[mythtv-users] Commercial PVR offerings - is MythTv still competitive ?

[George Mogielnicki]

Eric;

You are right, percentages are misleading, 300% of $5 is not much. Let
stay with base $ in USD currency to avoid confusion.

On further reflection, the math gets worse. The total cost of the hardware
to build an HD miniItx  (small and quiet) from newegg is roughly 500. The
cost of second HD Receiver that I had to get to be able to record and
watch HD at the same time is 125. That's already 625. This is an
substantial amount.

Actually, I did not have to get the second receiver, I could just return
the old HD and rent the new one 6131 for $10 a month (or buy it as I did).
With this configuration, I can only watch or record/watch at the same
time. 0 incremental cost. I could also keep the old receiver for watching
and use the new one for recording. For the total of 125 investment I have
dual HD  tuner capability.

What I have now with the new receiver is 1080 HD viewing and recording
with digital audio for the price of 125 plus usb storage that I had laying
around. The package is small and quiet. I can not rip dvd's to it
(download,burn, play in dvd player is an easy worakround) or use
MythWeahter or read news. What I can do is to use the basic pvr
functionality (watch, schedule, record, play) in full HD for 125 dollars
without major issues. I would also venture to say that majority of Mythtv
users spend 90% of their time on the above plus mythvideo.

I run plenty of servers at home: asterisk voip, slimserver, qmail
mailserver, even ltsp. All of this projects cost some effort and some $
but the underlying theme is that there are no free or inexpensive
alternatives.

I just have hard time to justify the $500 expense and time involved in
compiling and troubleshooting VDPAU,  when a working alternative covering
basics costs so little. The remote even has 30 second forward skip...

As far as the kickbacks for the commercials, sure it can happen, and then
I will feel justified in building a new box. Until this happens, I have
nothing to loose.

George

>
> Thinking of it in terms of percentages is misleading.  Look at it in
> terms of absolute numbers.
>
> Assume the base price for a limited PVR is 150 CAD.
>
> Is it worth it to you to spend 350 CAD for the advanced features
> present in mythtv or not?  If it is, go with the mythtv, if not, go
> with the pre-built box.
>
> Thinking about it in terms of percentages can get really wacky.
> Imagine if a PVR manufacture got a kickback from advertisers for
> selling a PVR which would actively prevent fast forward during
> commercials and this manufacturer could sell these boxes for $5 CAD
> each due to the subsidy.  Now all of a sudden the 500 CAD mythtv is a
> ten thousand percent markup relative to the pre-built.  Would that
> give you pause, too?  Or would it be better to ask if $495 is worth it
> for a lifetime of commercial skip and all of the other mythtv advanced
> features?
>
> Eric
>