Not sure if this is in the right section - mods feel free to relocate!
I want to build a cheap PC and put a DVR card in it. What specs do you think I should have in order to properly run a 4ch DVR card?
I already have the monitor and all that junk.. Im talking the raw specs. do i need more than 1GHz? is 1G RAM enough? I have an 80G hdd that should work .. so what Processor MIN is okay?
Any processor above 2gHz should work fine, although it depends on the efficiency of your capture cards. Capture cards with built-in hardware codecs require very little CPU load, even a 1gHz processor (or lower) might work with these. If your capture card DOSEN'T have a built-in encoder, then your processor will have to be a bit faster, as it must compress the video as it streams in.
1Gb RAM is certainly enough, especially if it is high-speed ram. If you plan on simple capturing video (not editing it) then you don't need to worry about getting a lot of ram. For editing, I would recommend at least 2Gb, but that's only for a speed boost; it'll still work with less, provided you have ample HDD space.
As far as hard drives go, it depends greatly on the compression used and purpose. If you intend to capture in pure, uncompressed AVI format, it'll take up a lot of space. You may find that you're running low. Another thing to keep in mind: If you plan to edit your video, you will need additional space, about double what you would have needed (for the final rendered video). If you're capturing video to keep on your PC and play on it, then it will slowly accumulate on your HDD anyway; if instead you're only keeping it on your PC until you burn it to a DVD, then you can delete them from your HDD once they're on disk. Personally, I recommend at least a 120Gb hdd if you plan on editing, as well as a faster processor for the rendering...a slow one would still work, but expect to wait 2+ hours for a render. If you plan on archiving your captured videos, a large, external HDD would work.
If you have any more questions or more specifics, post back; I'll try to get back to you ASAP.
i have tried just about all types of cards out their and the unfortunate thing is that no matter what you use.... it will never be the same.... companies encode their streams, so tuners can't be as good quality as it is with the regular box.....
the best thing to do, which you have to have the right one to do this with, is get the pvr's that will connect to your comp via firewire, then you can transfer the shows onto your comp. and watch them there..
i hate to break it to ya but i thougth i would try to save you the pain i had to go through...
