It might be hard to believe, but the ultimate DVR setup might end up being from Microsoft, not the well known TiVo. Granted, it took way too long, and we had to have several pieces fall into place, but from here on out, it looks like Microsoft might be the king of the DVR.
The first piece of the puzzle is Windows 7, which has an improved Media Center. Instead of going over all the new features, I’ll point to an EngadgetHD review of Windows 7 media center. There are two major feature deficiencies compared to my current TiVo HD – one is that no matter how many tuners you have, it only buffers the channel you’re watching. My TiVo has two separate buffers for the two tuners (so I can switch between two NFL games on Sundays and scan through looking for good plays). The other issue is that you cant record the buffer – so if you start watching something and decide to record it, you’ll only be able to pick up from when you hit the record button. I could live without those features, but its less enjoyable.
Next, new features of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 can automatically copy over recorded shows nightly into the “Recorded TV” folder on the server and can convert them down to H.264 for mobile device playback. The previous Power Pack enabled a lot of content to go from your WHS box to the Media Center PC. Combined with integration in Windows 7 Libraries, it’ll make those videos available on all your Windows 7 computers. This would allow “archiving” of TV shows to
Finally, the Pièce de résistance is the most recent revelation that CableCard adapters can be installed in home-built (non-OEM) PCs. This means I can go buy my parts of Newegg and then put the HTPC together and stick it under my TV and get full, glorious digital cable and in the form factor, with the options I want (and not paying a premium for a Dell or HP badge on it). One card has already been announced – Centon which will allow up to 2, 4 of 6 tuned channels at the same time (my TiVo HD only does 2) and the 4 tuner card is due out sometime in Q1 2010.
There are a few caveats. First is that the CableCard will still obey the copy protection rules that are sent out with the programming. There are four states – copy freely (0×00), copy no more (0×01), copy once (0×02) and copy never (0×03). Only copy freely will allow you to pull the content off the DVR and then downres it to your iPhone or Zune HD, though the OS will let you copy the other copy protected videos off the computer, you just cant play it back unless its on that computer. Most content on digital cable is copy freely, with the only exceptions being the premium digital channels like HBO and Cinemax.
The next caveat is that CableCard is a dying technology, slowly being replaced by Tru2Way. As Tru2Way displaces CableCards, you wonder about how long cable companies will continue to support them. They are currently required by the FCC to be supported, along with the Switched Digital Video (SDV) switching technology to allow the unidirectional CableCards (and their hosts – a TiVo or PC) to talk back to the cable company to request channels being broadcast using SDV.
After looking over all the features, it looks like a HTPC (with HDMI out and 5.1 audio of course) could certainly replace my TiVo HD unit. Unless TiVo starts adding meaningful features (uPnP support would be one, capable of decoding MP4/H.264+AAC or AC3), I really don’t see why I should continue to pay them $12.95/mo. Its not even the patent issue (I think TiVo is in the right for going after Echostar after the underhanded things they pulled), rather its TiVo’s lack of commitment into turning the TiVo from DVR to home entertainment hub.
4 Responses
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Wow, what a M$ fanboi. You start out saying the new M$ Media Center might be the “King of the DVRs”, and then you go on to point out several limitations it has compared to your TiVo HD. You don’t even mention the biggest sell for the M$ MC, which is streaming to your XBox.
Oh well, people have been posting much the same thing since M$ Media Center came out and yet you still have a TiVo HD. I find that fascinating. Could it be that you just wanted a catchy title for your blog?
BTW, please go ahead and try to stream 4 or 6 channels of HD simultaneously on your NewEgg machine. You are going to be sorely disappointed. Just because the card claims to support it, doesn’t mean the rest of your system will (think I/O and CPU).
Good luck trying to replace your TiVo with M$. You’ll spend a lot more time, more money, more aggravation (think patch Tuesday during primetime), and you’ll get a lot less DVR functionality. Hey, I’m all for building a better mousetrap. M$ just isn’t it, by any stretch.
Anthony – have you looked at your TivoHD lately????? I stream Rhapsody, Netflx, Amazon Downloads have Multi-Room Viewing, Kids Zone, Wish List and Season Passes. If you can’t see that Tivo is the entertainment center without all the geeky stuff then please get yourself the Windows 7 Media Center and send me your TivoHD. Really – Just send me your TivoHD. Thank-you!
John
@ rtmoore4:
The fact that you use “M$” is enough for me to throw your comment in the garbage bin, but I wont. And FWIW, I’m a much bigger Apple “fan” than MS. Though I really don’t consider myself a fan of companies, rather just of products. I don’t pledge allegiance to either Steve (Jobs or Balmer).
Yes, this isn’t the perfect DVR, but replacing my TiVo with an HTPC would certainly give me a number of other benefits – for example, I wouldn’t ever really need to buy DVDs or BRs of TV shows if I can pull all the shows off the DVR and put them on my multi-TB WHS box. 1.5TB HDs are going for under $100 (Fall 2009), and thats enough HDTV (in H.264) for over 1,400 hours of programming. Every episode of my favorite TV shows available on demand? Sounds awesome. TiVo still doesn’t handle drives larger than 1TB (internal/external, for a total of 2TB), and their lack of media-hub features are what I have a problem with.
Each HDTV stream is at most, 20Mb/s, so four streams is an aggregate of 80Mb/s or 10MB/s. All current 3.5″ HDs can sustain 10MB/s of writes, even random writes (1MB block size). If the Q9550s chip I get from newegg cant handle it, there isn’t much that will.
Take your ignorant, irrational hatred elsewhere.
@ John:
Aren’t all of those pay-for services? (Rhapsody, Netflix, Amazon)
MRV is a really nice feature, but W7MC (combined with my WHS server and other W7 clients in my house) will be able to watch those same videos, though I cant pause/resume somewhere else. I have two TiVos in my house (S2, TiVo HD) and have never used that feature because my network couldn’t keep up with streaming the recording from one location to another (and they’re both wired ethernet though the S2 is Ethernet to USB). I believe W7MC finally has something similar to Season Passes (“Series Recording” – you specify a channel and an approximate time).
Its nice that TiVo is working hard to try and sell me other stuff – especially in this economy – but I guess I’d rather go the build-your-own route (the “geeky stuff” as you put it).