The main one for me is expandability. The DVRs you get from your cable provider have whatever space they have - and that’s it. If you want to record more shows than you have room to store - you can’t. You have to start deleting stuff. With the WinTV - you can save as many shows as you’d like - and if you run out of room, just get an external hard drive and keep recording. You can also have and use this device if you already have a DVR - but say your cable-provided DVR only lets you record four shows at once - with a WinTV - you can record up to two more shows. Want to record even more - buy another WinTV, (and probably another computer - I haven’t tested to see if two WinTVs can run on the same computer or not - but I wouldn’t think so unless it was a very very powerful PC.)
Another advantage is exportability. The only way you can watch shows on your Cable-provided DVR is on a TV connected to that DVR (some companies are expanding it to any TV in your home, but you are still limited). Once the shows are on your PC from the WInTV, however, they are files on your computer - they can be exported to a different format and taken anywhere, on your phone, your tablet, your laptop, a DVD, whatever.
Now, for the downside - CableCARDs cannot do PayPerView or Video On Demand - so you won’t be able to watch or record those on your PC through the WinTV. Premium channels like HBO or Showtime work fine (as long as you are subscribed to those channels) - which some cable DVRs won’t even let you record.
Article comments
1 - streamer
Nice overview of what CC tuners do, but I wouldn't call it a review of the device. I would expect a review to have a few pictures of the device and at least a description of the setup process, usage and performance. Perhaps add a brief comparison with similar devices like the 3 tuner HDHomeRun Prime and the 4 tuner Ceton. Would also be good to mention the fact that these work with Media Center Extenders like Xbox and the soon-to-be-released Ceton Echo.
The main reasons I have one are to avoid my cable company's $20/month DVR fee and terrible DVR interface. I'd like to know what planet has DVRs cheap or free as you said in the review - cable boxes may be cheap, but definitely not DVRs.
Anyway, I'm very pleased with mine. It paid for itself in a scant 5 months. It was quite a lot of time and effort to set up, mainly because most CSRs at my cable company have no idea how to activate a cable card for a device like this. Once I found the right person, all was well.
It's also worth noting that in areas that use SDV, you'll need a tuning adapter as well, which is usually free with a cable card. Otherwise you'll be wondering why many of your channels are missing.
2 - Igor
More info is required. Like, how does it compare to HDHomerun and various HDTV USB sticks, can you use it with OTA, does it use proprietary display software, is the aspect ratio and size controllable, is it linux compatible, etc., ?
3 - Chad
I don't have an HDHomerun or other devices to compare it to. It requires Windows 7. It is not Mac or Linux compatible. Do you see where I put "You need a Windows 7 PC" - kinda covers that. Also the fact that is is called a "WinTV" should clue you in a little, I would think. You need a CableCard - Ergo, it is not compatible with over the air. Seriously - I covered this. Just read it.