Last week I culminated a 2 year build process (buying parts as I could afford them and they went on sale
)Anyway, after only a few days my family and I are VERY HAPPY with the WMC 7 system. The PC runs great, the HDHomeRun Prime works flawlessly, and the HD is amazing.
We have been using a Series 2 TiVo since 2001 (bought the lifetime service on the TiVo so we made out like a bandit there
), and have been very happy with it, but I wanted HD which that model couldn't do, so I was faced with shelling out several hundred for a new TiVo with a lifetime service or build my own system.Plus, the TiVo was beginning to "show its age" by requiring a reboot every few weeks, flaking out during recordings, etc. I ended up deciding to build my own HTPC and so far am very glad I did.
In February 2011 I purchased a case and ASUS MB, and have been slowly adding parts since then. At first I was going to buy a Hauppage WinTV, but then realized I wouldn't be able to view copy protected channels, so my build was stalled for about a year. Last summer I discovered the HDHomeRun Prime and started moving forward and purchased the remainder of the parts by mid December.
Once Christmas and New Years passed, I got the system assembled and tested, programmed the remote and introduced the family to the new system. Their collective response was "Wow! This is amazing!"
For anyone considering this, go for it!
