[mythtv-users] Thinking of moving on from MythTV :-( Any suggestions? (for the UK)

[Dave Ulrick]

On Tue, 3 Jan 2017, Tim Draper wrote:

> from my experience, USB tuners do not work well as a reliable mid/long 
> term solution for a 24/7 up BE. i somewhat regret not buying IP based 
> tuners, and to some degree, locking myself to a ITX form factor where 
> the DVB-S2 PCI-E card takes the single expansion slot in it.

When I started out with MythTV, I used a USB tuner. Whether or not a 
program got recorded as scheduled was very much a hit-or-miss thing. Maybe 
50% of programs got recorded.

Next, I went with a PCI-E TV tuner card. This _greatly_ improved the 
reliability of recording programs, but every once in a great while 
something went weird with the tuner card that required a reboot to 
recover.

Finally, I converted to an IP tuner (SiliconDust HDHomeRun). Since then, 
the only reasons programs don't record is if the antenna signal isn't 
adequate (several of the TV stations I record are over 70 miles from my 
antenna). In my experience, an IP tuner was by far the best solution.

My antenna has one booster amp on the mast. It's mounted at the peak of 
the roof of a two story house. This setup allows me to pick up TV stations 
that are over 70 miles distant from my location with > 90% (but not 100%) 
reliability.

Dave
-- 
Dave Ulrick
Email: d-ulrick at comcast.net