January 2004
Intermediate to advanced
348 pages
13h 33m
English
Content preview from Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks
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129
7
7. How to Build a Digital
Video Recorder
Cost
Time
Difficulty
$0–200
a weekend
moderate
In 1998, two companies, ReplayTV and TiVo, began shipping a new type
of home video recording device. These new devices, dubbed personal video
recorders or PVRs, combined an embedded computer, modem, hard drive,
and video compression/decompression hardware. The PVR allowed you to
record television programs onto a hard drive and program future record-
ings using an onscreen program guide. The program guide is downloaded
automatically every night from a web site via a built-in modem. Another
interesting feature is live pause,
where a live TV program can be paused and
resumed.
Both of these devices use a paid-access program guide. The software that
runs them, although based on Linux, is not easy to modify or hack and can
cost $300 or more.
I will show you how to build your own quick-and-dirty Linux-based PVR
using parts you probably already have around the house. When you are
done, the system will not only record and play back programs, but the files
produced can be accessed from any other PC on the same network. You can
even take these files and burn VCD (video CD) format disks for archival
purposes. If you have a PDA that can access your home network, you can
use it as a remote control instead of a dedicated IR remote control.
Credits
All photographs and code listings copyright ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.