So I pulled the trigger a couple weeks ago, and now I'm a Comcast Cable TV customer. As a switcher from DirecTV they had some sweet deals going on. In particular, if you allow them to take away one of your receivers (I had one sitting around gathering dust that I bought back in 1996), they offer a $55/month switch package with 2 premium networks (HBO and Encore, although you might be able to pick your own), including HDTV channels, locals, and unlimited rooms.
Compared to the $80+/month DirecTV offered with only half of the same number of HD channels, not only was the service itself better from Comcast, but the price was lower too. Um, OK, twist my arm.
Only problem is, the DVR kinda sucks. Compared to my DirecTiVo, the UI is pathetic, the remote is awful, and using is a pain in the ass. Nice thing about having cable service, though, is that with a nifty CableCard ready HD DVR, I should be able to swap out the Motorola beast they gave me with one off the shelf, which brings me to enquire, "what is the best HD DVR on the market?"
Is it a TiVo? ReplayTV? Should I put Linux/MythTV on a MacMini? Help me out here. The most important factors are HD, ease of use (including tangibles like remote control and intangibles like UI look and feel), followed by capacity, and at a distant fourth, price.
My blog covers topics I find of interest or worth sharing. I tend to cover topics around software development, Internet, or personal interests like music, photography or Disney.
- March 2021 (1)
- October 2020 (1)
- September 2020 (3)
- September 2019 (1)
- April 2018 (1)
- January 2018 (1)
- October 2017 (2)
- January 2017 (2)
- December 2016 (1)
- November 2014 (1)
- February 2014 (1)
- October 2013 (1)
- August 2013 (1)
- July 2013 (1)
- June 2013 (1)
- December 2012 (1)
- October 2012 (1)
- May 2012 (1)
- April 2012 (6)
- January 2012 (1)
- October 2011 (1)
- September 2011 (1)
- August 2011 (3)
- July 2011 (1)
- June 2011 (1)
- May 2011 (2)
- February 2011 (1)
- January 2011 (1)
- December 2010 (1)
- September 2010 (4)
- August 2010 (2)
- July 2010 (1)
- June 2010 (1)
- May 2010 (2)
- March 2010 (1)
- February 2010 (1)
- January 2010 (5)
- December 2009 (3)
- November 2009 (3)
- October 2009 (7)
- September 2009 (7)
- August 2009 (6)
- July 2009 (2)
- June 2009 (4)
- May 2009 (5)
- April 2009 (7)
- February 2009 (1)
- January 2009 (3)
- December 2008 (4)
- November 2008 (2)
- October 2008 (2)
- September 2008 (7)
- August 2008 (11)
- July 2008 (1)
- June 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (5)
- April 2008 (8)
- March 2008 (9)
- February 2008 (1)
- January 2008 (3)
- December 2007 (3)
- November 2007 (3)
- October 2007 (10)
- September 2007 (8)
- August 2007 (2)
- July 2007 (1)
- June 2007 (14)
- May 2007 (8)
- April 2007 (5)
- March 2007 (4)
- January 2007 (4)
- December 2006 (2)
- November 2006 (1)
- October 2006 (1)
- May 2006 (1)
- March 2006 (3)
- January 2006 (7)
- December 2005 (1)
- November 2005 (1)
- October 2005 (12)
- August 2005 (6)
- July 2005 (5)
URL: http://rus.berrett.org/blog/
Title: Re: DVR recommendations
Comment/Excerpt: If I were going to do it....I would build and configure a mythTV backend on a dedicated Linux box somewhere on my home network and then run the mythTV frontend on the Mac Mini. That way I could hide a beefy backend box built on Linux (or FreeBSD) that does all of the heavy lifting in my garage, and then have something nice and stylish like a Mac Mini sitting in the TV cabinet running the frontend and slurping all of the video files down from the backend server over my home network. I believe that the mythTV frontend will compile on OSX. hth. --rus.
Name/Blog: Khan
URL:
Title: Good advice
Comment/Excerpt: Although I don't know if I have the patience to build out my own MythTV box. From what I have heard, it's less than a "fun" tech project.
Name/Blog:
URL:
Title:
Comment/Excerpt: Yes, MythTV can be hard to set up. But I'd still vote for MythTV, although I admit I don't do HD. If the KnoppMyth (http://www.mysettopbox.tv/) distribution works for you then it's pretty easy to set up (not quite "15 minutes or your money back", though). The reason I like it is because I have the freedom to do what I want. For example, I ran out of space for recordings (I record way too much TV) so I got a bigger drive. No problems. I also have a perl script that scans the TV schedules and sends me mail about shows I might like. On the other hand, things occassionally go screwy and I have to figure out how to fix it.