TV Recording software

[SimonP]

I wonder if anyone can recommend some good TV recording software for Windows please? I have been using DVBViewer for many years, it works well enough and has a great Android app to go with it but it's very un-user-friendly and the older version that I use is no longer supported (the new one doesn't offer anything useful and is no easier to use). I've also used MediaPortal which looks great, is a bit temperamental but works well once it's set up but all I really need is a means of recording DVB-T and -C programmes and a way of doing it from my 'phone so it's a bit over the top and doesn't have an app to my knowledge.

Any suggestions? I've been using those two for so many years that I've lost touch with what's available now and don't really have the time or patience to try them all out.

 

[hydra3333]

TV Scheduler Pro ?

 

[SimonP]

Thanks, it looks a little basic but I'll check it out.

 

[hydra3333]

https://sourceforge.net/projects/tvschedulerpro/
good luck. free, reliable, and works a treat
no phone app though, if you're that way inclined.
for an australian EPG source, you could roll your own say with XMLTV or something, or perhaps subscribe to IceTV (tvsp is easy-as-pie to configure to use Ice).

 

[namanjohnson101]

HELLO GUYS,


I'm looking for advice on what needs to be done in order to record live TV. My goal is to have a system that will allow me to specify some set of shows that I want to record and the system will handle everything from there. I would also like to be able to have the ability to flip through channels and watch TV on three other TV's located throughout my home without interfering with the automated recording system.stories
What sort of hardware do I need in order to be able to record multiple shows at one time? What software exists that can automatically strip out all commercials? What sort of cable / satellite subscription would I need in order to be able to tune in to multiple channels simultaneously (on the recording system and normal usage throughout the house)?


REGARDS 9apps apk cartoon hd

 

[jgrassi]

I was recently in the same situation as you after I upgraded to Windows 10 and lost my forever favorite program, Windows Media Center (WMC) which worked so well as a reliable DVR with my tuners. What I highly recommend is NextPVR. It is the best replacement for WMC. The program is currently undergoing a major update (to V5) but that is still in development and V4 is what I use with Win 10. You have to be patient with getting it to work but it is simple to use and integrates beautifully with Kodi. Also getting it going is a little tricky, but there is a great forum and I have fully documented the installation process with Win 10 and my Hauppauge DCR-2650 tuner. In fact, I have been able to return all my costly mini TV tuners that I was renting from the cable company for my "extra" TVs throughout the house. I now stream a single decoded TV stream from the DCR-2650 with NextPVR to Amazon Firesticks on all TV's throughout the house using Kodi on each Firestick. BTW, don't worry about Hauppauge's docs that say that the 2650 only works Windows 7 Media Center. The DCR-2650 is one of the most cost effective ways to replace either internal PCI tuners or external HDHomeRun boxes. It has slots for 2 cable cards which I picked up from my local cable company's office for $2/ month fee. This configuration has saved me a bundle in monthly cable company fees. Without a doubt, NextPVR is the absolute BEST replacement for Windows Media Center which I thought I would never be able to give up. BTW, I have tried Plex and just about every other so called DVR replacement program, but nothing compares to NextPVR. And unlike Plex, NextPVR allows you to use any file and folder naming convention you want, and with Kodi's help, you are actually able to see real internet acquired descriptive information about your VRD edited and renamed shows. Give it a try and don't give up. You will be really pleased with the end result. Good luck.

 

[hydra3333]

I'm not sure that namanjohnson101 is wanting just a PC based recording scenario, by alluding to

and the system will handle everything from there

ability to flip through channels and watch TV on three other TV's located throughout my home without interfering with the automated recording system ... able to tune in to multiple channels simultaneously (on the recording system and normal usage throughout the house)?

It's almost like a network-centric PVR is being asked, for recording centrally and watching on multiple networked TVs.
As you allude to, there has to be a way to "cast" videos from the central video storage server (NextPVR based in your instance) to the TVs, so a Firestick or Chromecast or whatnot in every TV (and the means to control it) would be essential ... assuming LAN networking or WiFi (a large capacity WiFi) is in place, and the TVs have the requisite HDMI ports etc (or, inbuilt in smart TVs say with WiFi).
Given the nature and wording of the "ask", I'd not necessarily be sure that all of the requisite underpinning infrastructure stuff would be in place (including decent new PC with a decent internal bus with bandwidth capacity to handle multiple simultaneous recordings to disks).

On a separate tack, assuming Australia and ignoring the $ - a retail, non-ISP-provided FetchTV Mighty (it has 4 tuners) on one "main" TV and with other TVs each having a Fetch Mini could be a lay-person's "goto" since they can all be interconnected and play from the central FetchTV Mighty ... assuming a decent capacity LAN/WiFi in the home. Subscription $6 per month includes a package such as BBC TV shows as well as the free-to-air TV channels as well as their catch-up websites like SBS-on-Demand together with access to a movies area (a bit like google movies). No ad-chopping, however the remote includes 32x fast-forward etc

I opted for 2x FetchTV Mightys on my LAN and haven't looked back They are essentially 2 great big PVRs with a lot of extra features plugged into the HDMI ports of 2 TVs, so others can record what they want and I can record what I want without interference. These boxes can see and play each others recordings across the LAN.
Can also cast from my PC to Chromecasts attached into the TVs other HDMI ports if necessary, or, I find it easier to just walk around and plug in a 1Tb portable hard drive into the smart TV's USB port in the few cases where I have something like a home movie to play.

 

[jgrassi]

Your option is one, mine is another! And just to be clear, there is no formal casting / user intervention involved. As long as your PC is on, NextPVR works silently in the background. In fact, you don't need a powerful PC. I use a mini-Fusion PC (atom processor) dedicated to TV streaming which works just fine. And each TV can work independently without interfering with recordings on the PC. Also since Kodi can run on Android systems, you can interface with your recording system and watch TV with your phone which I believe was also asked for. FYI, this is not meant to be a debate. Just offering my experiences and wanted to clarify some points you made. In re-reading, I may have come accross as angry. Believe me I am not and since I don't make anything from making recommendations, it truly doesn't matter what is ultimately picked. Sounds like you are happy with your setup and I am happy with mine. At least the users have varying options to pick from. All good...

 

[hydra3333]

Yep, multiple options to choose from are always good. They don't have to be the same concepts even. Not sure why you felt you had to be defensive, oh well.
For a while I had a Raspberry Pi media server driven by a home-grown apache based web app (VERY low power $cost) ... all I needed was a chromecast in each TV and a tablet or phone to tell the Raspberry Pi to cast a chosen video to a chosen Chromecast.
Managing capturing and transcoding are something else altogether, transcoding sucks the very life out of cpus (for some of my deferred stuff, TV Scheduler Pro on a decent PC can be used to manage recordings not done on the FetchTVs for whatever reason.)
PS what sort of PC do you use to capture and transcode, assuming it's not the atom ?

Been keeping my eye on Plex and almost pulled the trigger a few times, mainly as a hobby to use on a new Raspberry Pi 4, again as a media /chromecast server, however Plex is not yet mature enough on that hardware in my view.

 

[jgrassi]

That's just it, I wanted to make sure you realize I am not being defensive, but you know how it is, you can't see the smile on one's face that go along with the words. Ok, so I do find it hard to be helpful without coming across as defensive sometimes; sorry for that. I am not used to working in forums, but am doing more now since I recently retired. I will improve!

OK, getting back, you are right, the atom is just the TV server. For real work and play (and running VRD of course) I have and MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard with an Intel Core i7 Coffee Lake PC overclocked at 5 Ghz. It is truly a beast. I just love having VRD doing fast frame copies of 1 hr shows in roughly 90 seconds using my nVidia GTX1060 Gaming X 6gb card!

My honest advice is stay away from Plex. It was overly complex and forced me to have a strict naming convention for my library of movies and TV shows. If you don't rename, it will pull incorrect information from the web and in fact show incorrect titles for the material. I liked my file names and was not going back to rename hundreds of shows. Kodi is an awesome software package and besides PC's of course, it also interfaces with firesticks, android phones, iPads and even Raspberry Pi's! Once you try it, you won't look back. I can also see my entire library on my PC or watch cable TV without a converter. It is my ultimate solution but of course not for everyone. Thanks for your information.

 

[hydra3333]

Hey, cool, no need to be sorry ... be yourself and b*gger everyone else ! It's your life, not any one else's (well, perhaps aside from a partner's). I'm retired as well

Nice Pc. I just built a 3900X/2060Super which will have to last me for a very long time, it does VRD too on the occasion when needed. I have a hundred or more vhs-c home movies of my family growing up yet to capture and process, I can't seem to make a start on it.

Thanks for the info on Plex, I didn't know that.
I'll look into Kodi on the Pi, it's more Pi friendly by the looks of things.

Happy retirement !

 

[Tiro5GH]

Before recording, there needs to be a strong TV signal; otherwise, the recording won't work correctly. This is something else that I checked out when looking for the finest software to record TV shows and movies. In the past, I used Kodi, but as of late, it's been giving me trouble, so I recommend MediaPortal or Plex Media Server instead. Both are performing faultlessly on my Windows computer. My computer is an Nvidia with a 16GB GTX graphic card and is running Windows 10 with the 64-bit version.