Laptop DVR
 

I would like to setup a laptop to use as a HD DVR to record OTA HD signals.

Anyone do this?

Using a laptop would allow easier access to my AV closet.

Have a friend who does this. He has a slingbox at home and has a program he downloaded off of the net that allows him to record the signal to his hard drive while he is sleeping on the other side of the world.

Says it works well but the 7200 rpm hard drive works a lot better on the video quality.

There are USB HD sticks that you can buy ~$100. You'd definetley want to hook it up to a serious antenna if you want decent OTA reception.

I have one of these.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/PCTV+Tuners/PCTV+Analog_Digital+PVR/PCTV+HD+Pro+Stick

The HD Prostick looks interesting. It appears to capture the antenna signal thru the USB port. What card due you use to get the signal to the TV. Do you have a PC card with a HDMI port?

Couple of options there.

Apple TV or the Sony media device will accept a wifi stream from your laptop.

My MacBooks come stock with DVI out which I believe a lot of newer gen laptops have.

The ProStick is really meant to provide you TV on the go.

What you may want to look into is building MythTV box and getting an OTA HD receiver.

Elgato eyetv 250 plus.

I've been recording OTA HD for a couple of years using Elgato products.
The integration with Toast is excellent.