Finally Bought a HDHR3-CC Need WMC Alternatives (Free or Low Cost)

[Format _C:]

I posted two threads about having problems with the Copy-Once Protection Flag and one about my old ATI A636 Cable Card Tuner

The first Copy-Once protection problem was actually a Cable Card Pairing problem as the card was never activated correctly

So now I have a working HDHR3-CC tuner what is a good program that free or low cost?
I really only need the EPG and TV recording.

I have other programs for my music (MediaMonkey) and video playback (Zoom Player and VLC)

Can Kodi record live TV? I seem to think it is only to view it and not record?
and NextPVR wants me to subscribe to Schedules Direct for the EPG

 

[FnordMan]

There's nothing "free" that includes a programming guide unless you get into something hacky like mc2xml. A Schedules Direct membership is going to be required for just about any third party solution. Not for Silicon Dusts' one but that one doesn't include a EPG and will charge a monthly fee.

Far as recommendations go, look around, there's two or three threads full of good ones.

 

[staknhalo]

Nothing but WMC was free. You're gonna have to pay for guide data (around $30 a year) and possibly the DVR application (varies) one way or another. Just get over that now or you'll just make this more difficult for yourself and prolong finding a solution. If you need any channels that are copy-once - your only solution then is WMC ATM. If you don't, then any DVR application that supports cable card tuners will work.

 

[valve1138]

SageTV went open source.

 

[The Lurker]

I posted two threads about having problems with the Copy-Once Protection Flag and one about my old ATI A636 Cable Card Tuner

The first Copy-Once protection problem was actually a Cable Card Pairing problem as the card was never activated correctly

So now I have a working HDHR3-CC tuner what is a good program that free or low cost?
I really only need the EPG and TV recording.

I have other programs for my music (MediaMonkey) and video playback (Zoom Player and VLC)

Can Kodi record live TV? I seem to think it is only to view it and not record?
and NextPVR wants me to subscribe to Schedules Direct for the EPG

Kodi can record live TV but it will use WMC as the back end. I personally did not like the way it worked (required extensive futsing to setup a remote, hard to navigate, did not record protected content) so to this day I just use a skinned version WMC. It's easy, it works and the wife approves.

 

[FireBean]

Kodi can record live TV but it will use WMC as the back end. I personally did not like the way it worked (required extensive futsing to setup a remote, hard to navigate, did not record protected content) so to this day I just use a skinned version WMC. It's easy, it works and the wife approves.

If you go with a dedicated OpenELEC machine, then all of these issues are already worked out. Mine is 9/10 Wife approved after I setup all the libraries.



The ONLY backend I found not to be a TOTAL pain in the ass to setup with Silicone Dust hardware is NextPVR. Pair that with the front end for Kodi and it works well enough.

You will need programming data which is made easy via schedules direct and NextPVR.

Argus is the only other windows based PVR/DVR and its not hard to install but requires some beefy hardware. It does NOT play nice with HomeRuns when it needs to talk to a frontend like Kodi.

Now the Linux PVR/DVRs... Unless you are GOOD with Linux and know WTF you are doing, don't waste your time. I have gone through the 50 page long threads and they never work or work reliably.

I have spend probably over 100 hours trying to find something that works good enough for me to not have to baby it or walk the wife/kids through fixing it over the phone while I'm at work.

I see that you have a Prime. Silicone Dust does have a PVR in the works but it is still Kick Starter/BETA. I don't have a prime or HR that works with it, so I cannot speak as to how well it works as either a frontend or backend. Also, it is a subscription to the PVR Software.

Last Tip:
If you not familiar with all the vocabulary and technical terms/jargon that goes with all this LiveTV stuff, then you need to stop and learn it. You will have a VERY hard time figuring out what to or how to setup it up if you dont.