I got two HD antennas for Christmas. One replaced the Radio Shack Rabbit Ears on the main TV and I doubled my HD channel reception. Great.
The other TV says "HDTV monitor" on the front, but its evidently just an HD display with an analog tuner. It won't pick up anything but fuzz.
So I don't really need an HD-to-analog box like they sold during the swapover to digital broadcasts, I need an HD tuner with something like an HD or Svideo output.
Does such a thing exist? I can get one of those analog converters, but then I lose the HD.
They exist, but aren't that easy to find. I ended up just getting a new TIVO, which takes an antenna signal and outputs an HD or SD signal (as is appropriate). This would get you the digital signal that you need. Oh, and if you put it on L3, the VCR won't play. I know this only because my BIL has one that I had to "fix" early this week. Oh, and DISCLAIMER time, I work for Crutchfield, and the link leads to our site.
Build yourself a MythTv box.
A PC or a laptop with an HD Tuner and HD out will solve the problem and be more flexible.
Linux/MythTV or Windows/MediaCenter/MediaPortal/XBMC and an IR remote will make it work as a regular TV.
I need to look into the Myth box. I looked at the website and the only thing they describe is DVR capability.
I don't want to have to hook up a laptop or computer since there are often times that I want to use the computer while my wife is watching TV or vice versa, and there isn't any logical way to have both exist in the bedroom anyway. Plus, updating my ancient computers would require a significant investment in memory and other upgrades. A P3 MB and 512mb memory won't do much these days.
I found THIS at Frys. The description is very vague, but it looks like its designed for turning an HD computer monitor into an HDTV - digital in and out. I could use that to bypass my analog tuner, right? I'm just not sure its designed to be used as a standalone or in conjunction with a PC.
Also consider that this is a 27" LCD TV that could be replaced with a new one for a couple hundred, so no use spending crazy money on this conversion.
the Myth/xbmc/etc will use a ATSC/NTSC tuner card.
The Frys item will work for you.
sellout.woot.com has an HD tivo today for $60, killer deal!
curtis73 wrote:
I need to look into the Myth box. I looked at the website and the only thing they describe is DVR capability.
I don't want to have to hook up a laptop or computer since there are often times that I want to use the computer while my wife is watching TV or vice versa, and there isn't any logical way to have both exist in the bedroom anyway. Plus, updating my ancient computers would require a significant investment in memory and other upgrades. A P3 MB and 512mb memory won't do much these days.
DVR is one of the functions provided.
I have a nearly-free half-height HP P4 desktop with 1GB of RAM and a half-height ATI Radeon HD video card in the bedroom and another in the garage. I think I have maybe $100 in each system all up. The half-height boxes are nice since the monitor sits right on top of it, making for a realtively compact solution. I had thought about building a bracket for the back of the monitor to hold the CPU, but space isn't that crucial right now.
For example:
Video card ($20):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ASUS-ATI-Radeon-HD-3450-desktop-video-card-AGP-512M-/400187441104?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item5d2d07bfd0
CPU ($25):
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-Compaq-d530-SFF-Pentium-4-2-66GHz-512MB-40GB-XP-Pro-/280613063314?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item4155d78a92
2GB memory kit ($5):
http://cgi.ebay.com/2GB-2-X-1GB-PC3200-400MHz-memory-Kingston-KTH-D530-1G-/220724802128?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3364393250
HD Tuner card ($46):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hauppauge-WinTV-HVR-1600-ATSC-QAM-NTSC-PCI-HD-TV-Tuner-/150543993671?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230d1f0b47
PCI Wireless ($14):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Linksys-WMP300N-Wireless-N-PCI-802-11n-/110633156923?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c240013b
IR Remote ($1):
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-MCE-KIT-REMOTE-CONTROL-USB-IR-RECEIVER-EMITTER-VISTA-/150547803224?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230d592c58
$116 and it comes with XP Pro which you can pair with this:
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/
For free.
Or you can use one of the MythTV distros.
too....many...... good choices....
.... must ...... think
