[mythtv-users] hdhomerun vs. capture cards: is it even a contest?

[Joe Hickey]

On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 6:03 PM, Ajay Sharma <ajayrockrock at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 1:52 PM, James Miller <gajs-f0el at dea.spamcon.org> wrote:
>> Whether or not I've understood properly the way these devices work, I'd be
>> interested in hearing what other users see as the pro's and cons of the
>> hdhomerun vs. capture cards.
>
> Some people, myself included, live too far away to receive OTA
> signals.  Cable or Fios is really the only option for us and there's
> no reason to get an HDHR where you'll only get a handful of
> unencrypted channels.  It's better to go the HD-PVR route where at
> least you'll get everything.
>
> --Ajay

Depends on what shows you watch.

In my case a good portion of the shows I record are on broadcast (CBS,
NBC, etc) and I get these channels unencrypted QAM through my cable.
HDHR dual tuner is great for these.  As you said only gets a handful
of channels (like a dozen out of the 100+ that I get on the STB) but
it's still highly worth it if you record stuff from those channels.

With this set-up, the single STB is freed up for the "other stuff",
and I only have one STB (and hence no extra monthly fee) whereas if I
had all my tuners as HDPVR I'd need three STB's, a lot more shelf
space, and 2 extra monthly rental fees to the cable co.  Also, since
many of those cable channels also frequently re-air shows, the
scheduler is almost always able to find earlier/later showings such
that I very rarely get a conflict with the single STB tuner.