Building a Personal Video RecorderBuilding a Personal Video Recorder
Introduction
On this page i would like to share some usefull information about building a Personal Video Recoder (PVR) or Home Theatre Personal Computer (HTPC). When i started to build my PVR i searched a lot on the internet and i think i gained some information and experience which might be usefull for everyone who wants to building such an equipment. This article might help you to select apropriate software and hardware components and integrate them.
But before the components let's start at the beginnig. Why do you need a PVR and what do you expect from it? What is important and what is not? So let's start with my preferences, because i think everyone has different expectations about PVR.
Features
My first concern is about the noise. Because the modern PVR is not only a video recoder but a real versatile multimedia center the noise is a very important issue. When i listening music i don't want to be bothered by a noise of fan, harddisk or any other mechanical part. Therefore a fanless operation is my most important feature.
When i'm talking about the multimedia center i mean to replace my CD player too. Some people might be satisfied using MP3 instead of CDs. But my requirement is to keep the quality of the CD because i don't want to feed my vacuum tube amplifier with MP3 quality sound. So the next important feature is the high quality audio. This usually needs digital audio output (coaxial or optical S/PDIF) and external A/D converter.
LCD on the front panel. The reason is simple, it looks cool :-). But there is another reason. For some functions (e.g. music playback) the TV set is not necessary and in the case of LCD it's possible to use these functions without turning the TV on.
Good looking case. I don't want to use computer case for the PVR. The reason is simple, the PVR more like a classical 'Hi-Fi' equipment than a computer. At least when i consider the location (close to the TV set or HiFi system) and the functionality. The usual computer cases has fun, unusual dimensions (compared to 'HiFi' systems). I decided to build a custom case for my PVR.
The other features i think are common in any PVR. Ethernet interface (for setting up recording schedule, accessing recorded or other data and connecting to internet radio stations), big harddisk, fast booting, TV receiver (of course :-) ) and remote controller.
Radio receiver was not an important feature for me, because i have a separated receiver. But it might me an important feature for someone who likes to record for example radio plays or other radio programs.
So before you start to build a PVR you must decide what purpose for you want to build it. And last (but not least) the money what you want to spend on your PVR is also a very important (or even the most) important consern.
After deciding the important features let's go thrugh the off self components of my PVR.