Freevo

[OrangeFairway]

Is there any point in a non-techie attempting to build a Freevo machine? Is it possible? Expensive? Difficult? Worthwhile?

 

[UTinBigD]

freevo is i think a linux based machine, so if you have no experience with that, it might be difficult.

There definitely is a break even threshold for making one of these machines. If you are just interested in making a tivo unit, then it is not worth it. Just get a dual tuner tivo. If want something like video/dvd and music on demand, then it begins to make a little more sense, but you really have to treat it like a hobby.

It is a snap to put the hardware together. The software and tweaking it to output correcly on your tv and with a remote that takes a lot of time.

Check out the avs forums for HTPCs and also look at program called xlobby (free) for more info.

 

[Mal]

If you are interested in Freevo, there is also something called MythTv. It also runs on linux and I have heard many great things about it. There are installation guides for MythTV all over the internet, but if you are not familiar with linux, I wouldn't recommend it.

If you are interested in products for Windows, the two main apps I've heard the most about are Beyond TV and the name of the other escapes me at the moment. I tried Beyond TV when it used to be called just SnapStream about a year ago, but I didn't like it enough to buy it. I remember that the features worked as advertised, but the picture quality, via the my monitor, was not as great as I desired.

 

[wolfman]

I believe that Tivo runs on a linux kernel. You may want to checkThe Link for more info. I dont know anyone who has tried to build a freevo box, but being that you can get a base tivo unit for $100 to $150 you may be better off just buying a Tivo.

 

[linux]

A while ago I thought of building a HTPC with mythTV for a DLP set, it is more than just a Tivo/PVR though, I went through the whole process and there are many plusses that accompany that price

1) You can record cable and Digital cable/Dishes.
2) You can record over the air HDTV
3) You get a DVD player with progressive scan.
4) You can copy dvds
5) You get a music station or whatever
6) Slide show for if you want to turn the TV into a dynamic picture frame (women love this)
7) Get stuff trhough RSS. weather among other things.
8) Play PC games.
9) All other systems can become a dumb terminal for watching media.
10) Massive storage.
11) Play emulators like MAME, SNES, NES, Sega etc.

Obvously some things could be done with a hacked Tivo, but your time and price could go up easily as well.

 

[linux]

The Link

Installing MythTV has never been easier.