homemade dvr

[CoffeeFiend]

As far as I'm aware of all if not most HTPC software handle multiple tuners. The problem there is multiple set top boxes per month charge. And what ever else fee wise comes into play. On my personal system I have 1 DirectTV set top box and watch what ever I want. If I need to record something the show is always shown at different time slots so this really is no problem for me. Even Hauppauge includes wintv2K (Watch/Record) with most of their cards which will include a EPG for titanTV which is a free service. There are several EPG services out there that are free Zap2it Labs. This HTPC stuff has SSSOOOOooooo many options that yes it is hard to decide which way to go. I decided a few years ago that building my HTPC would allow me to change thins around if I wanted to at a later date easily.

My Home Theatre System

Ahanix DiVine 5 Case

MOBO: Abit AN7 CPU: AMD 3200XP

RAM: 512 Megs Ram Vid. Capture: PVR 250

VGA: MSI NX6600GT Component Out

DVD Player: Sony DDU1615

OS:XP SP2 APP/SW: myHTPC/Meedio 1.41

DirectTV: RCA 486 Satellite Reciever

MITSUBISHI WS-A55 55" HDTV

Radio Shack 15-2116 Remote with Girder

john

Looks like you've done your homework too. I had a HTPC for a few years -- until about a year and a half ago. I wouldn't say I was necessarily an early adopter, but I first got into it in a few years ago (around year 2000, don't recall an exact date). HTPCs sounded like a totally cool, must-have thing one couldn't live without, and got suckered into it. But eventually I tired of it (after having tried soooooooo many apps and wasted so much time), and settled for something that's better - for me at least. There's a few advantages to HTPCs, but there's also some bad stuff:

-the cost of building a nice HTPC: silent PC parts in general, nice HTPC cases like the D.Vine and all this don't come cheap. It's even more expensive if you take the myhtpc approach with a server with the capture cards and HDs (not in the living room), and a 2nd computer as a player in the living room.

-it's basically a computer, so it tends to require a fair amount of maintenance ("babysitting"). The OS needs to be upgraded/patched all the time, the apps should be updated every now and then (the menu app, the DVD player, the PVR software, etc) and all that regular PC stuff, which is time consuming

-there is a LOT of software solutions out there to try, and that takes a lot of time

-most of the said software are just smaller components of the "big picture", and they're not necessarily made to interoperate/integrate easily. Install a front end/menu app, and then configure it all to do stuff using all the other apps (a LOT of configuring and such to do)

-same goes for the remote: most software isn't made to use remotes directly (like most computer apps), and you have to install the remote software (like girder), and manually configure every app (picking the best remote for a decent price was a PITA too, although the MCE remotes are fairly popular by now and cheap too)

-everything else is also a "install more software, configure more things" approach, like the EPG and such (more work, more time wasted, more annoyances)

-but my main issue with them is the quality of capturing. Analog capturing really SUCKS. I've had many capture cards, including the Hauppauge PVRx50 series, and the capture quality is not very good -- nowhere near digital capturing solutions! CableCard may partially solve this eventually though, for cable users... (But it will only available in pre-built PCs anyways)

What I've finally settled with instead? A combination of 2 things:

-A XBOX with XBMC to play the already recorded/ripped stuff (usually mpeg4 - over the network; storage is remote so less noise in living room). Small, quiet, quite cheap, looks OK, plays virtually everything you throw at it, no need to install various applications, configure them all to launch/execute one another with the right parameters manually, no need to install remote control software, configure every button for every app manually, etc. Throw XBMC on it, and you're done. Everything pretty much works out of the box, very little work required, and never needs tweaking like HTPC solutions require.

-a satellite PVR box. Granted, that's not much help for cable users (although perhaps they have decent PVRs too - haven't had cable in about 10 years, so can't tell for sure). It makes a bit for bit copy of the transportstream from the satellite. A perfect, identical 1:1 copy with no quality loss whatsoever. No decoding -> cheap DACs -> filtering -> wiring and interference -> more filters -> cheap ADCs -> on the fly lossy recompression step, which does make the picture suck. DVD-like picture on most channels - you even keep the Dolby Digital sound! And there's basically no work required. Put it on a shelf, plug it, and watch. With a HTPC, it's research/select/order individual parts, assemble PC, install OS, install every app, spend a month configuring everything, etc. The sat PVR never requires me to visit windows update either, or to download and install newer versions of the apps it uses. The EPG works out of the box. So does the remote (no need to manually setup every button for every app). And there are no monthly fees for those over here (not sure about DirectTV as I'm in Canada), and we can rent them for a few $/month if you don't want to buy it outright. They make 'em with dual tuners too (even the high def models). Takes less power (and creates less heat) than any PC. I find it's totally superior to HTPCs in almost every way you can look at it.

The big advantages of HTPCs:

-you can burn DVDs (of poor quality, analog-recorded stuff off cable -- not that I'd ever do that, but lots of people seem to like the idea)

-it's upgradeable. As long as you got the money, you can throw more HDs at it and such.

-not bad for OTA HDTV stuff (using the right cards, although pricey) - if there are such feeds available in your area (not here in Canada unfortunately)

[dirtwarrior]

I have an old gateway I am going to use. Some things I need to learn.

How to use the TV display with it?

Find a nice looking case so it can go nicely with TV.