I'm hoping to cut the cable cord and I've been looking into the alternatives. For local channels (mainly for sports), I'm looking at getting an antenna with an amplifier. To add pausing and recording capabilities, I'd like to add in a DVR. I already have an older (like 2008ish) PC with Vista (blah) Windows Media Center, although the PC could use a good refresh and probably a newer/better video card. It also has a TV tuner card that can handle the digital broadcast. I've got an extra 400 GB external HD (standard HD, no a SSD) that I could easily use for storage, but I'm not sure if that is fast enough for these days. Then I see these alternatives like viewtv and simple.tv on Amazon that are cheap (less than $50) that do essentially the same thing as Media Center...you just need an external storage device. Does anyone have experience with DVR'ing with either Media Center and/or one of these other DVR's and can you share your experience? Thanks!
My brother just made this exact switch..I'll ask him what set up hes using, but I am sure that he is using a computer to DVR rather than a stand alone box.
I use something similar to this to record (to an external hd) while using the passthrough to watch something else simultaneously... in other words, it rarely gets used, but sounds like what you're looking for. http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW-150PVR-HomeWorx-Converter-Recording/dp/B00I2ZBD1U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423931170&sr=8-1&keywords=HD tv tuner?tag=citofgamonlco-20#productDetails There's also this: http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-TCD84651...id=1425576884&sr=8-1&keywords=tivo+roamio+ota For sports, check out https://www.sling.com/ ($20 a month for live ESPN) as well as their add on sports package. The only thing I miss is FSN broadcasts. I can access those games online, but they're usually SD. Honestly, for the $90 a month I save in switching to just OTA antenna (I use Mohu Leafs on all my in house tvs and a cheap amplified antenna in the garage), netflix, hulu, and sling, I can go to the bar once a week for games I really want to watch in HD and still come out ahead.
^^yea, our conversation the other night is what spurred my research. I absolutely hate Comcast (and I hardly watch TV besides DVR'ed shows) so I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. I mainly want the local channels for vikings games, occasional twins game, super bowl, etc. That Homeworx looks like that I'd need. $40 for that vs. refreshing my PC...almost makes the choice easy. What kind of external HD you use? A spinner (aka standard HD) or a SSD? And I was looking at the Mohu antennas too. Do you have them by windows and how is the reception?
Added a Tivo OTA link to my post above. I'm thinking about one of those for the basement, but I don't really watch enough to justify the $15 a month at the moment. Maybe next winter. Also, for football, there are some workarounds to get NFL network without a directtv account. By next season, rumors have it that they should have something available for the US market. I use a 1TB HD. About 8gb per hour of recorded tv... I use plex and/or my PS3 to access content from that HD on other TVs. You might want something like a roku stick or google chromecast to catch what you cast from your phone if you plan to set up multiple tvs. I have 2 Mohu metros in the basement. One is next to a glass block window, the other is probably 10ft from a window (mounted directly next to the wall mount). They receive the same channels. The Mohu Leaf in the bedroom picks up a few more channels but that's probably because it's on the ground level and near South and East facing windows. The garage gets the best reception with the cheap, 100mile range, $30 amazon amplified antenna pointed NW. That said, none of the channels it picks up are ones I watch. I get all the network channels through the unamplified mohu antennas (5 mile range) as well as all the public access and jesus channels. Use websites like this if you go with a directional antenna: http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/ http://www.antennapoint.com/
I get like 7 of them. Apparently, those Southern mega churches have a metric ass-ton of leftover tax free donation money that they can funnel into their marketing department.
Awesome, I definitely appreciate all of the info. I find it funny that one month of savings from dropping comcast will pay for a nice antenna. Then a second month pays for a Roku. Looks like Sling gives you some nice discounts on devices if you prepay for 3 months too. And yea, my finance has a cheap antenna in her apt...picks up more jesus channels, spanish channels, and spanish jesus channels that anything else. And of course, when the damn train goes by (she lives by train tracks), all of the channels drop except the ethic jesus channels. Seriously, wtf.
Oh nice, didnt see the discount. I should get a roku stick for the wall mounted tv (to replace the chromecast that I never use). The roku stick does mobile device mirroring that my basic roku doesnt do. With that, there isn't much need for an htpc unless yours is good to go as is or if you run audio through it or something redundant like that. That said, I do have an extended hdmi cable for the very rare occasion that I want to hook up the chromebook and want to use a keyboard instead of a phone screen for input.
I got the Amazon Basics 35mi antenna. I have had decent luck with mine especially considering my TV is nowhere near an external wall. A couple things to note: -Comcast just offered me a year of HBO Go with my internet package ($59.99/mo) for less than the internet package alone. This package requires a cable box to get HBO GO (don't ask, stupid). I haven't checked if basic channels work as well. If it does, it might rescind the need for an antenna. -If you don't already, get your own modem. I just picked up a Motorola Surfboard for 55.99 on Amazon. Will pay for itself in 6mo
My bro said he uses media center to dvr, he can't watch a live show while another one is recording...but he can watch a recorded show while another is recording.
$15 a month for HBO Now starting in April. http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8175619/hbo-now-announced Sucks that it's tied to the appletv at launch (pre-set apps unlike the roku... no private channels like the roku either), but still relevant to this conversation.
Anyone ever heard of sling tv? friend of mine mentioned it to me yesterday. adding channels like crazy. 20/month allegedly
Hey - just to chime in as an avid Media Center user...I have used Media Center exclusively for my OTA (and for a while CableCard) for about 10 years...or how ever long it has been since Vista came out. IMO - there is nothing better than Windows Media Center for full whole house DVR capabilities. The 10ft UI is beautiful (i.e. - using it from 10 feet away...on a big screen). I currently have it loaded on my server in the basement and it serves up recorded content, and OTA TV through my Xbox 360's being used as extenders. I have a HD HomeRun tuner with an HD antenna in my attic. The real con with this approach is the $$ required if you don't already have parts lying around, and the fact that MS stopped supporting Media Center in Xbox One, which means it's days are numbered (unless they decided to add it back in, which would be fantastic but will never happen ) I would be happy to give you any tips/tricks if you decided to give it a try. I have lots of experience and am happy to share! Erik
One more comment: Using Xbox 360's allows yu to use one device for everything, since you can get your apps setup as well. I have a Logitech Harmony 900 remote that controls everything so I don't need to run multiple remotes or devices. Just a receiver and the Xbox...with one connection to the network and one HDMI to the TV. Nothing simpler than that! Except maybe Roku, but no DVR with that.
Nice, thanks for the info Erik! I think I might end up trying my PC first since I already have it. Seems as though my video card isn't the best, but I figure it's worth a shot. How are you accessing the Windows Media center interface and live TV since it is set up on a server? Or is that still done through the Xbox?
If your video card is in the PC, but not actually running Media Center through that PC (meaning you are displaying TV that is hooked up to a monitor or TV directly to that PC) than the video card does not matter. It is more processor, RAM and HDD size and speed that matters. I am accessing Media Center directly through my Xbox 360's. After you are done setting up Media Center on the PC (going through TV setup for example....configuring your location and guide data) then you can "add extender" directly from Media Center. There is a section on the Xbox 360 under settings where you can connect it to a computer. Run this, it will give you a code that you enter on the Media Center PC and Voila! they are connected. Then you can use Media Center on your Xbox just like you would on the PC. The only options that don't work are some add-ons (for example, there is a Netflix add-on for Media Center, but it does not work through Extenders) It really is quite simple...just make sure you do the setup on the PC first to get all of your libraries (Music, Photos, Videos, Movies if you have any ripped on the PC) and Live TV setup and the rest is easy. What tuner are you going to use?
I see, thanks for the info. So my PC actually has a TV tuner card, and since I don't have an xbox, I would just hook up the PC to my TV and run everything off the PC...hence the need for a "good" PC. I had an issue with the video card originally and it was replaced, but I still got a BSOD for a while...now the PC is "working" but I'm pretty sure that the Windows install is all corrupt. Basically my PC just needs a good refresh. But compared to the cost of a simple tv or one of the other DVR options, I might go that route.
Do it - you won't be disappointed. Although the PC may be just noisy enough to bother you...when I had my PC upstairs (pre server setup) I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to make it as quiet as possible...but it was never quite as quiet as I had hoped. Although I was running an older generation AMD processor...the new Intel i-series are so much quieter with lower power draws.
Overpowering with a "silent" PSU helped mine a lot. I have one of These and I can't hear **** even when the fan is on, which is not very often. My 360 sounds like a freight train in comparison. Machine oil all-the-things helped too.
If nothing else water cooling has gotten very cheap in the last few years. My gaming PC under full load is damn near silent
