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Best PC DVR Software, For Any Platform?
jshamacher writes "I've used MythTV for several years (first on Slackware, now via Mythbuntu) and it's good. But not great — I have a list of annoyances as long as my arm. For example, even 0.22 still has problems playing many DVDs and I frequently have to fall back on Xine. Since upgrading to new hardware, I've had issues with sound dropping out; these problems only occur for Myth, not for anything else. So now I'm trying out alternatives. Freevo seemed promising when I tried it a few months ago but it had its own issues. I'm also increasingly getting pressure from my family to get things like NetFlix streaming working on this machine. This seems to imply migrating to a Windows-based solution. I threw XP on it and tried MediaPortal but could never get that to control my Motorola cable box via the IR blaster. So my questions to you: What DVR software do you use? Are you happy with it? What don't you like? Are there any packages out there that 'just work' as media hubs and for time-shifting cable TV?"
When I was looking at making a media center box a while back I was looking at Snapstream which is Windows based software that seemed to support a lot of the Happague DVR cards and remotes. Since then I decided I didn't need the actual DVR function as much as just a box to stream SD videos from my PC to my TV so I took my old XBox and softmodded it to XBMC.
Only just started fiddling with it, but it looks incredible. Always find it odd it doesn't get more mention when these topics arise.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Just make sure you get the clock set first
Whilst maybe not your preferred solution, what better way to "time shift" and "space shift" TV than via Torrents?
I use Sage TV (http://www.sage.tv/) on XP (If you're going to end up going that route anyways). It's been pretty reliable and I like the interface. I've also considered moving to Windows 7. I hear the media center functionality built in is pretty robust.
If you have a Mac, Elgato's EyeTV product keeps getting better and better with each release. There are open source add-ons for commercial skipping, exports to iTunes/iPod, ect and the interface is pretty user friendly. It won't do Netflix by itself, but if you're hooking up a media PC then you've already got access to Netflix.
Windows Media Center, specifically Vista media center, has worked out well for me. I got a cheap ($250), refurbed gateway that came with a dual tuner card and Vista home premium. The listings are occasionally flakey, and the scheduled recordings won't automatically adjust if shows are pre-empted by football games running long. I control everything through the xbox360 using a $10 remote I bought on ebay. Very user friendly and cheaper than heck.
"He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
I like the freedom of MythTV, I've been running it for about 4 years now, but it can often be tricky to get working if there is a problem. Particularly if there is a MySQL problem when I don't have a great deal of expertize in database administration. I'd like to take advantage of the new cable-card hardware coming out for high definition too.
Right now it pretty much seems either windows media center or giving in and getting a TiVO, but I'm curious about some of the other things out there like Sage TV. Sadly, not everything is available online right now without having to go to bit-torrent, especially high-def content.
I set up Windows Media Center on Vista and I like the way it works. It's pretty simple to use and set up. I bought a 2 tuner card for it so I can record 2 shows simultaneously. Even more useful is the integration with Amazon UnBox and Video On Demand. It just works. Makes trips to the video store extraneous. I haven't tried Netflix as I want simple on demand outside of my cable box. This machine is set up in the living room, and is hooked up to a 37 inch panel. I bought the overpriced remote for Media Center and that works well too (although the kids keep losing it) Overall, I'm happy with the quality, and plan on upgrading to Windows 7 at some point, but really don't have a need as it simply works well now.
Now, cue the MS Haters and mod me down. I know, I know... I'm stupid and don't know what I'm talking about.
Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
I like SageTV ( http://www.sagetv.com/ ), especially the one-click commercial skipping; it has (had?) its occasional hiccups, but this might also be a function of how much one fiddles with the hardware/software setup :-) It seems pretty mature (it's at v6.x by now), has an active user/contributor base, and handles multiple receivers and set top/converter boxes with IR control nicely. It has a free trial.
I'm currently in the process of dividing my HTPC frontend into 3 parts. Instead of settling on Mythfrontend alone, I'm going to run Boxee, XBMC (supports myth:// URLs), and mythfrontend. Since mythbackend is reliable, I want to keep it to record my OTA shows and cable shows. But adding Boxee and XBMC to the HTPC frontend will give me support for Netflix and Hulu, better DVD support, etc. I've been and HTPC user for 5+ years, and no one solution is perfect or ever has been. I'm hoping the multi-program frontend solution will work best.
Out of all the ones I've tried, Media Center ended up being the best fit for me. Others might have some more features, but Media Center had all the ones I cared about and most of the time implemented them better. The only problem I've run into is that their TV listings updater causes an ungodly amount of disk I/O and CPU usage for several minutes whenever it runs.
The Original Questioner asks " So my questions to you: What DVR software do you use? Are you happy with it? What don't you like? Are there any packages out there that 'just work' as media hubs and for time-shifting cable TV?"
I realize that the TITLE says "PC based DVR software" and the questioner certainly mentions only that, but they don't mention commercial solutions at all, so I'll throw in my answer:
TiVo
I have a Series3 that I bought with a lifetime contract ~2 years ago. I do not pay a monthly fee, and as of now, I am "saving" that cost (the lifetime contract covers ~ 2 - 2.5 years of monthly service fees).
- It has two built in tuners.
- It integrates with most IR remotes.
- It can be controlled via IP (there are free remotes for iPhone/IPod and other devices to control it, etc.)
- TiVo maintains a web site where you can log in and tell your DVR to record something.
- Any Internet enabled TiVo (Series3, TiVoHD, TiVoHD-XL) can also hook into AmazonVideo, Netflix and Blockbuster accounts.
- It also passes "the wife" test.
Outside of initial setup (when we were on cable TV and I had to get TWC to come out and put CableCards in the thing), the ONLY maintenance I've had to do is reset its listings when we decided to drop cable completely and switch to using an Over-The-Air antenna, and changing the batteries in the remote.
This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
I've been using the Neuros OSD for a couple of years, and while it's kinda slow, it's hard to beat in terms of features/dollar. It's also very small, runs linux, and draws less than 10 watts. They also have a newer one called the LINK.
Link: Neuros website
The difference between spam and poop is that you don't have to dig through septic tanks looking for real food. -- Me
Windows 7 Media Center, if you have $120 and like not wasting your time.
The nice thing about a completely open and flexible system is that you can route around it's quirks with other tools. The fact that you can just drop in xine or mplayer is one of the key strengths of MythTV and would likely be necessary in any replacement. I've never gotten this fixation and insistence on using only MythTV for anything myth related. It doesn't have to be that way and that's kind of the point.
Play with MCE and Front Row and see for yourself. The grass may not necessarily be greener.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
I'm still using MythTV for recording TV, but I'm currently selling off my MythFrontends.
For viewing I've switched to an LG BD390. Much less hassle, plays everything I've thrown at (including HD streams recorded by the MythBackend) via UPnP and also does NetFlix and YouTube streaming.
GBPVR works like an appliance should; easily, the first time, and always. You can write your own plug-ins and skins, or download them.
I gave up on this and have been using a DVD recorder with a built in hard drive for the last few years. The only hassle is having to program things twice due to lack of built in EPG, but my PVR is now old and I believe there are models that work now with digital EPGs where I live (Australia).
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
I used to use mythtv but now have upgraded to HD cable box with dual tuner pvr. It is the best option for ease of use. Skipping commercials isn't automatic but otherwise I think it is the best price/simplicity option.
The MythTV backend for recording TV is great, but the frontend is very rough around the edges, even after years of development. As a general media center, XBMC is fantastic; its support for playing DVDs, video files, and music is the best I've found on Linux. There's also a plugin for XBMC that gives it functionality as a MythTV frontend, and while it doesn't have quite the same range of capabilities as the official MythTV frontend, it nonetheless works well.
Unfortunately, there's no way you're going to be streaming Netflix movies in Linux, due to Netflix's DRM. The only way to do it is with a Windows box or using an embedded solution. I use an Xbox 360 for that.
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
most Set Top Box manufacturers actually use linux so I would choose one that can be controlled via firewire unless your going to get a TiVO see http://tivohme.sourceforge.net/
again MythTV depends on the hardware that you use so I would say get some better supported hardware or buy something that they have done the integration for you
regards
John Jones
Awesome free PVR software. Supports lots of hardware tuner cards & remotes. Streams over LAN & Internet. Web interface for streaming & managing recordings. XMLTV listings. Excellent support forum. High WAF. Plugins (Game Emulators, Weather, Movie Listings, etc). Comskip, Comclean, Transcode, ISO playback, features go on and on.
Highly recommended by an HTPC enthusiast.
In years past I've used XBMC on the Xbox and Linux, then more recently Boxee and MediaPortal. I started wanting something that just worked, and was a bit easier to setup. I really like many of the Linux media programs, but they do take a bit of maintenance. So when the RC of Windows 7 came out I figured I'd give it a go. Once I found Media Browser (www.mediabrowser.tv), I was sold.
So reasons I think Windows 7 is the way to go.
1. Media Browser - Fantastic plug-in for media center. Almost as good as XMBC in it's prettiness and useability. Very impressive to show off to your friends and high Wife Acceptance Factor.
2. Easy - It took me about a week of fiddling after work to get it setup the way I wanted.. and I had no issues getting DTS HD or pass-through audio to work. Very easy to get hardware accelerated video to work with ATI. If you use windows 7, check out the antipack, gets your hardware accelerated video working fast, along with all your audio. (http://babgvant.com/blogs/andyvt/archive/2009/08/02/antipack-get-your-videos-working-without-destroying-your-pc.aspx)
3. Cheap Video card - I bought a Radeon 4350 off of Newegg, with passive cooling. Does 1080p video with 1 - 5% cpu usage.
4. NetFlix , Media Center has a NetFlix plugin, no HD video, yet.
5. Easy TV - Has a nice TV Guide, easy to make it work right. I do not have a cable card tuner for it yet, but Ati has on you can get off of ebay, and new models are coming out next year. Cable card tuner would eliminate your ir blaster issue. In the mean time there are a few MS Media Center remotes that come with ir blasters. Also TV shows go right into Media Browser.
As this is slashdot I bet I will get spammed for saying so, but IMHO it is the best all around system out there right now.
Simple Mytv backend and cheap Xboxes running XBMC. Works really well - look at it now. Multiple front-end all around the house for £25.
Lifehacker likes XBMC (http://lifehacker.com/5105649/hive-five-winner-for-best-media-center-application-xbmc). I use an Apple TV running XBMC and Boxee, which works pretty well, but is kind of slow. I'm planning on picking up one of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103234&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Desktop+PC-_-Acer+America-_-83103234) to replace the apple tv. Not sure what I'm going to run on it yet. I hear the Windows 7 media center is pretty nice, actually
Also heard a lot of good things about Boxee, any thoughts.
I myself am planning on getting a WDTV some time soon, nice small, compact, does not need a computer. And runs Linux, and is totally hackable.
For a year or two, I used GBPVR on windows which was very good for me. It doesn't do everything - no built-in netflix support - but nothing that couldn't be mitigated by using other programs alongside it. It is a very stable TV-recording backend. It should work with your IR blaster, too.
Even Ghost does very good at letting you control remote control input (basically, you can capture remote input and assign macros to it, including keyboard input) on windows, except for MCE remotes in 7 due to how 7 hijacks MCE remote input.
As for me, I migrated the other way when Mythbuntu 9.10 came out with MythTv 0.22
There's just too much I like about the idea of having a single box on 24/7, web accessible, do all my media, web, and computational server needs. I got HDMI audio working, and that was that. It's been running pretty well for me so far, though I haven't run into DVD problems yet. Throw in linux's hulu desktop and I have everything I need.
Netfix for linux would be awesome though.
I am become
I run mythbuntu with a boxee launch item in the main menu. Mythbuntu works flawlessly for capturing media and playing it back, boxee does everything else flawlessly. FTW!
My Babylon
Since upgrading to new hardware, I've had issues with sound dropping out; these problems only occur for Myth, not for anything else.
Hallelujah! From the lack of responses to my post about this issue on the Mythbuntu forums, I thought I might be the only one experiencing this problem. No one has stepped forward to either acknowledge this problem or offer a fix, which is very frustrating: I've been using MythTV for several years, and was only recently forced to reinstall everything after my HD died. I've resisted the siren call of TiVO up to this point, and Windows is out of the question.
I've seem some PVRs at Fry's that claim to record to a HD. Are these not a viable option? They seem to come and go: Fry's had a Phillips PVR just a couple of months ago, but now I see it's no longer even listed in their online catalog. Is there some reason why HD-based PVRs appear to be so elusive?
I use Boxee for playback. It's been very reliable for me on multiple flavors of Ubuntu. I realize it doesn't have true DVR capability, but your complaints seemed to be more to do with the playback portion of your experience and, using Boxee, I've had no problems playing back pretty much anything (though, for some reason, I can't get youtube to work). It also automatically indexes your media file collections (assuming you're following some standard media naming conventions, i.e. Lie.to.me.S01E01.avi) so you can easily view your entire collection and quickly pick out the show (or film, or music) you want to watch.
Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
While we're on the topic - is there a good solution for recording HD from cable? I'm currently using analog cable with a Hauppauge card to record programs in standard definition. Potential solutions:
1) DVR from cable company. Problems: I've gotten anecdotal information that these DVR's have poorly designed UI's and tend to be somewhat flaky (worse than Windows). Also, they are a closed system, I can't move the recording to a mobile device for portable viewing.
2) PC + HD ATSC / Clear-QAM tuner card - this gives me the ability to record over the air broadcasts and cable channels that support Clear-QAM (which is a fairly small subset of cable channels).
3) PC + HD Tuner Card + Cable Card - does anyone make one of these? Anyone have any experience with this?
[Insert pithy quote here]
Sage TV, Beyond TV, and Media Center are all mature products that work well on Windows.
Media Center is very "Microsoft-y", and it's not as configurable as the others. The upside is that it's seamlessly integrated with Windows, and it passes the WAF test rather well.
Sage TV is a tinkerer's dream, but I never managed to get it successfully up and running with QAM channels mapped.
Beyond TV was my favorite for a long time, as it's both configurable and stable. The only problem is that Snapstream has slowed active development of the consumer product. Their prime focus is on developing for the Enterprise market. (Think one server, recording a dozen news channels at once, extracting closed-caption information to create a searchable database.) BTV has one great bonus feature: It can automatically re-compress video down to H.264 and drop the show in to iTunes as a Podcast. This is pretty slick, since it lets you save several TV shows to your iPod or iPhone and take them with with you.
BTV and Sage can both record HD through the Hauppauge HD-PVR, and all 3 can record ClearQAM content (usually your local TV stations.)
Windows 7 Media Center will also record encrypted QAM cable with a CableCard, but the CableCard capture devices aren't quite ready for public consumption yet; I believe the ATI box's firmware is still in closed beta, and the Ceton device will hit the market early next year. (The Ceton card will record 4 SD or HD shows at the same time.)
BTV and Sage can control your cable box with a USB-UIRT or MCE Remote (with an IR blaster). Media Center will only control your box with an MCE remote/blaster. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W5GK5C/ref=ox_ya_oh_product">Amazon has one for about $40 that works well.</a>
BTV and Sage both can also stream live video to other PC's on the network. Media Center can only play back pre-recorded video; if you want to watch live TV an another PC, that PC needs a tuner card.
Why isn't anyone mentioning the consoles? Both the 360 and PS3 offer Netflix streaming... The PS3 is a rather capable media player overall... DVD/BluRay, MPEG via DLNA, Netflix, PSN video store, recognises external USB storage so you can play your movies off it etc.
I have a Mac Mini setup with FrontRow, iTunes, and EyeTV hooked to a 37" flat panel. It all works really well with the $19.99 Apple Remote Control and Sofa Control software. This setup passes the Wife test and even my 4 year old can use it. Playing DVD's is super easy with FrontRow. The computer looks attractive because of it's small size and sleek design. The Mac Mini setup will save you time with setup and family support issues.
I'm currently a Tivo Series 3 user (Works awesome and basically zero maintenance, other than the monthly fee and a very occasional spontaneous reboot--???!!!)
--That said, I've been keeping an eye on the Popcorn hour boxes...http://www.popcornhour.com
--Looks like it plays all the media you can throw at it, and toss in a blue-ray drive and you can even watch those-
It supports a Huge laundry list of features, but it looks like the one thing it doesn't actually do is the DVR of actual tv streams... Anyone know of any updates in that area?
Sig currently under construction. Mind the gap....
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxee
Boxee is a cross-platform freeware media center software with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV. Boxee is a fork of the free and open source XBMC media center software which Boxee uses as an application framework for its GUI and media player core platform, together with some custom and proprietary additions. Marketed as the first ever "Social Media Center", Boxee enables its users to view, rate and recommend content to their friends through many interactive social networking features. The current version is Alpha but works very well. You can register for free on their website. Also the beta version of Boxee will be released for all platforms on December 7th 2009.
PlayOn Media Server
PlayOn gets your favorite Internet Videos off your computer screen and onto your TV. Download and try out PlayOn for free for 14 days. All you need is a home networked PC and a DLNA-compatible device — like a PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, or Moxi HD DVR. We've also announced PlayOn for Wii public beta.
My Notes:
At home we have two Xbox360's and we stream content to them from PlayOn. From a budget perspective view PlayOn is the way to go if you have consoles at home. PlayOn only costs $39.99 and to configure it its a onetime setup which is pretty straight forward. You can also download free plugins from PlayOn Plugins. At my home we currently we use Netflix, Hulu, Cartoon Network and a bunch others). Once you got your settings configured, you go into your console and in the Video section you will see a "Channel" that looks like "yourPCName:Playon" when you select it you will see all the options you configured to watch. It works as advertised and works very well. I have another 360 that got banned in my bedroom with a 36" LCD and it works great.
Boxee, I used it for a while, but I never had a PC/Mac dedicated just for that... It is pretty good and there is lots of support... One thing is that Boxee is free.
I hope this helps!
Kildjean
Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d encule de ta mere.
I've been looking for a media jukebox that I can dump all my audio/video content onto. I *never* watch cable TV and have no interest in recording it or watching it with the system. What would be a good solution for this? I'd prefer to stick with something that runs on Ubuntu 'cuz that's what my extra box is currently running.
Cyberlink power cinema on WInXP, with Gigabyte USB tuner. Works great.
A HUGE warning about the Tivo:
Tivo lists show transferring is a big feature but...
EVERYTHING worth watching on cable is DRM'd. EVERYTHING.
It bugs me that they advertise this as a feature.
Blame Time Warner, Cox, Comcast, whoever you want, but the TIVO does not transfer anything but your fox, nbc, and cbs channels.
Analogy:
- Ford makes a car that can't drive over speed bumps
- Ford advertises the car jumping speed bumps
- After buying the car, Ford tells you to drive on limited roads or YOU can call your local town hall to fix every speed bump in town. Ford has no responsibility, and will not assist in any way.
Only 2 months left on my contract, and I'm done with this scam.
I ran Windows MCE for several years, first 2005, then Vista. Unfortunately, it would die, or need to be rebooted, whenever the wifes favorite TV show was on. So I looked for something that could do client/server: dedicated box for recording and storing, separate box for viewing. My requirements were:
1) Client / server
2) DVD playback on client
3) Full screen TV-like interface on client
4) Working TV guide
The only one that fit the bill was Sage. I've been running it ever since. I'm about to try switching the server from Windows to Linux, so wish me luck :-) They also have an OSX version, so I can watch recorded TV on my macbook.
Jamie
I have used Snapstream's BeyondTV for years and love it.
commercial skipping that does not even require a remote button press. That is the killer feature for me with MythTV and why I keep using it. I also have diskless frontends and when I want a new one I can just plug it in and it just works. And then there is the web interface that I can use to program recording shows from anywhere. I agree with other posters with just using xine or another player for playing DVD's and it not being a bad thing. You can send args to xine to surpress the splash screen and everything else and then seamlessly fall back to MythTV when you hit "end" on the remote so I don't see the problem. As for streaming, I got a blue ray player that has netflix streaming (a roku box would work and be cheaper). All of this is controlled with one universal remote. If you want flexiblity you get it with myth. If you constantly tinker and upgrade, you will always be tinkering with myth, but you can also choose to set it up and just use it. From everything I have seen, MythTV's flexibility beats everything else I have tried (to the point where people are using other solutions like xmbc as a part of their MythTV solution).
I have two PC based DVR's in the house. I've used several peices of software over the years and Sage TV has been the best. The UI is IMO much easier to use that Win MCE. It has the basic functions(record, play, ff/rw TV) as well as DVD playback, audio, pictures and other Video files. Its audio and video playback is limited to the codecs you have loaded. Native it will search and stream youtube videos. Their are several user created addons to enhance the look and feel as well as functions. Their is a new addon that connects to the playon software that will give you netflix and hulu streams from within sage. The software can be setup in client/server mode so that all of your cable box's and other hardware can be in another room and you just have either a PC or their media extender in the living room. It works well with Hauppague's HD-PVR for HD recording from a cable box via the analog HD component out. www.sagetv.com be sure to check their forums.
I've run a MythTV media center solution for the past 5 years and recently rebuilt it. I found that the backend was great, but all of my issues were with the frontend and getting that to work to my satisfaction.
My rebuild is based on Gentoo again, but this time with XBMC as the frontend, and it is fantastic - full HiDef (1080p), surround sound setup. Installation was a snap and I had a fully working frontend solution including remote (on Gentoo!) within a day. I'm going to install a MythTV backend on the same box for recording over the air signals, but I'm not in a hurry to do so. My media center is now more focused on DVD viewing/storage and less TV these days. I'm done with cable. ...now if only Linux could easily read BluRay...
I had similar issues with Windows Media Center.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Important details!
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
What do you mean by 'use' a cable card in Win7?
Use it like a doorstop maybe, but otherwise you have to buy the Win7 Super Media Version with DRM that comes only on certain models of certain PC brands.
http://www.geektonic.com/2009/05/cablecard-tuner-hack-for-diy-vista-and.html
Will I be able to stream the HD recorded to other frontends in my house? Nope. DRM restrictions.
Nevertheless, I'm interested in subscribing to your newsletter.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Well on the subject of MythBuntu & HDMI audio may I just say the following.
Arrrgghhhhhh !!!!!
Trying to get it to work is like plaiting fog.
I've tried my many attempts at a MythTV HTPC setup and it truly is a lot of work and time. What really got me every time is exactly what the author stated: the many handful hack attempts to get everything to work right. I ended up sufficing back to using my useset + newzbin + hellanzb + hellavcr setup. For mainstream TV recording, it's *always* on Usenet somewhere with-in 40 minutes after showing and the whole point of a DVR is to watch your recorded shows after the fact. Then set up a Samba share (for WIndows) or NFS or use your samba share for your Linux hosts, lock it down and use `mplayer`'s "-cache" parameter and you're golden. I'm on my laptop much of the time anyway, so sitting in bed watching a show becomes pretty effort-less streaming it over the network or hooking my laptop to my LCD dvd (that has VGA-in port). If I want to watch DVDs, I either use `mplayer` again over the network or just burn the dang DVD image, because again... Useset is also useful for that and my newzbin indexing report service + hellafox makes it even easier.
Integrate Boxee into MythTV and stream Netflix to it and you have a solution that does just about anything (short of Cable Cards) that anyone could want.
"Powers. I have them."
As much as I hate to admit it, I use windows media center on Windows 7. I use an xbox in each room as extenders. I run MCE buddy to convert the files to WMV and remove the commercials. With this setup I record my shows, chop out the commercials and make them available in every room. I only have to run one windows computer to make it happen. The xbox supports netflix streaming, but it requires an xbox live subscription, so I only pay for the subscription in one room. I don't play any games on the xbox, I only use it as an extender. I tried several different setups before going with the windows solution, but this has been the easiest and prettiest solution I have done. If you use a homerunhd tuner, your windows media center computer could be a virtual machine....just in case you don't want to dedicate hardware to the task.
Curious about Storage and Virtualization? Check out
I've had TiVos for years and years and years. I have a Series 3 now. I love it.
But if you want a truly PC based solution, how about Nero LiquidTV? It is basically the official PC version of the TiVo software. It still needs a TiVo subscription, but it has all the features and the same fantastic interface.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
GBPVR is an excellent free Media Center/PVR that has worked wonderfully for me for several years now. I have a PC dedicated strictly to GBPVR and although it does require a bit of setup to get working initially, its nothing a slashdot regular would have any trouble with. Once set up, it runs itself without issue and is very easy to use. http://www.gbpvr.com/
I use GP-PVR. It's free. It has a good plugin system with lots of plugins available. Overall, I'm happy with it. It does take some time to get everything set up, but once there, it just works.
I only use it to watch TV and recorded shows. I don't watch DVDs through it, etc.
Don't steal. The government hates competition.
It is extendable, and pretty easy to configure/hack it to launch other fullscreen apps, like the Hulu player or Boxee. Personally I don't like the organization of the Windows Vista/7 MCE for video files, I prefered the folder/directory navigation in MCE 2005. The music library is actually better in the Vista/7 versions though.
As for television recording, I've pretty much broken down and use my provider's DVR, since I like having the extra HD channels and have them work. It really sucks compared to MCE's recording/management abilities. I ran MCE 2005 for my TV recording for around 2 years or so, and just jumped off in 2008. Lately I use Boxee more than anything.
Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
You need to have a talk with your family about the costs of getting locked into proprietary stuff that is designed to limit interoperability. You can have Netflix or the best PVR (whatever that may be), but it is highly unlikely you will ever have both on the same machine (barring virtualization).
Think about it: the best PVR would naturally be able to record a Netflix stream's plaintext. (It doesn't matter if this is useful; my point is that the capability would exist.) Netflix isn't going to allow that to happen.
If the kids demand proprietary streaming that respects DRM, then use a second box. I know people who are very happy with something called "Roku" for this. I don't understand the appeal but I can't deny their satisfied testimony.
Same for Blu-Ray. If you must have it, use a separate box from your PVR.
I urge you to resist DRM, but even if you embrace it, don't let DRM constraints on non-PVR content end up limiting your PVR choices. And they will, unless you segregate the functionality.
Once you do that, then it comes down to whether or not you have DRM on your PVR content (e.g. digital cable TV). If you don't, then MythTV is almost certainly your answer, because like Tron, MythTV fights for the users. If you do have DRMed TV, and really don't want to give it up (i.e. fire your cable company) then give up on using a PC and just get a Tivo. The hassles of DRM in a personal computer aren't worth it; you'll never find any decent platforms that are even DRM-compatible, much less decent PVR apps that can run on those platforms.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
WMC is "good enough" but you really want something like MediaBrowser is you have a lot of ripped DVDs or saved videos.
It is currently free and open sourced.
Although the authors want to move to a pay but open source model, mostly due to the popularity of it and how that eats into their time. They seem a bit slow to move onto that model however.
MB will automatically pull metadata info from the TVDB and Movie DB (open APIs) for your movies and videos (assuming they are named in a way MB understands).
Based upon that metadata it'll do genre/studio/release date sorting, and keeps track of your watch & partly-watched videos.
Has about 3-4 themes (supported by the respective authors) and within those themes a series of views (poster, banner, coverflow, thumbnail, etc.).
You can also look towards MyMovies but that is really DVD-centric. Although it is a great source for movie metadata.
Direct TV HD tivo (with mpeg 4) is coming in 2010 and there boxes right now are way better then cable and they have working e-sata as well.
200 HD next year cable can't beat that.
I've been using GBPVR on windows for around 4 some years, and been very happy with it. It does a great job recording, it does a good job keeping a schedule of reencoding, it works with windows codecs, and it does what a DVR should. It has a good interface for scheduling, I have it hooked to Schedules Direct, which I pay $20 a year for. It was easy to install, configure, and hack. The guy who maintains it does a good job providing a quality product for free. I highly recommend this product for anyone who's had to deal with the mess of config files on other DVR's. And it's much better than paying Tivo or whoever $15 a month.
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
If you are looking for a program that runs on Windows, Linux or Apple operating systems then Sagetv is it.
I use it with Windows Xp and record from 2 SD Directv receivers and 1 HD Directv receiver via HD-PVR. I also capture OTA digital channels.
Sagetv also incorporates quite a few online video sources and with a free user created addon can access Netflix, Hulu, and a slew of other feeds via Playon server.
There are quite a few other user created addons including Commercial skip. There is also an extender available that works with the Sagetv software or in standalone mode
On could claim it's already 19 major revisions past that point.
I use:
4) Cablebox with Firewire output + firewire port on PC.
It works really quite well.
Cable companies are required to offer cable boxes with firewire (usually the HD ones all come with it). However, depending on your cableco, the firewire output may or may not be encrypted. You can only connect it to your PC if it is not encrypted.
Note that the presence or absence of encryption on the Firewire output is *totally independent* from whether the data is encrypted on the cable line. The cable box decrypts the signal with its cable card, and possibly re-encrypts it for the firewire output, depending on the cableco's settings.
For me (with RCN Boston), I've found that all the extended-basic channels are sent unencrypted over the firewire output, except, paradoxially, *sometimes* the HD OTA channels. I dunno what's up with that, but my solution was to just not go through the cable box for those channels. I don't subscribe to premiums, so I don't know whether they are encrypted or not. Your mileage may of course vary, depending on provider and possibly even region.
I have used SageTV on WinXP to timeshift OTA HD and play back other media. It works pretty well, and I even got auto commercial skipping with some cheap shareware addons. But as you probably know getting PREMIUM cable/sat programming into your computer can be a hassle.
Xbox Media Center I have also found to be a very nice front end for playing back media though I don't think it does TV recording. Despite the name it does not just run on Xboxes. But beware, XBMC is not easy to set up and it has about the most hostile forums I have ever seen, full of "read the damn sticky n00b" replies to questions--and the sticky is actually out of date! Put a long evening in to it and get it running, and it's nice though. It supports every media file I have tried, even lets you switch audio tracks in MKVs.
If you can separate the television and "other media" playback tasks your life may be easier because recording premium TV shows is a pain in the ass and there are few good computer solutions. Like someone else said, maybe just get a Tivo for TV and netflix, and play back your other media files with a computer. If you have a good smart remote setup, context switching between the television DVR and the HTPC you use for everything else isn't even a big deal, just a button press and a few seconds.
Good luck.
WHS + MEDIA CENTER + XBOX 360 = Done. Time shift TV, HD quality Netflix, Media storage and streaming to any xbox, PS3, laptop, desktop, or windows mobile phone. It just works. No tinkering.
Let's make like a bird... and get the flock outta here.
before I'd endure the pain of windows media center, I'd just buy a dvd player to supplement the mythfrontend.
I tried sage, beyondTV and windows media center. The main problem was they were all based on windows. If something wasn't working right, it was very hard to tell what the issue might be. The logging in linux is so much better. Random lockups and reboots were also an issue for me. Interestingly enough, the same hardware worked fine using mythtv.
Orb.com works for me. Runs on windows, sees my hauppauge PVR-250 on Vista Home. It runs an agent in the background, you access "your pc" via mycast.orb.com. From there you can stream mp3s, photos, and an interactive tv guide that lets you watch live channels, set to record shows, or watch previously recorded ones. No ports have to be opened on your router. It tests your bandwidth automatically and has a mobile browser layout that I can stream on my touch pro 2.
IOW, you didn't bother to actually make sure that your device was supported beforehand. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of suitable devices.
It's like you're mad at Elgato for there being no Mac driver for the HD-PVR.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
If you haven't tried it, the apple remote controls Hulu desktop pretty well. The interface takes a little bit to get used to however.
I should try that eye TV. been Eying it (sorry)
I've been using Windows Media Center since the XP version in 2005. Used it in Vista and now 7. I used a Creative TV tuner and its bundled software since 2000. All the while I tried other solutions: BeyondTV, Myth, ATi Hydravision's thing, Arcsoft Total Media, Sage TV, and others, but kept going back to MCE. Windows Media Center is the core and there are a ton of really useful tools to make the most of it. Video cards with HDMI and 7.1 sound piped through the one cable to the A/V receiver is nice. Use Arcsoft Total Media Theater for BD playback. Don't bother with Cyberlink or anything else. Nice media center integration. If you don't need to do HD TV recording, stick with Vista media center. Use LifeExtender for effort free and nearly perfect automated commercial removal. Orb.com has a great service for streaming live and recorded tv to your work computer, smartphone, or other rooms in the house. Using an Xbox360 as a media center extender is handy. Gyration makes a sweet media center remote that also is IR programmable/learning for your TV and Receiver, has a gyroscopic mouse, and operates on RF to a USB dongle for controlling the computer. They also have one w/ a little LCD display for pulling up your music w/o having to turn on your TV. Gotta use Slysoft AnyDVD HD. I also use it for my DVD and BD ripping needs. Ripping BluRay discs takes up SO MUCH SPACE. I have 3 TBs of BDs now =\ Windows broadcasts all your music/movies/photos to all connected computers over the standard protocol and works well as a server...and you can run VMWare if you want even more serverability. MyMovies is a nice DVD/BD Cataloging piece of software that integrates fully into WMC. It will automount BD ISO rips w/ DaemonTools too, so its nice if you plan on doing a BD library on your HTPC. There are also Internet TV plugins available for WMC.
does myth tv, or if not what if any solution, work with ku band fta?
every anarchist is a baffled dictator. Benito_Mussolini
It's interesting to me, the suite of hardware and software it takes to replace the functionality of an RSS feed on Vuse or uTorrent and a properly hacked XBox / AppleTV / PC with a decent remote with a few extra codecs.
Why doesn't NBC & Co. go out and get a pile of sponsors, embed ads in an avi and then release that torrent? Of course, it cuts out the local affiliates, but as I recall from reading the US Constitution (which is obsolete, I know), copyrights are there to progress the arts and science. Profits of local affiliates aren't in there.
For several years now, I have been using a mac mini attached to a large, flat panel LCD HD TV monitor and a decent surround-sound system as our digital entertainment hub. For physical DVDs, we just pop it into the mac mini's slot drive and use FrontRow or DVD Player. For digital only media, I tend to use VLC. We do not have cable but we do have an antenna attached that lets us pick up about a dozen HD broadcast channels -- not that we really watch those very much. We sometimes use browser based interfaces to watch content that is streamable from some web site -- such as NetFlix. Though, just recently, NetFlix has partnered with Sony. So, now, we can watch NetFlix's streamable media (movies and TV shows) via the PS3, which, by-the-way, serves as our blu-ray media player. I found a universal remote that works with the PS3. So, now, we just have one remote for the TV monitor, the mac mini, the PS3 and the sound system.
We don't really have a need for a DVR. So, that is not part of our solution. Though, if we want to, I did pick up an eyetv hybrid just to try it out. We could inline that to the mac-mini. It comes with DVR software that looks pretty decent. Since, I have not played with a TiVo or any other DVR, I can not really compare the two interfaces.
Occasionally, we purchase content from iTunes and the above setup serves as our digital music hub as well.
I've been using some sort of DVR since the technology was young. I've not used every option out there, so I can't speak for the commercial offerings like Tivo, et al. What I do have some experience with are the offerings from Microsoft, MythTV (and several derivatives), and a few "install this on your XP box" software applications. It all boils down to what you want, what you're willing to do (and pay) to get it and what you're willing to put up with. Being a bit more on the tech-savvy end of the spectrum (and a cheap bastard!), I ultimately settled on MythTV in a backend/frontend configuration. I settled on Mythbuntu and MiniMyth, but I can't say it's a flawless system. In a "normal" family environment, it may not have a high WAF - something that even as a geek, I'm not thrilled with. I will say however that I feel I'm pretty close to having it reliable enough to go full-on. It takes more than a basic understanding of computers and networking, and a bit of Linux experience to boot. Certainly not mainstream. Windows simply wasn't stable enough - sure, it may take a small bit of fiddling to get the Linux solutions *working*, they're generally a bit more solid than the Windows solutions I've used. Crashing or locking up halfway through a movie or show is simply unacceptable to me - something Linux has never done. So in short, my list of factors and features in order of importance goes something like this: * stability/reliability/consistency - if it does the same thing every time and doesn't stop until it's supposed to, it's easier to resolve issues and makes for a much more enjoyable experience. * ease of use - the ten-foot UI as it's called must be just that. I (and more importantly, the members of my family) need to be able to control 100% of the system from the couch. If I have to have a keyboard, it's still a PC with a TV-out card, not a dedicated STB and nor should it be. * intuitive UI - any system will take some "getting used to", but the menu system needs to be well laid-out. A good example of a bad menu is the interface by many of the cable companies I've seen in their STB's. * sensible features - a media center should be just that - a media center. It should be able to play anything from movies to television shows to DVD's to network-shared files, whether they're images, videos or audio files. * extensibility/flexibility - nobody is going to want the exact same feature-set out of any given system, so it should be able to adapt to the environment. I personally don't play the stereo at the house so much, so my system's build wasn't built with much focus on MP3's. I do however like to pull the weather and traffic up in the morning, and that's only a few mouse-clicks, err, button-clicks on the remote away. Take some time and explore the options and the features they provide. Try some and weed out the ones that don't fit the bill. I personally don't think there's anything out there that's perfect, but if you do the research that you'd do for any other major endeavor, you'll be able to make an educated decision
Why would you need playon if you have winxp virtual?
I'll throw my hat in the ring for Freevo it works on Windows and Linux. It has been working great for me.
Chris Sheppard
I've been using Snapstream BeyondTV for 4 years. I started first with a Hauppauge SD tuner card. I now have a Happaugue HD-PVR, a Motorola HD FiOS box and change channels with a USB-UIRT. The Motorola HD box connects the HD-PVR with component video and optical SPDIF cables. The HD-PVR connects to my Win7-x64 system via USB.
.tp) which uses about 3.6 GB per hour on the HD-High quality setting. These files are readily burned to a Blu-ray disk without re-encoding. The system is completely seamless.
BeyondTV downloads the TV guide, manages the recording schedule and controls the HD-PVR and Motorola HD box with the USB-UIRT. The recording format is an H.264 transport stream (the file type is
My next step is to configure a DLNA enabled LG Blu-ray player in my living room to which I can stream the recorded files.
"I'm The Bounty Bear. I will find him anywhere. I'm searching."
make a simple to install package of Myth. A package that has/downloads all the prerequisites of the correct version, does most of the config with minimal user input and can be installed onto a vanilla Linux install (just pick a major distro or two like Red Hat or Ubuntu and ignore the whiners who keep complaining about $OBSCURE_DISTRO as this product is not for them).
I've looked at mythbuntu but haven't had the time (read: been arsed) to install it yet but the install looks straightforward but beyond the capabilities of the average user. Knopmyth is out there as well but have heard a few text based config issues with it.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
I have a Neuros OSD. Works well for what it is. Link is their new HD product. Has anyone tried it?
Computer Science is all about trying to find the right wrench to bang in the right screw. -T.Cumbo?
Really, this question is like every technology.
If you want "damn it, just work" and willing to drop a few hundred, get a TiVo. I have one (Series 2) with the Lifetime contract (if I sold it now it'd be worth more than it was when it was new because of that). It works great, doesn't screw up, pretty easy to hack (bigger HDDs), intuitive interface, integrates with Blockbuster, Netflix, connects to the computer, ... The only problem is ads. They're everywhere - trying to sell me some car or buy some movie or order a pizza (ugh) whenever I go into the menus. What the fuck? I paid for the damn thing, and it didn't start out with ads...
If you want a bit more flexibility, maybe multiple tuners or automatic reencoding or commercial-skipping or remote-play, but don't want to fuss with it and don't mind a bit of cash (less than a TiVo), Windows Media Center works great. I hate Microsoft, and I don't use Windows, but WMC is a quality product. It's more hackable than the TiVo, free listings, multi-tuner support, CableCARD support (want your Discovery HD?), and the files are more-or-less standard. There's a vibrant community providing such things as commercial skipping and all manner of scripts and whatnot. Only reason I stopped using it is because I stopped using Windows.
If you want the ultimate in flexibility, and virtually no cost, but don't mind spending a weekend setting it up, go with MythTV. If you can imagine it, it can do it. Have a backend with several tuners in your basement to record cable, stick another backend in the attic to get HD DTV with good reception. Save it all on a NAS box in the garage. Stream it all over the web, to your iPhone, to your laptop in the bathroom. Set up diskless network-booting frontends wherever you want them. Take a tablet PC, give it a small SSD, and have a wireless TV (live or recorded). Access all your shows from any frontend. Start a show, finish it in another room. Commercial skipping, firewire capture, home automation, picture-in-picture, IR blasting, integrated torrenting if you want it - the list goes on. Anti-corporate, no broadcast flag here. But there's no CableCARD support, because they're not bully-able enough.
In short, you have two curves - the decreasing cost curve, coupled with the increasing effort curve - just like any other bit of technology. I've used all three of these solutions - they all work great. It depends what you're looking for.
I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
++ as far as tivo's actual DVR functionality.
if pytivo thinks you have an HD Tivo, it won't change the resolution at all (it does transcode to mpeg2). The series3 will scale the video itself (and it has a pretty good scaler chip in my experience).
If it thinks you have a series2, it will change the res, presumably to 640x480 but i haven't checked. Perhaps you misconfigured it so it thought you had a series2.
pytivo tries to detect if your file uses a supported codec (includes ac3), and just copy the audio stream if so; otherwise it transcodes, but the default transcoding target is in fact AC3.
I *have* had problems with 5.1 sound not being properly mixed down to stereo (yeah, yuck, but it's what i had until recently). The center channel was always sent to one speaker or the other. not sure if it's pytivo (ffmpeg really, it does the transcoding) or the tivo that causes this. I haven't really tried to debug it.
it is under active development and the devs seem to pay attention to support requests on the forums, so i'd suggest you give it another shot.
you need to make sure you have a good ffmpeg build. this can be non-trivial; the one that comes with your linux distro may not be good/new enough. the pytivo forums have links to win32 binaries that work for most people. If you're on a mac or bsd, try the ffmpeg-devel port rather than the ffmpeg port.
pytivo recently gained the ability to stream from DVD images. I haven't tested this but i suspect it works fine.
I like pytivo a lot, the only issue i have with it is speed. I have this cpu (1.9GHz dual-core athlon) and it's not fast enough to transcode hi-def in realtime.
you xfer the program and it dribbles through and you can watch it later.
More importantly, i've tried pre-transcoding and just transferring the mpeg-2 stream (pytivo will not transcode this at all), and the tivo (presumably) can't keep up, it still is a bit slower than realtime. That's annoying; i can pre-transcode or buy a faster cpu, but if the streaming just isn't fast enough then i'm kinda stuck. I am using 100Mbit wired ethernet, it's not some crappy wireless that's the issue. I haven't really investigated this.
So, I was thinking,
SiliconDust HDHomeRun HDHR-US Dual Networked High Definition Digital Television
streaming to a dual core system running Myth backend.
I don't know if I could get away with a dual core atom box and some disk. I have a NAS
already so I could always mount that.
Front end, PS/3 to the bigger TV and some Original Xboxes I have around the house.
Does Myth Stream DLNA well?
I'm thinking about replacing the xboxes with something else.
I'm surprised theres not a lot of chatter about it. Boxee does Netflix, Internet TV , and DVD's very well. I havent tried my eyetv with it yet so can't say about the over the air tv but eyetv handles that so well, /i don't mind switching between them.
"Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
I use Beyond TV on Windows 7 x64, previously on Vista and it works ok. My chief complaint is that I can't stream live tv to any other platform but Windows using their Beyont TV Link program for which they charge a per computer licenses, which is really pretty B.S.
It does auto convert recordings to divx format each night (it does other formats as well) and I can access them from the shared out folder it drops them in after converting them or through the web interface it provides. Since they're saved in divx format I can watch them on pretty much any platform I want as well.
You can also set up multiple tuners and designate which channels each is able to record for; for instance I have a PoS Pinnacle 800i that is incapable of recording channels 5 & 6, so I have those disabled on it, while my Hauppauge 2250 is able to.
Of course because it's running on windows that means I can also have no problem with netflix and other programs that require windows...
Beyond TV isn't perfect; I sometimes have problems with the Media Specific Player links starting streaming correctly, and seems to not work at all with teh divx web player 2.0, though vlc works fine; overall it's a pretty good program though.
I used to run Myth ~2 years ago, but got fed up with issues and linux in general (ok, so kill me slashdot). Then I switched to SageTV which was nice for a while.
IR control: At the time I used WinLirc to transmit IR to control my Dish network box and it worked pretty well. Needed a custom script to take SageTV's channel changing format and translate it to WinLirc's format, but worked after some tweaks. Not sure about motorola but don't see why it would be a problem with enough work - LIRC has a great resource for IR codes. [I was using a homebrew IR blaster... basically an IR diode and a resistor hanging off the DTR line of the serial port]
Built a new HTPC 2 months ago with Win XP for simplicity and netflix access. I tried both GB-PVR and MediaPortal. Mediaportal looks flashier, but the UI is much slower and lacks a few key features... which is why I went back to GB-PVR. I've been very happy. Very few crashes, but should probably setup a weekly reboot for insurance. Yeah it's not open source, but it's still free. There's a plugin for GBPVR which will let you launch Zinc for all your streaming content, including netflix. There's a FANTASTIC web interface, including the ability to stream any of your recordings (think Slingbox). There's a plugin to control uTorrent. And GBPVR can work directly with a media extender like Popcorn Hour, if you don't want to have another PC for another room. [Though you can build a whole mini PC for the other room for the same cost as a popcorn hour]
A friend of mine tried Windows 7's media center features and is very happy. His small daughters can run it, including playing back all of their DVD's that he has ripped to a server.
In the unlikely event that anyone is actually interested:
TUNER: I built the HTPC with a Hauppauge 1600 tuner card. Initially intending to get free ATSC over the air, I discovered I could get the same channels from my cable provider in clear QAM without needing the antenna. (Cable is for cable modem only). The digital side of the tuner can record more than 1 stream as long as it's on the same physical RF channel. Plus I can use the analog tuner simultaneously for standard-def recording. So I can record 2+ shows at once, from one card.
MOTHERBOARD: I put that in a mini itx case on an intel atom 330 mobo with s-video output and built in spdif audio (though I did have to make my own cable for the spdif). Svideo was useful until I got a better TV. Mobo only has VGA output, so that limited my HDTV selection slightly, but not bad. The whole thing (tuner, mobo, case, ram, HD) was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121359
review, explaining video capability at 1080p: http://www.mini-itx.com/reviews/atoms/default.asp?page=8
GUIDE DATA: setup was a pain (and a real learning curve about digital TV), but now that I got it all figured out I'm getting it for free using MC2XML.
Good DTV / QAM Channel references:
http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
http://www.titantv.com/
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/
Several years ago, went down this road. Did the research, setup a test box, went through the upgrade-now-its-broken-my-wife-wondering-why-her-shows-(not recorded/not playing/plays badly/hard to program/etc).
In the end, I decided that the tv's end point was an "appliance". Ie, like the toaster, microwave, etc... It should just work.
To that end, I went with Tivo. Then TivoS2, and now, TivoHD.
It records shows, can schedule, between the two, I an record 4 shows concurrently in sd/hd. I can xfer the content to my pc fileserver wherebit can be restreamed to the tivo ala the various streaming client/server apps. I can strea netflix to both boxes.
Could I have built and maintained a mythtv/freevo/etc box? Sure. But in my case, it made more sense to go the appliance route and focus on what mattered: content.
Ymmv.
Winged Power Photography
Its cheap, reliable and fast. No DRM.
Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
I've been using Snapstream's BeyondTV for several years. I've got 3 BTV boxes in my house. I tried to set up a Myth box one time. It was too complicated for me. I absolutely dread when stuff doesn't work and I have to go online and figure out how to make it work. I've still had to do a little of that with BTV, but overall it's been pretty good. It does lock up now and then and my relatively recent addition of a Hauppauge HD-PVR box has been an absolute bust (love the rest of my Hauppauge hardware, but the HD-PVR requires daily, sometimes hourly, reboots). Anytime BTV misses a show I have to hear the wife say, "Why does it always mess up on my shows?" So it happens, but not so often that the wife insists on a change. For important stuff, I set up recordings on more than one box. They're all networked so I can watch any show on any TV. I also have a HD cable STB PVR that I never use because the UI is awful. I just control it using the previously mentioned HD-PVR under BTV.
Take a look at http://www.boxee.tv/ multi-platform, netflix, just to name a few of the functions and apps. New beta coming december 7th... I've used it for a few months and like what it can do, excited for the beta.
Its called Windows 7 media center, yes it is a microsux product. Now every pc that meets minimum specs can run the ATI DCT (digital cable tuners) with cablecards by running the digital cable advisor. This allows you to easily setup a four tuner dvr which will allow you to share tv shows with other PCs running windows and also stream live feeds plus recorded shows to extenders. With the new firmware of the ATI tuners (1.19) the shows are no longer encrypted unless specified by the network. In my area San Francisco bay area even showtime and hbo are not encrypted. If a show is you can still stream it to the extenders without a problem you just can not share it with other PCs. So yes you can have a four tuner HD dvr for a monthly cost of nothing, since S cards (a type of cablecard) are free in my area (SF comcast) it beats paying 20 bucks a month for the comcast two tuner DVR imo. If you want more info check thegreenbutton.com (a microsoft supported site).
I know this doesn't help the OP's search for a good software DVR, but for media center functionality, Plex on Mac OS X is hard to beat. Windows Media Center on Windows 7 is indeed quite good and handily beats things like Apple's Front Row (which is really a bad joke). Plex happens to be even better by a long shot. It is easy to use and navigate, and also does things like pulling in artwork and ratings from IMDB for movies. On my late 2007-rev. Mac mini it even plays 1080p movies pretty well which is quite a feat considering the 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and anemic GMA950 graphics. The main downside, other than lack of DVR functionality, is that it depends on plugins for things like Hulu and Netflix. Netflix seems to work okay but Hulu, mainly due to Hulu doing everything it can to block applications from accessing it, is flaky at best. For browsing an existing library of video files I have found nothing better, though. Best of all it was very easy to set up.
I don't know how much software DVRs have advanced from when I last messed with a Hauppauge WinTV card 6 years ago, but from what I've read it's still a hair-pulling experience. I even loathed using my cable company's DVR box a couple years ago. Even if it was easy enough to use, it was just a pain to go through and have to select what I want recorded and hoping that the program would fit exactly in the timeslot and that the program's schedule wouldn't change. All too often I ended up with the beginning or end of the program cut off or a football game or something else even though the DVR functioned exactly as it was supposed to. If Hulu can seriously bump up its program selection and comes up with a way for third-party programs to interface with it then I think it may very well be the future of how TV is watched on computers. I don't even care if I have to sit through stupid commercials, I just want to watch what I want when I want to watch it.
Power Cinema is the biggest crap ever.
Slow, buggy, idiot interface, just barely 2001 quality.
Cyberlink has made a dodo, cancel it , or make something that outshines Myth.
Ironically, MediaPortal has many things that are better, but still sucks. Its slower than dhtml javascript interfaces.
They should have just written the interface in flash and have it use xml to communicate to the TV Server.
And they all have poor analogue support (svideo for sattv), either crap interface, or nothing works.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
My solution is a bit cheaper and arguably immoral.
What I do is setup an RSS feed to the TV shows I like and have them auto download. From there I watch everything on my TV/Computer/... all 720p and all drm free so I can do whatever I want with it. Also, most come in before the shows actually air here.
It isn't that I'm not paying for Cable TV, because I am. I'm paying for the shows I get. I just don't like the idea of not being able to do what I want to do with the content I'm paying for. Maybe one day cable cards will not be so restrictive and then I'll consider another alternative.
atm I'm quite happy using RSS to auto download everything I want.
NETFLIX has different streams for different devices as well as different connection rates. A particular stream for one device may be better than one for another. I read the LG BlueRay players are said to have the best overall NETFLIX picture quality, but the HD Tivo has the best overall setup. HD video quality with the HD Tivo is similar Comcast HD quality on a 57" screen TV . Not everything is in HD and even if it is in HD if your connection is running slower at the time they will drop you down to a lesser quality stream. However, if there are any problems with a stream you can easily report it via your queue. Some newer HD TVs have Netflix player capability built in. Not all streams are created equally, some are not good, but most are good to excellent. We also like to copy our rented dvd title to the HD Tivo and watch it via the HD Tivo rather than use the DVD player. HD Tivo does play .vob files so you just need something (in linux) like vobcopy to copy the title to one large file and place it in the Videos directory of your computer so it shows up in the Now Playing section - pyTivo will copy it over, or streambaby will stream it, you can watch it while pyTivo is copying it to the HD Tivo. Some prefer to have vlc stream it directly but I prefer pyTivo and vobcopy.
after 3-4 years of mythtv I found VDR, and it's everything myth is supposed to be.
if you're using dvb-s/t/c it's perfect, notice that it springs from the linuxtv project itself. it's also super fast, channel switching is faster than my set-top box.
and if you need grey-area tools to use your legit subscription services there are plenty of tools available, and most of all you can talk about it freely in the forums, as opposed to the mythtv mailing lists.
for the media player part, I use xbmc
I've had issues with sound dropping out;"
No problem here with MythDora. But somewhere in the Debian Squeeze journey I've acquired an audio drop out or conflict that occurs regularly and periodically. I would suggest you and I have a Debian/Ubuntu problem, not a MythTV problem.
Get a Mac Mini with EyeTV (e.g. get an EyeTV Hybrid). That's the best combo ever. Works as a great DVR. You also have a full computer, can surf the web, etc. You can launch Firefox and play Netflix no problem, do it all of the time. Has front row which is awesome, you can simply launch iTunes and play movies, TV shows, etc. And the best part is you are up and running from day 1, nothing to configure, the software just works and is intuitive. The apple remote is fine for a lot of things but I also recommend a Logitech diNovo Edge keyboard. You want a bluetooth keyboard. Other wireless keyboards don't have the range, you can't sit on your couch on the other side of the room and control things, but bluetooth keyboards can work at that distance no problem.
Yep, and worse, it's basically just replicating the functionality of Flash - the very last thing we need is ANOTHER Flash-like system. We're on the verge of finally doing away with Flash and it's ilk with HTML5, and MS releases a proprietary Flash clone and sneaks it onto Windows PCs as an update. Netflix and many MS sites switch from Flash to Silverlight (or at least add Silverlight content) and Average Joe Windows User doesn't even notice the difference...until he tries Linux (or MacOS/BSD/anything else) and ZOMG THIS DOESN'T WORK! (because the non-Windows versions are always going to be kept a few steps behind, and will always have some little quirks so things don't always work) And he runs back to Microsoft's teat.
Silverlight/Moonlight is such a big, awful trap it makes C#/Mono look like a very minor issue, but things probably won't look so grim when the major browsers have mature HTML5 support (hopefully with open codecs!) - proprietary tech on the web only flourishes where there isn't a good, widely supported open option. I expect that after a while Silverlight will only be found on the sites of MS and their bedfellows, and eventually MS may give up on Silverlight and try to do the 3 Es on HTML5...but with Google dropping Gears in favor of HTML5 (hooray!) that would mean losing ChromeOS and Android users on their web sites/apps...so the chances of this awful trap being safely disarmed are actually pretty good.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
I've noticed similar problems (sound drops in alsaplayer, javascript timeouts in chromium, etc.) -- particularly if anything else is running (even at nice -19). This can somewhat be helped by running alsaplayer with the "--realtime" option. I've glanced at the code and it doesn't do everything right (it tries to lock the entire program (and presumably all of the sound drivers (which it may not need) into memory and it does setup the process scheduling for realtime scheduling. I do not know if mythtv tries to do similar things, but if you are going to run "realtime" programs trying to at least consider these aspects. If mythtv is competing as a "normal" process with those which are running under Linux then you will see this type of behavior. You might try using "chrt" with "--fifo" scheduling and try bumping the priority up to see if it runs better. Be advised -- its a good idea to have a root shell handy that runs at the highest priority available (which can vary depending on your system and how the per-user priority allowances are setup) so if something runs amok you can kill it without having to reboot the system. You may have to chrt the various myth processes if its running a multi-process model rather than a multi-thread model (chromium has the option of running several models).
I've been using vdr for years now and am very happy with it (small, stable, tons of plugins available). Check out the c't vdr project which has vdr at the centre (obviously) and comes with many of the more popular plugins already pre-installed.
Ever wondered whats wrong with the world? http://www.ishmael.org/
It uses a Fedora 9 distro, and dependency hell was dealt with smoothly by running yum.
Do you notice yum having a tendency to break its own repos regularly after updates? I'm having this problem at work and it's really pissing me off, it seems to be pretty common (this is on CentOS 5.2 servers, from a little searching I see the problem is also common with Fedora). I also had a problem where it wasn't parsing a variable in the repo config files. Plus it's inconsistent - repo configs that work on one server don't work on another virtually identical one (cloned from the first). I'm actually thinking of switching some servers to a "server-ized" (X)Ubuntu Desktop install. Apt doesn't give me any trouble at home, AppArmor's awesome and gksudo would make things much easier for the textophobic admins (a major issue). Losing Red Hat binary compatibility would be the only real downside...
More on-topic, I've been thinking of doing a setup like yours but I haven't been able to free up the hardware - I'm using a P3 box with Samba shares (I use a directory full of symlinks so I can have files on different disks etc. and still have a tidy "media library" - that was a total bitch to get working) and once you access the files with VLC anything plays. Works great for me, but even if I upgraded the server's hardware, added a tuner and used a dedicated HTPC on the TV it wouldn't be a super-elegant system. I've been thinking of using uPnP to stream media since more devices support it (I'm getting an N900 and Samba support isn't a sure thing). Do you have issues with any file formats via uPnP? From the little research I've done it looks like some transcoding is involved. My videos are in all different weird formats - there's a little of everything (even ripped DVDs as directories), and I need subtitle support too.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
You need to be specific about what you actually need in a PVR for anyone to intelligently recommend an alternative for you. The most painless is probably TiVo. Something less feature rich but still configurable would be SageTV and GB-PVR. Easy to set up but probably lacking too many features you crave after using MythTV would be Microsoft's MCE, included in some versions of Windows 7. AFAIK none have time-stretch as so they don't appeal to me, and none allow you to have as many recording devices, nor can they schedule your recordings as well.
Your MythTV problems can probably be fixed with significantly less pain than switching to any of the alternatives. For the sound problem uninstall pulseaudio. For the DVD problem there is nothing wrong with using Xine or Ogle, there is a reason MythTV can be configured to use external DVD players. There are a number of LIRC configs out there that map your keys so that this is fairly seamless they are configured by default in MythTV distros. For NetFlix streaming get a Roku box or PS3 and use the input switching on your TV; a PS3 can actually see MythTV recordings and play them as well.
PS I may be biased as a long time user and some time contributor to MythTV. But I am also well aware of it's warts and have given other PVR options a chance. One thing I have not tried is using XBMC as a frontend for MythTV, I just couldn't get that software installed when I attempted to try it.
PS2 One of the main tasks for 0.23 is to speed up and fix regressions in the mythfrontend UI. Also, simplifying the configuration of audio in general and adding pulseaudio support is being actively worked on.
It's non-free ($40US) Windows-only software but it serves NetFlix over your LAN via DLNA/uPnP...
http://www.playon.tv/playon/how-it-works
A tidy, secure-ish and affordable (if you use XP) solution might be to install it on a Windows VM running on your Linux server...one box still does all the serving and if the Windows VM gets pwned, you just bring it back from a backup in minutes. The VM will have a separate IP via its virtual network adapter so it shouldn't conflict with the host box. DRM might be an issue too but this could be a workable solution if you really want NetFlix in a non-Windows environment...
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
All of these votes for Windows Media Center. Seems like Microsoft is doing it all, in software, while Apple is running a distant 2nd or 3rd with an integrated hardware/software solution.
I use GBPvr(free). It is windows based, and "just works." For difficulty of setup I would put it at about a 3, compared to MythTv's 11. Most of the issues I had were RTFM type things, and the forums are good.
I have two older analog Hauppage 250 cards, so my setup is not HD. Most of what we watch comes from Hulu or netflix so it isn't a priority. If I spend the $ on better cards it will be. I subscribe to a 3rd party service (paid, $20/yr.) for TV listing information. In the main menu I created shortcuts to NetFlix and Hulu, and I was able to set VLC as the player for DVDs. Using a plugin, Fceux, and a pair of USB gamepads, it also serves as our gaming machine.
All of the content and configuration is stored on the filesystem, and by sharing the directories I am able to stream to my laptop across wireless. For Christmas I've asked for another machine and an LCD to replace the TV/DVD in our bedroom. I have not tried streaming across the internet a la slingbox and I assume it wouldn't work as-is because of inefficiencies in the windows share protocol. That said, I can play the recorded files in VLC on another machine, so presumably I could ftp/scp them off if I'm ever bored.
hth,
ellie
MythTV, especially v0.22, is really an awesome DVR but I agree it doesn't do a great job of providing the rest of the media center experience. I've been happy, though, using Plex media center and Myth on a Mac Mini, which of course has no problem with DVDs. (Blu-ray is a thornier issue).
You can read a little more about my setup and experiences here.
I think the real modern tragedy is the encrypted channels on cable and satellite: no decent HD PVR solution is possible any longer for these media. My solution was to fire the satellite company and go broadcast only.
I don't know. It has VLC, which can save streams, and it can run Boxee, XBMC, and MythTV, but I don't know if it has the hardware. The OSD is definitely a DVR, though. That's how I've been using it exclusively. It has inputs for S-Video, composite video, and stereo audio, as well as Ethernet and USB connections.
The difference between spam and poop is that you don't have to dig through septic tanks looking for real food. -- Me
I use:
Other than paying $600 for the Mac Mini itself, the only cost to this was the EyeTV tuner (which came with the DVR software). Very pleased with this, much better IMHO than my Media Center and MythTV experiences. I've also played with Boxee on OS X, which does everything pretty well, including netflix/hulu streaming. Very nice, though definitely still beta. At least they seem to be making better progress fixing bugs than the Myth folks.
We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can. – Cullen Hightower
I have an older A-110 model of the Popcorn hour. It is a pretty good solution for watching downloaded MKV files that other player have trouble with. The interface is nowhere near as nice as XBMC, but it gets the job done. If my old modded XBox would play 1080p mkv's, I'm sure I would still be using that.
That being said, the popcorn hour firmware has always been a little shaky, so I would not recommend this solution to a non-techie. You need to be prepared for a few hick-up and re-flashing the firmware.
while eyetv has issues (most annoying is watching the head of a currently-recording show: @ the end of the recording, your playback gets terminated)-: it works almost as well as tivo;-)
i also use vDVHS, from apple's f/w sdk, to rec/pb on a samsung hd tuner...the ffwd button jumps 30s:-) (or used to: recent recordings don't properly populate the neccessary .tsnavi sidecar files)-:
eyeTV & vDVHS are applescriptable:-)
I've tried A LOT of PVR software over the years, and MythTV (via Mythbuntu) is what I'm currently using. That said, if you're looking for a Windows solution to run under XP, I found GB-PVR to be about an excellent choice. There are a ton of plugins available as well, so I'd say it is at least as full-featured as MythTV. If you insist on running Windows on your PVR, you could do much worse.
*disclaimer* I've not tried Media Center under Windows 7. I did try it under Vista and found it somewhat lacking.
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I know a group of users who have been using xawtv for several years on Fedora Core 4. Now they want to update the desktop and need a new viewer/DVR which works with their new hardware (Happage USB and dual input PCI cards). The backend stuff for MythTV stopped them, they don't want to take over running a database, having a trained DBA, etc, etc.
Can't find anything any simpler for Linux, I think they're going back to Windows next year, because video is a requirement. Watching normal TV is a bonus, of course. Local cable has NTSC analog and clear QAM digital, internal is S-video. The old setup did the analog and S-video just fine, HDTV is a "nice but not required" at this point. Too many "experts only" software, nothing, even commercial, for end users.