Mac solution for recording video + changing cable box channels?

[volcs0]

To replace our defunct 8 year-old TiVo, I would like to use our media center mac (a MBP, hooked up by S-Video, mainly running Plex and VLC) to record TV shows. I've done a little of this with an EyeTV USB, and I have found it pretty easy to set up.

One glitch... how can I change channels on the cable box? The TiVo used an IR blaster. I have one of those small Comcast boxes - no Firewire or serial port. We definitely need the box to receive all of our cable channels.

So, should I stick with an EyeTV solution and use one of their expensive recommended IR blasters (there are two third-party companies they recommend on their website) or should I go some other route for video in? Or should I figure out how to get a different cable box. Or should I use a PC?

At this point, I'd rather not get a cable company DVR. I could possibly buy another TiVo, but losing a machine with lifetime on it has been a hard pill to swallow. I am troubleshooting the machine - replaced the PS, hard drives, etc., but I'm thinking it is something more serious... that's another saga anyway.

So, any recommendations for recording TV to my mac, given the above constraints?

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, EyeTV is pretty much the best route to go if you want to record TV on a Mac.

Windows Media Center is a pretty awesome DVR, if you want to build a dedicated box.

 

[volcs0]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Yeah, EyeTV is pretty much the best route to go if you want to record TV on a Mac.

Windows Media Center is a pretty awesome DVR, if you want to build a dedicated box.

So, I like the Mac for a media center. I like Plex and VLC, and pretty much know how to play any format. Well, except Blu-Ray, which is hit-or-miss.

If I say with the Mac, which EyeTV device do you recommend?

And then should I (1) buy an IR blaster compatible with EyeTV, or (2) switch to a different cable box that has a non-IR blaster solution, if such a solution exists.

Thanks.

 

[Zaap]

This is definitely easier with Windows- you can get a cheap PCI tuner card and IR blaster made for MediaCenter, and pretty much be all set. Just look for the MCE versions of the better cards by Hauppauge- they usually come with a remote and the IR blaster equipment.

For example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16815116015


Or, if you're willing to buy an application, get BeyondTV, any compatible Tuner card, and a USBUIRT. http://www.usbuirt.com/

BTV is my fave- I've used it for years, it's rock-solid, really turns a PC into a Tivo, with better features than any real Tivo. It's also a tad expensive- currently $100 (plus they give you a free remote).

On the free side, there's GBPVR. http://www.gbpvr.com/ I use it on my home office PC that I didn't want to bother paying for another license of BTV. It works great, just difficult to set up, and no-frills.


Pros of the USBUIRT is it can be made compatible with both the PC and the Mac side. The USBUIRT works with all sorts of third-party apps. (It won't work with MCE, however.) The MCE hardware on the other hand, is pretty much a one-trick-pony, it only really works with MCE.

Also, do your research: look up the exact model of cable/sat box you have and google it for HTPC users with the same box, and what software/hardware combo they use to control it. Some STBs are easy as pie to control, others are impossible.

Some cable and sat boxes work with a direct serial cable- luckily my DirecTV boxes do, so I don't need the IR blaster with Windows, just a cable hooked up from serial out on the PC, to USB in on my sat boxes.

As for the Mac- I wanted a complete DVR solution with set top box control as well (since I LOVE OSX as an HTPC OS, use it a lot, but don't want to miss DVR recordings when the PC is booted in OSX rather than Windows). so I did some research into it. The best I could come up with that works great for me is this combination:

EyeTV (of course).

Elgato Hybrid '09

(Expensive yes, but then again, Mac stuff beyond the norm generally is compared to Windows. I got one cheap on Craigslist) Yes, you can get cheaper Mac ATSC tuners, but if you want NTSC for use with a STB- prepared to be Macingouged.
USBUIRT
http://www.usbuirt.com/

A really nifty little box for IR control. In my experience, it never misses. Some IR blasters can miss channels now and then- you think you're getting channel 123 at 10pm and you end up with channel 12 at 10pm (oops, missed the 3) and it's of course something ultra-lame, not the show you wanted!

Normally, the USBUIRT is not Mac-compatible in any way shape or form, that is until:

SerialChannel IR

This was a godsend when I found it- I already had a USBUIRT left over since I switched to direct serial control on the PC side, so this brought the Mac side together. It's a little bit of work to configure with the set-top box you have, but once it is, it bridges EyeTV and the USBUIRT to take control over the STB and voila- channel changing and a complete OSX based DVR experience.

Now, this worked for my DirecTV, but no guarantee it'll work for something else. I haven't tried it for any other type of cable or sat STB.

Like I said, this process is a bit complicated and expensive on the Mac-side (helps if you already have a lot of the needed stuff) and cheap(er) and fairly straightforward on the PC.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: volcs0

Originally posted by: Kaido
Yeah, EyeTV is pretty much the best route to go if you want to record TV on a Mac.

Windows Media Center is a pretty awesome DVR, if you want to build a dedicated box.

So, I like the Mac for a media center. I like Plex and VLC, and pretty much know how to play any format. Well, except Blu-Ray, which is hit-or-miss.

If I say with the Mac, which EyeTV device do you recommend?

And then should I (1) buy an IR blaster compatible with EyeTV, or (2) switch to a different cable box that has a non-IR blaster solution, if such a solution exists.

Thanks.

Yeah like Zaap said, if you really want all those features, Windows Media Center is a better way to go. You get:

1. File Playback
2. DVR (TV Recording)
3. Disc Playback (Blu-ray, DVD, VCD, Audio CD, etc.)

Plus you can throw it together fairly cheaply. I like the interface of Plex a lot better, but you lose integrated DVR and Blu-ray physical disc playback if you go that route. Plus you'll probably need a keyboard to navigate between apps like Plex & EyeTV (unless you set things up with the Mira software or something), which can be a bit annoying, plus if you have non-technical family they may not like it so much.

Personally I have a Tivo for DVR and a Plex rig for file playback. I have a simple FreeNAS file server for audio/video/photo storage. I'll probably add Blu-ray someday, like with a PS3 or something, but for now I just do file playback. The nice thing is, Plex has a Tivo plugin, so you can stream recordings to your other Plex boxes.

So it really depends on (1) your budget, (2) how technical your family is (or if you live alone and don't mind the minor hassles), and (3) how integrated you want the functionality to be. Windows Media Center is a sweet package if you want 100% integration. EyeTV is nice because it talks to your Macs easily, and I think that Plex just has the best GUI ever. By far, my favorite DVR is Tivo (and you can transfer shows to your Mac easily, as well as stream in Plex). So it's kind of a mixed bag, based on your goals

 

[volcs0]

Thanks for all the feedback - this is very helpful.

What prompted all of this searching is that our TiVo with Lifetime just died.

Our setup has been Tivo + Mac w/ Plex/VLC for a long time. I like this setup because I feel that on the Mac I can pretty much play anything. My family grumbles - this drive won't mount, this file won't play, this link is broken, etc., but that's because I've never really taken the time to set up Plex correctly and completely. And when my wife wants to watch a show, she asks our 10 year-old. Ha. I like the Plex TiVo plugin - we were using it to stream TiVo into other rooms...too bad it doesn't have fast-forward.

Is Windows Media Center as good about playing lots of different file formats? I would not mind building a MCE machine - I already have the Blu-Ray drive (in my Hackintosh).

If I could find a one-stop MCE solution - small footprint, case/PSU+MOBO+CPU, I would probably go that route. There is just so much info out there...

Thanks again for the help - both of you.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: volcs0
Thanks for all the feedback - this is very helpful.

What prompted all of this searching is that our TiVo with Lifetime just died.

Our setup has been Tivo + Mac w/ Plex/VLC for a long time. I like this setup because I feel that on the Mac I can pretty much play anything. My family grumbles - this drive won't mount, this file won't play, this link is broken, etc., but that's because I've never really taken the time to set up Plex correctly and completely. And when my wife wants to watch a show, she asks our 10 year-old. Ha. I like the Plex TiVo plugin - we were using it to stream TiVo into other rooms...too bad it doesn't have fast-forward.

Is Windows Media Center as good about playing lots of different file formats? I would not mind building a MCE machine - I already have the Blu-Ray drive (in my Hackintosh).

If I could find a one-stop MCE solution - small footprint, case/PSU+MOBO+CPU, I would probably go that route. There is just so much info out there...

Thanks again for the help - both of you.

Yeah, that's my only complaint about the Tivo plugin really - no FF

WMC can play different formats as long as you install some aftermarket codecs. I think I used CCCP or K-Lite or something, but it's been awhile since I built a WMC so you'll have to brush up (The Green Button website has a lot of good info). You can pickup one of those Zotac Mini-ITX boards, I think they have like a 9300 Nvidia card built-in with HDMI out and digital audio onboard, so if you throw in something like an E5200 and a couple gigs of RAM, you can make a tiny little box out of that. Just add a dual-tuner card, WMC, and a remote and you're gold!

Also FYI, WMC has quirks of it's own, so be sure to do your homework before ordering anything!!