Media Extender/TV tuner

[lupi]

Thinking about dropping cox for fios for better net and cheaper tv bundle price. If I do I'd like to pick up a tivo box and a multichannel tuner so I can send service to about 5 tvs and avoid fios equipment charges except for a couple cable cards.

Question is, exactly what do I need? I've done aa bit of searching today and have come across a lot of good lite info, but nothing that really goes into substantial detail. What exactly do I need equipment wise and what type of connections do I need to make?

 

[ussfletcher]

Well I just got a Ceton Infinitv4 for my HTPC, it has 4 tuners that run on one cablecard. Through the regular network I have in place, I can view live/recorded tv through Windows Media Center (You want Windows 7 for this part) this also includes my Xbox360.

I'm not sure how this would change with a tivo..

 

[Dirigible]

I have a hdhomerun prime on my home network. All my windows 7 computers can access it and use it to tune in and stream tv channels. I have an htpc attached to each of my three tvs (so that's 3 htpcs and 3 tvs), so the htpc gets the signal from the hdhomerun and outputs to the tv: that's my live tv.

My main computer acts as dvr. Any of my computers can access the recorded programs on my main computer so I can watch recorded stuff on any tv. Any other computers in the house can also access live and recorded tv.

I say this to give you an example of something similar to what I think you want. I don't know how your fios works or whether it is compatible with something like a ceton or my hdhomerun prime, I'm out of the TiVo loop, don't know what multi tuner you're looking at or how you'll get signals to your tvs. But hopefully it conveys something about what you need to consider.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

A Tivo is probably not going to be adequate for your purposes. The problem would be distributing the channels to each TV and you wouldn't be able to watch a different live channel on each TV. Plus you'll have to pay their monthly premium for guide data or buy a lifetime subscription.

Your best bet currently would be 2 HD Homerun Primes or 2 Ceton InfiniTV4s with a single HTPC along with 4 Media Center extenders (generally an XBOX 360 but you can pick up some older Media Center extenders like the LinkSys or HP ones off of eBay). You could also use 2 HD Homerun Primes, 1 each with a separate HTPC for 2 of the TVs along with 3 extenders. I wouldn't recommend using 2 InfiniTV cards in separate HTPCs because, unlike the Prime, the Cetons don't have dynamic tuner assignment. You will also need a hardwired ethernet to each TV location along with a GigE switch to distribute the signals. If that isn't available it's also possible to use a MOCA setup over coax.

If you can wait a few months (or more, possibly to the end of the year), Ceton will be releasing their Ceten Q (a 6 tuner box that uses Windows 7 embedded) along with their MC extenders called the Ceton Echo. One advantage of that is you would only have to rent a single cable card and it would have enough tuners for all your TVs. The Q and Echos will also have a lot of other nice features that you can't currently get with cc tuners and extenders, like Internet browsers and access to some online services. The Q also has a BD player built-in.

For 5 TVs it is initially going to be an expensive outlay, probably ranging from $1200 - $1500+ depending on how you go with the extenders. If you don't have ethernet already in place their will be additional costs to set that up as well. However, with what FIOS charges for extra boxes, it would pay for itself in a year and a half or so. I've been using an InfiniTV4 and FIOS for a little over a year now (with just 2 TVs) and it has already payed for itself.

Be prepared to spend some time tweaking the system as well. It can be tricky at first learning the various hoops you may have to jump through ranging from getting the proper signal strength and SNR to configuring Win7 and 7MC correctly to avoid some common errors. Unfortunately it's not quite as easy as slapping in some cc tuners, hooking up your TVs over the network to extenders, and then kicking back. However, once you do have it set up it's a great system.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[lupi]

Yeah looks like I'm going to have to stay with the crappy cable internet and tv fees for now.


One question I have which im not sure of the answer yet, uusing one of those multiple tuners how do each of the connected tvs watch. Live tv?







Just really pisses me off that we're getting bilked by these stupid equipment fees that are mostly there just as someone's drm. If they want to protect the signal then fine, but It shouldnt be at a cost like that.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Yeah looks like I'm going to have to stay with the crappy cable internet and tv fees for now.


One question I have which im not sure of the answer yet, uusing one of those multiple tuners how do each of the connected tvs watch. Live tv?

Not sure if anyone knows for sure except the folks at MS but those who know more about those details than I do claim that an extender (like an XBox 360 or a LinkSys DMA-2100) establishes a type of remote desktop connection with Media Center and negotiates an available tuner in the process.

Just really pisses me off that we're getting bilked by these stupid equipment fees that are mostly there just as someone's drm. If they want to protect the signal then fine, but It shouldnt be at a cost like that.

The cable company has to pay for those boxes so they are passing on those costs to the customer. I love FIOS but their equipment rental charges aren't cheap. Initially, going with a cable card tuner setup isn't cheap but once you reach break-even you start saving a nice chunk of change every month. The issue for you is trying to set up a system for 5 TVs. That's a lot of TVs.

 

[lupi]

But does the person at the tv use the tv remote like normal?


I understand the company has to pay for those boxes, my point is that if they didn't use those boxes as their encryption medium (could use line filters at the home like they used to) then there wouldn't be a need for the box unless you decided you wanted aa crappy version of tvguide or to use ondemand/ppv.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

But does the person at the tv use the tv remote like normal?

Yes. A remote is used to control each extender. It's works very similar to a regular cable box.

I understand the company has to pay for those boxes, my point is that if they didn't use those boxes as their encryption medium (could use line filters at the home like they used to) then there wouldn't be a need for the box unless you decided you wanted aa crappy version of tvguide or to use ondemand/ppv.

Line filters, taps, or whatever they are called either blocked or allowed the entire cable linup to pass. The boxes are used to control which individual channels are decrypted and which ones aren't.