Hi there!
A couple of years ago I installed openelec on one of my old win xp pc, and man, was I impressed. I have been using my HTPC ever since.
Recently I decided to switch ISP and upgrade my home network.(including my HTPC) However, by doing so I lost my cable TV contract. I did some research and came to the conclusion that satellite (I live in Austria, Europe) would be the best option.
Now I can see four different ways to set up my new multimedia solution.
Option 1:
Buy generic sat receiver and htpc, put them in the cellar and connect both to my TV separately using HDMI wires. Definitely the easiest solution. But boring :/
Pros:
easy to setup
Cons:
most likely more expansive than option 3
need two remotes
hard to record to nas
Option 2:
Get a sat>ip receiver (with at least two sat inputs in order to record while I am watching) that always runs in the background and a generic kodi box that can be connected to it using a plugin.
Did some googeling, a vu+ duo might fit the bill. However, it kind of is overkill. (Has its own playback functions and addons…)
Pros:
I can watch tv from any device in my network
One device(htpc) to rule them all!
Pros:
I need two devices
Most likely more expansive than option 3
I don’t know if it’s possible to record to my nas directly from the receiver so that I can turn off my kodi after I started recording. (And what receiver+plugin would I need to do this?)
Option 3:
Get a htpc that has two or more built in S2 Tv tuners and if possible also an ir port. Something like the Wetek Play. However, I heared that the Wetek Play (1&2) has problems displaying large libraries (100+) and sometimes also has screen tearing.
So far this is the most promising option. Would love to hear about alternatives to the Wetek play. (budget is 250-300€, size doesn’t really matter)
Pros:
I can watch tv from any device in my network
One device to really rule them all!
Cons
I need CI. Not sure if the usb CI mounts really work.
HTPC would have to run 24/7 in order for me to watch tv from different devices
Option 4:
Build a linux server, install ubuntu, Tvheadend and kodi on it. However, I am a bit afraid that this could blow up my budget (250-300€). I need a case, mobo+processor, a graka that can handle 4k videos, 4gigs of ram and a dvb-s2 pcie card with CI support.
Pros:
Can run a few other servers on it too.
Might fit in my 19 inch server rack if I find a cheap server case.
Cons:
Never really tried to build anything else than a gaming or rendering pc. Do I need to cool it? Do we have a list of different builds somewhere online?
Would be great if you guys could give me some feedback on this. Currently I tend to option 3 but so far I haven’t really found a fitting kodi box. And has anyone experience with something similar to option 2? As far as I know most devices run enigma 2, but I don’t know how well I can connect this to xbmc and wether or not I can turn off my xbmc after I told the receiver to record something.