Topic 'Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???' in forum 'Charter Internet/TV' - dslreports.com

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:05:55 EDT

geonap posted : yea i think i made a mistake by not getting the silicondust, i'm experiencing way too much lag with this ceton and the DLNA server thing is amazing.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:28:30 EDT

rd1144 posted : Everyone is talking about the Ceton as the CableCard tuner to get, I would disagree. Get the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime. It connects to your network, while it only has 3 tuners instead of 4, you have more flexibility to share the tuners over multiple devices, check out their website. You can find the HomeRun Prime for under $150 most of the time, I picked one up for $130 on newegg when they had a sale. Also, SiliconDust just announced that they are releasing a beta firmware later this month that provides the hardware a DLNA server so you can stream the channels over DLNA devices directly, so basically you won't need an extender in the future for live tv. This week at CES SiliconDust announced they are coming out with a 4 tuner model later this year. I use two 3 tuner models and xbox 360's i bought at pawn shops for my extenders. You can find an xbox 360 console that has either been banned on xbox live or the dvd drive doesnt work for less than $50 and they work fine for media extenders.

I have $280 invested in two HDHomeRun Primes (Can record/watch up to 6 things at once)
I have about $250 invested in 4 used xbox 360's I pick up at pawn shops/flea markets.
And $4/month for two cablecards with tuning adapters.

As others have indicated you cannot get on-demand channels. If you need on demand, just rent one regular hdtv receiver (non-dvr) for $5 from Charter.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 01:25:27 EDT

geonap posted : i got a few ceton's, one bricked immediately.

my usb ceton is connected to an i3 with a pretty weak nvidia ge force 210 or whatever it is.

is this the reason why my echo is lagging like crazy? audio seems fine other than cut offs, video has obvious choppiness.

thanks
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Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:56:01 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by cork1958:

Most people never pay attention to the fact you have to have a box on every tv AND pay for each!

Good way to get someone "tricked" into going that route, huh? :o

Considered Charters route or Satellite, but that issue right there turns me off every time. That and the fact I'm not a tv watcher at all!

How is that being tricked? It's obvious that having a box will cost money. Most people without boxes don't because of that very reason they ALREADY know the boxes cost money.

As far as satellite they also charge extra for DVR service and their box fees are higher. In fact with DirecTV after the first HD box you have to pay $99 up front for each box PLUS the $6 monthly rental.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:09:32 EDT

mmainprize posted : Yes this is a nice setup, BUT it has been stated by Microsoft that the Media Center will not be in the next release of Windows.
What do you run as a Media Center on LINUX ?

In fact MC in Windows 8 is now an add-on license and has not been updated in any way from Windows 7. It has had features removed. You can no longer have the PC boot into the Media Center like a true HTPC. Internet TV has been removed.

Its funny now that many of us want to go this route Microsoft is not going to support it any longer. Makes no sense.

Edit:
Also watch for changes at the Cable/Dish systems where they start to mark the channels for copy protection, then some channels can not be played back on any device but only on the device it was connected to when the recording was made. This may be the next problem area you may need to fight as not all hardware setups will work for all channels and TV/Devices. I think only Windows MC supports DRM.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:07:39 EDT

mdavej posted : Same here. Can't beat cable card tuner and PC as DVR. My PC sleeps when not in use, so power savings alone is $5/month at least. DVR and cable box savings in my 4 TV system is $38.

You can get every channel except OnDemand. You can still get PPV if you order over the phone.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:44:22 EDT

anon posted : Here in Madison, WI you can go to the Charter office and pick up he gear. Needed a CC and a SDV adapter. Not a problem. One question. When I had Tivo installed, the tech did not use the pass through on the SDV adapter (moto). He used a splitter, one leg to Tivo, one to SDV. Is there a reason why?

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:13:50 EDT

anon posted : i have a wd tv and i can figure some other stuff out, waiting for the pcie card to come in! i'm not sure when to contact charter for the cable card though.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 10:40:02 EDT

cork1958 posted : Most people never pay attention to the fact you have to have a box on every tv AND pay for each!

Good way to get someone "tricked" into going that route, huh? :o

Considered Charters route or Satellite, but that issue right there turns me off every time. That and the fact I'm not a tv watcher at all!
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Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 10:18:21 EDT

tstolze posted :

said by curious33 :

ok so i'm going to get the cable card thing and try it with a ceton!

i guess i need extenders.

FYI: An Xbox 360 also works as an extender...they are a bit harder to hide and draw more power than the Echo..
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Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 10:15:31 EDT

anon posted : ok so i'm going to get the cable card thing and try it with a ceton!

i guess i need extenders.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 10:09:32 EDT

tstolze posted :

said by curious33 :

and how do you send this to all tv's with one system handling it ?

what's the best way to get rid of all the boxes and use a cable card system, a small PC in each ?

A decent Windows 7 PC with a pci or USB tuner adapter with the cable card and these...
»cetoncorp.com/products/echo/
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Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:43:08 EDT

anon posted : and how do you send this to all tv's with one system handling it ?

what's the best way to get rid of all the boxes and use a cable card system, a small PC in each ?

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:03:45 EDT

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:34:23 EDT

tstolze posted : I just switched to Charter using a Ceton 4 tuner pci card in a Windows 7 system and their Media Center Extender called the Echo. A few channels were lost from my Dish programming that could be recovered for an additional $10/month, all together I am saving $40/month. Very happy and even realized some energy savings as the Echo only draws 5 watts max, while the Dish DVR was 45+ watts. The PC was on 24/7 already.
--
Ofallon, Mo Weather
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Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:30:09 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by curious33 :

i want to do this also but i'm told you can't get all the channels with the cable card?

You can't get PPV or onDemand I know that.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:29:21 EDT

BF69 posted :

said by Anonymiss :

Advertisment
-------------

4 HD/DVRs professionally installed in my house for $20 a month and 720 hours of recording time.

Reality
-------

4 HD/DVRs installed. Monthly cost (not including installation fee) $40. It's $20 for the DVR functions to be turned on (per month) and $5 for each box. The technician said he got them the warehouse that morning.

You do realize that ALL boxes are $5. So if you are going form 4 SD boxes or 4 NON DVR HD boxes you are not paying extra for the DVRs. You are just swapping them out.

Are you sure the ad doesn't say UP TO 720 hours recording time? Also the 720 could be referring to SD not HD. Read the fine print and what it says.

At any rate I'm not sure I'd find 20 hours worth of stuff worth recording every month let alone 720. Probably why I wouldn't waste my time with a DVR in the first place.

Re: [CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:21:54 EDT

anon posted : i want to do this also but i'm told you can't get all the channels with the cable card?

[CATV] Advertisement VS Reality 4 HD/DVR Deal???

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 12:50:58 EDT

anon posted : Advertisment
-------------

4 HD/DVRs professionally installed in my house for $20 a month and 720 hours of recording time.

4/720 = 180 hours per HD/DVR WOW! Thats a great deal and I get my own HD/DVR that is not cluttered with my kids or wifes shows.

Reality
-------

4 HD/DVRs installed. Monthly cost (not including installation fee) $40. It's $20 for the DVR functions to be turned on (per month) and $5 for each box. The technician said he got them the warehouse that morning.

TESTING
--------
.....but how about recording time? To test this I set up to record HSN for a week strait on the 2 "new" HD/DVRs installed (7 days x 24 hours = 168 hours) should be plenty of room and still have 12 hours of space left over at the end of the week. All 4 HD/DVRs are the same model.

1st HD/DVR - Stopped recording after 2 and a half days (58 hours) with the available storage capacity of the drive at %1. WHAT! Possible bad hard drive?

2nd HD/DVR - Stopped recording after 2 days and a few hours (54 hours) with the available storage capacity of the drive at %3.

Now I'm assuming the % left is for overhead of the system or to be able to pause and rewind live shows. With that in mind each HD/DVR as shown above is promised to record about 180 hours of television. I recorded only in regular definition as I ran into the silly "regular def recording" vs "high def recording" trickery they've played in the past.

With 2 HD/DVR the advertised recording time should have been about 360 hours of regular definition shows.

Actual recorded time of the HD/DVRs 112 hours.

That is a 248 hour discrepancy from the advertised recording time.

?!?!?!?!?! *confused look*

MORE RESEARCH
----------------
I started to check out the HD/DVRs that were installed and found that all 4 of my "NEW" HD/DVRs were manufactured in February 2004 all of which have a smaller hard drive than any one of my family's iPod (all HD/DVR were only 60 Gigabyte).

Advertised Price - $20
Reality Price - $40

Advertised Recording Time - 720 hours for 4 HD/DVRs
Reality Recording Time - 224 hours for 4 HD/DVRs

Advertised price per hour of recording = 2.7 cents
Reality price per hour of recording = 17.8 cents

Doing the math reality costs roughly 8 times what is advertised and I didn't even include the professional installation of the nearly 9 year old equipment.

I called up Charter to ask about this and they said "Well, that was all they had in the warehouses right now due to a Holiday shortage" and that after the first of the year they would be happy to come and swap out with 'new' HD/DVRs but we would lose all the recordings because there was no way to transfer them.

PROBLEM RESOLVED
-------------------
Cancelled the HD/DVRs..... Bought a Good PC.... installed 2 cable card expansion slot in the PC... got the card and tuning adaptor.... installed Linux and some freeware and can now record 4 Terabytes of shows (6 hard drives set up in a RAID 6 array for double redundancy) and stream them to any room in my house at any time to multiple rooms at the same time and I can record between 5000 and 10000 hours of programs (depending on if HD or Standard Def).

Thanks for pushing me away from your boxes. I feel free now... especially since the savings on the boxes allowed me to upgrade my internet speed and can stream my shows recorded on my PC to any of my families devices (phones, tablets, laptops) and the picture actually looks better than on my TV.

Suggestion: Stop using 8-9 year old equipment AND stop lying to your customers..... we're getting smarter and the the open source communities are getting better than you at putting everything together all in one box for a consumer.