Series 3 just moved up a notch on my buy list.

[JKay]

I had taken the position that a Media Center PC was my first choice for embracing the world of cablecard /HD TV. Now I’ve learned no one will be allowed to retrofit their existing Media Center PC. Why, because the cablecard tuning devises will not be sold to the public. Only OEM,s may acquire these tuners and they must then submit their completed MC PC to Cablelabs for DRM certification.

A brand new Vista HD ready Media Center PC is going to be pretty expensive compared to a Series 3 TiVo, but then again there isn’t any monthly subscription fee. Of course I am leaving out the fact that TiVo’s tend to be bullet proof and MC PC’s tend to be flakey.

So, now I look at the cable company’s HD DVR, a little flakey, yes, but I can walk away from it at any time without any remorse over a purchase price. With 2way CableCard V.2 and DCAS (downloadable conditional access system) staring us in the face this option may prove to be worth exploring.

[ZeoTiVo]

that has been my reluctance on media center PC as well. There is no easy upgrade path on those suckers for their main function I want - record shows.

yes I will someday cast off analog TiVo's in favor of HD recording of some type. But have no wish to spend over 500$ on a HD recorder of any type unless I feel it is future proofed.

it is the looming cable card 2.0 spec that makes me hold off on a series 3 until it hits 500$ - which is a price I can stomach for a two or three year use of the box if I wanted digital channels and HD.

fortunately I kept myself off the rich stuff and am quite happy with extended basic cable and SD shows. Even bought a Toshiba TV because of its ability to display rich colors and sharpness of the SD analog picture.

so for 100$ I can get a DT with two tuners, hook my cable directly up to it and watch it work flawlessly to record my season passes and wishlists without giving it much attention at all. I figure I will be on that setup for two more years unless HD items start into the value realm this Christmas, which I kind of doubt now unfortunately.

[yunlin12]

A brand new Vista HD ready Media Center PC is going to be pretty expensive compared to a Series 3 TiVo, but then again there isn’t any monthly subscription fee.

Two questions:

1) How long would one have to a use a Media center PC before one can recoup the higher cost it commands?

2) For the demographics who are likely to go with the media center PC, how many will be satisfied using the same PC for the length of time required in question 1?

[ChuckyBox]

1) How long would one have to a use a Media center PC before one can recoup the higher cost it commands?

As we've noted here before, the power consumption of the PC is greater than a TiVo, so you have to add a few dollars a month to the cost of the PC.

And then there is the noise factor -- the cheaper PCs are usually the noisy ones.

[HiDefGator]

While they are not available today, both AMD and Intel are working on new low power chip designs. The low power chips will produce less heat and need less cooling (ie. noise).

And the media center PC can be used for other things. It is after all a full fledged PC. Try adding a disk raid system to your Tivo.

Their are benfits to both.

10 years from now when the lawsuits are worked out and the internet is faster I think the network DVR will be the way to go. What a waste of hardware it is to record "desperate housewives" on 25 million hard drives at the same time.

[uw69]

[QUOTE=JKay]I had taken the position that a Media Center PC was my first choice for embracing the world of cablecard /HD TV. Now I’ve learned no one will be allowed to retrofit their existing Media Center PC. Why, because the cablecard tuning devises will not be sold to the public. Only OEM,s may acquire these tuners and they must then submit their completed MC PC to Cablelabs for DRM certification.

A brand new Vista HD ready Media Center PC is going to be pretty expensive compared to a Series 3 TiVo, but then again there isn’t any monthly subscription fee. Of course I am leaving out the fact that TiVo’s tend to be bullet proof and MC PC’s tend to be flakey.

So, now I look at the cable company’s HD DVR, a little flakey, yes, but I can walk away from it at any time without any remorse over a purchase price. With 2way CableCard V.2 and DCAS (downloadable conditional access system) staring us in the face this option may prove to be worth exploring.[/QUOTE

Why would the cable card tuner only be avail as OEM? Just curious. Thanks

[ZeoTiVo]

While they are not available today, both AMD and Intel are working on new low power chip designs. The low power chips will produce less heat and need less cooling (ie. noise).

And the media center PC can be used for other things. It is after all a full fledged PC. Try adding a disk raid system to your Tivo.

Their are benfits to both.

10 years from now when the lawsuits are worked out and the internet is faster I think the network DVR will be the way to go. What a waste of hardware it is to record "desperate housewives" on 25 million hard drives at the same time.

except that serving up one copy of a show has already been shown as copyright infringement in court and they are now going after the network DVR that keeps a copy for each of the 25 million in court as well.

also why add the RAID array to the TiVo when it is a simple appliance to do recordings and then can shuttle them to a PC for archiving on a PC that can then be used more heavily for other things since it is not having to keep up with recording duties. ;)

[Adam1115]

Two questions:

1) How long would one have to a use a Media center PC before one can recoup the higher cost it commands?

Since we don't know how much a series 3 TiVo is, OR how much a Vista Media Center PC with CableCard tuners COST, because neither are out yet, that IS the qeustion, isn't it..??

[JKay]

Two questions:

1) How long would one have to a use a Media center PC before one can recoup the higher cost it commands?

2) For the demographics who are likely to go with the media center PC, how many will be satisfied using the same PC for the length of time required in question 1?

The certification process is going hurt small OEM’s that produce MCE computers. So I would imagine the likes of Dell and HP/Compaq would be first to the market. And they may own that market for some time.

1) A Wild Guess: Maybe four or five years of Microsofts’ free guide might amortize the cost difference.

2) I know five people that have a TiVo and I gave the TiVo to four of them. I personally don’t know a single person that has a MCE computer. Not much of an answer. :(

[JYoung]

I know several people who have MCE pcs.
I know none who use it for recording TV.

[rainwater]

I know several people who have MCE pcs.
I know none who use it for recording TV.

Thats because most MCE pcs aren't something you want in your living room. And 99% of people want to watch TV on their television set. Since most MCE computers are setup in an office, they are not ideal as a DVR. The only way I would get a MCE pc would be one that is in a case designed to fit in an entertainment center.

[ah30k]

These MC PCs are still PCs. How many people will tolerate pop-up messages on their TV telling them that their Norton Anti-Virus needs updating or JoeSchmo.zz file is missing? Additionally, the MPEG encoder/decoders in the HP I saw were TERRIBLE with blocking and the like.

I guess they will get better over time, but right now they are not ready for even a moderately sophisticated home theater!

[pendragn]

I know several people who have MCE pcs.
I know none who use it for recording TV.
I myself have an MCE pc. I know friends that do too.
I do not use it for recording TV. Only one guy I know does. He bitches about it constantly.

tk

[ZeoTiVo]

I myself have an MCE pc. I know friends that do too.
I do not use it for recording TV. Only one guy I know does. He bitches about it constantly.

tk


same here but that is because the PC I liked came with MCE so I now have one. I looked at it a bit but did not try anything serious with it. It did not come with a TV tuner card :(

[JKay]

Why would the cable card tuner only be avail as OEM? Just curious. Thanks

The only company I am aware that has announced an OCUR (opencable unidirectional cable receiver) or in other words a cablecard TV tuner for a PC is ATI. An ATI executive was quoted recently as stating that this product cannot be marketed to the general public. Only OEM system builders could obtain this devise and then resell them as an integral part of a certified Media Center computer.

Some folks feel this is going change before the day-of-reckoning.

[classicsat]

Why would the cable card tuner only be avail as OEM? Just curious. Thanks

To be certified as a part of a closed system, to reduce piracy.

[uw69]

Kind of changes the way you would approach a MCE PC purchase until this gets sorted out.

[greg_burns]

Saw a brief thing on the news tonight about Intel's Viiv MCE box. They were comparing it to a Tivo. Anyone know anything about it?

http://www.intel.com/products/viiv/index.htm