Alternative PC PVR Solutions to TiVo. HTPC/PVR Info

Contributed by seamonkey420

April 3, 2005

Tagged: TiVo

This is another of my quickie guides to alternatives to Tivo services using ones own PC and TV Tuner card. I will give an overview of three of the main commercial (non-open source) PVR software packages (taken from my website htpc page) and some notes about each.

Home Theater PC (HTPC) systems have just recently started to emerge. A HTPC is basically a normal PC but has the ability to be used with a Big screen TV/LCD in a living room environment. So a few basic requirements of it are to have: TV/S-Video/HD outputs to connect to a TV, TV Tuner/AV inputs for other devices and TV, FM Tuner (optional), DVD Drive/Burner, remote control/wireless keyboard and a larger sized hard drive to save your recorded tv shows to.

The first search or obstacle one might encounter is, ok, i have hardware but what can i use to drive it? What software package will take advantage of what i have? Here’s a quick rundown of the 3 main commercial software packages out there worth mentioning (not including open-source projects).

SageTV : This is THE BEST one out there in my opinion. It has a built in EPG for the USA (onscreen program guide), custom STVs to change the UI and features of program, tons of add-ons like Commercial Skip, Web server, and more! Has TiVo like features to record shows based on what you like or didn’t like. Also will work with certain remotes and has a weather suite to add weather to it.

PowerCinema 3 TV Plus Edition: I received this with my TV Tuner/Remote package. Its a very nice and easy to use layout and is viewable on a TV really well. However it lacks the built-in channel guide/listings so recording is still finding the show, the date and time and setting manually. However, this is the only package i can use if i want to use my FM Tuner. SageTV does not support FM tuners yet.

BeyondTV3 : A nice overall layout also, has the ability to let you change your recording schedule via a web interface from any where that has an internet connection (however the SageTV webserver plugin does the same. Has a program guide, however it does require a monthly subscription to the service.

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Anonymous 3 years ago 1 point
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Straight from the horse's mouth:

BeyondTV has no subscription fees,
nor are there fees for accessing the online EPG.

Personally, I have used BeyondTV for 3 years so far and have never looked back. Over time, the setup and user interface has only gotten more stable and simplified. Would recommend it to anyone just stepping into the HTPC/PVR world.

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seamonkey420 3 years ago 1 point
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thanks, i checked it out and it is WAY better than when i was using it originally and the epg is now free too.. very nice..

again, thanks for pointing this out..

btw, i've just stepped up to mce 2005 (since you can buy it oem now! w/spending an arm and leg on it via a htpc system..)

not bad.. i like it better than sagetv and beyondtv..

peace

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