How to Connect a Direct TV DVR to a Computer

Watch recorded programming from any DVR on a desktop computer.

DirecTV is one of the nation's largest satellite television providers. One of the many features offered by DirecTV is the DVR box. This box not only receives and unscrambles the satellite programming but is able to record the content onto a built-in hard drive, allowing you to view this content at any other time. If you don't have a television screen nearby, it is possible to hook up the DirecTV DVR to your computer.

Things You'll Need

• DirecTV DVR
• Coaxial cable
• TV tuner card
• Computer

Instructions

1. Install a TV tuner card into your computer. There are external tuner cards that connect directly to a USB port on the system.

2. Install all provided drivers and software, then restart the computer. Upon restart the computer should detect the newly installed hardware.

3. Connect the coaxial cable into the "Out" port on the DirecTV DVR. Connect the opposite end of the cable to the "In" port on the TV tuner card.

4. Power on the DirecTV receiver (if it is not yet turned on), then launch the software you installed for the tuner. Once the software loads it will begin to display the video content from the DirecTV DVR. You might have to adjust the channel to locate the signal from the DVR.

References

• DirecTV: DVR Service
• CNET Reviews: TV Tuner Card