# Recommend some TV tuner/PVR software **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461 "2010-06-01T04:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/1 "2010-06-01T04:10:31Z")
I have an ATI card, and their software sucks. I tried installing SesamTV Media Center without success. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/2 "2010-06-01T04:57:36Z")
If you want to build your own standalone PVR (like a TiVo), I highly recommend [MythTV](http://www.mythtv.org). It’s very powerful – you can record and distribute TV and videos throughout your house, automatically skip commercials, rip shows directly to your iPod, etc. It is Linux, which some will find daunting, although some of the bundled distributions like [Mythbuntu](http://www.mythbuntu.org) are relatively straightforward to install and set up. If you just want a Windows application to record and watch TV on your regular PC, I’ve heard good things about GB-PVR and SageTV, but have no personal experience with them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/3 "2010-06-01T05:32:45Z")
A few years ago, I used my computer as a DVR. Initially, I used the software that came with the ATI All-In-Wonder card but eventually looked for something better. I settled on [Beyond TV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_TV) from SnapStream Media. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/4 "2010-06-02T17:15:31Z")
Best place to find out things like this is [AVS Forums](http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/) Go their and be prepared to spend a few hours reading up on everything you wanted to know about TVs, DVRs, PVRs, HDTV, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/5 "2010-06-02T18:24:27Z")
I am a recent convert to Ubuntu and relish bashing anything Microsoft. However, I do give them props: Windows 7 Media Center is the cat’s meow. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/6 "2010-06-03T08:18:04Z")
MediaPortal works well and is free (Open Source). > **[MEDIAPORTAL - a HTPC Media Center for free! - MEDIAPORTAL](https://www.team-mediaportal.com/)** > > MediaPortal transforms your PC into a complete media solution. It runs on basic hardware, connects directly to your TV and displays your TV Series, Movies, Photos and Music in a much more dynamic way. All in the comfort of your living room, on your... ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/7 "2010-06-03T23:03:52Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > MediaPortal works well and is free (Open Source). > > [http://www.team-mediaportal.com/](http://www.team-mediaportal.com/) Excellent. I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/8 "2010-06-04T22:30:54Z")
**Imasquare** - do you have this actually installed? Because it is failing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/9 "2010-06-05T12:08:59Z")
I do. What is happening for you? ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/10 "2010-06-05T23:19:59Z")
> [@Nature\_s\_Call](#): > > Windows 7 Media Center is the cat’s meow. Seconded. Each successive release of Media Center has been better than the previous, 7MC is no exception. It has great support for HDTV tuners, a free program guide, painless install and configuration, and a slick and bug-free interface. It, by itself, is worth the upgrade to Windows 7. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/11 "2010-06-06T02:19:45Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > I do. What is happening for you? I’ll uninstall, reinstall and take notes. The most recent bug was a failure to catch any channels off the cable. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-tv-tuner-pvr-software/541461/12 "2010-06-06T11:26:16Z")
Let me know how it goes. I’ll help where I can.