Hi everyone, i know i've asked a similar question before, but this is more specific so hopefully i can set up HD tv easier.

What i am looking to do is:

1. Watch HD TV on my 24" Dell
2. Record either HD or SD (99% of the time it will be SD)
3. Do it as cheap as i can within reason

I have a 15" PowerBook G4 1.67GHz with 1Gig RAM.

Does anyone have an idea on the best way to achieve the above. What i was initially thinking was using a cheap HD set top box for watching HD, and then somehow connecting the set top box to the laptop whenever i want to record something.

Most recordings will be kids shows and burnt to DVD for the kids to watch.

HD PVRs are too expensive, and i am worried about the laptop being able to process and display HD TV via a USB stick...

Any suggestions welcome.

You don't have to get a HD PVR to achieve what you want. You can get normal Digital DVR which will serve your purpose.
Your Powerbook G4 will struggle with digital content recording so I'd look at other ways. If you want to keep costs down, then you'll have to look into building a cheap PC etc which will turn out cheaper, but will require more work for yourself.

Yeah, that's not a bad idea but didn't want to spend the time to put together a cheap PC. Plus for the cost i may as well buy a PVR cause the DVR will cost around 200 plus the cost of the PC.

Will it struggle with recording for SD? or only HD?

Don't use a computer and buy the Beyonwiz DP-P1 ($899) and a DVD player ($50).

The Beyonwiz DP-P1 has dual HD tuners, a 250GB HDD and support for IceTV - check it out: www.beyonwiz.com.au

It's a lot simpler than a computer, all you need to do is plug it in and turn it on and then go through it's menu and set it up. It will even play video off a network device if you have such a setup (i.e: watch video you downloaded off the internet from your computer - or even off a USB key/drive).

That Beyonwiz looks sweet. I've been using my iMac as a telly for about three and a half years now and I'm about to buy a stupidly big telly. That looks like it would be perfect. Don't think I could live without being able to pause telly after having it for so long.

Anyone got any slightly cheaper suggestions? The Beyonwiz site doesn't seem to have prices.

Quite a bit more than i was looking to spend, but definitely will check it out. Thanks Decryption.

Teac make a similar device (the exact same really, just without IceTV support) - HDRM7250. Dunno about price, I think it's the same as the Beyonwiz. If you want dual HD tuners and a HDD, I think the Beyonwiz is the cheapest.

I have the Beyonwiz DP-P1 and love it. You guys all know how often I sell and buy gear - the DP-P1 has been with me for a while and I doubt I will sell it for a very long time

I've had lots of HTPC setups before and didn't find what I wanted until I found the DP-P1.

Sounds like it is the way to go. I don't record much. I just like being able to pause. But there are times that I'd like to watch two things at once which is where the record one thing, watch another comes in.

Does anyone have any prices on this?

I just picked up a 42" Viera and the Beyonwiz PVR. Can't comment on the Beyonwiz yet because I can't get the telly up the stairs by myself, but the Viera looked great in the shop.

Hi Novice,
What stands out in your post for me is:
For this reason I'd recommend a DVD recorder with SD tuner and hard drive.

DVD recorders with digital tuners only come in standard def, not high def. In your case (and many others) I wouldn't worry about high def for the following reasons:

1. you won't see the difference between HD and SD on a 24" screen unless your nose is on it
2. there's almost nothing on HD that isn't on SD
3. ABC Kids is SD
4. burning recordings to DVD is going to make them standard def anyway

A DVD recorder with digital tuner and hard drive means you can schedule recordings, trim them on the hard drive and then send them to be burned to DVD at (typically) 8x realtime (depending on which brand and model).

If you went for an Elgato tuner for your laptop, you'd only be able to decode SD - high def requires an Intel processor. Plus it would be hooked up to the TV with cables all over the place. I'd leave your Mac out of this unless you want to be mucking about with a computer all the time. Simplicity is everything. And don't you want your Mac free to check out MacTalk?

PVRs are great, got one myself (a Dick Smith twin tuner SD beasty - and it works really well, really simply and not a single firmware upgrade). However if you record a show on the PVR, the only way to get it onto a DVD is to hook up a DVD recorder to the composite outputs on the PVR and record it in realtime. If you have a HD PVR, you'll probably have to go into the setup menu just to enable SD output on composite; and you won't be able to watch anything on the PVR while you're playing your show out to the recorder. I have forgone the ability to record to DVD because our TV habits don't really lend themselves to DVD recordings. Plus the kids are young enough that we can play the same dozen bought DVDs to them over and over again

Some of the PVRs have the ability to hook up to a network so you can dump recordings on there and pick them up with a PC. But as soon as you have domestic equipment with the ability to hook up to a network, you have domestic equipment that refuses to hook up to your network. And you have troubleshooting. Personally, I like to remind myself "it's only TV".

The main downside of a DVD recorder is that they are single tuner. How you are going to use this will determine if this is too much of a negative.

On the plus side you get a cheap unit, something that is 'all in one', something that works quickly and something that doesn't require three remotes and hours of free time to use. Plus you still get a lot of the cool PVR features like pausing live TV. Just don't forget that you won't "see" the 'high' in high definition on a 24" screen, and it'll be gone once you burn it anyway.

I love gadgets, but my #1 rule is it must be usable and simple. This is so my wife can use it without a cheat sheet, and so I don't end up wasting my time troubleshooting an obscure function that I should be able to live without.

PS I love the specs of the Beyonwiz (I have been following the Topfield saga for years on DTVforum), but if I'm going to buy an HD unit for my 50" Pioneer (and I really want to), I need something that can output HD and SD simultaneously (I need SD for the round-the-house RF network). I had high hopes for the Beyonwiz, but all to no avail

And I preferably want something that doesn't require 38 firmware upgrades to give it advertised functionality (LG, Sony, Topfield, even the Beyonwiz...)