November 2008 Archives

Since it seems that the DirecTV HDPC-20 tuner for Windows Media Center might actually appear in Windows 7 I want to compare a whole house solution between it and the potential of a DirecTV DVR based Multi-Room Viewing alternative.  Neither of these solutions exist today so this is partially a guess, however in some ways an educated guess based on currently available info.  To make the comparison equal I will try to outfit the systems as similar as possible.  Each setup will have the ability to power 4 different TV’s at once as well as record 4 different channels at once and I will guess it is not a new customer however that won’t always be the case.  I am also going to assume the house doesn’t have in place Ethernet wiring and will require 802.11n install to support multiple HD streams simultaneously.  For A/V cabling it should be the same in both cases so I won’t talk about that.  The pricing is also highly variable base upon what pieces someone might already have.

Win7 w/MC + HDPC-20:
Computer/Server with Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate, one HDPC-20 + Dual OTA or Two HDPC-20, 1 TB HD, 2 GB RAM, Video and Audio on board - $1000
3 Media Center Extenders – Either Xbox 360 Arcade or Linksys/D-Link/HP Extender - $100-200 a piece or $300-600
Wireless – 802.11n router at least and potentially wireless adapters for 360’s - $100-400
Total - $1400-2000 initial cost

DirecTV DVR MRV:
2 x HR2X – Includes 500 GB HD per and two tuners - $170 each or $340
2 x H2X – Can view content from the HR2X boxes - $100 each or $200
Wireless – 802.11n router and wireless adapters for 3-4 boxes - $200-300
Total - $740-840

Win7 w/MC + HDPC-20 Pros:
Single recording list and prioritizer
Ability to schedule from any TV
Extender can potentially be multi-function (DVD / Xbox)
Can get TV with Extender built in as option
Arguably better interface
Lower monthly cost due to no mirroring/leasing fees
Essentially infinite storage capacity upgrade possibilities
Potential to move content to other (portable) devices

Win7 w/MC + HDPC-20 Cons:
Double initial cost
Potentially higher complexity initial setup
Performance (non-360) or reliability (360) of extenders
More complex devices

DirecTV DVR MRV Pros:
Much lower initial cost
Independently functioning rooms if necessary
Potentially ability to watch more live programs simultaneously
Less complexity of devices

DirecTV DVR MRV Cons:
Higher monthly cost due to mirroring/leasing fees
May not be able to schedule new recordings from H2X (unknown functionality)
Two separate recording lists and prioritizers
Potential for double recordings (wasted space)
Single function devices

I am sure I have missed some things in my list, any thoughts?

While playing Dead Space in the last week of October my 360 started freezing several times.  Each time I was able to power off and back on and it would work for another hour or so.  Then on Oct 29th it finally had the Three Red Rings, also know as Red Rings of Death.  I didn’t do anything about it right away but I went online to http://support.xbox.com/ to at least see my options.  I also registered my 360 since I hadn’t previously done that.  It said my 360 was outside of the standard 1 year warranty.  I tried to start the repair process online but due to an upgrade to the site it appeared that service was offline.  I didn’t want to call since I knew it would be a painful waste of time.  I kept checking the site to see when it was available again.  Finally, on November 4th the online repair service was back online.  I went through and entered the repair request, the site was still a bit quirky but it only took about 10 minutes for the entire process, much less I am sure than it would have taken on the phone to even begin the process.

Here is the timeline of the repair process, I will keep updating as it progresses:

Oct 29 – Three Red Lights
Nov 4 6 PM– Entered request for repair on http://support.xbox.com/
Nov 5 12 AM – Got tracking number for return box
Nov 7 3 PM – Return box arrived at house
Nov 10 10 AM – Box picked up by UPS
Nov 13 11 AM – Box delivered to Microsoft repair facility in Mesquite, TX
Nov 14 6 AM – Microsoft acknowledges receipt of my 360
Nov 15 11 AM – Microsoft says 360 is repaired
Nov 17 4 PM – Box leaves Microsoft to return to me
Nov 20 7 PM – I picked up package from UPS

Almost exactly 16 days for the turnaround, which isn’t great but isn't too bad either.  Most of the time was waiting for shipping back and forth.

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