Building a Linux PVR, Part 2: Microsoft's MCE 2004
by Purav Sanghani on September 16, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Linux
The Test
From here on out, we will do some exhaustive analysis on various components of the two setups. These include hardware, interface, codecs, video capture quality and other features.We will be comparing hardware in both of our test machines to see which gives more bang for the buck and which is just more wallet-friendly. Since Part I, we have tried to strip down our MythTV system to bring the total cost as low as possible while maintaining a functional system.
With different software packages comes a variance of front ends. We will be comparing/contrasting these differences between MCE and MythTV to see which has the best interface in this Part II.
As far as the main function goes for a PC-based PVR, the most important benchmark that we would need to test is how well the core codec deals with encoding and decoding content. We will be comparing screenshots and audio/video captures from MCE and MythTV to see which package performs the best with its given hardware.
Besides the main functionality of these packages, we look to see what other features each package has implemented to pull it to the top of the list. Some of these features may be rudimentary such as weather feeds from certain websites or on-demand content systems.
We predict this comparison to be a close one, since both packages have much to offer. So, let's not waste any time...
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KristopherKubicki - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
Id consider it more functional except the feature of on-demand content, which is pretty neat in my opinion.Kristopher
dvinnen - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
MythTV wins because it is free, cheeper to build a machine with, supports more hardware, and almost as functional as the Windows version.mab0270 - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
That's the beauty of MythTV: It's free, so you don't have to "buy it for some future upgrade".I'd have to say Myth works pretty well straight out of the box, providing you know how to follow instructions on how to set it up. As mentioned in the article, KnoppMyth makes it pretty easy to get a functional Myth system in about 20 minutes.
As for wondering whether those future upgrades will happen, it's being actively developed, and its popularity is growing every day. If you want a feaature, and you have any programming experience, you can even look into implementing it yourself!
Questar - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
So MythTV wins due to a potential to get better in the future??Yeah, I always buy products for some future upgrade that may or may not happen, verses how well they work on the day I spend my money.
Price2Rise - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
It would be great to see how a review of MythTV and MediaPortal would look. MediaPortal is open source as well and runs on Windows instead. It is a young project, but it is looking good already -> http://mediaportal.sf.netPrice2Rise - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
mcveigh - Thursday, September 16, 2004 - link
mce 2005 is cominghttp://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&a...
10/12 acording to that thread.