High Def Forum
Thank you for visiting. This is our website archive. Please visit our main website by clicking the logo above.

Can I record Dish Tv on my computer?

bank5
12-26-2008, 02:38 PM
I just bought a HP Touchsmart 506 (w/ a tv tuner). I have Dish Network and am wondering if I can use my computer as a DVR.

I heard someone mention that Dish Network encrypts the signal so you can't record tv. Is this true?

shfyang
12-26-2008, 05:55 PM
I just bought a HP Touchsmart 506 (w/ a tv tuner). I have Dish Network and am wondering if I can use my computer as a DVR.

I heard someone mention that Dish Network encrypts the signal so you can't record tv. Is this true?

Here is the method to record: Get Hauppauge HD DVR:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html

Get Western Digital HD Media Player, an External Hard Driver or 8GB SDHC, here is how it works: Use component cable (Green, Blue, Yellow and Audio cables) to hook Hauppauge to Dish Box (or Blu-ray player), the video to your HD DVR is analog 1080i signal (13Mbps) and then use your computer to record in HD, max file size per hour is about 6GB, you can only record and VIEW the channel at the same time and what you see is what you record (so don't switch channel or do anything which produces title, captions, etc on your TV screen).
Connect the SDHC or external HD to your HD media player ($100, it does not have hard drive) and you can play.
What about copyright? In the future, all cable box and blu-ray will have a flag signal which prevent you from viewing 1080i signal using component cable, then your recording won't be HD quality, but this will NOT happen anytime soon because earlier HDTV buyer will be pissed that their HDTV can't show HD quality because their TV don't have HDMI.

Total cost is about $350, and the video can be edited or whatever you want, so so F**** DRM. The video quality is slightly less than original, but if you record from Blu-ray, it will be better than Dish signal when you play it.

This is much better that Tivo or other DVR from cable/AT&T/Verizon/Satellite, because the Video is not encrypted in any way!