Am I missing something or is there really a lack of a good dedicated OTA DVR solution that you can do an whole house client/server installation with?
From what I have gathered through reading here and searching the web is that there are really only 1 or 2 workable OTA DVR solutions to begin with. Channel Master and Tivo. Tivo is way overpriced (IMHO) and has a ridiculous monthly guide fee. Channel Master however does not really have a good/reliable guide and cant do a client/server solution from what I read.
Is there anything beyond having HTPC's setup at every TV that will accomplish the below?
Client DVR
* 2 OTA tuners used to watch live TV and PIP / channel preview
* Schedule to and play recordings from a centralized media server
* Local harddrive to buffer live shows for pause / rewind / fastforward
* Plays all popular video and audio formats that can be streamed from centralized server
* Uses popular "widgets" like Netfix, Blockbuster, Amazon, iTunes, etc
* It would be nice if the unit had a BluRay / DVD player as well.
Media Server
* 4 tuners
* Stores all media and all recordings
* Centrally controlled by other DVR's
* Streams requested content to DVR's
* BluRay / DVD player and recorder
The media server is the easy part as there are many alternatives for that. It appears to be the non-HTPC individual TV clients that are lacking here.
From what I want to do, it appears my only option is the have a centralized media server and then laptops or small media pc's at each location with the needed connections (network, HDMI, digital audio). Would you guys with more extensive knowledge in this subject matter agree?
This is what I am looking for overall:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...dianetwork.jpg
From what I have gathered through reading here and searching the web is that there are really only 1 or 2 workable OTA DVR solutions to begin with. Channel Master and Tivo. Tivo is way overpriced (IMHO) and has a ridiculous monthly guide fee. Channel Master however does not really have a good/reliable guide and cant do a client/server solution from what I read.
Is there anything beyond having HTPC's setup at every TV that will accomplish the below?
Client DVR
* 2 OTA tuners used to watch live TV and PIP / channel preview
* Schedule to and play recordings from a centralized media server
* Local harddrive to buffer live shows for pause / rewind / fastforward
* Plays all popular video and audio formats that can be streamed from centralized server
* Uses popular "widgets" like Netfix, Blockbuster, Amazon, iTunes, etc
* It would be nice if the unit had a BluRay / DVD player as well.
Media Server
* 4 tuners
* Stores all media and all recordings
* Centrally controlled by other DVR's
* Streams requested content to DVR's
* BluRay / DVD player and recorder
The media server is the easy part as there are many alternatives for that. It appears to be the non-HTPC individual TV clients that are lacking here.
From what I want to do, it appears my only option is the have a centralized media server and then laptops or small media pc's at each location with the needed connections (network, HDMI, digital audio). Would you guys with more extensive knowledge in this subject matter agree?
This is what I am looking for overall:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...dianetwork.jpg











