Comments on: Tivo vs MythTV vs Windows Media Center

By: Lance

Lance — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:24:13 +0000

It’s pretty sad that the options for dvr are so limited at this late date. But with the Ceton cards available (hopefully followed shortly by the HDHomerun Prime), there is bound to be more demand for a viable solution. Currently, I’m using Windows 7 media center. It’s really a great media center. The down side is that it runs on Windows. If you’re a Windows fan, that’s great for you (the Media center comes free if you’re willing to shell out the bread for the OS)… but I’m not a Windows fan, so I grit my teeth and live with it (for now). I tried MythTV for a while, but as there is NO W.A.F. (wife acceptance factor), and no attempt on the part of the Myth community to incorporate any… it’s not an option. The attitude of the Myth community seems to be that it’s a better DVR solution, so you should be willing to spend days learning and hours configuring it (with still no hope that your wife will feel comfortable with it). That’s the same attitude that used to pervade throughout the Linux community as a whole… but is thankfully changing with the likes of Ubuntu and Linux Mint etc….

On the bright side, XBMC now has a PVR branch. It’s not ready for prime-time yet, but there’s hope.

By: Rob W.

Rob W. — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:39:29 +0000

I just built a DVR using Windows 7 (32-bit) and the Hauppage PVR-150 in a Dell P4 w/1GB of RAM. I got it all running in one night. The new version of Windows Media Center that comes with Windows 7 is a lot nicer than the version in WinXP-MCE2005. I need to add another TV tuner so that I can record two shows at once. Other than that, it works great so far. Gotta say, as the world’s biggest Vista hater (I personally prevented over 800 computers from upgrading to it), I’m impressed with Windows 7. It’s what Vista should have been in the first place.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:55:42 +0000

Your comment that:

> If you want to synchronize your video files with a portable
> device, you’ll be happier with Tivo, which allows you to port
> the Tvio-to-go files:

is misguided. MythTV is incontestably the better solution here. Tivo allows you to port *certain* content to *certain* devices. It’s the usual proprietary lock-in story that MS uses.

MythTV stores content in a standard format (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4), portable to *any* device that supports standards.
And it allows you to automatically trim commercials!

By: pedro

pedro — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:45:41 +0000

I have been using mythtv for years. I’m VERY happy with it. It does whatever i want to do with my files, i can not only watch tv and recordings but watch any video from any source in any format, transcode, access my system from internet, and so on. But it takes some work for setting up everything (however it’s flexible with hardware – software – file formates).

Something i love is watching tv in my notebook in the bathroom!!

By: Brandon M

Brandon M — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:52:36 +0000

does any one know how to extend the buffer time in MCE2005 from 30min to something else cause 30 min just doesn’t cut it with 3kids being 5yrs, 2yrs and 5months.

By: Paul Webber

Paul Webber — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:20:40 +0000

The new release is now integrated with MythTV and gives it a gyro-controlled UI that lets you navigate long lists of media and the TV’s EPG by waving, like a Wii, for fast, smooth control. Also wave to scan through your media and adjust volume and lights.
There’s a new demo walkthrough video on Google Video, and also available in high-def at linuxmce.org. Installation is 25 minutes and every step is shown starting with a clean PC.

By: Paul Webber

Paul Webber — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:20:40 +0000

By: JoeT

JoeT — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:12:12 +0000

I set up MythTV on Gentoo Linux last year, using two VideOH! PCI tuners (for all those times when there are two shows I want to see playing at the same time). It works great, but I want to add more capabilities, such as exporting video to my Palm T|X and a way to control it from outside my LAN. I haven’t got to it because I now spend all my spare time watching TV!

By: scott

scott — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:12:50 +0000

I like Tivo, however I don’t really watch much TV anymore, if I do watch I can download it now, so I”m thinking of maybe a AppleTV.

By: scott

scott — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:12:50 +0000

I like Tivo, however I don’t really watch much TV anymore, if I do watch I can download it now, so I”m thinking of maybe a AppleTV.

By: Don L

Don L — Thu, 31 May 2007 18:42:47 +0000

Been using GB-PVR with a PVR-150 MC card for the past couple of years. Unlike the DRM-laiden Windows Media Center under XP & Vista…GB-PVR allows me to record anything I desire without the dreaded broadcast flag the broadcasters are using more & more. In addition to no broadcast flag worries…GB-PVR also records in pure MPEG-2 format…rather than needing to convert from Microsoft’s proprietary MPEG-2 format. The best parts about this software is the cost – 0…nada…zilch & it runs on Windows 2000 & up!!!

By: Don L

Don L — Thu, 31 May 2007 18:42:47 +0000

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 31 May 2007 16:31:38 +0000

Why is it that every time someone compares DVR/PVRs, they don’t include the units from DISH Network? I have a DISH 622 HD DVR that makes the Comcast HR20 look like… well you know. 300 hours of SD recording, 30 hours HD recording, 2 DISH tuners, 1 OTA tuner, simple GUI, nice multi use remote, HDMI, optical, component, etc, etc, etc. Plans are in work to allow external storage through USB.

And it’s free with new signups. No, this isn’t a promo. Home Theater mag did a DVR review a while ago and they also did not include the Dish DVR. What gives?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 31 May 2007 16:31:38 +0000

And it’s free with new signups. No, this isn’t a promo. Home Theater mag did a DVR review a while ago and they also did not include the Dish DVR. What gives?

By: metz

metz — Thu, 31 May 2007 15:26:30 +0000

The comcast DVR box sucks. Crashes, overheats, slow to respond to remote signals, underpowered, pauses for indeterminate amounts of time. I’m just about ready to pull the trigger on a TiVO series 3 box. It’s at $400 with rebate now and you can put 2 cable cards in it. If you don’t watch on demand (which I don’t) you can replace your comcast box with a TiVo and net back $5 a month on your bill. Yeah, youre out the initial $400 but the frustration savings is worth it to me.

I also use SageTV as a backup device. It’s pretty good. The first PC based PVR that does automatic commercial removal (I mean totally removes the commercial from the file) will get my $.