OTA PVR/DVR Options

Published September 26, 2011 | By admin

I spent some time on the weekend looking at OTA DVR/PVR options. Here’s what I’ve found:

Most people refer to this now as DVR not PVR
Easiest and most expensive route – $400 ChannelMaster DVR (http://overtheair.saveandreplay.com/channel_master_7000_PAL_DVR.asp)
Digital signals come with Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information that can get picked up by a DVR and used to create a Rogers-like scrolling tv schedule
Currently trying to work on setting up the computer to work as a DVR and stream shows to the TV via the WII and PS3.

Installs on your computer as a streaming server
Makes videos from television show websites available as datastreams (CBS, FOX, SPIKE)
Makes OTA signals available as datastreams (and allows recording)
Makes Webcam signals available as datastreams (and allows recording)
Allows your WII or PS3 to connect to your computer and view those datastreams
Costs $5 a month
Most of the free US Internet content is blocked in Canada (like videos from CBS.com and FOX.com)
No “plugin” for Canadian channels.

Installs on your computer as a streaming server
Indexes all of the videos/music/photos on your computer and turns them into datastreams
Allows your WII or PS3 to connect to your computer and view those datastreams
Free
Allows you to view your datastreams over the Internet. (Exposes your home computer as a password protected streaming server)
Allows you to view video, audio, photos on your computer from your WII or PS3
Video quality was crap

There is a hack for the WII that allows you to stream video from your computer to your WII via the home network. Going to try this next. Hopefully I can setup the computer as a DVR with a $50 USB/Tuner dongle then stream any recorded content to the WII or PS3 on demand. Downside: need to keep the computer on to record shows.