TomG2
Central Illinois
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What is the simplest, easiest to use, cheapest method of recording over the air signals with a typical RV using only a batwing antenna? Not interested in cable or satellite systems. Something like the old VHS recorders would work fine.
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ReadyToGo
Minnesota
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That would be my method. Plenty of VHS recorders at garage sales and tapes also. You could get a dvd player/recorder also but other than you can record more on a DVD than on a VHS there and a smaller footprint ie dvds take up less space than VHS tapes there isn't any advantage. But they are harder to find at garage sales.
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TomG2
Central Illinois
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ReadyToGo wrote:That would be my method. Plenty of VHS recorders at garage sales and tapes also.
It would be my method too, except VHS will not record the new digital over the air signals.
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Tom_M
New Hope, MN
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If you have a computer you could use a tuner card to record TV. For a notebook the best option is a tuner that plugs into a USB port. For a desktop there are also cards that plug into a PCI slot. You then use "Windows Media Center" which is part of Windows 7. If you don't have internet service you won't have the program guide but you can set Media Center to do manual recording.
A VHS recorder by itself won't work because virtually all TV today is digital. You would have to add a converter box to convert the digital TV to analog.
Tom
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Fizz
Ottawa, Canada
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Joined: 07/28/2003
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What you need is a DVD Digital Recorder.
It's now the standard method of recording.
Available at Walmart.
Make sure it records HD.
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rk911
Wheaton IL
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TomG2 wrote:ReadyToGo wrote:That would be my method. Plenty of VHS recorders at garage sales and tapes also.
It would be my method too, except VHS will not record the new digital over the air signals.
sure it will but unless the recorder has a digital tuner you'd need to put a digital-to-analog converter in back of it just like you did with your old analog TV. a VHS recorder is nothing more than a TV without a screen.
if you want to record the same channel that the TV is tuned to then get thee a DVD recorder...saw a sony at HHGreggg yesterday for $25. but if you want to watch channel X and record channel Y then you're gonna need a DVD recorder or a VHS/DVD combo that has a built in digital tuner OR spilt the incoming OTA antenna cable and run one leg to the TV and the other to the recorder. either way the recorder must be able to tune a digital signal...natively or with the aid of a digital-to-analog converter.
we use a panasonic combo unit in the RV as it has the needed digital tuner. with it we can watch channel X and record channel Y but the combo unit was (at the time) the only unit we could find that had a digital tuner. there may be others on the market now.
good luck.
73,
rich, n9dko
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az99
N.Y.
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Fizz wrote:What you need is a DVD Digital Recorder.
It's now the standard method of recording.
Available at Walmart.
Make sure it records HD. What company make a HD DVR that records HD ?
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ShePointsIDig
Orlando, FL
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Tom_M wrote:You then use "Windows Media Center" which is part of Windows 7.
I do this A LOT because, until we got satellite, it was our only TV at our seasonal campground. I record at home and make DVDs to bring.
The Windows Media Center application works really good as long as you do it their way--it's not very flexible as to where you keep files on the HDD. It burns DVDs very fast with few "coasters" produced.
It also works just like a DVR if you want to just look at the programs on the PC. You can also watch recorded programs on your TV using AV or HDMI (if your laptop supports) cable.
I have found no suitable method to edit the recorded material saved as drv-ms file type. It can be done, but the editors I've tried always shrink the picture somewhat, so I just put up with the commercials. The files are big--about 3 GB per hour of program length.
I also use the AVerMedia "Volar MAX" (who makes up these names???) on my laptop. Works good.
HTH
Art
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Tom_M
New Hope, MN
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I have used VideoReDo to edit Media Center recordings. You can purchase it from their web site:
http://www.videoredo.com/en/index.htm
You can download a trial version to test it out.
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PAIRAJAYS
Washingston State
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Joined: 06/16/2005
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TomG2 wrote:What is the simplest, easiest to use, cheapest method of recording over the air signals with a typical RV using only a batwing antenna? Not interested in cable or satellite systems. Something like the old VHS recorders would work fine.
If your looking for music, go here http://www.mp3raid.com/
Jim E
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