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I've got an HP Media Center PC and am using it for exactly that, it sits in a cabinet of my entertainment center and is NOT hooked up to a monitor (although one can be dragged out for setup purposes). Now with that out of the way.

I am looking for recommendations on what is the best PVR software. Currently I'm using Media Center's built in thing and its crap, it chokes on playback of even live tv at times, and is downright unwatchable at other times.

I've used sagetv in the past on an older system, but never with a remote, and never as a standalone pvr. Anyone have expierence using it like that? What about with a cable box (rather than changing channels on the computer itself)? I don't have a cable box right now but I'm thinking about switching ISPs to a cable modem, and in the package deal I have to use a cable box for TV.

Also what about GB-PVR? Same question about the cable box.

Any other good ones that I'm unaware of? MythTV is sort of an option, but last time I tried that (on a different PC) I couldn't get my PVR-250 to work...

I'm evaluating ChrisTV myself (simply because it's the only PVR application I've found for XP x64).

That looks scary...

Give BeyondTV a try - they have a 21 day trial.

I tried it LNCPapa, did not like.

I was watching Seinfeld on Fox 2 (local fox station here) and right after that was House, so I thought I'd test out how this thing does when I pause tv (thats where Media Center really begins to choke). So I paused it for about 10 minutes, and set it to record House. I unpause Seinfeld, and am loosely watching it, when all the sudden House begins. I watch House thinking everything is going well and its recording. After House is over I switch channels for a while then decide I want to check out how the recording turned out. I select it, and guess what, it only recorded 11:38 of it.

No idea what went wrong, but it didn't work properly. Then the next thing that sucks is I can't be watching tv and bring the guide up at the same time. Another thing - when I select a show out of the guide, it pops up a window asking what I want to do. I just want to watch the damn show. ugh.

Looks like I'm going to have to go to SageTV, but I don't know how it handles a remote.