My current HTPC is my all in one computer. I use it for work, for play, and for movie viewing. It is located near my bed. And although completely silent, I don't like leaving it on 24/7, and my storage is getting low. I don't want to cram a lot of HDDs in there, so I'm planning on building a server.
That seems easy enough, I thought to myself. But then I started researching what else a server could do beyond file sharing. It could be my torrentbox, my podcast downloader, and a million other things.
Using DVBlogic's software, I thought about putting my TV Cards in there as well. But the way WMC works with DVBlink for recording would fill out the bandwidth pretty quickly, when the server could do the recording. I don't have extenders, neither do I want them. WMC is by far the best DVR software, but doesn't work well in my opinion in my case.
What I'm after is a DVR backend that would stream live tv on my devices (my PC mentionned above, a Samsung Smart TV), and record on the server. Mediaportal seems alright, but I tried setting it up once, and the sheer amount of configuration scared the crap out of me.
Thanks for your time!
Alternatives to a single system
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NWW
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optikhog
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The HTPC market seems to be dwindling a bit - you have the aforementioned MediaPortal, obviously WMC and then the other bigger players in NPVR and MythTV. Other than WMC, you're going to be spending some time in setup with all of the WMC alternatives. I've come over from the Beyond TV world and after spending some time looking at the alternatives, threw in the towel and chose WMC. I'm willing to put in the time to do the setup work with complex systems but have little tolerance for flakiness, which is what I experienced with NPVR and MP. I haven't spent any time in Myth, although a coworker recently spun a server up and he says it's working well.NWW wrote:What I'm after is a DVR backend that would stream live tv on my devices (my PC mentionned above, a Samsung Smart TV), and record on the server. Mediaportal seems alright, but I tried setting it up once, and the sheer amount of configuration scared the crap out of me.
WMC with an Echo/Xbox and running RemotePotato should accomplish the tasks you're asking of it with the least amount of fuss, at least until the DTCP-IP recorders start hitting the market which will (hopefully) work with the new DLNA-based HDHOMERUN protocols.
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NWW
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Hi, thank you for your reply.
As I said, extenders aren't really an option. I don't want to buy an Xbox that will be obsolete in 6 months, and I'm not planning on using Windows 7 as a server. Also, I am in Europe, so CableCards, copynever and that kind of stuff don't apply to me.
As I said, extenders aren't really an option. I don't want to buy an Xbox that will be obsolete in 6 months, and I'm not planning on using Windows 7 as a server. Also, I am in Europe, so CableCards, copynever and that kind of stuff don't apply to me.
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optikhog
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Sorry for any misunderstanding. If you're rejecting the idea of extenders of any kind, you'll need something which feeds your devices DLNA. I'm not sure I understand the phrase "I'm not planning on using Windows 7 as a server" since you indicated that you tried out MediaPortal. Regardless, likely the best thing you'll find which combines DVR and DLNA into one package is MythTV, which you'll need to install with Linux on the server you mentioned in your original post. There are some pre-built ISOs you can grab to make the install easy. If you're willing to stick with Windows, you could use any of the aforementioned programs along with a program such as Plex or Serviio to feed the data to your devices via DLNA after some amount of work in processing each recorded file.NWW wrote:As I said, extenders aren't really an option. I don't want to buy an Xbox that will be obsolete in 6 months, and I'm not planning on using Windows 7 as a server. Also, I am in Europe, so CableCards, copynever and that kind of stuff don't apply to me.
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NWW
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I meant "not using Windows 7 (to use Windows Media Center)", but rather going Windows 2012 Essentials (got a license for it). So Linux options are more or less not applicable, unless I virtualize, but I have no idea how to passthrough PCIe devices. Also, I have no knowledge of Linux whatsoever.
As for Plex, I thought about it, but it doesn't stream live TV unfortunately. But for local files, it does look promissing.
I'm anxious to see what MS has in store with their next Xbox for Live TV this year. I really hope they take the best from WMC and move on from there.
In the meantime, I guess I'll try MediaPortal once again, although I do not like the feel nor the way it works.
As for Plex, I thought about it, but it doesn't stream live TV unfortunately. But for local files, it does look promissing.
I'm anxious to see what MS has in store with their next Xbox for Live TV this year. I really hope they take the best from WMC and move on from there.
In the meantime, I guess I'll try MediaPortal once again, although I do not like the feel nor the way it works.