Jonathan, I don't know anything about MythTV, but I'm a Time Warner customer... I got rid of the Triple Play package several years ago. All I have now is their basic internet package. I must have decent neighbors, and they don't seem to enforce the speeds that they sell. It has been good enough for both Netflix and working from home simultaneously. So you might want to drop down lesser package to offset the increase in your bill for TV. Also, if you are currently a Time Warner internet customer, before you add a TV package, plug the coax into your TV and see which channels you get. The bandstop filters that they use are cheap and far from ideal. I get low channels and high channels. Both analog and digital including FX HD, TBS HD, TNT HD, the brocast networks, Discovery HD, etc. I think I get ~50 total. I'm not a fan of cable news, so I don't know if I get any of those.
On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 4:15 PM, Jonathan Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > What I have stored away now is a Plextor ConvertX TV-402U. It can > handle recording two analog channels simultaneously into mpeg2, and > ran off an old laptop via USB. I remember being impressed five years > ago with how few CPU resources it needed, since all the real work was > done externally. > > When I "cut the cord" a few years ago, I packed that all away in the > closet and replaced it with a Roku for Netflix. The plan was Netflix > + Hulu Plus, but I never did bother buying the Hulu Plus subscription. > > Setting up the mythtv backend again should be almost trivial - I just > need to replace the now-dead disk drive in that old laptop. Making it > work with the Roku I use now as my frontend will mean adding a > transcoding job, since as I understand it, Roku doesn't support mpeg2. > > From my parents' perspective, they'll likely be happy with a tv > connected right to the cable cord. All of the channels they watch > (live) are still available analog. From what they describe, that's > really all they've been using, although they mention having a cable > box. I suspect they have the cable box because they had an excellent > salesman. > > Maybe I should first experiment myself to see how user-friendly they > think the Roku in my living room is before I buy another to put in > their room. > > We'll be sticking with the standard tv lineup from Time Warner, which > is really just the 70 or so analog channels, plus just a few things in > HD. I think I've talked myself into not bothering yet with an HD > tuner. > > Thanks. > > Jonathan > > On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 12:21 PM, Michael Chase-Salerno <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I've been running a Mythtv + HDHomeRun + analog capture card setup for a > > number of years. I use Roku at the TV to get the content there via the > > Mythrokuplayer channel. > > > > I gave a nod to one of the HDHomeRun boxes over a HD card for a number of > > reasons. > > -It's been absolutely rock solid. I don't recall ever having to restart > the > > box due to a hang or failure. > > -It provides at least 2 tuners (3 if you get the Prime that can handle > > CableCard). > > -Being outboard of your computer means it doesn't get involved in > upgrades > > or replacements. > > -It can be accessed by any machine on your network for straight live TV. > > -Running COAX around your house sucks, it's easier to put the HDHomeRun > near > > your cable inlet and let it go via TCPIP from there. > > -Finally, Silicon Dust is pretty good about Linux support. They have > tools > > and a CLI available. > > All that being said, I never tried any of the HD tuner cards, so take it > > with a grain of salt. > > > > Overall I find it works very well. However, I do not use a CableCard, > there > > wasn't support for that when I started. I find that between the analog > tuner > > and the clear QAM channels I can get everything I need with a few > > exceptions. I only pay for the basic cable package, which you'll probably > > have to specifically push for as they don't advertise it. I think it's > about > > $15/month. I get the major networks in HD, and a bunch of other stuff in > > analog. Still I am missing a few things, so I have considered upgrading > to > > the HDHomeRun Prime, but it would mean a significant increase in my cable > > bill to go to a digital tier to get the CableCard. > > > > The Mythtv/hdhomerun setup was quite easy initially, but there is no > > published mapping of the clear QAM channels, so you'll end up spending a > > fair amount of time getting that figured out. It is possible for TWC to > > relocate the actual channel mappings, which the CableCard hides, but I've > > only had that happen once in the years I've been running it. I have > thought > > about, and barely started on, a tool to grab screencaps of the channels, > but > > never got very far since it's only something I've need a couple of times. > > You'll also spend a few bucks ($25 a year from SchedulesDirect) to get a > > subscription for guide data. You can get by without it, but if you want > sane > > DVR function, I'd say it's a necessity. > > > > If your parents are only needing live tv, you don't even need MythTV. > > HDHomeRun has several ways to access the device directly. Both Android > and > > iOS apps, DNLA support and support for game consoles. Not something I > tried, > > but may simplify what they need and avoid "support requests" not to > mention > > that it takes your server out of the loop completely. No issues with "I > need > > to reboot, but Mom's watching CNN", > > > > I'd be happy to provide any more specifics and share my list of channels > > with you. Depending on location, it might not be exact, but should give > you > > an idea. > > > > Mike > > > > On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 10:58 AM, Jonathan Clark <[email protected] > > > > wrote: > >> > >> Hi - > >> > >> I'm curious what recent experiences any of you have had with MythTV > >> (or similar), particularly local Time Warner customers. > >> > >> Have you found that most channels are blocked from recording? The web > >> says that (in general) Time Warner sets the CCI (copy permissions) > >> flag to "Copy Once", which essentially results in none of the open > >> source projects being able to access shows. > >> > >> I've gone without cable for the last five years, but I'm at the point > >> where my parents are moving into my nest. They seem to breathe cable > >> news like I breathe Dr. Pepper. Thus the need for a cable > >> subscription, so I might as well get my MythTV box set back up for > >> myself. > >> > >> The last time I had a working MythTV box was five years ago; my > >> equipment is currently able to record analog signals. From what I can > >> tell, that will still work for the cheaper channels. > >> > >> Would it be worthwhile to invest in an HD tuner card that supports > >> CableCard? I think I'd enjoy the "fun" of improving my system, but if > >> the result will be only a single channel or two, then it'd be more of > >> a let-down. > >> > >> And as an aside, has anybody else noted that Netflix speeds on > >> TimeWarner have increased dramatically over the last week or two? > >> > >> Thanks for your thoughts - > >> > >> Jonathan > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > >> https://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > >> > >> Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College * > >> Sep 3 - Google App Engine > >> Oct 1 - Ansible > >> Nov 5 - Modern Dns Is Cooler Than You Thought! > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > > https://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > > > > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College * > > Sep 3 - Google App Engine > > Oct 1 - Ansible > > Nov 5 - Modern Dns Is Cooler Than You Thought! > > > _______________________________________________ > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > https://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College * > Sep 3 - Google App Engine > Oct 1 - Ansible > Nov 5 - Modern Dns Is Cooler Than You Thought! > -- Regards, Ray
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org https://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) Vassar College * Sep 3 - Google App Engine Oct 1 - Ansible Nov 5 - Modern Dns Is Cooler Than You Thought!
