TIVO Like HDTV PC Software



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Some HDTV tuners come with an application software package, however the app is usually limited in functionality especially when it comes to the Electronic Programming Guide (EPG). They also work for only that tuner, so if you have two or more different tuners, you have to run two or more seperate applications. Of course some included applications just plain stink. Most are spouse unfriendly too.

Fortunately there are several third party software applications available that resolve the above issues. They are priced from free (MediaPortal & GB-PVR) to over $100 for Microsoft Media Center 2005 (of course you get XP Professional OS with that application). In between there are two other products, SageTV at $79.00 and BeyondTV at $69.00.

All of these packages have record scheduling and live TV pause and replay. Anoither thing they all had in common until recently was none supported digital/HDTV QAM, only over the air HDTV. This has recently changed with SageTV and GB-PVR now supporting the OnAir GT tuner with QAM. BeyondTV is working on support for the GT also. These applications are designed to work with remotes, and they are spouse friendly.

Here’s a brief pros/cons for each product, and a link to it’s features/wiki and download site.



GB-PVR

DOWNLOAD SITE: http://www.gbpvr.com/

PROS
  • It's Free
  • Supports some ATSC (U.S.) HDTV Cards (here’s a link to supported cards)
  • A Multi-media package (DVD’s & Music)
  • Latest release supports QAM for Onair GT tuner

CONS
  • Requires lots of manual initial setup
  • Limited support
  • Was designed for Europe but works for U.S.


FEATURES URL: http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReadMeFirst

COMMENTS: You need time, patience and possibly some programming skills here, but hey, it’s free. Uses Zip2It for EPG.




CW_EPG

DOWNLOAD SITE: http://home.mchsi.com/~cw_epg/


PROS

  • It's Free
  • Supports the MyHD tuner card, HDHomerun networked tuner and all types of Fusion ATSC (U.S.) HDTV tuners
  • Integrates with on-screen MyHD EPG
  • Schedules recordings across all brands of tuners
  • "New to me" functionality (keeps track of what you've recorded)

CONS
  • Informal support (forum)
  • Only three tuner brands currently supported (but active development continues)



COMMENTS: Uses SchedulesDirect ($15/yr) for EPG.



MediaPortal

DOWNLOAD SITE: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mediaportal

PROS
  • It’s Free
  • Open source
  • A Multi-media package (DVD’s & Music)

CONS
  • See GB-PVR cons


FEATURES URL: http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/

COMMENTS: Same as GB-PVR

SageTV

DOWNLOAD SITE: http://www.sage.tv/download.html (free 15 day trial download)

PROS
  • Most ATSC tuners supported
  • Good vendor and forum support
  • Lifetime 14 day EPG include in purchase price
  • Most customization options
  • Multi-media package
  • Beta release (available here) supports QAM with OnAir GT

CONS
  • Cost
  • Rather complex install routine

FEATURES: http://www.sage.tv/stvfeatures.html?sageSub=tv

COST: $80

BeyondTV

DOWNLOAD SITE: http://www.snapstream.com/download/beyondtv/default.asp (free 21 day trial download)

PROS
  • Most ATSC tuners supported
  • Lifetime 14 day EPG include in purchase price
  • Excellent commercial skip software

CONS
  • Not a multi-media product (TV & FM tuner only)
FEATURES: http://www.snapstream.com/products/beyondtv/features.asp

COST: $70

COMMENTS: You can add a Media Center package to BeyondTV for an additional $30.


Microsoft Media Center 2005

PROS:
  • Supports all ATSC tuners with the exception of the MyHD MDP-130
  • Lifetime 14 day EPG include in purchase price
  • Probably the easiest to setup

CONS:
  • Most expensive, if it didn’t come with your PC or cheapest if it did
  • Requires an analog tuner before a digital/HDTV tuner can be added (unless you use Kram Drivers )


COST: $125 (for OEM) - $325 (for Full Version)


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