[mythtv-users] What hardware do I need to be able to dual record using Comcast cable?

[Preston Crow]

> > Power used while encoding     = 50W/hr * 4hrs   = 200W
> > Cost of power used to encode = .200kW * $0.09 = $0.018
> > Space saved by encoding       = 5GB - 1.5GB     = 3.5GB
> >
> > Cost of space gained by encoding = $0.018/3.5GB = $0.005/GB
> >
> >
> > Since the lowest price of new media is around $0.10/GB these days,
> > transcoding (given this situation) appears to be an order of
> magnitude
> > cheaper still.

But if you watch the show, delete it, and re-record something in the
same space, then do the transcoding again, the cost of the space is
amortized over all the recordings that live in the same space, so with
your cheap power, you have to churn through your disk 20 times until
buying a larger disk is no more expensive than transcoding.  With my
power costs, it's less than 10.

Taking that into account, it seems that it's cheaper for me to buy a
larger disk than to transcode.

Of course, this is an academic analysis.  A real analysis would be to
compare the full cost and power of two different configurations that
you're considering, since you can't expand the size of an existing drive
by 1GB for $.10.  (If only...)