[mythtv-users] hdhomerun vs. capture cards: is it even a contest?

[Andre]

On 25 Jan 2011, at 00:18, Joe Hickey wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 6:03 PM, Ajay Sharma <ajayrockrock at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 1:52 PM, James Miller <gajs-f0el at dea.spamcon.org> wrote:
>>> Whether or not I've understood properly the way these devices work, I'd be
>>> interested in hearing what other users see as the pro's and cons of the
>>> hdhomerun vs. capture cards.
>> 
>> Some people, myself included, live too far away to receive OTA
>> signals.  Cable or Fios is really the only option for us and there's
>> no reason to get an HDHR where you'll only get a handful of
>> unencrypted channels.  It's better to go the HD-PVR route where at
>> least you'll get everything.
>> 
>> --Ajay
> 
> Depends on what shows you watch.
> 
> In my case a good portion of the shows I record are on broadcast (CBS,
> NBC, etc) and I get these channels unencrypted QAM through my cable.
> HDHR dual tuner is great for these.  As you said only gets a handful
> of channels (like a dozen out of the 100+ that I get on the STB) but
> it's still highly worth it if you record stuff from those channels.

And for those channels you miss out a generation of re-compression that the HDPVR adds.

I understand from US friends who work in broadcast that generally, apart from notably FIOS, US cable companies re-compress from non broadcast quality feeds, off air for local stations! So everything you can do to reduce extra generations will be a big benefit, unless you have a very small tv that you watch from across the street. ;-)

Andre