Is February 2009 the end of GBPVR for me?

[johnsonx42]

oh, ok, one stupid thing I couldn't resist posting. I had one client who had a client of theirs demanding Y2K Compliance Certifications for the *ELEVATORS* in their building, else they wouldn't do business with them any longer. The absurd logic was that if the elevators failed on Jan 1, then they wouldn't be able to get into the building and therefore wouldn't be able to process any more orders. Ever.

I guess they hadn't heard of stairs.

[Pilot]

oh, ok, one stupid thing I couldn't resist posting. I had one client who had a client of theirs demanding Y2K Compliance Certifications for the *ELEVATORS* in their building, else they wouldn't do business with them any longer. The absurd logic was that if the elevators failed on Jan 1, then they wouldn't be able to get into the building and therefore wouldn't be able to process any more orders. Ever.

I guess they hadn't heard of stairs.

They could've paid me $5,000 to make sure their stairs were Y2K compliant....

[Pilot]

Resurrecting this thread to let you all know what I finally did.

After Comcast continued to move more and more channels up to digital (without any notice -- they'd just disappear and I end up recording the wrong thing), I got so ticked at them that I just went with DirecTV, including a HD-DVR. I figured if I had to have a cable box on every TV anyway, I might as well go satellite and get more channels, more HD, and everything is actually cheaper than Comcast cable was. Pretty sad.

However, GBPVR is still alive and well in my system! As I mentioned earlier, Comcast is considered a basic utility provider in my community, as they are the only source for phone, broadband internet, and cable TV. Since I had to keep their phone and internet service, there was no way to just "turn off" their cable service. If you demand to turn it off, they still won't (because they can't or you lose phone service), but the price for just phone and internet almost doubles. So it's actually significantly cheaper to keep the combination of phone, internet, and cable TV.

So I'm still recording a lot of shows using GBPVR and Comcast cable, while also watching DirecTV and recording HD shows on the HD-DVR. It's actually a great combination, and I can still use GBPVR for internet downloaded shows/videos, NetFlix, etc.

All's well that ends well! I'm not sure how much longer Comcast will offer so many analog channels, but I'll keep using it while I can.

[stustunz]

im just curious i live in NZ so no nothing about your HD dvr
what format does it record in
do they have any sort of usb or firewire connection
the reason i ask is there any way to get the files from the box onto a pc

[Pilot]

im just curious i live in NZ so no nothing about your HD dvr
what format does it record in
do they have any sort of usb or firewire connection
the reason i ask is there any way to get the files from the box onto a pc

Sorry I didn't see this sooner!

Believe it or not, it actually records in Mpeg2. There is no direct way to get the files off the box to the PC (at least not currently, but this is a relatively new DVR model), but DirecTV does offer a Beta version of a streaming app (called DirecTV2PC) that allows you to watch any recorded application on any PC on your network. For watching SD recordings, you can use a fairly wimpy PC, but for the HD recordings you need a fairly beefy PC or you'll end up with stuttering and out-of-sync audio, etc. This is screaming for a GBPVR plugin, but something like that is beyond my skill. It does have two network (RJ45) connections on it, as well as firewire and USB, but the current info on this box is that none of it allows you to directly transfer the files to another device (other than real-time analog recording).

According to my installer, DirecTV is about to release something called Mocha that will allow you to view any DVR recording on any DirecTV STB in the house by way of your telephone line (since the non-HD STB's do not have a network connection). This could easily take the place of my MediaMVPs, so I'm looking forward to this.

The DVR also supports MediaShare, which allows me to play my GBPVR recorded Mpeg2 files on the DVR (as well as shared music, photos, etc.). I've had mixed success with this. For now it's just easier to use the MediaMVP, especially for internet downloads, which are typically AVI, requiring me to convert them to Mpeg2. I've tried several format conversion/management apps (one being called, I think, TVosity or something like that), but it just complicates things and doesn't work as smoothly and effortlessly as GBPVR and the MediaMVP.

All-in-all, it's a really nice setup and I can continue with the best of both worlds. My wife still considers GBPVR a savior, as some of the weekday evenings quickly use up the dual tuners in the DVR, preventing her from recording something else she wants. Three-tuner GBPVR to the rescue!

Like I thought I would, I do miss the automatic commercial skip of GBPVR, but I'm loving the XM/Sirius satellite radio channels (which I can now more easily pipe to my outside speakers by the pool), and my lazy fat arse appreciates the telephone caller ID displayed on every TV set in the house. Stops me from having to pry my butt up out of the chair just to see it's my teenage daughter's friends calling....AGAIN. LOL.