[mythtv-users] MythTV vs. Windows Media Center

[GZ]

On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 2:33 PM, Reynolds, Brian
<Brian.Reynolds at fiserv.com> wrote:
<snipped>
> So far, the pros/cons of each are about equal in my view.  Both can do
> all the things I really want to do.  The biggest limitation of Myth is
> the lack of a CableCARD tuner.  I know that the HD-PVR makes up for
> that, but the long-term costs of that option are higher than they are
> with CableCARD, because with Myth, I would need to rent several cable
> boxes to accomplish my goal.
That's not completely accurate - keep in mind that consumers don't
actually have cablecards in hand right now.  It sounds like Myth will
have Ceton support.  The real difference is that Myth will only ever
be able to support Videos marked 'Copy freely' by the cable company
(no DRM).  Note that although WinMCE may be able to play or stream
DRM'ed videos, you cannot do whatever you want to them.  With Myth, if
I want to transcode a recording for viewing on a smartphone or tablet
device, I can do that.  Under MCE, there's no guarantee you'll be able
to do that, and it could be taken away by the cable co at any time (as
could myth cablecard access).

>
> I suppose if the hardware costs of Myth are significantly lower than
> those of Win MCE, that would be a big factor that I would have to
> consider.  Recording/streaming HD content from 6-8 tuners to 5 front-end
> machines is a very I/O intensive thing.  The hardware I listed in my
> Wish List on NewEgg is what I /think/ I will need to do the job in
> Windows... with a comfortable cushion.  I've pasted that link below
> again, just in case you would care to look it over and tell me if it's
> way too much horsepower for MythTV.  Keep in mind that I configured this
> hardware to support 3D playback of BluRay movies, so the video card is
> probably over-priced for Myth, which cannot do 3D playback AFAIK.
Myth currently doesn't support 3D playback, but that's likely not a
difficult feature to add.  The problem is that the linux driver for
NVIDIA doesn't seem to support 3D glasses on non-Quadro hardware.
Fortunately or unfortunately, myth depends on the driver and OS
support.  Note that the Geforce GT 430 is probably the right choice
for a myth setup these days, particularly if you want to bitstream HD
audio.

>
> Keep in mind that Myth appears to add higher costs for the front-end
> hardware.  I can get Media Center Extenders for about $100 each.  Can I
> build a Myth front-end for $100 that will play HD content?
These are limited function set-top boxes.  I suppose you could say
that it's tough to find a HD-capable computer for that price, but it's
a bit of apples and oranges.  With the extenders, you're locked into
the software (and capabilities) written by the manufacturer.  However,
this seems to not be a problem for you.  I could imagine some cool
non-PVR uses for fully functional computers on every TV in a house.
As others have commented, you might be able to get used revo's for
around that price.  Crystal-HD support in 0.25 may allow you to reuse
old laptops with the crystal-HD card.

-Greg