Can I Burn at the computer from the TV?

[The Barking Cow]

Here's my situation:

I have the Panasonic DVD Recorder with an 80GB Hard Drive.

The (main) problem is, it doesn't record anything but channels 1-99. Well, the cable co. moved the one channel I was recording. It's now has 3 digits, so it's a no go for the Panasonic.

The Magnavox, that I saw on Amazon, either the one with the 320 Gig hard drive or the 5xx hard drive, sounded good; but if... (I'm using arbitrary numbers here, so don't quote me)...for example, you want to record channel 7, you have to convert it (the channel no) into the numbering system it understands; like 50.1 for all your channels. (or so I read). One guy even created a spreadsheet with all the channels and their conversions.

SO, Is there a way to take the source, TV and go right to the computer's DVD and record on an external HD? Then, transfer transfer to DVD.

Not knowing anything about how the process works, I might have left out a couple steps - or not

Thanks in advance,

TBC

[The Barking Cow]

Anyone?

[volksjager]

why dont you just run a output from the cable box into a input on the DVD recorder?
then it wont matter the recorder only goes to 99

[lordsmurf]

I thought I'd already replied to this, but I guess not.

The "channel conversion" thing is because television is now broadcast on compressed digital wavelengths, and the station numbers are virtual. Sometimes boxes get confused, and cannot find the right information. Other times it's just missing from the broadcast. For example, the local channel 17 is actually on 80.1 -- but it's on 17.1 if the virtual channel flag is in place properly, and the TV (or device) understands the flag.

Newer "digital" (ATSC/QAM) tuners have the ability to record sub-numbered DTV channels.

There's no way to bypass the DVD recorder's optical drive or hard drive, and record directly to a computer. DVD recorders are closed systems, and don't have the same architecture of your Windows or Mac PC (or even a Linux PC, etc). The hard drive generally has a proprietary file system, which is the main deal breaker.

That old Panasonic DVD recorder you have is lousy compared to the new Magnavox you saw on Amazon.

This one: MAGNAVOX MDR513H/F7 HDD and DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner, Black
$324 shipped is a great price: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B003DPKOKK