Copying/recording hi-def from an SA 8300HD/3250HD?

rico7738

Newbie here.

Hello everyone and thanks for reading my post.

I had a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD box for the past ten months as promotion when I purchased my television. I often wondered how I can transfer my PVR recordings from the terminal to my computer. I noticed that there were several options for inputs (USB, Firewire, SATA) but never did figure out how I could keep my hi-def recordings.

Is there a way to do this? What equipment would I need? My ten months promotion is now over and I have to return the 8300HD to my cable provider (Rogers here in Toronto) and exchange it for the less expensive to rent SA 3250HD. Has anyone successfully attached an external serial ATA hard drive and transfer them to their computer as a readable file? Can it be played by Windows Media Player or VLC player?

Ideally, I would like to use the SA 3250HD and use my computer as a PVR but I don't know if this is possible. I came to the realization that current DVD/HDD recorders cannot record hi-def and that an ATSC TV card only records hi-def programming through an antenna. But I would rather record my channels that I am paying for. Is there a way to record hi-def quality by hooking up my component cables to my computer (which is what I hope to do with the 3250HD)? If so, what equipment would I need (ie. vid card with component inputs?). Can you pause live TV this way or program it to record at a specific times?

Sorry for the long write-up, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

cdplayer

I am looking for the same solution. Is it possible? There must be a workaround out there!