My Tivo just died. Looking at Beyond and Myth

[RBasil]

After three years my beloved 300 hour Tivo just died.

On the brighter side I've been looking into building my own PVR for a few years now and I guess this is the push I needed.

I have narrowed my choices down to Beyond and Myth.

I need to keep the cost below $500 for both software and hardware (I already have a few large hard drives so I will not have to include those in the cost of building my new PVR) I also have a copy of Win200 Pro that I can use as well.

Here is what I require. I'm used to "Tivo Speak" so if I call something by a Tivo name please substitute it for the term oi your software.

Most important to me is ease of use and install. I have experience in both Windows and Linux but my knowledge is very limited.

1. Play pause and record TV on my 55' wide screen (Phillips).

2. Season pass option to be able to search for and record programs by name / date / keyword / new or rerun.

3. The ability to record one show while watching another.

4. The ability to burn my recorded shows onto a DVD.

5. On screen weather.

6. On screen RSS feeds.

Can your software do the above and be able to come in under $500 for both software and hardware?

If so, any tips on what package to buy and maybe a few hardware selections? A pre built system would be great if available.

Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions you can provide!

[RBasil]

I should also state that I already have a DVD burner as well.

[Edgarmoon]

You need Beyond tv and beyond media (or maybe use mimick front end, not sure if that does RSS but it does weather)

You'll need two capture cards, or a pvr500 which is dual input. Still need converter box (satelite or digital cable), so figure 200+ for two captures. Do you have computer already, otherwise throw that in the mix. Video card for out to tv, anywhere from $50 low end to $200.

I use Btv and am playing with both BM and Mediaportal, have not tried Mimic since they don't have doppler maps. Mediaportal is free but takes effort to customize. BM has too many bugs I am waiting for them to fix before I start again.

I have Mythtv on my list, however the time and energy to learn enough linux and integrate it into my pther networked computers, not worth it at this time. You already have the windows operating system, so no Linux advantage at this time. Otherwise, add the cost of an operating system.

There is a learning curve, if you're familiar with windows but not Linux, that would be your best starting point. BTV does 1-4, the other three choices do 5 and some 6.

[Rich A]

The season pass thing may be an issue if I understand how the TIVO works. I had a few of those ReplayTVs (I replaced them all (3) with one BTV PVR setup) But what I miss is the ability to add a "search" item permanently and let the ReplayTV record it when it found it.

BTV doesn't have that feature (yet). I hope they include it some day. In other words here's the scenario.

There's a movie or show episode I want to record. It's not anywhere on the current 2 week stored EPG (guide). So with ReplayTV I'd make a search for it by episode or movie title and save that search. Every time a new guide was downloaded, ReplayTV would then search for and "automatically" record my item if found.

The BTV is more of a real time manual thing. You can search by title, or any word etc. But what happens is that it will show you only what's coming for the existing EPG. You can't "store" that search to have BTV do it with upcoming EPGs.

There IS a BTV web based application where you CAN add "custom" searches and what that will do is email you a message when ever your search is found.

But over all, I have found my SS Beyond TV to be PVR heaven. I love it. And I watch it in a home theater on a projected 6 foot screen. It has what they call a 10-foot GUI that is very nicely designed for large screen displays.

It's been MORE reliable than my old ReplayTVs were. I've been using my BTV continuously (24/7) for more than two years now. (two years this past May)

Uh, you may miss having to pay (either monthly or lifetime) for the epg as the BTV subscription is free. (heh heh)

[powelljf3]

Having 1 of each, I hate to say this on this board, but it looks as if MythTV would be a better option for you. It has all of the features that you are looking for, and other than setting it up initially, it's not hard to maintain (you can set up Yum to do all of that for you).

Now looking long term, I'm not sure that this won't be a better product in the long run, they have built in the ability to seriously customize without messing with the core. There is a dedicated staff looking at issues and upgrades, not a group of people who work on it when they can, but we have all seen in the past where Open Source surpasses commercial because the people who use it define the requirements.

[tallcajun]

Originally Posted by RBasil

After three years my beloved 300 hour Tivo just died.

On the brighter side I've been looking into building my own PVR for a few years now and I guess this is the push I needed.

I have narrowed my choices down to Beyond and Myth.

Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions you can provide!

Having just done this same thing, I'll give you my answers your your questions.

First, not even a question of yours, how comfortable are you with Linux? MythTV does require some "tweaking" and you have to know your way around Linux to accomplish what you want. Simple fact. If you are comfortable with Linux, try it. Personally, I didn't want to fight with anything so I went with a windows xp box, and beyond tv, beyond media, and firefly remote.

Now, to answer your questions:

>1. Play pause and record TV on my 55' wide screen (Phillips).
Yes. No problem.

>2. Season pass option to be able to search for and record programs by name / date / keyword / new or rerun.
Name, Date, Keyword, New Yes. Beyond TV has the ability to record All Shows (all airings, duplicated or not) All New shows (ie, season pass type, if its a repeat, its not recorded).

>3. The ability to record one show while watching another.
With a dual tuner board (WinTV 500-MCE) or two WinTV 250 boards.

>4. The ability to burn my recorded shows onto a DVD.
This is the ONE advantage of Beyond TV. You can have the recorded video to be processed using "show squeeze" and saved as windows media files. Then you can use Windows Movie Maker to edit out the commercials without having to re-encode it. Then with the proper software, (Nero) you can record videos to DVD.

>5. On screen weather.
Yes, using Beyond Media.
Also, Movie showtimes with trailers (Quicktime needed on the pc) [plugin] Movie Showtimes (August 4 Update)

>6. On screen RSS feeds.
Not sure if this works, but its a Blog explorer (which use rss feeds): [plugin] Blog Explorer


If you are serious about building you own PC, PVR, I would suggest that you look and learn a great deal about the hardware you want. It took me a rather long time, lots of reading, to get my setup. Feel free to look at my choices in my sig, and if you have any questions, feel free to pm me questions.