Digital TV recording?

Digital TV and DVD Recording

• ------------------------- Followup To Question - ------------------------- Followup To Question - Hi Bob, I'm from Australia so I realise some technologies may not be the same if you're in another country, I think this is pretty much a generic question about digital TV. I'm wanting to purchase a digital set top box and a DVD recorder. I've been doing some reading (its very confusing at the start) but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to record from a digital set top box. Some articles say you can, some say you can't, and some say you can but you will need a "Dual Signal" set top box to be able to watch one program, and record another just as you do with a conventional VCR. What do I do? Basically I just want to know if its possible a) to get a "Dual Signal" set top box, and b) will I be able to record from it to a DVD recorder? Thanks a million! Danny. Answer - First, if its a HDTV tuner, you won't be able to record in HDTV on the DVD.  You would have to use a down-converted output.  If you want to watch one program and record another, yes you will need a box with dual tuners, or two boxes.   Let me know if you have any more questions. Bob -------------------------------------------------- Hi Bob, Thanks for replying... Just a couple of follow-up questions: a) what will a down-converter reduce the signal to..? b) will I be able to record to DVD from a standard definition box (Australia doesn't have a HDTV broadcast yet I don't think). Thanks alot, Danny. Answer - Hi Danny. a)  All HDTV tuners I know of have downconverted outputs in addition to their HD outputs.   This converts the 1080/720 line HD video to the analog TV standard used where you live (NTSC or PAL).  Of course, the picture no longer looks like HDTV, but rather a good DVD.   These outputs are used to connect to any equipment (VCR's, old TV's) that cannot handle HD video.   b)  Yes you can. When you get it, you can also record HDTV programming, using the down converted outputs. ------------------ Thanks for that mate, thats a big help! I've sent a thanks and rating already, but I thought of one last thing... If a DVD recorder can't capture HDTV at it's true quality, is there a way to capture it? Is that where the HD boxes with in-built hard drives come into play? Or is it simply that DVD is not as high quality as HD, so either way there will always be the sacrifice...? Thanks again for the help...

• Answer:

  The DVD disc itself is capable of holding HDTV (or any other data) but the DVD-Video spec does not include 1080/720 line video (HD), only NTSC or PAL.  A new DVD format on the horizon IS designed to work with 1080/720 line video, but don't expect to see a recorder for a long time. HDTV boxes with hard drives are a good option, or computer PCI cards that can tune and record HDTV off-air, such as the "MyHD" MIT-120.