Nero LiquidTV TiVo PC $34.99 Free S&H The Nero LiquidTV TiVo PC deal is back for early Black Friday. Prices good through 11/30/2009, also says "While supplies last".
This generated alot of interest last time around at this price.
I purchased one of these during last weeks deal. I have still trying to figure out how to get a decent HD picture. When I use it connected to an antenna, I get a good HD picture. But when I try to connect my HD cable box, the high def picture is much worse. I tried connecting through both the coax and composite connection. I would have thought using the composite would just allow the HD signal to pass through the tuner.
Also, you will need to register for your 1 year TiVo subscription when you go through setup. So if you decide to sell the whole setup, the clock will be running on the 1 year TiVo sub.
Snotick said: I purchased one of these during last weeks deal. I have still trying to figure out how to get a decent HD picture. When I use it connected to an antenna, I get a good HD picture. But when I try to connect my HD cable box, the high def picture is much worse. I tried connecting through both the coax and composite connection. I would have thought using the composite would just allow the HD signal to pass through the tuner.
You thought wrong. Composite is not digital and digital is not composite.
Ok. Then all those that are thinking that they can use this to get HD pass through to their computers, don't buy it. The only thing that this will do for you use pick up over the air HD channels. Which I currently get about 10. You can record those 10 hd channels, or you can record the standard definition channels. (but I have an old PCI tuner, that I have been able to record standard def (cable connected) for a couple of years)
BTW: in regards to composite. Why am I able to run composite from my cable box to my 50" plasma and get a good 720 HD picture?
Snotick said: Ok. Then all those that are thinking that they can use this to get HD pass through to their computers, don't buy it. That's true as most cable companies scramble the HD signals. You CAN get HD signals but only unscrambled ones plus all the unscrambled SD QAM channels.
Snotick said: BTW: in regards to composite. Why am I able to run composite from my cable box to my 50" plasma and get a good 720 HD picture? You're running COMPONENT, not COMPOSITE. That's why.
As for the deal - get it if just for the tuner which goes for about $100 by itself.
daver234
Member
posted: Nov. 26, 2009 @ 1:58p
In for 4! Got one the last promotion and it works pretty well. Picked one more up for me and the others will make some great gifts.
1lossir said: Snotick said: Ok. Then all those that are thinking that they can use this to get HD pass through to their computers, don't buy it. That's true as most cable companies scramble the HD signals. You CAN get HD signals but only unscrambled ones plus all the unscrambled SD QAM channels.
Snotick said: BTW: in regards to composite. Why am I able to run composite from my cable box to my 50" plasma and get a good 720 HD picture? You're running COMPONENT, not COMPOSITE. That's why.
As for the deal - get it if just for the tuner which goes for about $100 by itself.
Thanks for clearing that up. Is there any way to connect Composite or other to PC to record HD channels from a cable box to PC. I had been doing some reading about building your own DVR. Thats why I thought this deal would have been the solution.
Snotick said: Thanks for clearing that up. Is there any way to connect Composite or other to PC to record HD channels from a cable box to PC. I had been doing some reading about building your own DVR. Thats why I thought this deal would have been the solution. http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hvr950q.html Manuals and FAQ tab have some answers for you
Ok, I have looked at this and the description does not say EXACTLY what come in the box... Does it have everything I need to use in the box or not? I was thinking just for video on my laptop at work for some of the bigger games on weekends...
Never mind.... I researched and found it comes complete....
what's in the box: - 12 month subscription to the TiVo service - TV tuner card with A/V cable and antenna (Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950Q USB tuner except remote) - TiVo pc remote control - IR blaster and receiver - software installation disc - quickstart guide
1. most people advise not to use above software but if you still want, please use the latest version from this
2. most people only use WinTV-HVR-950Q USB tuner with Windows Media Center (thanks Jsrule7@SD for pic) and if you want to use remote, you need to update receiver driver using this or this (these are coming from installed dir, thanks zar@SD)
sswithjs said: Snotick said: Thanks for clearing that up. Is there any way to connect Composite or other to PC to record HD channels from a cable box to PC. I had been doing some reading about building your own DVR. Thats why I thought this deal would have been the solution. http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hvr950q.html Manuals and FAQ tab have some answers for you
That page discusses the WinTV V7 application. You dont actually use this app with the package that you purchase. When you install the included software, it installs the TiVo PC software.
I did unistall and attempted to install the WinTV V7 application but I kept getting an error message asking me to insert my original WinTV V7 disc into my computer. But since I downloaded the software from Hauppauge's web page that wasnt possible. I was able to install WinTV V6, but I am still unable to allow a HD picture to pass through my computer to lcd.
The only way to get the HD video from the box to the computer is through either the HDMI port or component video out jacks. That means you need to find a "video capture device" that can receive those inputs and connect to the computer. Something like this, for example: http://bit.ly/60uHvl
At that cost you're probably better off renting the DVR from your cable company.
yeah, it may be cheaper. Here in Omaha, Cox Comm. charges $5.25 for an hd box and $12 for DVR service every month. The other downside is the size of the hard drive in their DVR's is painful. I would like to build my own and put a 750mb or 1TB hard drive in there.
So if I can save $12 a month, it would take a couple of years to recoup the cost of something like that.
Snotick said: Thanks for clearing that up. Is there any way to connect Composite or other to PC to record HD channels from a cable box to PC. I had been doing some reading about building your own DVR. Thats why I thought this deal would have been the solution. I researched that a lot when I built my own DVR. Most PC tuners now can do ATSC (over the air digital SD & HD), Clear QAM (unencrypted cable company over coax, usually SD), and video-in from your tv tuner (via composite or svideo, SD only).
There are two HD solutions that I know of. First, buy an HD-ready DVR package PC with an included ATI HD TV Wonder. The ATI HD tuners are not officially (that I know of) sold separately, and they (supposedly) are tied to the BIOS of those PC's. So it's a non-starter for DIY types unless you buy the entire PC from a vendor, and then I'm not sure if you have to run their software as well, which will likely save DRM'd video.
The second (and actually viable) option is the Hauppauge HD-PVR (http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html). This allows component (not "composite") in for HD capture on the PC. That means you'll need an HD source that outputs to component, which includes most cable-company HD set top boxes (STB's). So you rent the HD stb from your cable company ($8/mo for me on FIOS), then buy the HD-PVR (around $150-200), and use an IR blaster or firewire to change channels. This allows you to get HD into the PC and record it.
For tuners like the one in this deal, you can tune in any clear QAM channels your cable company may offer. It's hit or miss whether your channels are clear or encrypted.
Right now I run a STB, connected via composite (single RCA cable) to my tv tuner card for SD capture. This card will replace the old one, and I'll probably use svideo for slightly better SD capture. If I wanted, I could buy the HD-PVR and get HD capture. However, it hasn't been worth it for me, so a $35 tuner is a better deal for me than a $150 HD tuner.
Example: say you currently rent a DVR from the cable company for around $15/mo or so. So if you were to rent an HD STB for around $8/mo and use an HD-PVR, that saves $84 a year. So after 2 years, you save enough to cover the cost of the HD PVR, and you save money each money after. Meanwhile you get free all-house networked PVR (if you run the right software like Mythtv), which might cost extra from a cable company, and you can download your shows and watch them on your laptop/iphone/etc.
You can even go crazy and buy an HD STB and rent a cablecard for around $3-5/mo. Similar ROI, about 2 years you've amortized the equipment, and now you own it.
Sorry for the long post... it's all the stuff I researched when I was building my own.
HDTVset
Senior Member - 2K
posted: Nov. 26, 2009 @ 8:35p
Supports up to 4 tuners?
So I can use up to 4 of this USB tuners in the same PC and recorder 4 shows at the same time?
I got this last time. The TiVo software does not work for HD, only for regular SD broadcasts. The picture on the SD is poor. I have an old tv tuner card that has to be close to 10 years old that has a better picture with SD. The HD picture quality is high but I get random freezes every 10-20 minutes. The WinTV program doesn't lock up it just stops working, the picture freezes and the sound stops. It's almost like it has lost the signal but it never picks back up and starts playing again. Overall I am very disappointed with the product and even at $35 I would look at a different TV tuner.
I got this from the last deal too. It was detected and drivers automatically installed on Win7 x64 and works fine with Windows 7 Media Center. The only problem was just after installing it Blue Screened while trying to tune the first channel on Live TV. After installing, I suggest rebooting first, before trying to watch TV or record (even though there is no message telling you to restart after installing).
Anyway, after the reboot it has worked fine. I've recorded 30min and 1hr HDTV shows and watched Live TV in Windows 7 Media Center without glitches or any other problems. I converted one show to AVCHD (without re-encoding) to play back on my Blu-ray player and it looked better than the same show recorded on my set-top standalone HD TiVo. Same signal, but the HVR 950Q and Media Center made a cleaner recording of the same video bits.
So, this tuner works well with Windows 7 Media Center. The only minus is that changing channels is slow. It's slower than WinTV changing channels, so I assume it's due to Media Center software and not the tuner hardware.
I also tried scanning for QAM, but all the channels were encrypted. I did get some SD analog cable, but the quality wasn't great and those channels will be phased out soon anyway.
I installed the Win TV 7 software on Windows XP and it seemed to work fine, with faster channel switching. I only did a short HDTV recording (15 min), but it recorded and played fine. Otherwise the interface is very basic compared to Media Center and there's no guide. The Live buffer playing and seeking doesn't compare to Media Center. I would probably only use WinTV 7 for watching live TV in a window while doing something else. For serious viewing and DVR recording, Media Center is the way to go.
About the Win TV 7 software, you can only install the version linked in the wiki, not the current version on the Hauppauge site. To install the latest version, you need an original WinTV 7 CD, which isn't included with this Nero LiquidTV bundle, since it comes with TiVo software.
I haven't installed the remote yet, but I've read that most people are able to get it working with Media Center by using third-party software.
This is definitely a great deal if you're in the market. Last time I checked, the HVR 950Q tuner was $70 at Newegg.
manko said: I haven't installed the remote yet, but I've read that most people are able to get it working with Media Center by using third-party software.
That's what I need to know. Please post once you have done that. Thanks for your input.
randall
Ancient Member
posted: Nov. 26, 2009 @ 9:48p
Anyone know if this is one of those "auto-renew" TiVo deals? I had that happen a couple years ago when I bought a TiVo with a yr subscription for a gift, and wound up getting charged the following year. Got it fixed, but still a bit of a hassle. Green for OP
ShakuniMama said: manko said: I haven't installed the remote yet, but I've read that most people are able to get it working with Media Center by using third-party software.
That's what I need to know. Please post once you have done that. Thanks for your input.
to use remote with Windows Media Center, 1. plug receiver to your PC's usb 2. from device manager, update driver using http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/970781/m14411351#m1441... * summary has same info in detail * buttons are not 100% working as remote intended to be used for TiVo software but basic functions are working fine
ShakuniMama said: That's what I need to know. Please post once you have done that. Thanks for your input. I don't know when I'll get to it, but most of the information is in the SD thread for the first deal. People mentioned mapping the Windows Media Center Commands to the TiVo remote with:
My credit card statement online shows they over-charged me for this by $.30. That's right, thirty cents. Probably due to converting Euros to dollars. I may just dispute this with the credit card company if I get too bored.
ribex said: If anyone got this and does not want the TiVo subscription portion of it, please PM me. I definitely don't want the TiVo sub for this, I'm only using the tuner part (I'm on mythtv now). I'm not sure if a liquidtv sub can be used with a normal TiVo box, but I'll PM you anyway.
victoh
Member
posted: Dec. 8, 2009 @ 9:01p
sswithjs said: ShakuniMama said: manko said: I haven't installed the remote yet, but I've read that most people are able to get it working with Media Center by using third-party software.
That's what I need to know. Please post once you have done that. Thanks for your input.
to use remote with Windows Media Center, 1. plug receiver to your PC's usb 2. from device manager, update driver using http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/970781/m14411351#m1441... * summary has same info in detail * buttons are not 100% working as remote intended to be used for TiVo software but basic functions are working fine Exactly and agree with you even on the remote.
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