HD-PVR options for OTA fans

[mlord]

Originally Posted by rpr

.. MythTV which is running current trunk..

Ahh.. I suspected as much. The target user of this is a non-Linux type of guy, not suitable for Myth-trunk.

Too bad.

Cheers

[mlord]

Originally Posted by rpr

I don't remember what firmware I am running on the HDHR's, it's been quite awhile since I updated them.

Speaking of those (I've had one here for two years now), they are great units. Superb!

But the tuner tech in them is positively stone age. They are the weakest digital tuners I have tested. Even the lowly Hauppauge HVR-1600 has a better RF front end (much better with weak signals) than the HDHR.

If you have any OTA stations that are giving you reception troubles, then a more modern design can make a huge difference. I'm rather partial to anything with an XC5000 RF front end inside. Eg. HVR-950Q, HVR-2250, etc..

Cheers

[sh48]

Originally Posted by protovision

I'm having great results using Win 7/Media Center as my OTA PVR:

- ASRock ION 330
- Windows 7 x64
- WinTV 950Q USB tuner
- CM 4221HD antenna

Great EPG, great interface. Here's some more info:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=108732

You can DIY a similiar design with a mini-ITX form factor ZOTAC® IONITX-B-E motherboard which combines nVidia with Intel ION which is only 7x7 and fanless. I have already ordered one and look forward to good results. It's $203 at tiger for the one without power supply.

[schoenbe]

- Windows 7 x64
- WinTV 950Q USB tuner

protovision, can you confirm that the Vista driver works fine with Windows 7?
I had no success with the XP and Vista drivers for my ATI TV Wonder 600 USB on Windows 7. I asked AMD about the availability of a Windows 7 driver. Didn't get much of a response ("... we currently have no plans ...").

[katapeltes]

I'm new at this game and need a way to record OTA programs. Options seem rather limited. What I'm looking for is a self-contained PVR that is easy to program and looks ok on the counter. (My wife would really like to record some home and garden and travel type programs to watch while in the kitchen.)

Has anyone tried this TVIX PVR? It appears to do everything and can be ordered from Amazon.com.

http://www.tvix.co.kr/ENG/products/PVRM6640N.aspx

Cheers

[j0dest3r]

Wow that looks awesome! I would love to set one of these up for my mom. The only issue is the remote, she doesn't have a smart phone and no plans to ever get one. I suppose an iPOD touch might work but that would be an extra $200.00 just to record TV OTA.

*edit* looks like it might have a remote in the box. The only other concerns would be an EPG that works in Canada. Also, the $269.99 does not include a hard drive!

*edit again* Looks like it is running Linux, That makes me doubt it would support Dolby Digital or DTS (wouldn't it require licensing and is there not any version of Linux that is licensed) wouldn't matter for recorded material but any content you ripped yourself, that might be an issue.

[classicsat]

Looking at the specs on that site, the digital tuner is DVB-T, not ATSC, unless they make an ATSC version not listed on the side.

They could have Dolby licenses in an embedded device. TiVo does, for their HD model TiVos, as well as DVD and DirecTV models.

[j0dest3r]

Damn! Thanks for pointing that out.

[Jase88]

The 6620N supports ATSC and North American power.

I like that it supports XVID. But unfortunately it doesn't support MPEG4 XVID. The device is listed as supporting Dolby Digital.

The question I have is where does it get EPG data from? PSIP? TVGOS?! The internet?

[j0dest3r]

$359.00 with no hard drive, ouch! A hundred bucks less with a HDD and it would be tempting!

[Beginner_]

Hope I am posting in the correct forum.

I have used OTA for about 2 years: HD signals into traditional CRT non-HD TV. The picture quality is better than DVD!
My antenna can receive both signals from CN Tower and from Buffalo. The signals from both locations are at high signal quality.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a HDHomeRum box and connected to my Pentium 4 3GHz, 2GB RAM with Windows XP SP3.

Downloaded a SageTV trial version and had great experience with the EPG and the PVR experiences; software is speedy and very smooth even with 1080i. So, I was planning to purchase a licence and it turned out nothing is available for sale by Google at this point. Now, my SageTV v7 trial only have a few days left for the trial period.

I ventured into other alternatives and it turned out to be a very frustrating experiences.

Other solutions that are available for sale are too resource-hungry so it does not really work. Choppy video and audio on wathcing live TV. It could record no problem, but my PC had problem to play back (the TS encoding/format: too resource-intensive). The software was Beyond TV and I can't get EPG o work.

Tried other free alternatives like nPVR and MediaPortal. They are much, much harder to get to work than SageTV. The loading speed is quite slow but still bearable. It is somewhat working now - able to watch the TV and change channel without crashing the software.

However, I am not able to get EPG to work - the table is empty except for one or two stations. Without EPG, my system is not really functioning as a PVR.

Could you give me a helping hand on setting up EPG and/or other PVR software that I could consider, please?

To re-cap, I am just looking for help with EPG or a PVR software with a good EPG (free or subscription-required) that could work well for my OTA situation with a Pentium 4 3GHz Windows XP SP3.

Thanks in advance!

[ScaryBob]

Schedules Direct works well with MediaPortal. It costs $25/year but is worth it. There are other solutions but they typically involve extra steps and extra processing.

[ScaryBob]

Have you considered using a standard media player (about $100) and recording TV with a standard PC and ATSC TV tuner?

[OTAJuncqui]

NextPVR is the media center app of my choice. I had NextPVR up and running in less than an hour. At first EPG can be a bit confusing but once you understand it's not rocket science. I also tried Media Portal but was put off by number of shortcuts added to my desktop as well as it's overall config. and having NPVR already running I just gave up on it.

[blueroomelectro]

I used SageTV and it was very good. I switched to Windows7 and now use WMC (built in). In many ways it requires less resources than SageTV, the free guide data works for the GTA both US & Canadian channels simply by using a Niagara Falls NY zip code.

I'm working on an article for my blog, here are some of the highlights.
WMC is built into almost every version of Windows 7 and Vista.
Dual antennas (one US one CN tower) to a pair of HVR-2250 (the HDHomeRun works just as well)
Great looking guide
IR remote support
XBOX 360's can act as excellent extenders without modification (IR remotes too)
Very easy to setup and configure
Stable, I've been running it since Sage was acquired by Google.