Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?

I'm looking into whipping up my own DVR project and I may be able to get a
Dim 2400 or a 2350 from a friend for next to nothing. Would the 2400 or
2350 make a suitable DVR? Of course, I know I will have to install a PCI TV
Tuner card of some sort. I know the tower has at least 512 MB of RAM, is
running Windows XP Home Edition SP2 and has a 60 GB hard drive. I would be
installing a 250 GB (or two) hard drive for storage.

What comes to mind as possible issues I might be facing?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin [mailto:webman6@hotmail.com]
> Posted At: Sunday, October 07, 2007 7:44 PM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
> Subject: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
>
> I'm looking into whipping up my own DVR project and I may be able to
> get a
> Dim 2400 or a 2350 from a friend for next to nothing. Would the 2400
> or
> 2350 make a suitable DVR? Of course, I know I will have to install a
> PCI TV
> Tuner card of some sort. I know the tower has at least 512 MB of RAM,
> is
> running Windows XP Home Edition SP2 and has a 60 GB hard drive. I
> would be
> installing a 250 GB (or two) hard drive for storage.
>
> What comes to mind as possible issues I might be facing?


What a loaded question

The short answer is maybe.

Question:

- Do you want to record Standard Definition (regular TV) or High
Definition (HD)?
- Do you have analog cable or a cable box?
- Do you have a decent antenna and do you live near a major city


If you want to do standard definition (SD), then, yes, the 2400 would be
fine. I can't comment on a 2350, but would expect it to be marginal,
since the 2400 would be at the low-end. If you do get a 2400, make sure
it is one with a real P4, not a Celeron. The Celeron version wouldn't
cut it.

I'd suggest the Hauppauge PVR-500 as a decent PCI card that is also a
dual tuner. Windows MCE would work, but I prefer Snapstream's BeyondTV
(www.snapstream.com). You can buy BeyondTV and the card in a bundle
from their store. MCE has some huge limitations that I can't live with,
BTV has different limitations, but for me works better.

If you have a cable box, you can record from it, keeping in mind that
you need one cable box per tuner. If you also want to watch TV at the
same time, you need another cable box for that. A Cable box also
requires a IR transceiver -- I recommend the USB-UIRT (that's the
website too).

Now, if you want to do HD, you have choices, none cheap:

- Over-the-air (with an antenna). This is the cheapest.
- Cable HD -- non-premium channels.

The support for both of these is similar and BTV (and Vista MCE)
supports them both, sort of. The only simple way to do CableHD is with
a HDHomeRun (www.silicondust.com) dual tuner. It will do either ATSC
(over-the-air) or Cable (QAM), but you may find that the number of
unencrypted HD channels on your cable system is very limited. It is
usually just the local channels and some cable systems even encrypt the
local HD channels (which, contrary to urban legend, they are entitled to
do).

Lastly, Cable HD WITH premium channels. You can do this only one way
and that is with Vista MCE. However, it requires the ATI Digital
cablecard tuner which can ONLY be purchased with a new computer. From
Dell, that is the XPS410 and only the $2K+ model that includes Blu-Ray
and, oddly, is not available with the quad core processor. It also has
HUGE DRM limitations (such as you CANNOT copy a show from one computer
to another).

There is NO way to record HD from DirecTV or DishTV.


Lastly, if you're doing HD, the 2400 is NOT adequate for PLAYING BACK
HD. The integrated video won't do it. You can add a PCI video card
(the only choice in a 2400), but about the only two cards that will
work, and borderline at that, are the nVidia FX5500 and ATI X1300,
neither of which is very cheap in PCI format (nVidia is cheaper).



This is just a starting point -- most of which you may already know.
www.avsforum.com is very good and the forums at www.snapstream.com are
very good. There is also www.thegreenbutton.com for Windows MCE.

Tom
Who has a total of 13 tuners, 6 SD and 7 HD in a three server setup and
wastes WAY too much time watching recorded TV.

I use a 2350 with another video card as a Window Media Center OC with 2
tuners and have been very pleased with its performance. HD won't work very
well is my guess. Listen to Tom, he has been through a lot in this area.
Mike


"Kevin" <webman6@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:47096f55$0$10309$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
> I'm looking into whipping up my own DVR project and I may be able to get a
> Dim 2400 or a 2350 from a friend for next to nothing. Would the 2400 or
> 2350 make a suitable DVR? Of course, I know I will have to install a PCI
> TV Tuner card of some sort. I know the tower has at least 512 MB of RAM,
> is running Windows XP Home Edition SP2 and has a 60 GB hard drive. I
> would be installing a 250 GB (or two) hard drive for storage.
>
> What comes to mind as possible issues I might be facing?
>

"Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:744EA2A0A76E4C4B9B97E61A43A8AA68@M2010...
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Kevin [mailto:webman6@hotmail.com]
>> Posted At: Sunday, October 07, 2007 7:44 PM
>> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
>> Conversation: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
>> Subject: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
>>
>> I'm looking into whipping up my own DVR project and I may be able to
>> get a
>> Dim 2400 or a 2350 from a friend for next to nothing. Would the 2400
>> or
>> 2350 make a suitable DVR? Of course, I know I will have to install a
>> PCI TV
>> Tuner card of some sort. I know the tower has at least 512 MB of RAM,
>> is
>> running Windows XP Home Edition SP2 and has a 60 GB hard drive. I
>> would be
>> installing a 250 GB (or two) hard drive for storage.
>>
>> What comes to mind as possible issues I might be facing?
>
>
> What a loaded question
>
> The short answer is maybe.
>
> Question:
>
> - Do you want to record Standard Definition (regular TV) or High
> Definition (HD)?
> - Do you have analog cable or a cable box?
> - Do you have a decent antenna and do you live near a major city
>
>
> If you want to do standard definition (SD), then, yes, the 2400 would be
> fine. I can't comment on a 2350, but would expect it to be marginal,
> since the 2400 would be at the low-end. If you do get a 2400, make sure
> it is one with a real P4, not a Celeron. The Celeron version wouldn't
> cut it.
>
> I'd suggest the Hauppauge PVR-500 as a decent PCI card that is also a
> dual tuner. Windows MCE would work, but I prefer Snapstream's BeyondTV
> (www.snapstream.com). You can buy BeyondTV and the card in a bundle
> from their store. MCE has some huge limitations that I can't live with,
> BTV has different limitations, but for me works better.
>
> If you have a cable box, you can record from it, keeping in mind that
> you need one cable box per tuner. If you also want to watch TV at the
> same time, you need another cable box for that. A Cable box also
> requires a IR transceiver -- I recommend the USB-UIRT (that's the
> website too).
>
> Now, if you want to do HD, you have choices, none cheap:
>
> - Over-the-air (with an antenna). This is the cheapest.
> - Cable HD -- non-premium channels.
>
> The support for both of these is similar and BTV (and Vista MCE)
> supports them both, sort of. The only simple way to do CableHD is with
> a HDHomeRun (www.silicondust.com) dual tuner. It will do either ATSC
> (over-the-air) or Cable (QAM), but you may find that the number of
> unencrypted HD channels on your cable system is very limited. It is
> usually just the local channels and some cable systems even encrypt the
> local HD channels (which, contrary to urban legend, they are entitled to
> do).
>
> Lastly, Cable HD WITH premium channels. You can do this only one way
> and that is with Vista MCE. However, it requires the ATI Digital
> cablecard tuner which can ONLY be purchased with a new computer. From
> Dell, that is the XPS410 and only the $2K+ model that includes Blu-Ray
> and, oddly, is not available with the quad core processor. It also has
> HUGE DRM limitations (such as you CANNOT copy a show from one computer
> to another).
>
> There is NO way to record HD from DirecTV or DishTV.
>
>
> Lastly, if you're doing HD, the 2400 is NOT adequate for PLAYING BACK
> HD. The integrated video won't do it. You can add a PCI video card
> (the only choice in a 2400), but about the only two cards that will
> work, and borderline at that, are the nVidia FX5500 and ATI X1300,
> neither of which is very cheap in PCI format (nVidia is cheaper).
>
>
>
> This is just a starting point -- most of which you may already know.
> www.avsforum.com is very good and the forums at www.snapstream.com are
> very good. There is also www.thegreenbutton.com for Windows MCE.
>
> Tom
> Who has a total of 13 tuners, 6 SD and 7 HD in a three server setup and
> wastes WAY too much time watching recorded TV.


I should have figured that you would have a wealth of information, Tom!
Thanks so much for the reply. I subscribe to Dish Network and I don't have
much interest in any of the HD programming. One reason is the additional
cost to get it in the first place. Another reason is I don't have a
television that is HD capable. I'm still enjoying the incredible standard
picture of my now 12 year old Mitsubishi 31 inch set. So, no HD
programming.

This box my friend has does have a Pentium processor, a 2.4 Ghz as I recall,
so it should fit the bill. The initial price will certainly be right. Once
again, thanks for the links and the helpful advice.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin [mailto:webman6@hotmail.com]
> Posted At: Sunday, October 07, 2007 11:05 PM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
> Subject: Re: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
>
>
> "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:744EA2A0A76E4C4B9B97E61A43A8AA68@M2010...
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Kevin [mailto:webman6@hotmail.com]
> >> Posted At: Sunday, October 07, 2007 7:44 PM
> >> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> >> Conversation: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
> >> Subject: Would a Dim 2400 or a 2350 work as a DVR device?
> >>
> >> I'm looking into whipping up my own DVR project and I may be able
to
> >> get a
> >> Dim 2400 or a 2350 from a friend for next to nothing. Would the
> 2400
> >> or
> >> 2350 make a suitable DVR? Of course, I know I will have to install
> a
> >> PCI TV
> >> Tuner card of some sort. I know the tower has at least 512 MB of
> RAM,
> >> is
> >> running Windows XP Home Edition SP2 and has a 60 GB hard drive. I
> >> would be
> >> installing a 250 GB (or two) hard drive for storage.
> >>
> >> What comes to mind as possible issues I might be facing?
> >
> >
> > What a loaded question
> >
> > The short answer is maybe.
> >
> > Question:
> >
> > - Do you want to record Standard Definition (regular TV) or High
> > Definition (HD)?
> > - Do you have analog cable or a cable box?
> > - Do you have a decent antenna and do you live near a major city
> >
> >
> > If you want to do standard definition (SD), then, yes, the 2400
would
> be
> > fine. I can't comment on a 2350, but would expect it to be marginal,
> > since the 2400 would be at the low-end. If you do get a 2400, make
> sure
> > it is one with a real P4, not a Celeron. The Celeron version
> wouldn't
> > cut it.
> >
> > I'd suggest the Hauppauge PVR-500 as a decent PCI card that is also
a
> > dual tuner. Windows MCE would work, but I prefer Snapstream's
> BeyondTV
> > (www.snapstream.com). You can buy BeyondTV and the card in a bundle
> > from their store. MCE has some huge limitations that I can't live
> with,
> > BTV has different limitations, but for me works better.
> >
> > If you have a cable box, you can record from it, keeping in mind
that
> > you need one cable box per tuner. If you also want to watch TV at
> the
> > same time, you need another cable box for that. A Cable box also
> > requires a IR transceiver -- I recommend the USB-UIRT (that's the
> > website too).
> >
> > Now, if you want to do HD, you have choices, none cheap:
> >
> > - Over-the-air (with an antenna). This is the cheapest.
> > - Cable HD -- non-premium channels.
> >
> > The support for both of these is similar and BTV (and Vista MCE)
> > supports them both, sort of. The only simple way to do CableHD is
> with
> > a HDHomeRun (www.silicondust.com) dual tuner. It will do either
ATSC
> > (over-the-air) or Cable (QAM), but you may find that the number of
> > unencrypted HD channels on your cable system is very limited. It is
> > usually just the local channels and some cable systems even encrypt
> the
> > local HD channels (which, contrary to urban legend, they are
entitled
> to
> > do).
> >
> > Lastly, Cable HD WITH premium channels. You can do this only one
way
> > and that is with Vista MCE. However, it requires the ATI Digital
> > cablecard tuner which can ONLY be purchased with a new computer.
> From
> > Dell, that is the XPS410 and only the $2K+ model that includes Blu-
> Ray
> > and, oddly, is not available with the quad core processor. It also
> has
> > HUGE DRM limitations (such as you CANNOT copy a show from one
> computer
> > to another).
> >
> > There is NO way to record HD from DirecTV or DishTV.
> >
> >
> > Lastly, if you're doing HD, the 2400 is NOT adequate for PLAYING
BACK
> > HD. The integrated video won't do it. You can add a PCI video card
> > (the only choice in a 2400), but about the only two cards that will
> > work, and borderline at that, are the nVidia FX5500 and ATI X1300,
> > neither of which is very cheap in PCI format (nVidia is cheaper).
> >
> >
> >
> > This is just a starting point -- most of which you may already know.
> > www.avsforum.com is very good and the forums at www.snapstream.com
> are
> > very good. There is also www.thegreenbutton.com for Windows MCE.
> >
> > Tom
> > Who has a total of 13 tuners, 6 SD and 7 HD in a three server setup
> and
> > wastes WAY too much time watching recorded TV.
>
>
> I should have figured that you would have a wealth of information,
Tom!
> Thanks so much for the reply. I subscribe to Dish Network and I don't
> have
> much interest in any of the HD programming. One reason is the
> additional
> cost to get it in the first place. Another reason is I don't have a
> television that is HD capable. I'm still enjoying the incredible
> standard
> picture of my now 12 year old Mitsubishi 31 inch set. So, no HD
> programming.
>
> This box my friend has does have a Pentium processor, a 2.4 Ghz as I
> recall,
> so it should fit the bill. The initial price will certainly be right.
> Once
> again, thanks for the links and the helpful advice.


Dish should be fine for SD. Make sure you connect it to the tuner with
s-video, not composite or cable. It will make a difference. Also keep
in mind that with one Dish box, you can record a show, but if you want
to watch TV, it has to be the same show, since there is only one Dish
tuner. You will also need the USB-UIRT to control the channel change.