[matttrick]

I have skimmed over some of the how to's and the faq, and before I really start diving through all of the manual and such, I just wanted to know if a few things were possible using this software. I am sure this has been asked before but there is honestly a ton of information to sift through, and I would just appreciate a few quick answers to see if I should spend the time really educating myself on this.

I currently have cable and am looking to cut some or all ties to it. Is it possible, using this software and sources to:

watch live tv for free? i have seen some mention of sources to add but the reading is a little technical and i couldnt tell if this is doable.

get HD programming? i would not be opposed to setting up an HD antenna for my local stations.

assuming i would be making a htpc box of some sort, could it be used as a DVR?

what about subscription based channels like hbo? any way to watch these without cable/sat/some other alternative?

basically I am trying to find out how much functionality of cable i could retain while using one of these devices. i am trying to drop cable, and possibly my voip phone for a htpc solution and cell phones to really drop my monthly bills.

once again i am sure this has been asked and i apologize for the redundancy, there is just a LOT of information to sift through.

[kelque]

Hi,

XBMC is not a DVR, so no, you can't watch HD programming or any other stuff that a cable service provides.

The exception would be online shows, of course, but those need to be provided as a plugin or something.

Perhaps Boxee would be a better fit for your needs (it's based on XBMC but it's more oriented towards watching online content, and it has lots and lots of channels built in).

HBO? Not a chance.

[matttrick]

im almost positive i can get HD loacal channels with an antenna, are you saying i couldnt feed that into this? and isnt half the idea of using a program like this to watch programs online? and what about the posts i see mentioning watching tv with it and showing pictures of a tv guide like screen?

[althekiller]

PVR functionality is in the works, but XBMC will never fully implement PVR features. We will remain a frontend to the excellent, already available PVR backends such as MythTV, VDR, tvheadend, etc.

[matttrick]

alright, good to know. but that sounds like it is (at least partially) doable in conjunction with other software? with a mix of the right things could i get local HD via antenna and feed it into this? and then supplement with things like rss feeds for whatever shows are on the net?

ive checked hulu and there are only a few shows that i watch that arent on there... but its hard to justify $100/month for a couple of shows.

[zlooo]

Take your $100 a month and buy 5 seasons of shows. Then convert them to AVI via one of the many converters out there... Heck... my brother bought every season of Friends for $9 a season off Amazon. There are great deals to be had.

If you already have a large DVD collection and a little tech know how, XBMC is the perfect option.... and boy... is it beautiful. Your friends will be amazed when they come over and they can pick a show with the click of a button.