other than cost, the other thing to consider is that the 1212 or 1414 might give you smaller files for a given quality since they use a more advanced codec than the SD cards (at least the ones I’ve used which had mpeg-2 encoders.)

Hopefully, this won’t confuse the issue, but it might be a valid option.

[/quote]

Now that is a great point. Being new to all this, I have only researched the non-tuning PVRs and not the tuner cards and have no clue; a quick look at the Hauppauge website shows ~15 tuners and I don’t know where to begin … and that’s just 1 company.

But maybe I can shortcut it with this question. I’m not up on codecs and file formats. What are the best file formats for this stuff today? I take it from above that mpeg-2 is older.  If the 1414 does make this smaller by doing some work for me, I have little time and am already running out of space (due to my HD camcorder and a 18mo old), so that might be worth it. But I would need to know what file formats to look for.

Sacrificing a PVR also begs these questions: If I get the Ceton sooner than later, when I record the HD versions of the cooking shows to my HTPC, could there be issues with moving/using them? Something that could also be solved by re-recording via PVR?  I also figure if I don’t get a Ceton sooner (and this answer might influence that), if I start re-obtaining the cooking shows in HD on the DVR, I’ll need the PVR for those also.

P.S. – I’m having multiple problems with this site, at least over Chrome. The fonts have gone wonky size-wise before (I started the one over before posting it) and now, even though I delete my quote and jrandeck’s quote above, it insists on appearing as Spiff(old)-JR-JR(repeated)-Spiff(new).

[swoon]

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

But maybe I can shortcut it with this question. I’m not up on codecs and file formats. What are the best file formats for this stuff today? I take it from above that mpeg-2 is older.  If the 1414 does make this smaller by doing some work for me, I have little time and am already running out of space (due to my HD camcorder and a 18mo old), so that might be worth it. But I would need to know what file formats to look for.

[/quote]

You could get an older tuner that also includes a composite and/or S-video input with analog audio. The card will encode the video at MPEG-2 most likely. There is nothing inherently wrong with MPEG-2, it is just not typically as efficient as H.264 aka AVC (aka MPEG-4, Part 10) so MPEG-2 will take a larger file size to get the same quality as H.264.

One issue you will run into is software. You will need to obtain capture software that can interface to those cards which may be an additional expense if it isn’t included.

Another issue you may have is that the video quality may vary depending on how the card front-end filters were designed and the encoder quality.

Personally, if I were dealing with precious home videos and memories, I would just go with the Colossus unless you are on a tight budget. It has excellent quality, encodes to H.264 and includes capture software that is very easy to use.

[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]

Sacrificing a PVR also begs these questions: If I get the Ceton sooner than later, when I record the HD versions of the cooking shows to my HTPC, could there be issues with moving/using them? Something that could also be solved by re-recording via PVR?  I also figure if I don’t get a Ceton sooner (and this answer might influence that), if I start re-obtaining the cooking shows in HD on the DVR, I’ll need the PVR for those also.

[/quote]

FiOS is typically Copy Freely from what I understand. Maybe you can ask the question to other FiOS subscribers in your area to verify. With Copy Freely, there will be no problem using the recordings from a Ceton DCT on other PCs.

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