Cut the Cable Cord, need OTA recording for HTPC

[Uppsala9496]

Ok, I need some help since I just cut the cable cord last night.
Kept Comcast internet (25mbps package which was pulling 28 down yesterday) so it's all internet streaming and OTA for me (once the antenna I ordered gets delivered tomorrow).

Right now I have an HTPC along with a PS3 hooked up to my main tv downstairs (not a smart tv).

Upstairs I have one tv in my bedroom which hardly gets used (not a smart tv either). I will move the PS3 up there if it makes sense to use it at a media device.


So what is the best way to record OTA? My wife likes to watch the bachelor. Usually we have something going on when it is on (swimming or skating for my daughter) so recording it and allowing my wife to watch it late in the evening/early morning (when I am not in the same room) is the best option.

I was looking at the HDHomeRun Plus as mentioned in this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2365159

Only issue I see with that is that I have my router and modem upstairs at my main computer and my OTA tv antenna will be hooked up downstairs.
Plus I would rather not spend $170 if possible. Sure, savings at the end, but the up front will be a difficult sell to the wife (she will ask why we made the change at all then).

I'd also like to have whatever system I get be compatible with my Harmony One if possible.

I'm sure someone here has done the same, so looking for any advice and a push in the right direction.
Appreciate the help.

(oh and I have Win7 on the HTPC and main computer but have never used WMC - any advice there?)

 

[Uppsala9496]

In the interest of time, I went ahead and ordered the HDHomeRun Dual (HDHR4-2US) from amazon.
I'll have to move my cable modem and router downstairs but I couldn't find any reasonable alternatives. Want to get everything by Friday so I can set it up over the weekend.

Guess I will update this thread once I get everything working (hopefully) in the event someone else is in the same situation.

 

[SaurusX]

The other option would have been the Hauppauge HVR-2250. No need for an ethernet connection from the router to your HTPC just to record TV. Although, your only option for guide information would then be the information embedded into the TV signal. That usually only gives info for about 2 hours ahead. Most DVR software (Media Center, NextPVR, etc) gets its guide data from online sources. As such, moving your router is the easiest solution since it doesn't sound like you're up for running cat6 behind all the walls of your house.

 

[TripleThreatTLT]

The way I got around moving the router was to install a second NIC in my HTPC and plug the HD Homerun directly into that.

I'm very pleased with that solution the one thing you'll find is that High Def TV running across your Network uses a lot of bandwidth. So when your recording a show, and have say Netflix running then one of the two will start having issues. My wife was not pleased when she went back to watch her recorded shows and they were garbled.

 

[Uppsala9496]

HDHomeRun Dual showed up today. Very quick install and things seem to be working well. WMC seamlessly picked up the HDHR signal and it works well over my entire network.

Had to reposition my wireless usb on my main computer that is upstairs to get a better signal after the router/modem move, but it was painless.

Happy so far. We'll see when the honeymoon is over and I have to record something (Monday night is the test).

 

[Zorba]

HDHomeRun Dual showed up today. Very quick install and things seem to be working well. WMC seamlessly picked up the HDHR signal and it works well over my entire network.

Had to reposition my wireless usb on my main computer that is upstairs to get a better signal after the router/modem move, but it was painless.

Happy so far. We'll see when the honeymoon is over and I have to record something (Monday night is the test).

So how'd it?

 

[Uppsala9496]

It's now been 2 weeks and the HDHomeRun has been working flawlessly. Wife has set recordings for her silly show and was able to watch them with no issues.
WMC works just fine. Wish they used a different logo than the windows start button, but I moved it to the far right on the taskbar to alleviate any confusion.

6 year old daughter has figured things out quicker than my wife.

I did belatedly realize that I can use the credentials to the summer house for watching cable. Limited live streaming from Comcast, but plenty of on demand. May make a move to get a slingbox at some point this summer to see if that is a good option.

Now to just figure out if Chromecast will work on my bedroom tv so I can watch NHL Gamecenter on there.

 

[tential]

Yes Uppsala. Kids are much quicker to the uptake than the women are. I don't know why. It was the same with me as well. I have XBMC/WMC installed and the children figured out how to use it much faster than the adults.

WMC isn't really that good, but it's loads better than Comcast/Verizon interfaces in terms of speed. Browsing what's on TV takes 5 seconds vs on Comcast/Verizon where it takes forever to scroll through all the channels. Also, WMC keeps a "Most Viewed" tab which is really helpful. Looks at all the channels you watch the most. After using WMC for a month or two, if you use that tab you pretty much have only a list of channels you actually watch. Removes all the filler for you.

 

[Aikouka]

I'm very pleased with that solution the one thing you'll find is that High Def TV running across your Network uses a lot of bandwidth. So when your recording a show, and have say Netflix running then one of the two will start having issues. My wife was not pleased when she went back to watch her recorded shows and they were garbled.

It sounds like something is really wrong with your setup, because that's not the case for me. I use a Ceton InfiniTV ETH 6, which allows me to tune six channels at once, and I can do that without any issues. I checked my network utilization (gigabit LAN) while recording a show, and I was at 2%.

 

[code65536]

WMC isn't really that good

What I like most about WMC is the TV guide and the fantastic recording options, and how it all "just works". I set it to record the series that I like and set it to also record on certain keywords, which is nice for catching things that I otherwise wouldn't have watched (e.g., if someone of interest appears on a late night talk show).

I too have the HDHomeRun, which I absolutely adore. Two of them, in fact. The system doing DVR duty using WMC is also my file server (using Storage Spaces) and I stream the recorded shows to wherever I want.