[b]Media Center 9.0 and later can pause live TV playback just like a TiVo. [/b]
[b]It can also record shows[/b] by scheduling it using Media Scheduler, or choosing "Start Recording..." from the "TV Recording" menu.
The default settings will work for most people, but if you have trouble, try changing the video settings.
[b]TIME SHIFTING [/b]
You can pause and resume live TV by pressing ctrl-P. You can fast forward and rewind with ctrl-right arrow and ctrl-left arrow.
Some settings are accessed by running TV, then right clicking on the TV display screen. But most can be accessed by clicking the Options button below the list of channels.
On the "TV Configurations" window there are six tabs to choose from. For Time Shifting and Recording, choose the Recording tab.
The top portion of the "Recording" page allows you to choose a folder for saving recorded video. This will also be the folder where temporary time-shifting buffers are located. The default folder is:
"<The Drive with the Most Free Space>\Video" folder.
Choose a different folder if the default does not suit you.
The bottom portion of the "Recording" page allows you to choose a recording profile. There are four preset profiles, which are not editable. but you may select Add and add your customized profile.
The four presets are:
"640X240 J. River Codec Timeshift, WMV Recording, 29.97"
"640X240 J. River Codec 29.97fps"
"640X480 J. River Codec 29.97fps"
"320X240 J. River Codec 29.97fps"
The first one (the default) is best for most ATI ALL-IN-WONDER users with a fast computer. For Time Shifting it captures 640X240 video size, compressed with J. River Video codec. For recording to file, it uses WMV format at 640X480, 2000kbps. Audio is recorded in 44100/16/stereo PCM.
The second preset is similar to the first except it does not use WMV format for recording. Video is recorded in AVI format, using the same parameters as in Time Shifting. The third and forth presets are similar to the second, except for the video size.
The color space format of recording and time shifting defaults to UYVY if your TV card supports it, or YUY2. If your card supports neither, then it will default to whatever your capture driver gives you. Normally you do not need to worry about it. But if you need to change it, you need to go to "Advanced Properties" tab and double-click "Video Capture Pin ...".
If you are having problems time-shifting or recording, you may need to try different profiles and choose one that works the best. If your computer is not fast enough, try using a profile with lower video size. Some TV cards are not capable of recording at high video sizes while at the same time displaying the video on screen. If that is the case, you must choose a lower size (such as 320X240) or allow recording to be done without monitoring it.
You can create customized profiles by selecting Add. You will be guided through several simple steps, the first one being to choose a name for the profile. You can start building your custom profile by basing it on one of the presets, or another existing custom profile. To do so, simply choose an existing profile, and then click Add button. The settings of the existing profile are copied, and you can make changes in each step (if you keep clicking the Next button without making any actual changes, you end up with a duplicate profile named "Copy of ... ").
A custom profile can also be deleted or edited by using the Delete and Edit buttons.
Note: the paragraphs above, describing Recording Profiles, do not apply to Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150/150/350, and ATI HDTV Wonder devices which are supported in Media Center 11. These devices use MPEG-2 format for recording and time-shifting.
[b]TV RECORDING[/b]
This option allows you to record an entire show. There are two ways of recording - through Media Scheduler, or recording instantly while you are watching. It is assumed that you are not watching it in Media Center at the same time when recording via Media Scheduler, since the TV tuner can only be used by a single application at a time.
For most devices you can record in either AVI or WMV format depending on which profile you have selected. For Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150/150/350, and ATI HDTV Wonder devices, recording is done in MPEG-2.
The setup described above for Time Shifting also applies here.
Right click on the TV display and choose "TV Recording", you will find a menu item "Start Recording" (or "Stop Recording" if recording has been started).
The menu item is for you to start/stop recording instantly while you are watching TV. Alternatively you can start or stop recording by using Ctrl+SHIFT+'R'keyboard combination.
You should now be able to use Media Scheduler to record a program. Start small (3 minutes, for example). Video recording takes up to about 60GB/hour uncompressed and up to about 4GB/hour compressed. To do a scheduled recording, run Media Scheduler and schedule a "Start TV Recording" task, set the start and stop time, and choose a channel. The recorded video is save in the folder described earlier. File names are automatically generated, using channel, date and time of recording. The recording is done in either AVI or WMV format, according to the Recording Profile you choose, or MPEG-2 for those devices that use such.
SOUND
If you have problems getting sound during Time Shifting or Recording or during regular viewing, you may need to do a little configuration. Choose the "Audio" tab on the "TV Options" property sheet. If you have already run the TV program, a similar dialog will have asked you to make selections. However if you have since made changes in your hardware (TV card or sound card), or you have made the wrong selections the first time, you may make changes here.
If you use a cable to connect from your TV card to your sound card, you need to make sure that the check box "This device requires a cable to route sound directly to the sound card" is checked, and that the appropriate Mixer device and Audio line (usually Line-In) are selected.
Some TV tuner cards (such as the ATI TVWonder USB Edition, HDTV Wonder, and Hauppauge WinTV PRV devices) do not use a cable for audio. In such a case, uncheck the checkbox.
