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[PNnew]

I have been using JR-20 for steaming my wav music library via a home network to my Pioneer Elite AVR using a 3TB NAS HD and a dedicated old laptop (all ethernet connected).  I have been very happy with this arrangement and especially love the ability to use my IPad to control the music remotely via WIFI while I'm outside listenting to remote speakers.  

I have yet to explore the video capabilities of JR.  Now I have decided to become a cable cutter, and I am happy with only OTA digital TV via antennae, + Roku, but I can't pause, rewind or record live TV...which I miss.  

My old laptop is not robust enough to function as an HTPC.  My goal is to be able to time shift live TV and record, but I don't have a desire to create massive video libraries (since I have streaming Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and a DVD and BR collection, etc.).  

So to be able to pause, rewind and record live OTA TV, I am looking at several options.  

Option 1:  Buy a DVR, and I have boiled it down to the Channelmaster DVR+ at a cost of $250 (no monthly fee's and a program guide...great).  

Option 2: Move to an HTPC using JR which requires a new upgraded dedicated computer and a USB tuner (additional $75 for a Hauppauge 955Q).  

Note that I am not interested in paying $1,000 for a commercial build HTPC, and a I am likely not savvy enough to design and build my own HTPC.  So 2A would be to upgrade the existing PC via a newer laptop: this week only I can buy at Best Buy an open box special Dell Inspiron 15.6 touch screen laptop running a 1.9 GHz Intel core I3 with 4MB RAM with an HDMI output and Windows 8.1- 64 bit for $312.  Option 2B would be a purchase from NewEgg of a used Lenovo re-certified off-lease desktop running Intel Core 2 duo 2.66 GHz processor with 4 MB RAM and a DVI video output running win 7-32 bit for $130.  

The decision is hard for me in that I have never seen a JR HTPC in action.  So I am wondering how the TV usability is.  How well does it time shift live TV?  How well does the EPG work?  How well does the recording work?  

And why would I want to move to the HTPC venue versus the slightly less expensive Channelmaster DVR+?  The ChannelMaster DVR + sounds simple and will apparently meet my needs (as far as I understand them at this point).  

That said, being ignorant about HTPC, I am afraid that I may be missing the boat if I don't go the HTPC route.  I also would like to be able to look at my digital pictures stored on the NAS on my networked big screen TV....which the ChannelMaster can't do (but I can always get around this using an external USB drive plugged into my Smart TV).  

If the HTPC route is best, is the aforementioned laptop or the desktop computer the option better?  I would greatly appreciate any advice.

[RoderickGI]

Difficult choice.

MC does a pretty good job at TV these days. Not perfect yet, but a TV Champion (Glynor) was recently appointed to push it to the next level, and Yaobing is doing a great job in fixing certain issues and adding functionality. The Time Shifting is brilliant, and the recording features good. But recording features all depend on the quality of the EPG you can get into MC, and that depends on where you are located to a great extent, and whether EPG data is available free for your location. I suspect you are in North America though, and so the built in EPG capability should work for you.

That said, if you aren't very technically savvy and you want a simple solution, AND the EPG that comes with the Channelmaster DVR+ is reliable, accurate, provides all the data you need, and will exist in the future, AND the recording rules for series etc. work well, then the Channelmaster DVR+ may be the best solution.

You really need to check out those capabilities of the Channelmaster DVR+ though, and makes sure they are real and work as advertised, in your area. See http://www.cnet.com/products/channel-master-dvr-plus/

BTW, that $249 price does not include a hard drive, and only has 16GB memory required to Time Shift, pause, rewind, and record TV. It costs $399 with an internal 1TB hard drive, or buy your external own. If you need wireless network, although it sounds like you don't, that will be extra. In fact that CNET review mentions a lot of extras. If the cost gets close to a new PC, MC offers a lot more functionality.

Also, lots of TVs provide basic Time Shift, pause, rewind, and record TV functionality, along with a built in EPG. All you need to do is add a hard drive, which you have to do anyway.

[astromo]

Life's about compromise or if you believe Bill Gates, it's just not fair. I prefer the former and I think the philosophical goal is to achieve the optimal compromise.

There's no absolute right answer.

I love the flexibility of the package that the JRiver crew have put together. Sure there's plenty of capability I still don't have a handle on but with a bit of applied effort, it hits the spot for me in more than one area.

If you only want 1 thing, then other options may win out (if it's audio then the others are also rans). If you want broader capability, then MC has a lot to offer.

You've got to work out what your needs are and what are the must haves for you.

[rudyrednose]

I will second the two previous poster's answers.

A computer with JRiver will be more expensive than a dedicated PVR, but way more flexible.  If you combine this with a Media Center remote or a Logitech Harmony, you will have a satisfying TV experience similar to a cable box PVR.

If you are in US or Canada, JRTV now is a very good solution.  The website zap2it.com combined with the zap2xml.exe free tool gives me a good automatic EPG, I do not have to do anything once properly configured, and I have a special case of receiving both US and canadian stations.

If you have a home network, I suggest to use one or more SiliconDust HDHomerun networked dual OTA tuners.  This will allow you to get TV on all your computers and to some extent tablets. The lower end HDHR4 is DLNA compliant and the higher priced HDTC is tablet compatible.  Again, I have just ATSC experience, so YMMV if you are not in north America.  If your network is only WiFi, you may need to have the latest 802.11ac as lower speed and radio wave congestion may bring issues for high def.

Keep in mind that in order to have preprogrammed recordings, your computer needs to be always on or have to be set up to wake on schedule.  I have an always on computer that I use as JRiver server and NAS, and I have a JRiver client computer on each TV.  My network is wired though...

[PNnew]

Thank all 3 responders.  I am still learning, and so greatly appreciate your helping me muddle through all this rapidly changing technology.  Roderick's response about new smart TV's being able to time shift and record was a revelation to me.  I have a 2 year old 50" Panasonic Viera Plasma smart TV and quickly found out that it cannot do this (FYI, according to the Panasonic suport line none of their TVs can do this).  Some additional internet research shows that Samsung's SmartHub platform will do this, and you can get a Samsung TV with dual tuners so that you can watch one channel while recoding another, and the SmartHub also inculdes an EPG (the only requirement for time shift and record functions is an external HD connected directly to the TV via USB).  Given that I am about to upgrade to a 65" or 70" TV anyway, it seems that this could be a good solution for my cable cutting/time shift problem (in which case I would probably also upgrade the TV to 4K with the same new TV purchase).  So, going this new TV route I save $$$ on the DVR or HTPC purchase (which will offset the new TV investment) while I continue using JR on my old laptop for streaming high quality music through my networked AVR, and I use the smart TV+USB external drive to time shift and record live OTA HDTV.  Again, I don't value building a massive digital movie library on my NAS (seems unnecessary to me to use JR for this as I can stream most movies via internet with the smart TV, and I can also view any video stored on the NAS using the TV's DLNA instead of JR....same for jpg, mpg or avi files).  So, does anyone have any insights into using Samung SmartHub (or other current smart TV platforms) as a means to time shift and record OTA TV?