Twelve years later - I'm coming home.

[daphatty]

Greetings everyone! After 12 long years, it is finally time to re-introduce the HTPC to my home. Much has changed since the last time I used a PVR app (then known as GBPVR) but sadly, OTA broadcasts in the US aren't among them. They are literally the exact f'ing same as they were in 2007! And while we now have more options for media consumption, local channels seem to have been left behind as a commodity for which we in the US are mostly expected to pay. Thankfully, I purchased a home that is ~12 miles from the nearest ATSC transmission point which means I am able to receive strong antenna broadcasts of all four major networks and PBS. 

With PlayStation Vue kicking us to the curb in January, I've been forced to seek out broadcast Television alternatives. As you'd expect, this also includes the ability to record and playback TV whenever it suits our schedule. To say I was excited at the opportunity of building an HTPC is an understatement, and frankly, I can't think of another product that I would rather have than GBPVR, or NPVR as it is now known.

With that being said, I have a few questions. I've been out of this arena for quite some time and am admittedly way behind in my HTPC knowledge. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

• I plan to use an HDHomeRun Quatro to capture, stream, and record OTA broadcasts. If there are better alternatives, please let me know.
  
• It appears that Schedules Direct is the best source for Channel Guide information in the US. Am I correct or are there any other options?
  
• NPVR v4 seems to be the current "stable" version whereas v5 is the new hotness. I'm open to v5 as long as the WAF can remain high. Thoughts?
  
• Now that we have other options for base OS, should I stick to Windows or is Linux, for example, a better option to build upon? 
  
• Can NPVR be virtualized? I have an entire ESXi ecosystem at my disposal and would rather use it for the obvious flexibility.
  
• Speaking of flexibility, can NAS storage be utilized for recordings or is local storage still the best? (A NAS hadn't even been invented the last time I used GBPVR/NPVR.) 
  

[mvallevand]

I would focus on v5 for that setup and use whatever os platform is convenient. It should virtualize fine but Windows would be overkill.

Schedules Direct is worth every penny.

The big question in 2019 is what viewing clients you want. I agree with Plex that the htpc is dead but then I havent used a PC in the living room since MythTV days before I started with GBPVR.

Martin

[daphatty]

Good question. We are primarily an Apple TV family. We currently use Infuse Pro to watch our local content and I was considering the Channels app for live TV. NPVR would primarily be used as a backend service for recording OTA shows for my wife and son. I’m also intrigued with NextEnd, although it remains to be seen whether the sports teams I follow will actually be shown on OTA channels. Recordings would likely be piped into MP4 Automator to ensure Apple TV compatibility and Comskip for commercial removal.