Build Your Own Dvr Cable Box

Buy your own cable or satellite equipment.

Build your own dvr cable box.

If you don t own a tivo you ll likely end up using one of the dvrs supplied by your cable company. Using cablecard you rent a card from your cable tv provider that slides into the back of your compatible dvr. Using a tv tuner card to build a pc based diy ota dvr for recording free tv you can use your home computer to capture and record free tv using an over the air antenna. Over the air dvr is useless if your antenna can t receive channels so unless you ve got coaxial cable wired to the roof you ll need to set up your dvr in a place.

The fcc requires that cable companies allow their customers to buy your cable or satellite equipment do not. However if you re interested in buying a dvr here are some questions to ask yourself before spending your hard earned cash. Cable tv companies will let you use their tv services with your own dvr via one specific method. A typical computer doesn t have a video input that can accept a signal from a antenna or a set top cable or satellite box.

Better capture cards have onboard processors that handle the encoding of the signal into the digital format the show will be saved as. Since 2009 united states t elevision programs have been broadcast over the air ota exclusively in digital format. If you have a different cable tv company than the ones listed above you should check out all the features tivo edge offers. You ll need a tv capture card which has its own tuner to receive television signals to take the incoming signal and read it.

If you re looking to save some money on your cable or internet bill buying your equipment might be the right option for you. We ve provided some considerations below when thinking about purchasing your modem router and set top boxes. Chances are it would demolish your provider s dvr but this third party dvr will also take a big bite out of your wallet.