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35 Posts
I think I have been doing so much research, I am starting to get myself confused, hopefully you guys can help me out.
First, I was trying to get rid of cable totally. Most of what my wife watches in available OTA. So I bought a Roku 3 to try out and had a free 1 month to Hulu Plus. The wife never tried it out.... I also discovered that some "must have" channels are ONLY available with cable (Hallmark, etc). So for happy wife, no cable was a no go.
So, if I am stuck with cable, at least I would like to get rid of having to rent $50 or so a month in equipment. This is what I am trying to achieve:
Cable box like experience with DVR capability for all TV's (like I have now). The wife pretty much DVR's everything. Starts in the living room, finishes in the bedroom. She also will have a show recording while watching another, or start a DVR'ed show that is still recording and eventually catch up to live TV since she skips commercials. Also need to be able to watch live TV at times.
So this is where I need the help. I think I know what to do, but not quite there yet. I currently have 2 Roku 3 boxes which will serve as the media extender to the TV's. I also picked up a HDHR Prime so I can get a cablecard and tune in cable.
Where I am stumbling is getting the cable signal (live and recorded) to the Rokus and figuring out a DVR. I *think* I can get an Intel NUC with i3 processor, add the RAM (8 GB) and a SSD hard drive, and use Windows Media Center (seems the most plug and play option) for tuning, recording, etc. I figure I will also need an external HDD for storing the DVR files (a larger size SSD seems cost prohibitive still). But then I keep reading about transcoding. I will be switching to Verizon Fios (currently on Comcast), which uses mpeg 2 and 4, and i understand that the Roku only does mpeg 4. Also, I think I read that WMC has its own file type for recorded shows.
So how do I put all this mess together and get it to my TV's? Do I also need Plex to be able to transcode for the Rokus, and can it do it on the fly while recording or watching live TV? Just not sure how to bring it all together.
Any help is appreciated. I think I have been researching and I seem to be going in circles.
Thanks,
Neil
First, I was trying to get rid of cable totally. Most of what my wife watches in available OTA. So I bought a Roku 3 to try out and had a free 1 month to Hulu Plus. The wife never tried it out.... I also discovered that some "must have" channels are ONLY available with cable (Hallmark, etc). So for happy wife, no cable was a no go.
So, if I am stuck with cable, at least I would like to get rid of having to rent $50 or so a month in equipment. This is what I am trying to achieve:
Cable box like experience with DVR capability for all TV's (like I have now). The wife pretty much DVR's everything. Starts in the living room, finishes in the bedroom. She also will have a show recording while watching another, or start a DVR'ed show that is still recording and eventually catch up to live TV since she skips commercials. Also need to be able to watch live TV at times.
So this is where I need the help. I think I know what to do, but not quite there yet. I currently have 2 Roku 3 boxes which will serve as the media extender to the TV's. I also picked up a HDHR Prime so I can get a cablecard and tune in cable.
Where I am stumbling is getting the cable signal (live and recorded) to the Rokus and figuring out a DVR. I *think* I can get an Intel NUC with i3 processor, add the RAM (8 GB) and a SSD hard drive, and use Windows Media Center (seems the most plug and play option) for tuning, recording, etc. I figure I will also need an external HDD for storing the DVR files (a larger size SSD seems cost prohibitive still). But then I keep reading about transcoding. I will be switching to Verizon Fios (currently on Comcast), which uses mpeg 2 and 4, and i understand that the Roku only does mpeg 4. Also, I think I read that WMC has its own file type for recorded shows.
So how do I put all this mess together and get it to my TV's? Do I also need Plex to be able to transcode for the Rokus, and can it do it on the fly while recording or watching live TV? Just not sure how to bring it all together.
Any help is appreciated. I think I have been researching and I seem to be going in circles.
Thanks,
Neil