May 24, 2003, 5:08 PM
Post #2 of 3
(1090 views)
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At 04:42 PM 5/24/2003 -0700, curtisminbc@canada.com wrote:
>Hi there,
>
>I have a very simple question and it is
>as follows.
>
>Can MythTV export the downloaded
>television instead of to my hard drive
>to my VCR if my video card has video out?
This question actually has nothing to do with MythTV. Let me explain.
The only way to transfer captured video from a computer to a VCR is via a
Composite or sVideo (whichever your VCR has) TV-out port on your
computer's video card. You "transfer" the video, if you can, by playing it
back in fullscreen mode. This, I guess obviously, is not exporting it there
"instead" of to your hard drive, but transferring it there from your hard
disk after capture (and, perhaps, editing).
The possible barrier to doing this is Macrovision, the system incorporated
into a lot of video playback equipment (VCRs, DVD players, VGA cards with
TV-out) to prevent home copying of commercial DVDs and videotapes. TV-out
ports on VGA cards typically include Macrovision protection for the output
stream, to prevent your using the computer to (for example) copy a DVD to
videotape.
I've never tried to output TV-out video to a VCR, so I don't know which
cards (and associated X servers) incorporate Macrovision protection and
which, if any, do not. I saw a small script at the GATOS site that was
supposed to disable Macrovision on some ATI cards, but I've never tested
that either. Also, one way to get TV out is via an external
VGA-to-Composite (or -sVideo) converter, and I don't know whether these
external converters implement any equivalent to Macrovision.
In any case, MythTV itself does nothing to prevent you doing what (I think)
you want to. Whether other elements of your system prevent it ... well,
that depends on what those other elements are, I suppose.
If the Macrovision issue is addressed somehow, I expect that any
video-playback app that can do fullscreen display (such as xine, mplayer,
ogle ... even XMovie) can do what you want.