Home Office: More on TiVo, PVRs and Things TV

Last week I told you about how I finally got a TiVo. My reason for not buying a TiVo earlier was because of my plan to build my own super-duper DVR or PVR. Well, I'm sure I will eventually--but not today, or even this month. I'm too busy enjoying my DirecTiVo and watching the likes of Six Feet Under and reruns of Deadwood whenever I want to.

Quick Aside: As I started digging around, I saw that the terms DVR (Digital Video Recorder) and PVR (Personal Video Recorder) are used interchangeably. I asked our expert, Associate Editor Melissa Perenson, if there was a difference. "In the beginning," she says, "either the TiVo or Replay folks were trying to emphasize the 'personal' choice in using one of their gadgets, hence the origin of PVR." DVR, however, she explains is "pretty literal and more analogous to what preceded the digital age--a digital video recorder vs. video cassette recorder." I'm sticking with PVR.

Despite my move to TiVo, I have a box of equipment and software for building my own PVR. The project's still on my to-do list (so's painting the house, but that's another story). From your cards and letters, I'm aware many of you plan to build one, too. So I've rounded up a handful of sites and articles, including some that point to TiVo-like devices that you can buy and use right out of the box. This week I present a little more about TiVo and the proliferation of PVRs.

Dig This: Forget TiVo for a moment. I found a site with almost twenty animations of things that happen inside your body--tiny things, like Staph infections getting attacked or a coronary stent being inserted. My favorite is the animation of a malfunctioning synapse, which is exactly what happens to me when I'm on the phone with my editor (in fact, any editor) for more than a few minutes. (Warning: These animations are pretty big--they'll probably take a little time to download, even on a fast connection.)

TiVo's Got Competition

I'm not surprised that TiVo has competition from Pioneer, Samsung, and Toshiba, to name a few companies. The latest on the scene is the Instant TV Deluxe, a box from ADS Technologies that connects to your PC, mimicking TiVo's skills. It looks appealing and I'd like to get my hands on it. Get the details in "Digital Gear: LAN Party Showpieces," midway down the page.

ADS Technologies' device uses SnapStream's Beyond TV 3, one of the programming tools I'm looking at. Tom Mainelli gives the program four stars in his review, and there's a free trial of the $60 download version on our Downloads site.

LG Electronics' HDTV Digital Video Recorder/Receiver doesn't sound appealing at all. I don't want to spoil your fun, so I'll let you read about this soon-to-be-forgotten gadget in "Record HDTV--But No Sopranos."

For now, my money is on TiVo. But don't take my word for it. My buddy, Dan Tynan, a contributing editor and author of PC World's Gadget Freak column, is often as lazy as I am. (Hey, he admitted that to me back in 1996, and I have the e-mail to prove it.) After the guy was sent bunches of PVR equipment, virtually tons of cool stuff to try, he opted to use a TiVo instead. His rationale sums up what I said last week: TiVo works. See "Gadget Freak: Keep the PC--I'll Take TiVo."

Future Directions

Sometime in the near future, Microsoft will be pushing the Home Center PC, a Windows device (ain't that a surprise) with everything but the kitchen sink integrated into it. It's got a phone, CD player, PVR, DVD burner, and who knows what else. Well, we do. We tell you about it in "Will Windows Power the Living Room?" (And will it crash and take every component with it?)

The Home Center PC is an evolution of Windows XP Media Center Edition--and one product that uses Microsoft's Media Center is Gateway's FMC-901 X. But according to our reviewer, the silly thing locks up occasionally. The details are in "Gateway Crashes the Living Room."

What's interesting, but not surprising, is that TiVo-like devices will soon provide massive storage capabilities. For instance, you'll be able to record and store every episode of I Love Lucy without worrying about running out of room for Gilligan's Island. For more info, read "Hard Drives Will Soon Plug into DVRs."

Dig This: Do you still smoke cigarettes? Then I've found a PC accessory you really need. (BTW, you'll need an open drive bay.)

DIY PVR

If you're intent on doing the deed and building your own, I have a handful of how-tos and step-by-steps for you.

Contributing Editor Stan Miastkowski's "Convert Your PC Into a Digital Video Recorder" is a gem. Read it to get a good, solid sense of what equipment you need, how the components fit together, and how to build a PVR.

Michael Desmond takes a different tack in his "Turn Your PC Into a TV." Instead of emphasizing the recorder part, Michael explains how to, in his words, go on a "frightful media binge" and put PCs in three rooms, each with TV and recording capabilities.

Supergeek Tom Mainelli rolled up his sleeves, grabbed his tool kit, and decided to "tailor a media-savvy PC to your own specific requirements by using hand-picked components." I encourage you to read "Make a Media-Savvy PC" because the device Tom ended up building looks cool and seems to do everything, from playing and recording TV shows to playing DVDs and MP3s.

In addition to writing PC World's Home Office column, Steve Bass is the author of PC Annoyances. Sign up to have Steve Bass's Home Office Newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.