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As the title says, I am in the planning stages of a new homebuilt HTPC/PVR.
I built my first HTPC/PVR with very little trouble (and starting with absolutely no prior HTPC knowledge or experience), using the invaluable information available on AVS Forums. This was back in 2006. As a point of reference, here are the basic specs of that build:
******************
CPU:
Intel Pentium 4 @3.4GHz processor (Northwood core)
Mobo:
Asus P4P800
Graphics:
NVidia 6600GT AGP card
OS:
Windows XP Professional SP3, 32-bit
Playback S/W:
TheaterTek (good only for MPEG2 sources)
ATSC Tuners (for OTA broadcast):
2 HDHR3 dual LAN units + 1 MyHD MDP-130 PCI card
******************
The PVR functionality is currently being done with the CW_EPG application that was developed by some amazing AVS veterans.
During the time that I was researching the options in 2006, it seemed the most popular S/W player choices for AVSer's were:
1. Zoom Player, for those who didn't mind the moderately complex setup, and who appreciated the advanced configuration options to tweak and tinker their way to AV perfection.
2. TheaterTek (TT) in conjunction with NVidia PureVideo/hardware acceleration, for those who wanted a nice software player that was easy to set up and had acceptable, if not quite decent, video quality.
I opted for the latter, as I am not a tweaker by nature. Simplicity and stability is what I strive for with my projects. So I did not mind shelling out a little extra cash for TT back in 2006.
And that was it. I have my PVR function that automatically schedules and records up to 5 shows at once for OTA broadcast, and I have my HD playback ability for all OTA recordings (but not much else), using either TT (via NVidia hardware acceleration) or MyHD (via its built-in HW MPEG decoder). Everything has worked great for the last 6 years.
But now I'm getting an upgrade itch, hence this post
As I turn the issues over in my head, I find that I still would rather have simplicity and stablility over ultra-flexable tweakability. This is where I would appreciate some guidance.
For the PVR portion of my new HTPC, I would like to continue using CW_EPG, because I am very satisfied and happy with it. The tuners I currently have (2 HDHomeruns + 1 MyHD MDP-130 PCI card) would be moved to the new HTPC.
But for the new build, I will be moving away from Windows XP and using Windows 7 (probably Home Premium) instead... and, alas, it's time to bid farewell to TheaterTek too.
So what to do for media playback?
From what I gather from my AVS research, those folks who want Windows AND simplicity should just use install Windows 7 and use its native Windows 7 Media Center (7MC) application. Easy, and no additional cost.
But, then, from what I've been reading in the HTPC forum, JRiver Media Center (JRMC) is also a simple media solution that seems very popular here, and is reasonably priced (appx. $50 USD), roughly the same I paid for TT six years ago.
And then there's XBMC, which seems slightly more complicated, especially when building your media library on a dedicated server (which I am also considering at the moment) and distributing the content over a network... but, hey, it's free and seems very well-documented and well-supported by its developers. Plus, it appears to be highly regarded by this esteemed community, which, for me, is worthy of note
So this is where I'm at.
Feedback and comments would be appreciated. In particular, I'd like to know if any of the media player solutions considered here (7MC, JRMC, XBMC) would pose any problems or issues with the CW_EPG application. I understand that 7MC and JRMC have their own built-in PVR functions, but I am assuming that they could be disabled or by-passed in favor of a 3rd-party PVR app. (like CW_EPG), right?
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. And thank you in advance for any further discussion. AVS rocks.
I built my first HTPC/PVR with very little trouble (and starting with absolutely no prior HTPC knowledge or experience), using the invaluable information available on AVS Forums. This was back in 2006. As a point of reference, here are the basic specs of that build:
******************
CPU:
Intel Pentium 4 @3.4GHz processor (Northwood core)
Mobo:
Asus P4P800
Graphics:
NVidia 6600GT AGP card
OS:
Windows XP Professional SP3, 32-bit
Playback S/W:
TheaterTek (good only for MPEG2 sources)
ATSC Tuners (for OTA broadcast):
2 HDHR3 dual LAN units + 1 MyHD MDP-130 PCI card
******************
The PVR functionality is currently being done with the CW_EPG application that was developed by some amazing AVS veterans.
During the time that I was researching the options in 2006, it seemed the most popular S/W player choices for AVSer's were:
1. Zoom Player, for those who didn't mind the moderately complex setup, and who appreciated the advanced configuration options to tweak and tinker their way to AV perfection.
2. TheaterTek (TT) in conjunction with NVidia PureVideo/hardware acceleration, for those who wanted a nice software player that was easy to set up and had acceptable, if not quite decent, video quality.
I opted for the latter, as I am not a tweaker by nature. Simplicity and stability is what I strive for with my projects. So I did not mind shelling out a little extra cash for TT back in 2006.
And that was it. I have my PVR function that automatically schedules and records up to 5 shows at once for OTA broadcast, and I have my HD playback ability for all OTA recordings (but not much else), using either TT (via NVidia hardware acceleration) or MyHD (via its built-in HW MPEG decoder). Everything has worked great for the last 6 years.
But now I'm getting an upgrade itch, hence this post

As I turn the issues over in my head, I find that I still would rather have simplicity and stablility over ultra-flexable tweakability. This is where I would appreciate some guidance.
For the PVR portion of my new HTPC, I would like to continue using CW_EPG, because I am very satisfied and happy with it. The tuners I currently have (2 HDHomeruns + 1 MyHD MDP-130 PCI card) would be moved to the new HTPC.
But for the new build, I will be moving away from Windows XP and using Windows 7 (probably Home Premium) instead... and, alas, it's time to bid farewell to TheaterTek too.
So what to do for media playback?
From what I gather from my AVS research, those folks who want Windows AND simplicity should just use install Windows 7 and use its native Windows 7 Media Center (7MC) application. Easy, and no additional cost.
But, then, from what I've been reading in the HTPC forum, JRiver Media Center (JRMC) is also a simple media solution that seems very popular here, and is reasonably priced (appx. $50 USD), roughly the same I paid for TT six years ago.
And then there's XBMC, which seems slightly more complicated, especially when building your media library on a dedicated server (which I am also considering at the moment) and distributing the content over a network... but, hey, it's free and seems very well-documented and well-supported by its developers. Plus, it appears to be highly regarded by this esteemed community, which, for me, is worthy of note

So this is where I'm at.
Feedback and comments would be appreciated. In particular, I'd like to know if any of the media player solutions considered here (7MC, JRMC, XBMC) would pose any problems or issues with the CW_EPG application. I understand that 7MC and JRMC have their own built-in PVR functions, but I am assuming that they could be disabled or by-passed in favor of a 3rd-party PVR app. (like CW_EPG), right?
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. And thank you in advance for any further discussion. AVS rocks.