One area I've been hoping to extend my HTPC functionality into is the PVR area. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there are currently no practical solutions.
Specifically, to be a true PVR, in the Tivo sense, you must (IMO) be able schedule recordings and not have it interrupt watching live television.
ATI's latest MMC verision (8.1 for my Radeon AIW 7500) came very close, but is a canyon width away. I.e., they added the MulTView feature, which I was so excited about, that I ran out and picked up a TV Wonder card. My disappointment is total. Specifically:
- The feature list on ATI's site clearly states that the you can "Record one (program) while viewing another". Unfortunately, it doesn't tell you the little detail about how the show being recorded takes control of the audio signal. So, yeah, you can watch a different channel as long as you don't mind listening to the show being recorded. I even tried playing with the audio mixer and muting the main (being recorded source) and unmuting the MultView source. This, predictably, results in the wrong audio embedded in the recorded file. How stupid is this?
- There is no control OVER THE ASPECT RATIO! So I guess you're just out of luck if you don't happen to run a 4:3 resolution (which many in the HTPC crowd, you know, the type of people that would be interested in two tuners and PVR functions, don't have) are just out of luck.
- You can't get audio in the MulTView window while in Demand TV mode.
These items, for my money, make this feature absolutely useless. It has one usable feature: PIP (except for in Demand TV mode). If you're like me, you've never once used PIP after first verifying that it works on your TV. It's nothing more than a gimmick.
The above shortcomings are all the more annoying, given that ATI specifically states that MulTView allows you to "Record one while viewing another".
http://mirror.ati.com/products/faqs/mmcfaq81.html
Yeah, sure, if you don't need sound at all. It's boggling that they would go so far as to provide a feature like MulTView and leave out a couple of simple features that would actually make it useful. Good work guys!
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So, with the rant out of the way, the question becomes: is there any solution out there with these features:
- schedule digital recordings, with an on-screen guide.
- Demand TV (i.e., pause live TV, etc.)
- record one show while watching another show.
- full control over aspect ration of BOTH TV tuners.
ShowShifter doesn't seem to have the dual tuner capability.
Specifically, to be a true PVR, in the Tivo sense, you must (IMO) be able schedule recordings and not have it interrupt watching live television.
ATI's latest MMC verision (8.1 for my Radeon AIW 7500) came very close, but is a canyon width away. I.e., they added the MulTView feature, which I was so excited about, that I ran out and picked up a TV Wonder card. My disappointment is total. Specifically:
- The feature list on ATI's site clearly states that the you can "Record one (program) while viewing another". Unfortunately, it doesn't tell you the little detail about how the show being recorded takes control of the audio signal. So, yeah, you can watch a different channel as long as you don't mind listening to the show being recorded. I even tried playing with the audio mixer and muting the main (being recorded source) and unmuting the MultView source. This, predictably, results in the wrong audio embedded in the recorded file. How stupid is this?
- There is no control OVER THE ASPECT RATIO! So I guess you're just out of luck if you don't happen to run a 4:3 resolution (which many in the HTPC crowd, you know, the type of people that would be interested in two tuners and PVR functions, don't have) are just out of luck.
- You can't get audio in the MulTView window while in Demand TV mode.
These items, for my money, make this feature absolutely useless. It has one usable feature: PIP (except for in Demand TV mode). If you're like me, you've never once used PIP after first verifying that it works on your TV. It's nothing more than a gimmick.
The above shortcomings are all the more annoying, given that ATI specifically states that MulTView allows you to "Record one while viewing another".
http://mirror.ati.com/products/faqs/mmcfaq81.html
Yeah, sure, if you don't need sound at all. It's boggling that they would go so far as to provide a feature like MulTView and leave out a couple of simple features that would actually make it useful. Good work guys!
.
.
.
.
.
So, with the rant out of the way, the question becomes: is there any solution out there with these features:
- schedule digital recordings, with an on-screen guide.
- Demand TV (i.e., pause live TV, etc.)
- record one show while watching another show.
- full control over aspect ration of BOTH TV tuners.
ShowShifter doesn't seem to have the dual tuner capability.