Cheap alternative to Tivo? (HD)
Posted: 2007-07-19 11:18am
I've been itching to be able to record stuff in HD for some time now, but just can't bring myself to pay monthly for the horrific Scientific Atlanta machines that cablevision hands out when I've got Tivo. Yesterday I learned that Tivo was coming out with a series 3 lite, less bells and $300, not bad. Additionally I learned that the lifetime subscription on the Tivo my dad gave me can be tranfered for $200, but not after 2007.
So if I want the goodness of Tivo in HD without monthly payments I'll have to lay down $500 fairly soon. This is no small amount, one which I'd rather put towards other things. So before I go spending all sorts of crazy money I wanted to ask - are there any good alternatives?
I've got a spare socket A machine from 5 or 6 years ago that I have been meaning to put a flavor of linux or BSD on for about 6 months which could do this, but its a HUGE full tower and is a real eyesore that I wouldn't want in the living room. The only real requirement is that it works about as well as tivo and doesn't require a lot of setup or maintenance time.
So if I want the goodness of Tivo in HD without monthly payments I'll have to lay down $500 fairly soon. This is no small amount, one which I'd rather put towards other things. So before I go spending all sorts of crazy money I wanted to ask - are there any good alternatives?
I've got a spare socket A machine from 5 or 6 years ago that I have been meaning to put a flavor of linux or BSD on for about 6 months which could do this, but its a HUGE full tower and is a real eyesore that I wouldn't want in the living room. The only real requirement is that it works about as well as tivo and doesn't require a lot of setup or maintenance time.