Is there a DVR program that actually is complete?

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Ryokurin

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Ok, I've been messing around with alternative DVR software packages now that MCE is completely dead and so far I've been completely disappointed. Everything I've tried is lacking in some major way.

1. Emby - Every client is incomplete in some way. Some things you can only do in the server, some in the web client, some in theater. For example, Theater can tune all the channels, and you can see what's coming up on one station, but it has no EPG, that's in the web client.

2. MythTV - I haven't personally tried it, but I've been reading up on the windows client and the consensus is you'll be sorry at some point of using it instead of Linux. I probably could make a VM on a file server, but i'm a little wary of it, and I'm not quite sure if you can for example have the front end hold all recordings instead of the server. any help here, preferably in Windows?

3. NextPVR - Similar to Emby in that the Kodi client isn't complete. I can record a show i'm watching but if I want to set a recording on the schedule I can't figure out a way to do it there, I have to start the NextPVR app to do that. And most of the better skins tend to not support the things you can do in Kodi.

4. Argus TV - Bailed on installing this in favor of NextPVR as it seemed a lot more top heavy, but reading up it also works like NextPVR and Emby in that only certain apps can do certain things.

5. HDHomerun - So far seems to be my only hope, but currently the Kodi client at least on my system can't keep the video in sync.

I can live without season passes at the moment, or being able to view over the internet, all I want until the HDHomerun software is finished is to set recording via the guide and to be able to watch live TV without it being reencoded. Any suggestions?
 
What about Media Portal? I tried it the other week while Microsoft was having trouble with the new guide, but then I did a reinstall and the guide was working. So I didn't reinstall Media Portal. It wasn't all that intuitive, but I did manage to get live TV working. Although I never did get a guide showing in Media Portal.

What is "dead" about Media Center? The best thing about Media Center right now is that it can still record and play live TV just as you mention that that's all you want.

I am thinking about the HD Homerun DVR as well when it comes out, especially if it's shown that it can work well with a Roku.
 
The major question is what channels are you wanting to watch and/or record. If you need protected content (HBO, Showtime, plus a lot of others), then MCE is the only real option.

How are you currently recording TV? Cablecard, analog tuners, HDPVR connected to a set-top box from your cable provider?

Who is your TV provider and do they set the broadcast on most channels to anything higher than copy freely? Any DVR app out there except MCE will only be able to copy the "copy freely" flagged shows and channels, unless SiliconDust releases something.

Personally, I use SageTV, but at this point we are still waiting to see it released again as open source. My only complaints with it was the lack of online source integration as the family is rapidly moving to more Nexflix/Amazon Prime viewing, and the lack of ability to watch/record protected channels.
 
mythtv had the best working solution for whole home DVR i have ever used (MCE was just as good with the only knock being you needed approved extenders. You can build a mythtv client on anything). The only drawback ever was that it could never play copy-once protected content (HBO,Showtime) due to licensing limitations. But as far as the client/server relationship it was the one that once I setup it just worked. In fact learning to use MythTV is what spawned my career as linux sys admin. Back in the day it actually took work to get it running. Now you have distros dedicated to it with minimal configuration needed.
 
I'm using two HD Homeruns on Comcast. Content is protected but i'm not subscribed to any copy-once content.

I used SageTV years ago but before I got the HDHR's so I have to read up on how to reactivate my licence along with how to actually get Sage to see the devices (If I recall you had to use a 3rd party app to set it up)

I haven't gotten around to trying Mediaportal yet, and I'm in on the SiliconDust progress builds but as I mentioned before it's not really usable yet on my hardware.
 
Ryokurin said:
3. NextPVR - Similar to Emby in that the Kodi client isn't complete. I can record a show i'm watching but if I want to set a recording on the schedule I can't figure out a way to do it there, I have to start the NextPVR app to do that. And most of the better skins tend to not support the things you can do in Kodi.?
Click to expand...

Define: "isn't complete" and "client". We talking about a remote client or the local one? I basically never use either client with the setup i've got going with NextPVR. After it gets recorded I run the .ts files through Videoredo then either watch them direct or re-encode them to save things.

If I need to schedule a recording I use the web gui on the thing, much cleaner and easier to search than the client.
 
FnordMan said:
Define: "isn't complete" and "client". We talking about a remote client or the local one? I basically never use either client with the setup i've got going with NextPVR. After it gets recorded I run the .ts files through Videoredo then either watch them direct or re-encode them to save things.

If I need to schedule a recording I use the web gui on the thing, much cleaner and easier to search than the client.
Click to expand...

You can use NextPVR as the DVR engine in Kodi. However the control that Kodi has on NextPVR is dependent of the skin, and the features you can access. For example, on the default skin in Kodi you have access to the guide, but lets say you want to record a show thats coming on tonight on AMC you have to either open the full NextPVR client or use the web gui.

I already have one machine on 24/7, I don't need another on just so I can pull up a webpage to set a recording. And no putting the PVR engine on the file server isn't really a option either.
 
the lack of a good Netflix app, amazon or hulu or any real support for MCE sucks.

I use it every day but I find myself exiting to the browser and using my iPhone as a remote trackpad to navigate more and more...

Which is not ideal
 
Adidas4275 said:
the lack of a good Netflix app, amazon or hulu or any real support for MCE sucks.

I use it every day but I find myself exiting to the browser and using my iPhone as a remote trackpad to navigate more and more...

Which is not ideal
Click to expand...

Yep. It's really annoying because right now its only good for TV. Netflix? I have to open a browser or use a chrome cast. Watch a movie? Have to open Kodi or just navigate to the folder.

I'm at that point where I am strongly considering getting a cable company DVR(at least I gain on demand content) and a Roku to watch netflix and my plex library. Use the computer for nothing else but serving files and playing games.
 
The Lurker said:
Yep. It's really annoying because right now its only good for TV. Netflix? I have to open a browser or use a chrome cast. Watch a movie? Have to open Kodi or just navigate to the folder.

I'm at that point where I am strongly considering getting a cable company DVR(at least I gain on demand content) and a Roku to watch netflix and my plex library. Use the computer for nothing else but serving files and playing games.
Click to expand...

But why is it only good for TV? Why is Media Center not usable for movies? I have over 500 DVDs on a server, a DVD xml file inside each folder, and I just go to "Movies" in Media Center and I see every movie with cover art which I can select and Play.

I have mkv's, mp4's, etc. in a folder, and I go to "Videos" to play those.

Music is very easy to play as well.

The only thing that Media Center has fell behind with and not kept up with the times is streaming services, and this is what has doomed Media Center as much as anything (along with Microsoft's own bumbling and non-support).

As I'm thinking of getting rid of DirecTV I want to move to more streaming services...WatchESPN, TBS, Disney, Nickelodeon, Netflix, etc. I installed a remote app on my phone so I could launch a browser and go to websites to stream. But the quality on the PC is so poor. WatchESPN has a small, annoying jitter that is not present on 360 or Roku. The same goes for other websites vs. their app on a streaming device.
 
Don't care about DVDs everything I watch is HD whenever possible. Now that 64-bit codecs are starting to outperform 32-bit ones, I wanted something that could support those via LAVfilters, and even that wasn't the case subtitle support was still kind of iffy, and MCE can't support MadVR.

and MCE did support streaming media, but via Silverlight, which slowly fell out of favor, and is probably a major reason why Netflix is finally pulling support. Most of the streaming apps stopped support when they closed the extension store early in 7's lifetime. MCE's biggest problem was 1. Consumers didn't like the concept of a computer in their living room, 2. Cable companies don't want to support CableCard, 3. The early requirements of a Cable Labs fully vetted system. By the time most of those were settled most people had DVR cable boxes.
 
If you guys haven't been there yet this blog http://assassinhtpcblog.com/ is a great aid to anyone building and utilizing an htpc of their own. I built one a few years back that did everything you all are talking about. Integrated movie libraries into WMC, guides, streaming, remote programming from a phone, netflix, logitech remote controlled...
Sadly I had to switch to Dish when we moved. My HTPC was better than the hopper in most areas. I miss it greatly. Streaming is becoming an issue on an HTPC but the work arounds are worth it. That and most TV's have an app of their own. The blog mentioned above has a lot of useful info for those of you that are trying to hang onto the HTPC.
 
htpc_user said:
But why is it only good for TV? Why is Media Center not usable for movies? I have over 500 DVDs on a server, a DVD xml file inside each folder, and I just go to "Movies" in Media Center and I see every movie with cover art which I can select and Play.

I have mkv's, mp4's, etc. in a folder, and I go to "Videos" to play those.

Music is very easy to play as well..
Click to expand...

From personal experience when I had 200 movies and 10k mp3's indexed in WMC I had major memory leaks and frequent crashes. After I installed Kodi and the integration plug in to start it from WMC, all the problems went away. Kodi is also much better at navigating and presenting all of my content, especially TV series.

Kodi is also pretty good at being a DVR w/ServerWMC. I can't watch HBO and Showtime, but everything else works pretty damn well. If I could get netflix to work, i'd be set.

It's a damn shame that PlayReady and the protection of Copy-Once content is such a difficult thing to implement.
 
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The Lurker said:
From personal experience when I had 200 movies and 10k mp3's indexed in WMC I had major memory leaks and frequent crashes. After I installed Kodi and the integration plug in to start it from WMC, all the problems went away. Kodi is also much better at navigating and presenting all of my content, especially TV series.

Kodi is also pretty good at being a DVR w/ServerWMC. I can't watch HBO and Showtime, but everything else works pretty damn well. If I could get netflix to work, i'd be set.

It's a damn shame that PlayReady and the protection of Copy-Once content is such a difficult thing to implement.
Click to expand...

Kodi has a Netflix addon if you trust such things. Need to feed it your username and password.
 
The Lurker said:
From personal experience when I had 200 movies and 10k mp3's indexed in WMC I had major memory leaks and frequent crashes. After I installed Kodi and the integration plug in to start it from WMC, all the problems went away. Kodi is also much better at navigating and presenting all of my content, especially TV series.

Kodi is also pretty good at being a DVR w/ServerWMC. I can't watch HBO and Showtime, but everything else works pretty damn well. If I could get netflix to work, i'd be set.

It's a damn shame that PlayReady and the protection of Copy-Once content is such a difficult thing to implement.
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Agreed. I moved off of WMC managing music/movies and switched to Plex because WMC ran like crap when it was organizing all of my media. Plex Home Theater works well with this because it adds a WMC menu item to switch between the applications, which makes it remote friendly.

I still use WMC as my front end for live TV because of copy-once channels. FiOS used to have only HBO and Cinemax as copy-once, but as of last month, all Fox channels are now copy-once as well; which makes me even more dependent on WMC. Really hoping that Silicon Dust gets their DVR application fluid with Playready and Kodi so I can ditch WMC once and for all.
 
sKiDmArK said:
Agreed. I moved off of WMC managing music/movies and switched to Plex because WMC ran like crap when it was organizing all of my media. Plex Home Theater works well with this because it adds a WMC menu item to switch between the applications, which makes it remote friendly.

I still use WMC as my front end for live TV because of copy-once channels. FiOS used to have only HBO and Cinemax as copy-once, but as of last month, all Fox channels are now copy-once as well; which makes me even more dependent on WMC. Really hoping that Silicon Dust gets their DVR application fluid with Playready and Kodi so I can ditch WMC once and for all.
Click to expand...

Yeah... the big caveat there is going to be the CableLabs certification before they're allowed to deal with Copy Once channels.
So far NextPVR has been working fine for me but i'm also firmly in the camp of eagerly waiting for Silicon Dust's recording solution. Backed their kickstarter campaign so when it's out I should have a year's sub included.
 
sKiDmArK said:
I still use WMC as my front end for live TV because of copy-once channels. FiOS used to have only HBO and Cinemax as copy-once, but as of last month, all Fox channels are now copy-once as well; which makes me even more dependent on WMC. Really hoping that Silicon Dust gets their DVR application fluid with Playready and Kodi so I can ditch WMC once and for all.
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat. I am reliant on WMC (and have invested in extenders). I am hoping for another DVR that will maintain a centralized repository and not require full-blown PCs and cable card tuners at every TV. I'd be OK with a NUC, or an Intel stick.
 
In the same boat and super frustrated at this point in the game.

I use WMC for live tv, PVR function, and have add-ons to launch plex home theater, netflix (built in WMC), and Amazon prime with an add-on. It is 100% remote friendly and wife friendly and meets all of my need. I have a plex server for movies/tv series/music since it does a better job than WMC...but again I can access it all easily in WMC with remote.


Now that Netflix is going away, I am back to not having my ideal setup (I don't want to touch anything but my remote).

The person who makes the Amazon Prime add-on has mentioned picking up Netflix support (potential Kickstarter). I will jump on board for sure. He has done a great job with the Amazon add-on.

http://sharepointsnapple.com/amazonmceaddin/
 
Another reason to move forward. Comcast is moving to MPEG-4. They just cut a few channels over in my area today. I'm not for sure how mce will handle that. Hdhomerun should be OK with the changes, no clue on their dvr though, I'll ask tonight.
 
Ryokurin said:
Another reason to move forward. Comcast is moving to MPEG-4. They just cut a few channels over in my area today. I'm not for sure how mce will handle that. Hdhomerun should be OK with the changes, no clue on their dvr though, I'll ask tonight.
Click to expand...

It shouldn't matter. FiOS has a few channels on H264 (Bloomberg HD, MLB Strike Zone, Pivot) and they have worked without a hitch in WMC. The cablecard tuners are just decrypting the signal and outputting into a transport stream.

I haven't tested with the SD DVR, but it shouldn't make a difference either; the video/audio codecs are saved in the same container whether it is MPEG2 or H264. However, the SD DVR is currently setup to save the files as a transport stream (.ts) with a program stream extension (.mpg)... which is very odd, but it still should not break things.
 
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