Ask Engadget HD: What's the best PVR software?
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 13th 2008 12:00PM
posted Aug 13th 2008 12:00PM
"I recently pieced together a pretty simple HTPC with an OTA TV tuner and I'm looking for the best PVR software to pair up with it. I'm currently running Windows XP MCE, but I could make the swap to Vista or Linux if the applications are good enough for either of those two. What would readers recommend for each operating system? Which one gives the least amount of hassle and works smoothly the majority of the time? Thanks!"
A pretty open-ended request, you see, but a valid one nonetheless. What's your favorite PVR software? Does Beyond TV have your heart? MythTV / SageTV the one(s) for you? Feel free to list the pros and cons of applications you've tried -- wouldn't want anyone to miss anything!
[Image courtesy of Parker1]
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I've used beyondtv for a couple of years now. For ease of use and intuitive interface, I think it's pretty darn good. That's mainly why I chose it: I almost never have to answer questions about how to use it for my wife.
That said, when it comes to supporting new features, beyondtv tends to be very slow. Took them forever and a day to add QAM support, and last I checked they still aren't supporting the HD-PVR. Oh, and there are no extenders (other than another pc running beyondtv link).
There is a beta update adding support for the Hauppauge HD-PVR, so no complaints there. Also, do the other PVR packages manufacture extenders? I know that there are Windows Media Center Extenders, but the PVR functions in Media Center are bottom-of-the-barrel.
SageTV had support for the Hauppauge HD-PVR before it launched. And they have an extender -- that actually plays pretty much any file format you throw at it (unlike the Microsoft extenders.)
Beyond TV is by far the best. ShowSkip and ShowSqueeze are essential features lacking in the competition. It's a no-brainer.
Where did you get the beta software for BTV to work with Hauppauge HD-PVR?
It's a private beta, but should go public very soon.
Paul,
The advantage BeyondTV has over the competition there is that commercial detection and video compression is built in. Keep in mind that this functionality is readily available in almost all other solutions including MCE, VMC, GB-PVR, Meedio, Media Portal and SageTV.
It is nice to have it built in to BTV, I agree, but it isn't a feature you can't have with the competing HTPC programs by any means.
As a current BeyondTV / Snapstream customer, if BeyondTV decides to charge extra for HD PVR support, I will drop them and pick up Sage or GBPVR.
Vista MCE
The extender ability alone is full of win.
The NBC Olympic integration is also pretty nice. Here's hoping for more of the same.
I also vote for VMC.
I has the easy factor (it was already in vista when installed)
It found all my media
A multitude of plugins
AND
It's pretty (a major factor when dealing with the 10' experience)
Here's a vote for Vista's Media Center. Anyone with a wife needs to focus on finding a family friendly interface.
LOL and agreed that VMC is the bomb.
I've had good experiences with GBPVR -- supports HD recording and has all the skip/trancode/plugin features that I've seen in other options.
SageTV by a longshot. It's not the easiest to get to know, but once set up it has the best features, the most customization available and just works.
All HD & SD channels from any source? Check (HD-PVR Support)
Softsled (Software Extender) Support? Check
HD Extenders that can handle nearly any video format? Check
Streaming (like Slingbox)? Check
Mobile Web Interface for mobile phones & devices? Check
Just Works? Check
My second choice would be BeyondTV - but it has no DVD, Music, Online Video or photo capability so it quickly falls into second.
Brent is spot on. SageTV is the clear market leader right now, for both software and hardware. When a new tuner is released, SageTV generally has support for it immediately. Plus, it runs on any operating system.
Photos, Music, and DVD playback (and many other features like weather and comics) are available through a sister product to BeyondTV called BeyondMedia. Beyond Media is basic and has not been updated in a while, but I use it and like it well enough. It does the job.
I am extremely happy with Beyond TV. I have a media server with 5 tuners (2 HD/OTA, 3 SD/Cable) as well as 3 BTV Link machines. Everything works together and is very reliable. And it all passes the "girlfriend test' as well :)
Also, although I paid for BTV 2 years ago, Snapstream has provided several free updates to their users since then. Many of them significant upgrades.
Well here is my vote for MythTV.
It is nice looking, free, and easy to use.
If you don't want to tackle Linux use something like MythDora. It installs and sets up everything for you.
Slave to HTPC = knock-offs...
Slave to TV = Vista Media Center!
beyond tv for about 2 years works flawless and very easy even my 4 year old gets in there and watches her shows.
I have been using Beyond TV for 4 yrs and am very happy with it! It came with my KWorld ATSC/NTSC TV Tuner card and I liked it so much I upgraded the the full version...High Definition OTA Rocks!!!!!
Beyond TV FTW!!
SageTV by far and away. The HD Extenders simply rock!
SageTV by far. I've tried most of them out there and Sage works the best. The most tuner support, the best online video streaming, supports the HD-PVR great, QAM, almost everything. They are constantly putting out new upgrades and the community support has been great for me.
I've been using BeyondTV for 3-4 years at least. I've been very happy with it on my standard 2-74 cable channels. I'm not sure how I'm going to do the HD/QAM/Cablebox just yet.
I have only used Windows Media Center (XP & now Vista) and my wife & kids love it. It's a Sony Viao XL1 with 200 DVD Disc changer that I picked up on clearance for $1100. All of our TV, videos, pictures, DVDs and Radio are all in one place using 1 remote (Logitech Harmony). I have 2 SD tuners + FM + two clear QAM tuners (HDHomeRun) and ~1TB of disc. I upgraded it to Vista Ultimate and I have an Xbox 360 as an HD Extender over a gigabit/Wireless-N network. The only issue was with video drivers, solid now at 1080P. I'd give Vista a solid B+.
I'd love to see someone put together a more detailed comparison of Vista, Beyond, Sage, Tivo, etc. Plan to eventually go with a CableCard system as I can't get line of sight for DirecTV.
SageTV is what I'm Luv'n now. Went with sage because of the HD extender, very good support and customizing (even though it was a learning curve). SageTV just did stuff that people were asking from BTV for years.
Had BTV, very good but they broke their promise for integration. I wanted something that played movies, music, picture, all in one package. BTV seems to not care what their consumer customers wants and needs, they seem do what is best for the Enterprise (business corporate model). You can read their forums and see this is not my opinion, this is a FACT!
I wanted to try LinuxMCE (uses Mythtv for recording) but I needed something that works today (at the time LinuxMCE was still starting out and had a lot of bugs) cuz don't have much time. + at the time, they were doing away with the free EPG. Someone made expensive extenders to work with linuxmce (http://www.fiire.com/)
I say Media Portal, skinable, many many plug ins, does pretty much anything. I found it looking for a media center replacement that would play my mkv's.
SageTV is great! Used Vista Media Center for a few months and got tired of all the limitations (UI was slick though).
Started using SageTV about 6 months ago with the SageMC "theme" it looks very nice. The WAF is 110% using their fantastic HD extender...have 4 extenders and never a problem. Could never go back to Vista Media Center. Once Sage is setup, it is rock solid....it is even running on my main PC that is shared by the family...it sees games, internet browsing, etc and you never even know it is recording.
My wife "begged" me to get my last two extenders...never had that happen with a tech product before!
SageTV is what I'm Luv'n now. Went with sage because of the HD extender, very good support and customizing (even though it was a learning curve). SageTV just did stuff that people were asking from BTV for years.
Had BTV, very good but they broke their promise for integration. I wanted something that played movies, music, picture, all in one package. BTV seems to not care what their consumer customers wants and needs, they seem do what is best for the Enterprise (business corporate model). You can read their forums and see this is not my opinion, this is a FACT!
I wanted to try LinuxMCE (uses Mythtv for recording) but I needed something that works today (at the time LinuxMCE was still starting out and had a lot of bugs) cuz don't have much time. + at the time, they were doing away with the free EPG. Someone made expensive extenders to work with linuxmce (http://www.fiire.com/)
SageTV, I have tried them all and Sage is the best thing going.
Beyond is a distant second and the M$ products haven't finished yet.
Love me some Vista Media Center.
Beyond TV for me, the Link clients make it a family affair. and has gained 99.9% WAF. I do wish there were better partnerships for extenders.
Other than Vista do any of the support DCT?
Other than Vista do any of these support DCT with cablecard?
pvcleave,
The only way to get DCT support with CableCard is with a pre-configured Vista Media Center box (you can't build it yourself) or with a TIVO.
You can get all of those channels in their HD (also SD channels of course) glory using a Hauppauge HD-PVR which encodes the analog signal from the component outputs to H.264. I use this and the picture quality is very very good. Plus you get no DRM and can put this in your own DIY HTPC. SageTV, BeyondTV (beta version) and GB-PVR all have support for the HD-PVR.
HD-PVR still can only do clear QAM, so pretty much useless since most cable companies only do clear QAM for the same OTA-HD anyway. VMC is now useless in Albany even WITH DTC/CableCARD thanks to SDV anyway so until the HDPC-20 comes out, they ALL suck and VMC sucks the least :)
I see now what the HD PVR is, a realtime H.264 encoder.
ANALOG.
No thanks.
I would challenge you to do a side by side comparison of component versus HDMI on a properly calibrated TV. You won't be able to tell the difference. I've enjoyed recording ESPN, HBO, Discovery, etc. in high quality HD with no DRM restrictions for the last month. The only limitation is the lack of surround sound which will be remedied shortly when Hauppauge releases new drivers.
Tony - Take another look at the HDPVR, it is NOT limited to clear QAM. It records via the analog component ouput from a cable box and as such can record anything that the cable box outputs via the component, which is everything you subscribe to (at least for now).
Meedio with a combo of Sagetv
Meedio is a application with a open-source plugin system.
It was some the best plugins and freatures out there
SageTV. The HD-PVR quality is amazing. The HD100 extender is also great.
PF
I've been using MythTV for years now and I love it. The software costs nothing except your time. The front end software is multiplatform and my 802.11N network has more than enough bandwidth to stream HD, so I can watch anywhere in my house on my laptop. Operation is mostly trouble free and I have a mess of tuners attached (1x Hauppauge tuner card, HD Homerun, Firewire from my cable box [which will be replaced by an HD-PVR as soon as support in Myth firms up a bit])
Each release gets more stable and easy to use, too.
The only thing about Myth is that it isn't intended as a turn key "software for your grandma" kind of solution. While distros like Mythdora (which is what I use) make setup pretty easy, I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wouldn't be comfortable digging into their comp when/if there are problems.
I have used MythTV, BeyondTV, and now SageTV. Although I only installed SageTV last night, so far I am liking it the best.
VMC with Linksys DMA2100s is far and above any other implementation right now.
Used them all. SageTV is my #1 vote, hands down.
Ease of use, setup, fair price, support (both community AND corporate), extensibility, features, stability.
Fantastic software...
SageTV.
I started with TiVo and then tried every htpc app I could when I wanted more. I've tried Meedio, Media Portal, GB-PVR, MCE2005, and BTV. For functionality, flexibility, and stability, nothing I've tried stands up to SageTV (though Meedio was close for everything but PVR duties). And there isn't another user forum around that is as responsive, helpful and friendly as the SageTV user forums.
MythTV for me been running for 2.5 years. Software is free, updated constantly, any feature you want is out there. Setup can be difficult but just as other have said mythdora and mythbuntu have made it simple.
I wont ever use VMC as all the DRM limitation. To the functionalitiy of MythTV into VMC you would need to load a 100 plugins!
Mitchell
I used MythTV for more than 2 years. When I decided to build a new frontend for another room I started realizing how expensive it would be. I also wanted to get an HD PVR and I knew Myth wouldn't have legitmate support for a while (it's still only usable in SVN). As much as I love Myth, I switched to SageTV a couple months ago because of the HD Extender and the support for the HD PVR. I haven't looked back. It has all the features I want, the community is great, and it's updated frequently.
SageTV - by far!
Have used MCE, VMC, GBPVR, MediaPortal and none have pleased me more than Sage. Their WHS version and HD extenders are perfect for no fuss, high WAF HTPC goodness.
I have tried most all of the DVR software out there, and I have found Sage to be the best. It is highly customizable, and compatible with almost any tuner.
I have all my analog cable, clear QAM, and OTA HD channels in one lineup. There is the HD extenders, and one can get a placeshifter license so you can watch recorded TV on the road.
I can't wait to buy a HD-PVR so I can finally ditch my cable co's DVR, and have all my channels on one source.