Re: MythTV
On Thursday 30 June 2005 10:34 am, Paul Johnson wrote:
> On Wednesday June 29 2005 11:10 pm, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> > One other consideration is if your service provider provides any
> > type of service. While I'm planning on eventually building a Myth
> > TV box, I have Comcast, and they provide a DVR unit for free (which
> > can be $300 or $400 or more for a TiVo), and their monthly fee is
> > less than TiVo. My Comcast DVR has a firewire port, but I
> > understand that only works for HDTV output, which I don't yet have.
> > Otherwise, I could play back a program on my DVR directly to my
> > VCR/DVD Burner box. It also has an ethernet port, but I understand
> > that isn't in use yet.
>
> Here, comcast DVRs are a ripoff. They charge you for the box, charge
> you to rent the box after that, charge you for the guide data for the
> box, then you turn the damn thing on and realize that you'd rather
> have teeth pulled or listen to Kenny G than use their fugly, slow
> interface or put up with the usually inaccurate guide data...
Interesting. We have had the same cable company in Richmond, VA since the
1980s (maybe even the late 1970s), but it's been bought, merged, etc. At one
point it was Time Warner, MediaOne, and others I can't remember. I've had
cable since around 1990 or so. During that time, AT&T bought out MediaOne
and provided the absolute worst service I've ever seen. The local call
center was shut down and calls were routed to Atlanta, which was shut down,
and all calls were sent to Newfoundland or Toronto. It could take 90 mins to
3 hrs to get help. AT&T was absolutely terrible and I know in some other
cities they came damn close to losing their charter to operate.
After AT&T, Comcast took over and made a number of changes, including
re-opening the local call center. I've heard many people complain about
them, but after AT&T, any company would have been wonderful. In our area,
though, Comcast has been outstanding (again, I'm aware that for many people
that has not been the case). It seems I got lucky. While the interface
could be nicer looking, it is not really slow, and using their DVR has been
one of the easiest experiences I've ever had in using any recording device.
It's a damn shame all customers aren't treated that way. I think if they all
got the kind of service I've seen, they'd have a very different reputation.
> > Also, I don't know if this is a factor or not, but most of the
> > channels I want to record are digital cable (that includes BBC
> > America, Sci-Fi and many others). I don't know if Myth TV or any
> > other homebrew system handles digital cable signals.
>
> When did Sci Fi leave the analog lineup?
In this area Sci-Fi was always a premium channel, but it's been on digital for
several years now -- at least in our area.
I've also heard, in case it is of interest, from a Comcast employee in an
answer center that they've made a deal with TiVo and in June of 2006, they'll
replace their DVR service with TiVo.
As for me, it'll be around then or a little later that I'd finally have time
to build a MythTV box. As I said, though, I don't know if MythTV can read
the signals for the digital channels.
Hal
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