iam quite happy with the humax pvr-800t and the freeview +hard disk side of this pvr i was wondering if i could link this box up to my pc via a scart scocket and take the recordings and burn them on to cd roms/dvd rw .what equipment would i need to do this? and would it be cheeper to buy an freeview pci card for my pc?
best regards bladerunner1962

But that's not possible on the 8000 is it? (it's one of the ways the 9200 scores over the 8000 by having a USB connection and data transfer software)

So a Freeview PCi card is probably the way to go - either that or a DVDR machione connected to the 8000 and record in realtime playback just as many other PVRs have to.

Cliff

If you have a PC with a Scart input then there is no reason why you can't play something on the 8000T and record it onto your PC Hard Disk and then use your PC to edit/write it to DVD format of your choice.

But does your PC allow scart inputs ?!?

I think the simplest method assuming it doesn't is linking the 8000T up to a DVD recorder, then using a PC if you wish to edit it, make duplicates or design your own menu etc.

I don't think the 9200T USB link is either as painless or as big a leap of speed or technology over the tried and trusted method outlined above, as some early adopters might have you believe.

If image quality does not concern you, then that's quite true.

However, the big advantage of the USB connection is not speed or ease of use, it is that it allows the exact digital recording to be written to DVD with zero quality loss.

Connecting the Humax to a DVD recorder via a SCART cable forces the video to be converted from digital to analogue and back to digital again, which inevitably introduces a degradation in quality.

[quote=tievolu]...............................

However, the big advantage of the USB connection is not speed or ease of use, it is that it allows the exact digital recording to be written to DVD with zero quality loss.

........................QUOTE]

Unfortunately as per the 'Using with PC thread' and Q0022 on the FAQ thread(Go to page 5, post 103 of thread) the USB transfer from Humax to PC currently is not error-free. Not much effect on quality but some computer programs can't handle the errors.

I don't know how many people have both the AV equipment and the perfect eyesight required to enable them to tell the difference between a copy via scart and a direct digital copy via computer ?!?!

Certainly I can think of better ways of spending my free time than struggling with numerous software packages so that the final DVD I end up with is a perfect digital copy of what in any event starts out as a far from perfect source, given the low rates that Freeview are broadcast in, and the fact they are normally watched via a scart lead in the end anyway.

Yes, I should have said "theoretically zero quality loss"

Hopefully Humax will fix the USB transfer in the near future...

I do not think many PC's have a scart line-in. Most current Multimedia PC's do have a composite video in but this is inferior to a direct RGB copy from the Humax to a DVD recorder using scart. With the Humax, the DVD recorder will need connecting to the TV scart, not the video one which doesn't have an RGB out.

I had previously made transfers of old tapes to DVD initially using a Pinacle Movie box, and later with a new PC it's video line in. Neither of these PC DVD transfers come close to that obtained using a direct scart connection from the VHS recorder to my Pioneer DVD recorder. Scrollling text on the PC transfers was unacceptable unless used at the best bitrate setting, 1 hour per DVD, but I wanted at least two hours. Even a lower bitrate transfer to the Pioneer was much smoother, even its 2 hour 20 minute per DVD setting.

I am certain that there must be high end PC video trasnsfer equipment that is used by studios to create commercial releases that works well, but dread to think what it would cost!

If one doesn't have a dedicated DVD recorder and has to use a PC, it can be done with a scart out to RCA connectors lead (normally Red/White/Yellow.)

Other things to consider is the time taken create the DVD on the PC. The video transfer has to be done in real time, then the DVD has to be 'authored' with a suitable package (eg Nero, Pinacle etc.) then processed to encode the data to your settings, and that can take the PC much longer than the initial transfer of the original real time recording; perhaps even 4 or 5 hours depending on the power of the PC.

Using a dedicated DVD recorder means that once the recording has been copied across, a menu can be added if the DVD recorder allows this, the content can be edited if the recorder supports that (cutting out ads etc.) and the finalising of the DVD takes a mere minute or two. A DVD recorder with a hard drive is even more versatile.

Another aspect to consider with DVD authoring on a PC is the amount of disc space it requires; it would restrict the PC's use for other things as it doesn't really like anything else happening on it while the DVD data is being processed; so ideally you'd need a second PC dedicated for video work!

If all you want to do is transfer a few recordings from your Humax to DVD, then yes, you can do it on a PC, but for regular use it is an absolute pain and a dedicated recorder is probably the far the better option.

Reference to the 9200T's USB transfer is not really relevant here as the 8000T doesn't have that facility. I haven't tried it from the 9200T's USB yet so do not know if the PC programs would need to reencode the streams or use them directly. Some PC programs re-encode transferred video as a matter of course, but not all do, so results on the PC may well depend on the software package used to author the DVD. However, I am more than happy with the RGB copies from either Humax to the DVD recorder.