Tivo Vs Myth TV Comparison

Driven by the strong motivational power to outwit the existing DVRs in the market and a right blend of determination appear as what is now known as Myth TV. The writer of Linux based program describes the fortitude for this endeavor as “before building my own PVR, I thought about purchasing a TiVo, but it didn’t have all the features I wanted. I wanted an all-in one solution that could store my music and photos. Solution that could grow with me as time progressed” Cecil Watson further continued,” I think it’s about freedom” we can imagine the final product of his resilience and his motivation dictated the DVRs industry to follow his dreams rather than going on their own way.

Setup Details

Hardware Specifications

It’s a famous adage, more spices you add and more delicious is the serving; bearing in mind the abovementioned dictum hardware requirements for the Linux based open source Myth TV application requires a high speed microprocessor favorably an AMD Athelon XP 1800+ or 800MHz to 1500 MHz processor. Among other requirements you need video capture cards, video card, sound card, TV tuner card and at least 256 MB RAM and sufficient hard disk space.

Software Specifications

After the installation of Linux operating system, the software specifications for the smooth functioning of Myth TV are

• MySql: to keep database of Myth TV.
• XmlTV: to use EPG (electronic Program Guide)
• LiRc: to use remote control
• HDTV (ATSC): in case you have HDTV setup
• Freetype: for font display

And now your system is ready for Myth TV software from CD using knoppmyth or minimyth setup. TiVo is a Linux based personal video recorder (PVR), connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and high-capacity IDE/ATA hard drives and all you require is a telephone line and input signal. Now connect them together and your TiVo DVR is ready for action.

Multiple TV Tuners

Myth TV supports multiple TV tuners and gives you the freedom to record as many shows as many you desire with only limitations of your TV tuner cards but incase of TiVo box your choice of program recording is limited, you can only record a single show while watching another show by using your series 1 and 2 TiVo box but if you are thinking about DirecTiVo then you can record two shows simultaneously and same holds true for series 3 TiVo unit.

Video Conferencing

Chances of video conferencing are pretty slim if you are counting on your TiVo box but you can think of video conferencing while using Myth TV as there are efforts to include software modules which are internet controlled.

HDTV support:

You can use high definition TV (HDTV) with your Myth TV and it’s a major break through in the PVR history but don’t be cynic about the features of TiVo because new series 3 TiVo units support HDTV signals.

Monthly Subscription Charges

Another reason why people prefer Myth TV because of its subscription free offers but if you are considering TiVo then there are flexible subscription plans available to suit your entertainment budget either choose a life time subscription model or monthly package with negligible initial setup charges.

DVD Burning

You can burn you show on DVD by using Myth TV or TiVo plus you can enjoy the benefits of home media options by subscribing TiVo services.

Photos and Music

Myth TV allows you to keep a track of your photos and music and while same holds true for your TiVo series 2 units, listen your music collection and display a slide show of your snaps to your friends in the TV lounge.

Weather Updates

Myth TV updates you about the metrological changes by its smart feature of Myth Weather but incase of TiVo you can trust your news channels to update you about weather.

Conclusion

Apart from the usual features of DVRs, Myth TV with its cutting edge features is simply a challenge for TiVo’s market and also TiVo is offering its user with the same type of functionality. There is no obvious winner in this comparison but the initial cost of setup and using a personal computer as a DVR is a major hurdle in Myth TV popularity and taking into consideration people lack the expertise to use and configure Linux.