[gdlgiii]

I am looking at replacing the 3 DVR's I use with my local cable provider with a central XBMC server to provide live tv, PVR and media library across 3 TV's with remote access with smart phones and tablets.
I currently have a dedicated PC running 24x7 as a Plex pc with 2TB of disk space and a NAS box with 2TB of storage where media is stored and pulled down by the Plex box. The "Plexbox" has an i3-4360 Haswell Refresh CPU with 4GB ram and runs very quiet with the moduler PS and Noctua CPU cooler and case fans. This PC lets me run at least 4 simultaneous 720p streams and 1 1080p stream without any buffering issues so not sure if I need to increase HW to accommodate install of XBMC on Windows 7 64bit.

I want to enhance what I have and replace the DVRs either with Intel NUCs or Chromeboxes.
I know there are multiple options out there and found some nice articles on how to setup XBMC with live TV functions. I am looking at adding a Ceton 6tuner card with PCCARD from cable provider so I can record shows and play them back from any device. Or maybe use a HomeRun 3 channel tuner that sits on network and not have to worry about adding an additional card.

So my question is this: Has anyone successfully implemented something like this where it is stable and runs anytime a need to watch live TV or recorded TV is required?
What type of hardware can be used on each TV to extend XBMC to the local boxes.
The router has 4 gigabit ports and all rooms are wired with gigabit capabilities. The Plex and NAS devices are on a dedicated gigabit switch on one segment upstairs and a 5 port gigabit switch handles the downstairs connections. I am using Sony Google boxes and a Roku to watch content on the Plex along with other services so that is another reason to attempt to consolidate everything to a device connected to each TV in the house.


I look forward to any suggestions given and thank you for taking time to read this post.

[1080pete]

Can you post some of those articles on Kodi with live tv? I haven’t yet grasped how the live tv works on Kodi. Thanks

[naloj]

I used to have a 7 tuner Windows Media Center setup:

- AMD Athlon II X3 455 w/WD Black 1TB
- 1 HDHomeRun Prime for encrypted cable
- 2x HDHomeRuns for unencrypted cable

It was able to record 6 HD channels at once without hiccups (never tried 7). Only ever watched 2 recordings at the same time.

One thing you need to realize is that certain channels are flagged "copy once" and can only be viewed via WMC and WMC extenders so you'll need to decide if that's a limiting factor. On my provider the copy-once channels were channels like HBO/Showtime/Starz.

If you absolutely need HBO, you can use an Android box like the Fire TV and use the HBO GO app. Or a raspberry pi 2 + PlayOn running on a Windows computer. For other channels serverwmc + pvr.wmc would work fine.

If you don't care about the copy once channels you don't even have to use Windows Media Center.

Lots of options...

[nickr]

Can you post some of those articles on Kodi with live tv? I haven’t yet grasped how the live tv works on Kodi. Thanks

PVR (wiki)

[gdlgiii]

We use Charter cable out here in the southeast and they do encrypt all their channels (local and premium) and they grasp the concept of HTPC and Media center so they do support Windows Media Center only if using a cable card. So guess that brings me back to what I posted earlier. Given the fact Charter does encrypt all their channels and flags everything "copy once", will that put a kink in my quest to use Chromeboxes or Intel NUCs as "Media Extenders"? That could mean more $$ in licensing 3 more copies of Windows I suspect?

[nickr]

I think you can only play copy once on windows media player or another licensed 'extender' like xbox 360.


Your other option is the 'analogue hole' - record the output of a stb with an hdpvr or similar.

[naloj]

Given the fact Charter does encrypt all their channels and flags everything "copy once", will that put a kink in my quest to use Chromeboxes or Intel NUCs as "Media Extenders"? That could mean more $$ in licensing 3 more copies of Windows I suspect?

Yeah if everything is marked copy once then your options are severely limited.

I'm pretty sure there's no way to use Windows computers as extenders since Windows Media Player has a different DRM key on each machine and the recordings are tied to the machine they're recorded on unless it's a bona fide WMC extender doing the playback. As far as I know, the only extenders that are still being sold are the Xbox 360 (~9 year old platform) and the Ceton Echo (poor reviews).

I remember one or two people from the HDHomeRun forums saying that they had success harassing the cable company to not flag everything copy once but it's a long shot.

Other option would be do antennas so you'd hopefully at least be able to pull in ABC/CBS/CW/FOX/NBC/PBS. For some people that's like 80-90% of what they watch.

[gdlgiii]

I checked with Charter and standard digital content is copy free but high value content is copy once and pay per view is copy never. So I will need to cal them to clarify what is considered "standard digital" and "high value" content.

[nickr]

Good luck with finding someone to aswer your question, and with Charter not changing their minds at some future time. Take a look at mythtv-users for tales of sudden switches to "copy once" by providers.

[Dark_Slayer]

According to a different charter subscriber on avsforums their digital cable is encrypted and copy free. HBO and premiums are copy once on all providers. Charter is the only provider where I've heard subscribers in one region say they have copy free and another day they have copy once ( for standard package content )

If you are committed to htpc one way or another then you can make use of a windows server either way. With hdhr software you'll be able to check the DRM status of your package. If copy free then you can install serverwmc and use Chromeboxes. If copy once then you'll have to use extenders

If you for sure don't want wmc and extenders then you can test your DRM with an hdhr prime and cablecard with their hdhr software. Then play the return or resell game on the prime tuuner if things don't go your way

[jjo165]

Could someone please reply to the original post. I am a new Kodi user with the same situation and would appreciate
advice. I realize there are threads on Kodi Boxes but most of those don't seem to discuss the devices in the context of an extender. Thanks

I am looking at replacing the 3 DVR's I use with my local cable provider with a central XBMC server to provide live tv, PVR and media library across 3 TV's with remote access with smart phones and tablets.
I currently have a dedicated PC running 24x7 as a Plex pc with 2TB of disk space and a NAS box with 2TB of storage where media is stored and pulled down by the Plex box. The "Plexbox" has an i3-4360 Haswell Refresh CPU with 4GB ram and runs very quiet with the moduler PS and Noctua CPU cooler and case fans. This PC lets me run at least 4 simultaneous 720p streams and 1 1080p stream without any buffering issues so not sure if I need to increase HW to accommodate install of XBMC on Windows 7 64bit.

I want to enhance what I have and replace the DVRs either with Intel NUCs or Chromeboxes.
I know there are multiple options out there and found some nice articles on how to setup XBMC with live TV functions. I am looking at adding a Ceton 6tuner card with PCCARD from cable provider so I can record shows and play them back from any device. Or maybe use a HomeRun 3 channel tuner that sits on network and not have to worry about adding an additional card.

So my question is this: Has anyone successfully implemented something like this where it is stable and runs anytime a need to watch live TV or recorded TV is required?
What type of hardware can be used on each TV to extend XBMC to the local boxes.
The router has 4 gigabit ports and all rooms are wired with gigabit capabilities. The Plex and NAS devices are on a dedicated gigabit switch on one segment upstairs and a 5 port gigabit switch handles the downstairs connections. I am using Sony Google boxes and a Roku to watch content on the Plex along with other services so that is another reason to attempt to consolidate everything to a device connected to each TV in the house.


I look forward to any suggestions given and thank you for taking time to read this post.

[nickr]

kodi does not have the concept of an 'extender'.

Put a kodi in a computer at each TV.

Put a computer running your preferred PVR backend somewhere in your house.

[jjo165]

Nickr,

Thanks for that. Can i substitute something like a G-Box for the "computer" at each of my TVs and then have Kodi run from my main PC? I haven't seen any clear articles on how to network multiple Kodi Boxes to a single backend PVR or Kodi instance. If you can point to an article, i'll dig into that before asking additional questions.

I had a past set up with WMC and Xbox360s. I'm trying to emulate that but i'd like to use Kodi with my HDHRPrime. I'm dealing with the classic "it has to be seamless for my wife" hurdle.

[ozkhan1]

Nickr,

Thanks for that. Can i substitute something like a G-Box for the "computer" at each of my TVs and then have Kodi run from my main PC? I haven't seen any clear articles on how to network multiple Kodi Boxes to a single backend PVR or Kodi instance. If you can point to an article, i'll dig into that before asking additional questions.

I had a past set up with WMC and Xbox360s. I'm trying to emulate that but i'd like to use Kodi with my HDHRPrime. I'm dealing with the classic "it has to be seamless for my wife" hurdle.

I think you are thinking Kodi functions the same way as Plex i.e. Central media server that feeds to clients or apps. Kodi can provide as a media server for your personal media files, but mainly it is used as a client/player on a device. There are Kodi ports available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, etc. So you can choose from a wide variety. The more popular ones are Kodi linux flavor OpenElec (installed on a NUC kit or Chrombox) or KodiBuntu.

So in my opinion, you dont really need Kodi installed and running on your central PC or server (unless you have MYSQL database installed for managing your library or whatever) You can simply get a device that supports Kodi, install Kodi on it, connect it to your TV and your are up and running. All the add-ons, channels, etc are installed on that device where you have Kodi installed. Your media files can be read from any PC with a shared hard drive or a dedicated NAS or Server. Kodi can do NFS/SMB, etc

You can also go with Android, which is probably cheapest for its value, and G-Box you mentioned falls under that category. I would, however, recommend Amazon FireTV.

For PVR information, go here: http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR

Hopefully it will provide you with enough information.

[naloj]

Nickr,

Thanks for that. Can i substitute something like a G-Box for the "computer" at each of my TVs and then have Kodi run from my main PC? I haven't seen any clear articles on how to network multiple Kodi Boxes to a single backend PVR or Kodi instance. If you can point to an article, i'll dig into that before asking additional questions.

I had a past set up with WMC and Xbox360s. I'm trying to emulate that but i'd like to use Kodi with my HDHRPrime. I'm dealing with the classic "it has to be seamless for my wife" hurdle.

If you're comfortable with WMC, set it up again. Once it's working, install/setup ServerWMC.

Buy some sort of Kodi device for each TV and install the PVR.WMC add-on and configure it to talk to the machine running ServerWMC.