Comparison of PVR software packages
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The following is a comparison guide for popular DVR (digital video recorder, sometimes PVR, personal video recorder) software packages.
[edit] General information
Basic general information for popular DVR (PVR) software packages.
| Name | Official Website | Windows | Macintosh | Linux | Price | Latest stable release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond TV | Beyond TV | Yes | No | No | $99.99 software & remote. | 4.9.0 | Not compatible with DVB tuners See also: List of digital television deployments by country |
| CTpvr | CTPVR | Yes | No | No | $29.95 - Media Center; $14.95 - Client | ? | UPDATE Mar-08: CTpvr has sold its products and TV Listings service to an (as yet) unknown company. Currently not available. |
| EyeTV | Elgato | No | Yes | No | Bundled / €79.99 | 3.1 | Free with all Elgato USB tuners, but available separately for use with other tuners. |
| Freevo | Freevo | Limited | Yes | Yes | Free | 1.9.0 | Open source |
| GB-PVR | GB-PVR | Yes | No | No | Free | 1.4.7 (August 29, 2009) | Includes Integrated EPG, media server; PC client (local or networked), MediaMVP clients, web-scheduling. |
| Got All Media | Got All Media | Yes | No | No | Free | 7.0.0.4 (March 22, 2009) | TV , Video, Audio stream player, Remote control support, Weather |
| CenterStage | CenterStage | No | Yes | No | Free | ? | Development ceased December 2008 |
| MediaPortal | MediaPortal | Yes | No | No | Free | 1.0.2 (April 20, 2009) | Open source (built on the .NET 2.0 Framework) |
| Meedio TV/Yahoo Go! TV | Meedio TV/Yahoo Go! TV | Yes | No | No | Discontinued/Free | 2006 | Only available in the U.S.A. |
| MeediOS | MeediOS | Yes | No | No | Free | ? | Open source (built on the .NET Framework) |
| MediaPhoenix/ShowShifter | MediaPhoenix | Yes | No | No | MediaPhoenix - Unreleased ShowShifter - Discontinued (Was £30) | ? | Supports some older TechnoTrend/Hauppauge boxes which are not BDA compliant, such as the Dec 2000-t/3000-s and first generation Nova-t USB boxes, which are unsupported by other PVR software. |
| MythTV | MythTV | Limited[1] | Yes | Yes | Free | 0.22 (November 6, 2009) | Open source |
| Plex | Plex | No | Yes | No | Free | 0.7.14 | Open Source. Code fork of XBMC. |
| SageTV | SageTV | Yes[2] | Yes | Yes | $79.95 software; $29.95 client; $29.95 per mediaMVP client; | 6.5 | Java based. |
| SesamTV | SesamTV | Yes | No | No | Free | ? | ? |
| TotalMedia 3.5 | ArcSoft | Yes | No | No | $79.99 software. | 3.5.40.242 | For time-shifting and MPEG-2 capturing, a Pentium IV 2.0 GHz processor (or higher) or equivalent is required. To support high-definition TV, recommend enabling DX-VA (video card hardware acceleration). Minimum requirement for display adapters: ATI Radeon 7200 or better, nVidia Geforce MX 440 or better, Intel 82865 or better. |
| TVedia | TVedia | Yes | No | No | $34.95 | ? | ? |
| Windows Media Center | Windows Media Center | Yes | No | No | $110-$319 (OS Price) | 6.0.6000.16484 (November 8, 2006) | Included in Windows XP MCE 2005 and Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions, Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. |
| XBMC Media Center | xbmc.org | Yes | Yes | Yes | Free | 9.11 (Camelot)
(24 December 2009) |
Open source. A cross-platform media center front-end, currently no built-in TV-recording functionality of its own, but offers this via third-party plugins. |
^ Porting MythTV to Windows is under development.[3]
^ There is also a Windows Home Server Edition
[edit] PVR features
Information about what common and prominent PVR features are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons).
| PVR | Subscription Free Electronic Program Guide | Power Management | Multiple TV Tuner Cards Support | CableCARD Support | ATSC Tuner Support | Automated Commercial Skip | Teletext | Schedule Timed Recordings | Personalized Intelligent Recording and Scheduling [4] | DRM Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond TV | Yes | Yes[6] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| CTpvr | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| EyeTV | No[12] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | External add-on | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Freevo | Yes | Unknown | Yes | No | Yes | External add-on | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | No |
| GB-PVR | Yes | Unknown | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| Got All Media | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| CenterStage | No | Unknown | No | No | Unknown | No | Unknown | No | Unknown | No |
| MediaPortal | Yes[5][9] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Using Plugin[10] | Yes | Yes | Yes[9] | Partial support |
| Meedio TV/Yahoo Go! TV | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MeediOS | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MediaPhoenix/ShowShifter | Yes[5] | Unknown | Yes | No | Unknown | No | No | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| MythTV | No[5][7] | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | External add-on[3] | No |
| SageTV | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Using Plugin[9] | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| SesamTV | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| TotalMedia 3.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| TVedia | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | No | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Windows Media Center | Yes | Yes | Yes[10] | Yes[4] | Yes | External add-on[2] | Yes | Yes | No[11] | Yes Even honors the do not record flag which was disallowed by the courts. |
| XBMC Media Center | No | Yes | Yes[13] | No | Yes[13] | Yes | No | No | No | No |
1.^ The Personalized Intelligent Recording and Scheduling feature, similar to TiVo enables the PVR application to record programs based on past viewing habits and interests.
2.^ Windows Media Center has the ability to skip commercials automatically after installing an external plug-in called "DVRMSToolbox" (which is not supported by Microsoft) or "Lifextender" .
3.^ MythTV has the ability to perform Personalized Intelligent Recording and Scheduling after installing an external plug-in called "tvwish" (which is not supported by MythTV).
4.^ Windows Media Center supports CableCard when used on CableLabs certified OEM Hardware. [5]
5.^ Supports over-the-air epg when using cards/boxes which support this functionality, and in areas where such a service is available.
6.^ To take advantage of operating system power management with Beyond TV, the main user interface must be closed.
7.^ MythTV has switched from the now defunct Zap2It to the $20 per year Schedules Direct.[1]
8.^ EPG is supported via WebEpg
9.^ Is Supported by 3rd party plugins. ComSkip[6] and ShowAnalyzer [7]
10.^ Windows Media Center supports two NTSC (Analog) tuners and two ATSC (Digital) tuners out of the box. Using additional tuners requires registry modifications. Windows 7 Media Center supports up to 4 tuners of each type out of the box, DVB-T, DVB-S, NTSC/PAL.
11.^ Vista Media Center can do partial intelligent recordings. You can do recordings based on key words, actor(s) names, or other genres.
12.^ Elgato's contract with TitanTV will expire in 2010. When it expires TV Guide will become the sole EPG provider for EyeTV. One year of TV Guide EPG service costs $19.95.[2][3]
13.^ XBMC Media Center supports the SiliconDust HDHomerun with the MyTV Plugin.
[edit] Video format support
Information about what video codecs are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons) in the PVRs.
| DVR | MPEG-1 | MPEG-2 | MPEG-4 ASP (MPEG-4 Part 2), i.e. DivX, XviD | H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (MPEG-4 Part 10) | WMV | AVI | ASF | QuickTime | MP4 | Real Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond TV | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| CTpvr | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| EyeTV | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
| Freevo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GB-PVR | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown |
| Got All Media | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Mac Media Center | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MediaPortal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No1 | Yes | No1 |
| Meedio TV/Yahoo Go! TV | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | No1 | Unknown | Unknown |
| MeediOS | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MediaPhoenix/ShowShifter | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MythTV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SageTV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| SesamTV | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Yes |
| TotalMedia 3.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TVedia | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Windows Media Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes1 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes1 2 | Yes1 2 | No1 |
| XBMC Media Center | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 |
1 Possible with third-party software.
2 Windows 7 OS only
3 Implemented with FFmpeg (no add-on needed)
Information about what video codecs are implemented natively (without third-party add-ons) in the PVRs.
[edit] Network Support
Each features is in context of computer-to-computer interaction. All features must be available after the default install otherwise the feature needs a footnote.
| DVR | Tuner Sharing | Hard Disk Pooling | Shared Media Database | Home Automation | Media Extenders | Placeshifting | Two-way Remote Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond TV | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| CTpvr | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| EyeTV | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown |
| Freevo | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Unknown | Yes | Unknown |
| GB-PVR | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Got All Media | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Mac Media Center | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MediaPortal | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No4 |
| Meedio TV/Yahoo Go! TV | Unknown | No | Yes1 | Unknown | No | No | No |
| MeediOS | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MediaPhoenix/ShowShifter | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| MythTV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes4 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SageTV | Yes | No6 | Unknown | Unknown | Yes | Yes | Unknown |
| SesamTV | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| TotalMedia 3.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| TVedia | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Windows Media Center | No | No | No | No2 | Yes | No5 | No2 |
| XBMC Media Center | No4 | No4 | No4 | No4 | Yes | No4 | No4 |
1 Yes with registry change.
2 Yes with retail third-party plugin
3 Yes with free supported third-party plugin
4 Yes with free unsupported third-party plugin
5 Yes with free third-party software Web Guide 4
6 Yes with Windows Home Server Edition
[edit] TV Tuner Hardware
DVRs require a TV Tuner in order to work. Many DVRs, as seen above, can handle multiple tuners.
