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Pause, Record, Rewind Live TV

MadMod

Nov 29, 2010
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Hey all,

I am trying to design a box which can pause record and rewind live tv, similar to "Sky Plus" in the UK.

Does any one know where I can start or any advice on the topic?

Regards
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
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It's very non-trivial. Perhaps you can explain why you would want to do this.

There are solutions that already exist which will do this in some manner "out of the box". All of them have some form of storage (typically a hard drive) on which live TV is recorded while it is being read back to played, fast forward, rewound, etc.
 

MadMod

Nov 29, 2010
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Hi thanks for your reply

I recently moved back home ot the caribbean from the UK, only to realize that the TV companies dont offer that "Pause, Rewind, Record" feature like "Sky Plus" does in the UK.
I've been thinking of designing a box to do this at home, but on the other hand, since you said that there are already some boxes (add ons) which offer these features, I might reconsider.

Regards
 

LTX71CM

May 23, 2010
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Boxee - http://www.boxee.tv/
GoogleTV - http://www.google.com/tv/
MythBuntu - http://www.mythbuntu.org/ Based on -
MythTV - http://www.mythtv.org/
TiVo - http://www.tivo.com/
AppleTV - http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Not all of the linked products/projects support recording live TV and playing it back but there are plenty of options when it comes to streaming content from the net or playing back a locally recorded copy. Before you buy a set top box or use an old computer for a MythTV setup read up on cable cards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CableCARD. Your cable company MUST give you one on request but they don't have to make it easy.
 

MadMod

Nov 29, 2010
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Thanks all.

But what I'm interested in is designing a system which I can integrate into my present cable box, pehaps make a proposal to one of my local cable companies.

Firstly I am thinking of an add on. Then if this works well, well begine with the integration.

What do you think. Any advice?
 

LTX71CM

May 23, 2010
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I honestly don't see it happening. While technically possible to make it an add-on there's no need to. The boxes already exist and to develop, design and produce the add-on would cost far more than simply using already mass produced box. Most cable companies already offer such boxes, you can provide your own or buy/rent one directly from your provider. In the 90's you may have been on to something, these days DVR functionality is almost an expectation rather than a feature or option.
 

MadMod

Nov 29, 2010
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Nov 29, 2010
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I totally agree with you and thanks for your reply.

But whilst agreeing with you, I would have to disagree as well. My location being the Caribbean, all 3 of my local cable companies dont offer this box you mentioned. There is no such feature available.

If I were in the US, or say the UK, this would definitely be a pointless project.
 

barathbushan

Sep 26, 2009
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can't you just buy a TV tuner card for your computer , and do these things ??
 

MadMod

Nov 29, 2010
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yes I can. But my main aim here is to design a product and make a proposal to the cable company
 

barathbushan

Sep 26, 2009
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FORGET IT , designing is very complex , involving a/d converters , and a processor to process the video and i am not even going to talk about the recording mechanisms !!
 

MadMod

Nov 29, 2010
9
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Nov 29, 2010
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Thats not a problem.
I'm just on here looking for a head start, whilst writing down my introductions.

I posess a BEng in Electronics Engineering and an MSc in Computer Security, been through this project work before. I'm approaching it similar to a FYP
 

LTX71CM

May 23, 2010
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Caribbean, all 3 of my local cable companies dont offer this box you mentioned. There is no such feature available.

Yes, had I known your location my answer would have been a little different. While I still don't think this project from scratch is a good idea, I think there is a reasonable solution out there.

How serious are you about seeing the project through? Do you know what price you could get away with charging if you could bring a product for this purpose to market in your area? Do the local cable providers use access control for content? Do you have local TV schedules available anywhere that you could use or license or is it something you'd have to bring to the table yourself? I think the way to go is using ready made components in a custom package with the right splash of software to bring it together.
 
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