Building the Ultimate HTPC & DVR Environment: Part 1 December 23rd, 2009
The XBMC project is on the verge of releasing the new version, 9.11, of their media player software. This version bolsters a new interface, improved hardware support, and a more streamlined installation method. Though I’ve showed it to a number of people the installation on dedicated HTPC (Home Theater PC) hardware can seem daunting, though in all actuality the process is very simple, even for novices. I’ll be going in to detail on how I have configured my setup to include gray area DVR functionality that stomps on commercial solutions.
Having used a number of canned DVR solutions from numerous cable companies in the past (Wide Open West, Comcast, and now AT&T) I’ve found that they’re all sluggish, unintuitive, and unreliable at best. AT&T edges out Comcast and Wide Open West by a small margin with their U-Verse offering but with a little DIY effort and willingness to get your hands dirty you can build your own HTPC environment that can do everything your current DVR solution can and much more.
If you’re interested in a cheap elegant solution that allows you to watch 1080p video and TV shows with all commercials pre-cut read on. One thing to note, the downloading functionality might not be 100% legal in your country, so keep that in mind.
