I don't know much of anything about DirecTV, but I do know that if you use your cable provider's box, or even other commercial boxes like Tivo, then *they* control all the content stored on it, not you. Tivo, for instance has instituted some DRM software that limits how long you can keep some shows (http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv2186.htm?). There have been instances of providers mandating that PVRs delete Six Feet Under episodes after a certain time so that DVD sales wouldn't lag if the episodes recorded are in conflict with a new DVD coming out. http://www.boingboing.net/2004/12/12/cable_companies_will.html You can probably imagine other restrictions that may come from this (certain commercials eventually cannot be skipped, or you simply *can't* record certain shows, etc.). Why pay for the box, *and* the lifetime/monthly subscription, *and* have limitations on what you can and can't record?
Maybe it's alarmist, but if you ask me, building your own is the way to go. Check out the free and open source Linux-based MythTV - it's the one that we've had the most success with. Though the drawback is that you have to have a PC hanging around near your TV, unless you want to invest in an expensive case that looks like a normal component that fits in your cabinet/tv-stand etc. You can add as many video capture cards as you want and that will determine how many channels you can record at once (if you have two capture cards in there, then you can record two shows at once on different channels, etc.) Also add as much hard drive space as you'd like and record everything to DVDs in your DVD-R drive. Robert Munn wrote: >You don't "have" to use one of theirs, but theirs are the only ones that >have the DTV decoders in them, so if you actually want to be able to have it >flip to a specific channel and record something, you have to use theirs. > >The good news is they are much cheaper than they used to be. Don't settle >for paying list on their site, call them up and see what kind of deal they >will give you. Just mention that you want a DVR but you are thinking about >switching to cable to get one. > >Once you get one, if you are in the mood to hack the thing, you can add all >sorts of capabilities to it. I have mine hacked to add wireless networking >support, record shows unencrypted so I can pull them off and burn them to >DVD. It has ftp servers for movies and for the general root filesystem. It >also has a web server so I can log in remotely and tell it to record stuff. >It even has a feature so I can stream shows to my pc, though I don't usually >bother with that. If you are interested in it, there is a whole underground >of legal hacking to the Tivo at www.dealdatabase.com. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:200185 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
