Placeshifting

[Beradon]

So I need some opinions on placeshifting from anyone on this forum that has done it.

One of the big reasons I setup my Ceton and 7MC box was to start DVRing things that I wanted to watch so I could access them elsewhere. I usually watch stuff while I'm at work during slow times, so that's what I'm looking to do.

Unfortunately this has only been partially successful. The reason for this is of course the fact that TWC marks everything except for local channels as Copy Once. So I'd like to DVR everything and watch it all remotely with some form of placeshifting device.

I've seen mention on other forums of people who have connected a slingbox to an XBox 360 so they can watch TV remotely (whether DVR'd stuff or live TV).

I'd like to know if the slingbox is the best option for this. The reason I ask is because Slingboxes seem to be the most expensive option, from the fact that the boxes themselves arent cheap to the fact you have to pay $29 for the app to control them remotely, it just seems like there should be a better choice.

To further clarify, controlling the Xbox as an MC Extender would be what I want to do since the HTPC is the one connected to the TV and is usually being used to watch TV with when I'm not at home, so access to the Xbox extender would be how I'd access my content.

The most popular devices appear to be:
Slingbox Solo
Monsoon Vulkano
Monsoon Hava aka Pinnacle PCTV To Go HD

Any opinions in this area would be greatly appreciated.

[barnabas1969]

Hmmm... interesting... never thought of connecting a Slingbox to an extender. Cool idea. But... you have time to watch TV at work? Can I have your job?

I'm sure you've considered Remote Potato... but that only gets you access to copy-freely content.

[barnabas1969]

Oh, forgot to mention... you could use an HD Fury to output your shows (HDMI -> Component/S-PDIF conversion), and then use an HD-PVR or Colossus card to record it without any copy protection. This would allow you to watch those shows with Remote Potato, move them to a different PC, or re-encode them for watching on a smartphone or other device.

I suppose you could also use an extender (instead of the HD Fury) connected to an HD-PVR or Colossus also.

However, both of the above options would require you to schedule each show to be played on the PC's HDMI output (or via the extender), and then simultaneously recorded by the HD-PVR/Colossus.

By the way, there are ways to schedule shows to play on an extender... I've tested it, and you CAN start a show on an extender from the HTPC via the Task Scheduler.

[Beradon]

I appreciate the suggestion of the HD Fury, I'll look at it, but it seems like its a little too involved (I'd just like to watch what I already recorded without going crazy with it). Especially considering I'll likely just watch the shows once, then delete them, so having the capability to keep the show for an extended period of time in a non-DRM'd format wouldnt be as beneficial as it might be otherwise.

And yep, I looked into remote potato, the only function that will likely have for me is to remotely schedule recordings, although I havent installed it yet.

[barnabas1969]

Well, instead of buying an HD Fury, I think you would save money by just using an extender connected to an HD-PVR or Colossus card. It's still more involved than using a Slingbox... and doesn't really allow you to watch live TV without some other hacks. However, it gets you 720p or 1080i HD content in a non-encrypted format... that you can re-encode to any device you like, or watch with Remote Potato.

Basically, you would need to do some scripting/scheduling to make each new recording get played through the HD Fury or the extender... and get recorded on the HD-PVR/Colossus. Then, you could delete the original recording. The resulting recording would be DRM-free... and you could watch it anywhere you like.

I was considering doing this, and building a "car-puter"... so we could watch the recordings on road trips. I haven't gone there... yet.