So right now if you want to build a PC DVR that supports cablecard and will record DRM-protected channels (think HBO), you pretty much only have one option: Windows Media Center.
But that’s a problem, and not just because MS stopped all development on Media Center years ago. There’s a deep suspicion that there won’t be a Windows Media Center for Windows 10. MS refusing to say anything about it is certainly fueling it. If they kill Windows Media Center, then a lot of folks with Win7 and Win8 machines as PC DVRs are going to hold back.
So Silicondust, which makes all sorts of awesome TV tuners for PCs, has a kickstarter to build their own DVR software solution that supports cablecard and DRM-protected channels. And the good news is that the kickstarter has already met it’s $100K goal, so it’s going to be funded. And it’s pretty cool, as they’re designing it so it can also run on a NAS, so you don’t need to keep a PC on 24/7 to record channels.
You can still chip in if you want. $30 gets you a year-long license when it releases, and you get it a month early. $150 will get you your choice of HDHomeRun tuner and the DVR license.
For the record, I own an HDHomeRun Prime, and it really is awesome. Lets me record 3 channels at once, including all the DRM-protected stuff. I recorded and stored each and every World Cup Match last year, using it.
From what I understand, they haven’t cracked how to display DRM’d content yet-- content cableLABS hasn’t designated copy freely. That’s a huge hurdle, assuming you plan to use it with a cablecard and not free OTA.
And if you do want to DVR free OTA TV, TiVo will now sell you an OTA Roamio with lifetime service for $300, which is a far better option than any of the competition including this one and TabloTV.
Yeah, I read about WMC not being in Windows 10 yesterday. That’s really sad news. Using my PC as a DVR for Over-The-Air programs just became a lot less viable. Maybe I won’t switch to Windows 10 soon after all.
Meanwhile, 17 days left in the HDHomeRun DVR kickstarter. It’s reached the goal, and is close to the stretch goal of Kodi support. Extended client support (including Xbox One, possibly) is pretty far away as the second stretch goal.
They gained like $15k in the past 48 hours as news of WMC not going to Windows 10 started to spread. Hopefully the funding will increase as the news spreads
That’s my concern too Gordon. I could see keeping my home server on Win8.1 as it’s currently also doing DVR duty, but if they shut off the listings it won’t do any good. We’ve changed our viewing habits quite a bit this season though. I initially setup WMC to record the few shows we do watch, but when I found they were all available via Plex channels + Chromecast, we stopped using WMC to DVR stuff. The quality is a bit lower and the controls a little less responsive, but it’s more convenient.
No, no problems with the unit at all. I did run into problems, but they were all on Comcast’s end. Like, they didn’t put the right billing information into my account for the cable card, so it wouldn’t let me watch any premium channels, even though I get HBO. That took a while to figure out.
I run it on an i7 and an i3, but CPU isn’t really that critical. What you need is tons of fast storage. I’m not talking SSD (which would wear out quickly with all the constant writing of live TV for pausing-live-TV functionality), but I recommend a big and fast hard drive. And the bigger issue is that if you want to watch/stream HD TV, you can’t use WiFi. Simply not enough throughput in anything other than ideal conditions. So I’ve got it connected to my i7 desktop using gigabit cables through a gigabit router, and my i3 system using powerline networking.
I have the original 6 tuner cable card version since day one of release. In that time period the internal power supply has died twice. First time was after about a year and it was still in warranty. I shipped it in and had it fixed in a few weeks. The second time just happened. It’s 3 yrs now and well out of warranty but I talked to support and they said about a year ago they switched to a different more reliable supplier for power supplies. They originally wanted $40 for them to ship me a new power supply that I could self install (super easy to do) but I convinced them to waive the fee since they kind of knew the power supplies from the original supplier was kind of junk.
So overall a few issues but support was very helpful and accommodating. Having said that I’m seriously considering dropping cable and just using sling tv (the service) and then maybe selling my hdhomerun.
Most channels for me outside of the premium stuff (hbo, showtime, etc) is set to copy freely but that is pretty dependent on region and cable provider.
But then again I use software that I wrote myself to do all my dvr stuff. But at $30/yr this hdhomerun version sounds like a solid alternative considering I pay schedules direct $25/year for my data feed.
