David Vielmetter

Tag: DVR

  • Define a hotkey for windows playback device settings

    Switching your HDMI inputs can cause Windows to reset your computers Sound playback device configuration back to Stereo. At my house, I’m using a Sony amplifier to control several HDMI devices connected to a single Sharp TV. [the problem] When I switch audio sources on the amplifier from Windows (used for DVR) to my PS4,…

  • Final DIY DVR Tutorial

    SageTV was acquired by Google and you can’t buy its products anymore. That’s bad for news for those looking to become new SageTV customers, but for those that already already own software, Google has an upgrade for free. That’s right, if you purchased SageTV Media Center v6, you get a free upgrade to v7 courtesy…

  • Rip songs from a DVR recording

    Last week Glee featured the song Dream On as a duet between Matthew Morrison and Neil Patrick Harris and my DVR recorded it in HD with 5.1 surround sound. My girlfriend liked the song, but iTunes wanted $1.29 for it. So I tried importing the MPEG 2 file my DVR generated for the show into…

  • DIY HD DVR v2.0

    My home theater has been built around a home-made DVR since 2003. It started off on a used Dell Optiplex GX150 and moved to a bigger case with more hard drives and a P4 in 2006. It worked great for nearly 3 years, but in December I earned some extra cash and upgraded my DVR…

  • Use ATI Remote Wonder II for SageTV

    The ATI Remote Wonder II is an excellent RF remote especially for HTPC systems. Rather than depending directional infrared signals, it operates using x10 radio frequency signals (~433 Mhz) that can penetrate walls and greater distances than infrared. This makes it much more responsive than than traditional remote controls especially in situations where you need…

  • Build your own HD TiVo with Automatic Commercial Skip

    Since my last post on how to make your own DVR, I’ve gotten lots of emails asking about a HOWTO on building a HDTV capable DVR. So I decided to build one…and of course I documented my progress with all the screen-shots and pictures that made my first post so popular. Thanks everyone for your…

  • Build your own DVR with commercial skip

    This guide will walk you through the steps needed to build a TiVo like Digital Video Recorder (DVR) or Home Theater PC (HTPC) that can record your favorite shows and skip commercials automatically. What’s so cool about automatic commercial skip?  It means the ads in your show will be skipped during playback without user intervention. So…