>If you can make a cheaper/better dvr
>than Tivo then please share the formula with
>the rest of FT.
Well, I don't know about cheaper, but I'm sure if you build one you can make one that's *better*. I've never used a Tivo, but as I understand it, it only does one thing, but does it very well.
The problem is I want to do multiple things. A media centre does all the Tivo stuff, PLUS allows you to burn your programs to DVDs, provides a place to play and index your MP3s, plays & rips DVDs & CDs, allows you to surf the web from your couch, provides you a means to rip and edit vido from your camcorder, provides a videogaming platform and basically provides an expandable media server for your home.
You could certainly get boxen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxen> to do all this, but there's a lot to be said for one box sitting on top of your surround-sound amp that does it all.
As for Canada, I've heard conflicting reports as to how up-to-date the Tivo scheduling software is, and as I understand it you can't program the Tivo manually. There's also debate about pop-up ads, content flagging and possible software upgrades that will prevent skipping through commercials.
In theory you can avoid all that if you build your own.
>Oh, yeah and just in case they try to close
>down your thread for not being travel related
LOL - Actually, the main reason I'd build one is to record the shows I miss when I travel
Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada