[mythtv-users] Firewire Success Stories?

[Tom Greer]

On Nov. 26, 2006, lunchtimelarry at gmail wrote:

> Will a DCT-6200 work "good enuff" to make it worth trading in the 6412 and
> losing the one PVR that can record all my digital channels and encrypted
> premium channels?

I've experimented with multiple DCT-6200s and multiple DCT-6412s.  I have
observed no difference in the reliability of the firewire output between the
models.  Both are require persistence in establishing a reliable
connection.  Then they will work *extremely* reliably for an unforecastable
period of time.  Then they switch ports (or just decide to be flaky again)
for no obvious reason.

A while ago, after successfully deploying MythTV, I went on a international
business trip.  Just after I left, the firewire connections all decided to
stop working (I had three boxes hooked to two backends).  LiveTV did not
work for over a week.  The lost the WAF and had to re-connect all the
DCT-6xxx boxes.

It's been over a year, I still have not been able to regain the WAF.  I
currently use MythTV to record from via a dedicated DCT-6200 in a closet.
With the limited storage capacity of the DCT-6412, my wife frequently gets
frustrated that she can't keep movies for any period of time.  Solution: we
now record all movies (and most everything else) on MythTV.  But we never
use MythTV for live TV.

I'm considering buying a HDHomeRun device, with the expectation that it will
provide more reliable service.  I believe I can get all the channels that I
currently get via firewire from the DCT-6xxx boxes. Then, my plan would be
use video capture card to grab the premium channels (along any not available
via the QAM connection) off a DCT-6200.

I've been waiting for the HDHomeRun to become more stable - and for a period
when I will have some time to fiddle.  Maybe January...

Good luck.

Tom
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