[mythtv-users] HD Homerun Prime with MythTV

[Yeechang Lee]

Shawn Asmussen <shawn.asmussen at gmail.com> says:
> Actually, the new HDHR looks like it is going to have 3 tuners, so
> for your scenario it'd be three monthly STB rentals you could
> compare it against.

Interesting. I currently pay $22 a month to rent two cable boxes. I
don't know how much my cable company charges for an M-Card but my
understanding is that most only charge a few dollars a month.

Let's say the HDHomeRun Prime's $250 list price translates to $200 at
Amazon. If an M-Card is $3 a month I'd make back the cost in a year,
and would gain a third tuner to boot. Lower power consumption, too. I
have untrammeled FireWire access to all subscribed channels and so
would expect simlar openness via CableCard.

I'd lose the ability to use my HD-PVR as I currently do with one of
the boxes, both for testing and for the smaller files (~2.5GB/hour) it
produces versus straight MPEG-2 (up to 7.5GB/hour). Also, Prime would
likely no longer be useful if I were to move to an area with a
less-enlightened cable company, and definitely would not be useful if
the condo board in my building brings in DirecTV (negotiations are
currently happening) and it makes me a great offer I can't refuse even
at the cost of buying another HD-PVR.

SiliconDust's reputation for making reliable tuners is certainly
attractive; like Joseph Fry and many others' experience, my HDHomeRun
is about as trouble-free as a device goes. FireWire has been that way
for going on five years now for me, though, so I wouldn't gain
anything there as opposed to a cost or a third tuner.

-- 
MythTV FAQ Q: "Cheap frontend/backend?" A: Revo, $200-300 @ Newegg
Q: "Record HD cable/satellite?" A: Hauppauge HD-PVR, $200 @ Newegg
Q: "Can't change Live TV channels w/multirec!" A: Hit NEXTCARD key
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