Tivo HD as a SageTV network encoder

[inseattle]

With refurbished Tivo HD boxes available for under $200 now (it's available today at one of the online stores), I'm thinking of getting one and hacking it to act as a SageTV network encoder. I'm not sure if I'll be able to use it for LiveTV but I'm pretty sure it should work for recordings.

Assuming it works, the main advantage I see is cost. Once I add a $2/month multistream cable card, I should be able to record two channels at once. Because I dont need their program guide, I wont need to pay the monthly subscription fee. This is even more economical that the component capture approach because with that approach, I would need to rent a cable box from my provider for $15/month. And that would still only give me the ability to record one show at a time.

I'm curious to hear what others think of this approach. If nothing else, I figure it will be a good exercise in Linux scripting.

[mikesm]

Originally Posted by inseattle

With refurbished Tivo HD boxes available for under $200 now (it's available today at one of the online stores), I'm thinking of getting one and hacking it to act as a SageTV network encoder. I'm not sure if I'll be able to use it for LiveTV but I'm pretty sure it should work for recordings.

Assuming it works, the main advantage I see is cost. Once I add a $2/month multistream cable card, I should be able to record two channels at once. Because I dont need their program guide, I wont need to pay the monthly subscription fee. This is even more economical that the component capture approach because with that approach, I would need to rent a cable box from my provider for $15/month. And that would still only give me the ability to record one show at a time.

I'm curious to hear what others think of this approach. If nothing else, I figure it will be a good exercise in Linux scripting.

The model you want to follow is the R5000-HD network encoder, where Sage tells it to tune to a channel, and a UNC path and file name to record to, and then the R5000 goes and does that.

If you can make a Tivo HD with cablecard do that, now that would be a very big deal. R5000-HD's are great, but the only work on Moto boxes. Havinga solution that would work in SA markets would be great.

But I don't think you could do this with the standard tivo software running on the box.