I currently connect my (recently installed) cox cable explorer 8240 hdc digitial receiver to an old vcr via an rg6 coaxial cable. The (std def) audio and video record to vcr tape and play back ok. I would like to record straight to my pc's internal hard disk instead, perhaps using avi or mp4 format. My rig: cpu : Intel I5-4440 Processor BX80646I54440 mobo : (64 bit) Gigabyte H97 SATA Express M.2 SSD UEFI DualBIOS DDR3 1600 LGA memory : 16 gb psu : corsair cx series 600 watt os : 64 bit fedora 22, converted from gnome desktop to kde4 I am _happily_ using the mobo's onboard video, and I am _not_ a gamer. 7 years ago, I _successfully_ combined hauppage's wintv pvr 350 + (old 32 bit pentium 4) win xp, running a coaxial cable from an (old) cox cable digital receiver to the hauppage wintv pvr 350 hardware. That is, I saved to the hard disk _while_ the video was "streaming". Questions: 1. Suppose that I was running Windows 7 (for example), rather than Fedora 22, and wanted to purchase _any_ hardware to connect the (new) 8240 hdc digitial receiver to the hardware via an rg6 coaxial cable. Is hauppage's wintv pvr series the only [company : series] that will work? I am especially interested in insights from someone who has attempted this. 2. Assume that #1 above is implemented, perhaps with some hauppage wintv pvr hardware. Since the std def vcr recording is okay, I'm guessing that video encryption from the explorer 8240 hdc (if any) will not prevent std def avi/mp4 recording on my (internal) hard drive. Is this true? 3. How are #'s 1 and 2 above affected by [fedora 22 : kde4]. I found linuxtv.org daunting, while hauppage doesn't seem to offer linux drivers. Is there a hardware alternative to hauppage that offers [fedora 22 : kde4] compatible drivers? Alternatively, can hauppage wintv pvr hardware + Windows drivers run ok in [fedora 22 : kde4] by using virtualization (rather than wine) to contrive a Windows environment within the kde desktop? If so, do I need to upgrade from 16gb memory to 32 gb? 4. How are #'s 1-3 above affected by migrating to high def recordings, which the digital receiver and my monitor both support? Thanks very much for any help; I invite discussion. I definitely don't want to buy hardware and then discover that it won't work.
