[SikeMo]

Hello Folks,

I have been using XBMC in conjunction with WMC7 and an HDHomeRun Prime as my HTPC/PVR solution for about eight months now. I use the back-end of WMC for recording TV and then convert the files to TS so I can watch the shows on XBMC. I am getting a little bit tired of this setup and would like to move away from WMC altogether. I am hoping that XBMCBuntu will be the solution to this problem. I would like to dual boot a Linux-based version of XBMC with Windows 7, which I still use for gaming and recording music.

What is the current state of PVR builds and where can I find them? Can I just simply install Myth TV within an XBMCBuntu build? Should I try one of the Pulse-Eight packages? There seem to be several options, but I have no idea where to begin. For what it's worth, I am running an i5-2500K and a Radeon 6770 video card. Ideally, I would like the computer to function as an appliance, with live TV and PVR, that would boot in a few seconds and sleep when idle. Maybe it's still a pipe dream at this point?

As usual, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[mystefix]

I'm using this xvba-pvr version Howto Install XBMC PVR Xvba for AMD/ATI Radeon and Fusion GPUs with tvheadend as backend for live-tv/recording, since some months and it is running quiet well.

[digitalb0y]

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I ultimately wound up scrapping plans for a true PVR solution after installing SickBeard. It lets me download basically anything episodic and from a UI standpoint, between what it grabs from TVdb and what XBMC adds with the extra fanart plugin, I find I am not missing anything by going without a tuner. Live sports are about the only thing I don't get this way. I run SickBeard, CouchPotato, and SABnzbd+ on my NAS (Ubuntu Server) and XBMC is the front end on my HTPC, and what I end up with is a great UI for browsing an automatically updating library of TV shows, on a box that sleeps gracefully, and a nice solution with great web interfaces and mobile apps for managing and adding to the library. So far I don't see any need for anything like Myth or TVHeadEnd. Sorry if it's not a real answer to your original question, it's just what works best for me.

[FernetMenta]

I use XBMC as my primary solution for watching tv and would consider the main use cases as stable. A HTPC equipped with a SSD for boot partition has a startup time less than 15 sec. Personally I see no need fo hybernate or suspend. I have a little script which detects remote control activity and shuts the system down after a while of inactivity.

The pulse-eight packages are a good point to get started. Personally I use vdr as backend but tvheadend is much easier to configure when doing this for the first time. I have no experience with the other backends. Check out the PVR section of this forum.

[KeithLM]

I use a HD Homerun Prime with XBMC using libcmyth. I tried tvheadend but got absolutely nowhere with it and the HD Homerun. I asked for some help on the tvheadend forum and that was a dead-end. MythTV came together pretty quickly for me, all things considered. I haven't fully deployed this solution in my house yet, I've just been experimenting with it so far on a secondary system. Soon version 0.25 of Myth will be released, and I'm kind of waiting for that to settle before switching my main system over.

I use a nvidia card though, so keep that in mind. If you can get it working with ATI then Myth will work fine for you.

[FernetMenta]

For ATI follow mystefix' recommendation. Those are PVR packages which include my work for XvBA. Still experimental, though you can come back and blame me if it doesn't work

[SikeMo]

Wow. Thanks a lot guys. Sounds like I have a good place to start. I'll probably try xvba first then. Is there an XBMCBuntu version of this available yet that I can install in parallel with Windows? Just ordered the Pulse-Eight remote, so hopefully this will all come together soon. I have SickBeard running on my QNAP server for the *cough* premium content. Works a charm, but I still want to use my HD Homerun for live TV and plan on eventually having multiple XBMC boxes and TVs in my house.

[joethefox]

I have a little script which detects remote control activity and shuts the system down after a while of inactivity

This is a nice idea that could very well become a feature of xbmc

My new TV has this function.