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* THC lets you experience television in a new level of quality.
* THC makes TV independent of time and place.
* THC combines traditional TV with today's state-of-the-art technology and the future of the Internet.
* THC makes watching TV fun again.
All from a single source: TerraTec Home Cinema is a powerful and efficient solution from TerraTec for television on the computer. Turn your computer into a powerful video recorder with manual or controlled recordings (even via the Internet).
The basics: recording and timeshifting
Recording and playback
One of the basic functions of the Cinergy THC system is recording and playing back TV programmes. In principle, this function is most like those of a classic video recorder, but with a few important differences or expanded features:
* The recording capacity is practically unlimited
* There is no loss of quality whatsoever from the original
* "Programming" is as easy as child's play (really!)
The most important tool for recording programmes is the EPG (E.lectronic P.rogram G.uide), which provides an overview of current TV programming on all stations. Cinergy THC presents it in an easy-to-use manner, sorted by stations or times ("What's on tonight, no matter where?"). If you are interested in a programme, simply click it - THC will record it for you.
An EPG system continuously obtains up-to-date data free of charge from the current (DVB) TV programme. Like teletext information, this information is transmitted in the background, separately from the TV picture. Just to be clear: you don't need an Internet connection to receive EPG data.
The recording capacity is limited only by the space on your hard drive or connected external hard drives. Of course, video data - compared to music in MP3 format, for example - is relatively memory-hungry. However, prices for hard drive storage have reached such a low level that even the most diehard hunter-gatherers among TV junkies can find enough storage space at a bargain price.
A practical example, which is even calculated in favour of quality (= higher data volume):
* 1 hour of high-quality digital TV takes up approximately 2GB of space
* 1 VHS tape (4-hour) thus saved the equivalent of 8GB (in much lower quality)
* This means that a USB hard drive with 500GB of storage, available from the discount store, holds about 60 VHS cassettes - or about 10 days of non-stop television
* In terms of programmes, this means 160 episodes of "Prime Suspect"... or 250 of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" ... or almost 3 years' worth of the evening news - the choice is yours.
