How to Record TV on a Hard Drive
TV on the PC is not a new idea. It's been around since the 1990s, and with increasing technology has only gotten better. However, there's not always time to sit and watch shows as they are airing online. As a fix for this, you can record broadcast TV to your hard drive, saving it as a retrievable file for viewing at your leisure. Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 simplifies the process, including a Media Center that records live programming at the touch of a button, even allowing you to choose the quality of the recording so you won't lose out on your favorite shows, shown in full-screen clarity.
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Things You'll Need
- PC equipped with TV tuner card
- Connected television source
- Windows 7 or Windows Vista operating system
Instructions
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Open the Windows Media Center by pressing the "Start" button, scrolling through the Start menu and selecting Windows Media Center.
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Set the recorder settings for your recorded TV programs by scrolling through the menu on the Media Center start screen until you highlight the "Tasks" option. Click "Settings," followed by "TV," "Recorder," and finally "Recording Defaults." Scroll down the settings and click on the "+" or "-" symbols next to the option to change setting perimeters. Set the "Keep" option so that Media Center keeps the recorded content for later viewing. Set the "Quality" of the recording to the quality level you wish the show recorded. The higher the quality, the more space the recording will take up on your hard drive. Set the "Start" and "Stop" options to begin and end recording on time to get the full TV show. Select a preferred audio language and then click "Save"to return to the start menu with your new settings.
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Scroll through the menu on the Media Center start screen and highlight "TV + Movies". Click on the "Live TV" option to begin watching a live program using your TV tuner.
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Press the small, white circle to the left of your video transport control bar located at the bottom of the window. The circle turns red when pressed and begins to record the program to your hard drive. End recording by pressing the red button, changing it to white.
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Play back a recorded TV show by scrolling down the start screen menu to the "TV + Movies" section and then selecting the "recorded TV" option. Click on the title of the TV show you wish to watch to open the "movie details" screen. Click the "Play" button to begin the show playback.
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Tips & Warnings
Use the TV guide that comes with a Media Center connected to the Internet to select shows ahead of time for recording. Click on the show and your Media Center will automatically record and make it available through your Recorded TV selection screen.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit hard drive interior image by Curtis Sorrentino from Fotolia.com
