Note: This is a re-post of Question ID: 442010.
Synposis: I am looking for an easy way to directly transder copies of
television shows I have recorded on my cable box to my PC so I can
make legitimate (i.e., for home personal use only) copies of them on
DVD.
I have a Scientific Altanta Explorer 8000HD Digital Cable box from
Time Warner Cable in San Diego. It has an internal hard drive and
lets you record TV shows like a TiVo. I use it to record my son's
favorite cartoon - Yu-Gi-Oh. The hard drive is full with about 60
shows that my son likes to watch over and over and over (if you have a
small child you probably know what I mean). I want to clear all of
these programs out of the box so I can use it again.
Specifically, I am looking for a FAST and EASY way transfer the
recorded shows that are already in digital format to my PC where I can
burn them to a DVD for my son's eternal use. Time Warner Cable was no
help with this. The SA box has a firewire port, but I am told it is
"disabled." I have tried plugging my digital camcorder into the
Explorer 800HD - but was unable to copy the cartoons. In terms of
hardware I have several computers in my home including a new Compaq
Presario laptop with Windows XP Home and a new Dell Dimension 5150
with Windows Media Center on it. I also have several external hard
drives and an Iomega REV drive I could use.
After I originally posted this question, I got some GREAT feedback
from lloydblack999 and probonopublico (Thanks Again!). However, their
ideas, although practical for a single show, are too involved for my
needs. They suggested recording the shows to my Sony miniDV camcorder
and then transfering them to my PC. This would be very time consuming
(given that I have 30+ hours of cartoons to copy) and is not easy to
do because I have to tap into the box's picture in picture feature.
I am re-posting this in the hope that someone has figured out a way
(this may involve a "creative" / "hack" solution) where I can DIRECTLY
copy my recorded shows to my computer or an external hard drive.
Perhaps there is some way to enable the firewire port? |
Clarification of Question by
socal_19-ga
on
23 May 2006 10:23 PDT
Hi webadept,
Thank you for the link. I would prefer to buy the DVDs directly,
however the ones you found are several years old. I wish to copy ones
that were recently shown on TV and, if history is any indication, will
not be on video for another 12-24 months.
I realize it may sound strange to ask for a hack solution. It just
would be nice if these machines were as easy as VCRs. If I recorded
the shows to a VCR I would be able to transfer them to a PC (at a
lower resolution) and burn a disc. If it is not possible, then I am
out of luck. I certainly do not want to do anything illegal to set
the MPA(?) on me. Hope this clarifies things and thanks for looking
at this post!
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