Not really sure why you'd go for this one when the 3 tuner (via the same link) is $10 cheaper and has the ability to use M-cards so you can stream your cable package on your network. The 'better' encoding just doesn't seem worth it.
The 3 tuner model ONLY supports cable cards. The Dual Tuner only supports OTA/Antenna or Clear QAM cable (Clear QAM is vanishing). The PLUS model also converts the OTA mpeg2 to H264 for better playback and a smaller storage footprint (mpeg2 requires CPU horsepower to decode and deinterlace).
I'm using the Dual Standard(not the PLUS) with an outdoor omni-directional antenna and I pull in the major networks. Add Windows Media Center as a backend and XBMC as a frontend and you have a DVR solution with no monthly bills. Works great. I have read that the PLUS conversion to H264 is not ready for primetime yet, so do your homework.
Ah, yeah, I missed that the 3 turner can't decode OTA. I suppose you could use one of those decoder boxes the government gave coupons for back in the day during the transition to ATSC.
Comments & Reviews (3)
I'm using the Dual Standard(not the PLUS) with an outdoor omni-directional antenna and I pull in the major networks. Add Windows Media Center as a backend and XBMC as a frontend and you have a DVR solution with no monthly bills. Works great. I have read that the PLUS conversion to H264 is not ready for primetime yet, so do your homework.
Thank you!