[mythtv-users] Commercial PVR offerings - is MythTvstill competitive ?

[Allen Edwards]

On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 4:06 PM, Michael T. Dean <mtdean at thirdcontact.com>wrote:

> On 02/09/2009 06:42 PM, jedi wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Feb 09, 2009 at 06:18:00PM -0500, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>>
>>
>>> On 02/09/2009 05:50 PM, Steve Peters - Priority Electronics wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I for one think that the myth system can be cheaper. That was my reason
>>>> for
>>>> going with it in the beginning. We were paying $20 per month for the
>>>> cable
>>>> dvr.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Completely seriously, why would you opt to use a cable-co-provided DVR
>>>  for $20/mo instead of getting a good commercial DVR (TiVo) for $12.95  (or
>>> less) per month?  https://www3.tivo.com/store/plans.do
>>>
>>>
>>    Tivos aren't free.
>>
>>    That subscription is on top of what you have to pay for the unit.
>>
>
> Ah, yeah, so when you factor in that the hardware has a limited lifespan,
> it may actually be more expensive than even a $20/mo cable company DVR
> rental.  I.e. even getting the $299/3yr service plan and a $299 TiVo, you'd
> pay the equivalent of $16.61/mo over the 3yr period (ignoring time-value of
> money) and would /only/ save money if the hardware lasts/is useful for 30
> months or more.
>
> Guess that means the $12.95/mo is what TiVo users are paying for the same
> data SD users get for $20/yr.  Nice.
>
> Mike
>
> __
>

I spent about $650 for a brand new myth computer.  I then went completely
OTA and got rid of a $45/month sat bill.  In a little over a year, I break
even and myth is more reliable than the DVR that the sat company gave us,
does more, holds more programs, is easier to use, wow, what can I say.  On
the other hand, I probably spent 40 hours just getting it going.  But, I had
hardware incompatibility problems that took a lot of time that most people
won't have.

If you get a moderately fast dual core computer, 1G ram, 1T HD, a HDHR, load
mythbunty, print the install manual out and go through it very slowly page
by page, follow the instructions on HDHR site, and ask questions here it
should go smoothly.  You also need an antenna and be willing to watch some
stuff on Hulu that you would otherwise miss from cable.

Allen
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