Dish Alternatives: Evaluating Tivo, EyeTV, SageTV, and MythTV

Eric and I have been trying to save money and after Dish let us know that prices would be going up again, I started investigating alternatives. We both have realized that we can live without cable but not without DVR. Watching American Idol live is a painful experience. It’s must skip TV.

It seems like there are two big options. We can go with a bundled system or go with a combo of software and an HD tuner stick. I already have an unused Mac Mini available for DVR duties.

In no particular order, here are the options we’re exploring.

The Bundled Options

Tivo

The cheapest DVR with HD is $299. We’d also have to pay between $10.75 and $12.95 a month for service.

Advantages

• Nice interface
• Netflix integration
• We have used it before and liked it
• Web-integration: we can set programs to record from our computer

Disadvantages

• Expensive
• Locked into a 1-year service contract

Total cost for first 2 years: ~$550

EyeTV

We can buy a HD tuner stick and software bundled together for $150.

Advantages

• Can run on a Mac
• Comes with TV Guide interface
• Award-winning
• Looks relatively easy to set up

Disadvantages

• Not super low-cost
• Lots of problems reported on Twitter

Total cost for first 2 years: ~$150

The Separate Options: Software Only

All of the options below assume that you’ve purchased an HD TV tuner for between $70 and $120.

SageTV

SageTV offers a 21-day trial.

Advantages

• Can run on a Mac
• Looks like an easy-to-use interface
• Supports skipping commercials
• Lots of potential add-ins
• Looks relatively easy to set-up

Disadvantages

• Software is $80
• We would have to buy a HD tuner stick to try it

Total cost for first 2 years: ~$150 (including one-time HD tuner purchase)

MythTV

MythTV is a mature open-source project. We would need to pay $20 a year for a Schedules Direct subscription.

Advantages

• Large group of users
• Supporting an Open Source project
• Excellent documentation

Disadvantages

• Does not natively support OS X. I would have to partition our hard drive.

Total cost for first 2 years: ~$110