HTPC Project Update
The HTPC project (a.k.a. get rid of cable) has been going on for almost a year now, so I thought I’d post an update. Â The original intent was to see if cable TV service could be replaced with internet and broadcast TV. Â My requirements for a solution were:
- Usable by the whole family
- Content obtained legally
- No loss of content
- Run on Linux machines (or at least not Windows)
So can it be done? Â Not exactly. Â At least I couldn’t make it work. Â Here’s what I found out:
- Audio/Video retailers won’t touch this space. Â They don’t know it, they don’t want to know it. Â All they do know is that this stuff isn’t turnkey and they don’t want to support a computer. Â And they’re right. Â This means setting this up without computer skills is probably not a good idea.
- The cable TV experience has been refined over the years. Â As petty as it sounds, you need a traditional remote control. Â No one wants to have to sit with a keyboard and type in a URL, log in and push a “full screen” button to switch channels.
- Some networks are only available only on cable. Â Sports, for instance, are not always available. Â If they’re not broadcast (i.e. carried by a major network), you can’t get them without buying a subscription. Â This was a problem for Phillies and Eagles games.
- Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon video don’t run natively on Linux. Â To use them requires inconvenient steps. Â See this discussion of Netflix on Linux.
Could I have done more to make this work? Â Yeah. Â I didn’t install a TV tuner in the HTPC. This would have let us fast-forward and rewind through live TV. Â Once you’ve gotten used to this, it’s jarring to watch TV without it. Â (Heck, sometimes I try to rewind the radio in my car.) Â I didn’t try any subscriptions to replace cable content. But those subscriptions still require use of a web site, which, as I mentioned, scores low on ease of use. Â I could have canceled cable to force myself to dig deeper for a replacement. Â And, lastly, I did this project in the basement, which isn’t as comfortable as the family room. Â If the kids were watching their shows in the family room (even ones I would never watch myself), I found I’d rather watch that in the family room than go down to the basement to watch something I enjoyed. Â Insane, yes. Â Lazy, yes. Â But that’s what happened.
The experiment wasn’t a total loss. Â The HTPC gets content automatically loaded on the NAS by Sickbeard. Â I watch those shows while on the treadmill or bike trainer, which means I exercise more. Â The kids use the HTPC to watch YouTube on the big screen. Â I use the big screen to preview video I take with my DSLR. Â The NAS has made back-ups a breeze. Â There’s an extra computer in the house as a back-up. Â And I was inspired to get a TiVo!
Although we’re not giving up cable, one thing that was a constant irritation about cable was the usability of the FiOS DVR. Â In addition to being buggy (switching tuners unpauses a show, fast forwarding to the end of a show is tricky, recordings sometimes don’t work right), the user interface is unresponsive. Â Frequently the DVR doesn’t respond to a button press. Â What’s worse is there’s no user feedback when the DVR is busy. Â So you can’t tell if it got your command or not. Â Do I push the button again? Â Wait a while? Â Ugh. Â After living with this for three years, I replaced it with a TiVo. Â I had considered getting the TiVo Premiere because it records broadcast TV. Â What the HTPC experiment taught me is that I can’t replace cable just yet. Â So if I’m going to use cable, I don’t need broadcast. Â The Premiere Elite has four cable tuners, but no broadcast tuner. Â It’s only been in the house for a day–I’ll post more on that later.