Thinking about making the switch to Windows Media DVR

[ViviTheMage]

I currently have Dish, works great, love the ViP 722, but I was thinking of purchasing the 4 tuner ceton card reader card. I've done a bit of research, but correct me if I am wrong on any of this.

I'd build up a windows 7 pro box, throw in the ceton 4tuner card, get it all set up with comcast and whatnot, and get 2 Linksys DMA2100 extenders for my TV's Ethernet one, Wireless N the other (20 feet from the wireless router), worst case Ethernet that as well.

Pros :
Shitload more space for TV shows (raid 5 5.7TB~)
HDMI on second TV - always had to use 480 in bedroom
Easily add other Tv's
centralized TV shows
cable instead of satellite
a lot more customizability - plugins
Record 4 HD shows at once, as opposed to 2 currently
getting rid of coaxial running from sat to inside at 2 locations

Cons :
start up cost $400 + $100x2.
Somewhat laggy interface on extenders


One question, if a show has 5.1 will the WMC stream that?

Any other pros/cons I should be thinking about?

 

[BornStar]

I haven't heard great things about the DMA2100 or really any extender except for the 360 and even the 360 has some drawbacks - namely noise and time getting to live TV. I personally use a 360 for my extender in the master bedroom and I like it although it's only using composite to a small SDTV. I have streamed HD content to it over ethernet and that works great but even streaming SD to it over G with a very close access point was sketchy. N should be sufficient from only 20ft away.

There are obviously some limitations to 7MC and the one that could affect you the most is that you have to record to a local disc. There are a lot of people out there that have WHS and have all of the shows transfer to that after they finish recording. Playback isn't a problem from network locations.

You're limited to five extenders being turned on at a time, although I'm not sure if there's a limit to the number you can pair with a Media Center PC, it's definitely over five.

Your setup costs are a little low in my opinion unless you're building the HTPC from parts you have sitting around.

As far as 5.1 audio, I don't see any reason you wouldn't get that on an extender. The HTPC would just stream the file to the enxtender and the audio is contained within that file.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I have an HTPC ready to go ... running server2008R2 x64 right now Q9550/8GB/5.7TB raid 5~... I thought i'd have to wipe it, and start with Windows 7? What are the differences between Media Center PC and Win7 WMC?

Is the 5 extender limit for Win 7 + WMC? Is that the only limitation?

360's are too loud imo, so I wanted to stick with silent extenders.

 

[Double Trouble]

Extenders (including the DMA2100) all seem to have pretty ugly issues and limitations as to what kind of video they can support etc. Also, the Ceton cards are brand spanking new bleeding edge stuff, it's definitely not the product you want if you want something to just be solid and work. I don't have one, but apparently they have some issues yet to work out, as one would expect from a new product in a completely new product category.

I'm waiting for the Silicondust Homerun cablecard edition. That would allow you to just hook up that box to your network, then use it to watch whatever you want on any PC connected to the network. All you'd need is even a laptop next to a TV and you could watch TV / Recordings / dvd's etc.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I wouldn't think they'd release something that didn't work though. After getting it up and running, there shouldn't be a lot of issues, i'd assume?

I know the extenders aren't the best thing in the world, but there isn't much else to pair with it for my TV's. So we'll live with a bit of lag if we have to, for the added features. All we want to watch from it is TV/Recorded TV ... nothing else. My PS3 streams plenty of video with PS3 Media Server, so I am good when it comes to streaming other video formats.

I read a few reviews on the ceton 4 card, what are the problems exactly? Few said they had big issues, and the product was very solid after a few months of using it even.

 

[BornStar]

Sorry, I was referring to the same product by different names. All Windows 7 versions except Starter come with Media Center. The 5 extender limit is a Media Center limitation unless you have AEP but that's only available from OEMs so it's not really pertinent.

I have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 and the installation was as painless as pretty much any other piece of hardware I've installed in my computer. The biggest problem was waiting for Comcast to come out and install the CableCARD for me and even that wasn't a big deal. We didn't encounter any problems. Most of the problems people are having are related to the cable company thinking they don't support the card (wasn't a problem for me with Comcast) and with SDV which Comcast has only rolled out in three markets I believe. These are issues that the SD product would have and that isn't expected to be out until next year. Also, with a firmware update the Ceton will be capable of letting other computers access the tuners so the only difference is the Ceton card will have to live in a computer that's running rather than just hanging out on the network. I haven't read about any showstopping problems and certainly haven't experienced any myself.

 

[ViviTheMage]

That's what I want .. the card will be in a 24/7 running computer, so I don't care about set top boxes or whatever they're called.

What kind of cablecard did you have to get BornStar? I read something about S, and M? What extenders do you use? Just the 360?

 

[BornStar]

I have an m-card which is all the Ceton supports. The tech came out with an m-card (multiple streams - up to six, I believe) and two s-cards (single stream) because he wasn't sure what he was installing it in. Installing an s-card in the Ceton will not enable only one tuner, it just won't work.

I just have the one 360 in the master bedroom. After the Ceton, I think my wife would kill me if I spent any more on this setup for a while so the guest room will have to deal with no DVR.

When I was scheduling the install for the CableCARD Comcast told me it would be $8/mo to rent the card from them which is just absurd. I informed them that I was going to return their DVR so it changed to free.

 

[nsafreak]

That's what I want .. the card will be in a 24/7 running computer, so I don't care about set top boxes or whatever they're called.

What kind of cablecard did you have to get BornStar? I read something about S, and M? What extenders do you use? Just the 360?

I don't know what he's using for extenders but I do know that you will need an M type cablecard for the Ceton tuner. The M is for multiple tuners which is what the Ceton has and an S card will not work with it.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Ahhh, ok.

So van I record 3 HD shows, watch 1 live. Or record 4 watch no live?

I'm very curious about other extenders too.

 

[BornStar]

Yes, that's correct. Obviously each extender that's watching live TV will cut into that total. Multiple devices watching the same live TV stream will use the same tuner.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Yes, that's correct. Obviously each extender that's watching live TV will cut into that total. Multiple devices watching the same live TV stream will use the same tuner.

Good to know ... I am really pumped to make the jump.

Would just have to wait on the ceton card, haha...months still they ship? And the sluggishness of the extenders, haha.

 

[BornStar]

The expectation is that they'll fill all the preorders by the end of September. I was one of the lucky ones that preordered early enough to get in on the first shipment out.

 

[ViviTheMage]

The expectation is that they'll fill all the preorders by the end of September. I was one of the lucky ones that preordered early enough to get in on the first shipment out.

Hopefully if I order today, I get it by the end of Sept, haha.

Which place is better to order from, or does it not matter?

 

[BornStar]

It shouldn't make any difference. I went with CannonPC and I was very happy with their service and their turn around. They received the shipment after 5pm on Thursday and stayed up past midnight to make sure everything shipped out on Friday.

edit: I just remembered people were complaining that they had jacked up their shipping prices and I just verified it. When I ordered mine it was under $11 to get it to Michigan and now it's $28.92 which is a little ridiculous.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Just put in my order @ fluid, so we'll see how long it takes for mine to get to me, haha. Got 2 DMA2100's, so i'll set those up, see how snappy they are on Ethernet/ N.

Should be fun .

 

[BornStar]

You can keep an eye on this thread for shipping news from the various retailers. It's based on reports by the members of the forum so it's not going to be entirely accurate but you'll be able to get some information of where they are in the queue.

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/91591.aspx

 

[ViviTheMage]

good deal...no rush, it'll give me time to play with Windows Media Center.