MythTv vs MCE 2005 Review

Josh Highland (via digg) put up a good point-by-point review of MythTV vs Media Center 2005. Here’s what he doesn’t like about MythTV:

• couldn't get my 802.11g nic card to work in Linux
• I had a hard time playing video files over the network from my windows 2000 computer up stairs
• Couldn't get the build in media player to play work that well (mplayer)
• NES emulation wasn't that great
• Hard to get the Hauppauge 350 remote to work
• I had to hard time redirecting the output of the media player to the Hauppauge 350 audio out
• Difficult redirecting the output of the computer to always go to the TV

He then goes on point-by-point comparing MythTV to Media Center 2005. I don’t have a MythTV setup to compare to my Media Center setup, but based upon what I have seen and read here is my ‘virtual’ point-by-point comparison:

Setup. Media Center is definitely easier to setup and configure. I did install a version of MythTV on an older computer a while ago and it went very smooth until I tried to get the TV signal setup and a few other things. Winner MCE

Live TV. For me, changing channels for live TV on Media Center has a noticeable lag. This could be dependent on my system setup, but I really haven’t seen anyone say this is a problem with MythTV. MythTV supports picture-in-picture and Media Center currently does not. Winner MythTV

Recorded TV. It’s really easy to record and view recordings in Media Center. But MythTV has a better interface to viewing your recorded TV by showing thumbnails. And MythTV has built-in editing functions to cut out commercials so you don’t need an external program. Plus the recorded TV is not in a proprietary format. Winner MythTV

Music and DVD. Media Center has a nice interface for playing your music collection. I really like to be able to view my music by album art covers. And the new My DVD feature is a great way to view your DVD collection. I think MythTV has the same functionality so I will call it a tie. TIE

Content. Well, Media Center definitely wins this hands down with it’s Online Spotlight content and future ability to support cablecard. Winner MCE

Well, it looks like it’s a tie between MythTV and Media Center 2005. I think both programs will do the job well and one may offer a few features over the other in the end that make it a better program based upon your own needs. Obviously the setup of MythTV is the major issue, but besides that, what program do you think is the winner?