I've got an old windows 98se computer with 45 gig and a 733mHz processor and 128mb. I've done a google search to find a t.v. tuner card to see if I could maybe turn it into a DVR just to record the shows I miss during the week but can't seem to find a decent place to buy them. 1. any suggestions on where/what to buy for a tv tuner? 2. will upgrading memory help? 3. is it even worth my efforts considering the processor?

10/1/2006 8:08:15 PM

I'd buy a TV tuner with hardware compression for best results (i.e. any appreciable results at all) on such an old system

10/1/2006 8:10:54 PM

I don't think the processor would be that much of a problem but you definitely need more RAM. I highly suggest some of the Hauppauge tv tuners, they are really good, esp the PVR-150.

10/1/2006 8:16:34 PM

as far as where to buy, newegg is one of the best online shops for computer hardware (http://www.newegg.com)
most give min. hardware/software specs

more ram always helps, esp. if you're starting at 128

10/1/2006 8:17:28 PM

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16815116628

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 MCE

Just got one of these. Has dual tuners so you can record two channels at the same time. It's a Media Center Edition Build, but if you buy a program like BeyondTV, you can run it on a non-MCE box. Nice thing about BeyondTV is that it comes with a free remote (or at least did when I bought it) that works great with a USB reciever (also included).

10/1/2006 9:40:34 PM

I'd throw XP on there just b/c I don't want the thing connected to the internet 24/7, even behind a NAT. Security aside, once you want to start messing around a bit more with TV tuning, you'll want to add a DVD burner, ability to transfer via USB ... etc. etc. XP would be the way to go just for peace of mind.

More RAM, TV Tuner Card, $50 Total.

10/1/2006 10:37:45 PM

Well, I'd keep it off the internet. It came with a DVD burner and has at least four USBs. Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it.

10/3/2006 11:11:14 PM

Crap...on second though, it is USB 1.0...i wonder if this may pose issues...

10/3/2006 11:12:11 PM

^ unless you're using something that uses usb, no
you can grab a cheap usb pci card off somewhere like newegg or buy.com, or pay like 40 bucks at officemax / bestbuy if you feel you need 2.0

10/3/2006 11:30:52 PM

i agree with these guys... put xp on it... the usb thing shouldnt matter at all it will just be slower on usb transfers.

10/3/2006 11:50:53 PM

linux + mythtv
or xp embedded, you want to strip out all the unnecessary shit, which is easiest done with linux

10/4/2006 2:00:10 PM

this is what I am gonna do...gives instructions for creating a DVR and links to cards and things like that

http://revision3.com/systm/mythtv/

10/10/2006 7:36:48 PM