Currently I run my old quad core gaming PC using a PCI-Express card to record DVB-S television. Most of the time this machine sits at 1% cpu usage and using up a lot of power. I use a combination of simple windows utils to schedule and manage the recordings then playback using XBMC for Windows.
I am currently very interested in replacing this with a mac mini due to the lower noise, power, heat etc. I've not used recent MacOS for any length of time so it is possible I may not like it and end up using the machine with Windows instead. It's also possible I may love it
The cheapest DVB-S for the mac I can find is 249 euros, this is almost half of the price of the mac and is specific for Mac so would not work in Windows should it need to. USB equivelant devices for Windows are around 50 euros. So I have had an idea that I would be interested to know if it would work....
Install some form of vm software - parallels possibly, connect a cheap usb dvb-s device to the virtual machine running Windows and have that handle all recording duties. Then use plex as a front end to the recordings. I would also use the machine for basic tasks at the same time i.e. surfing, email, itunes, open office etc.
I would probably buy the higher spec off the shelf mac with 2gb/320gb. I also don't tend to watch any form of HD content if that makes a difference.
Does this idea stand a chance or will it bog down the machine too much ?
Are there any other alternatives for satellite recording ?
Thanks for any help/inspiration
I am currently very interested in replacing this with a mac mini due to the lower noise, power, heat etc. I've not used recent MacOS for any length of time so it is possible I may not like it and end up using the machine with Windows instead. It's also possible I may love it
The cheapest DVB-S for the mac I can find is 249 euros, this is almost half of the price of the mac and is specific for Mac so would not work in Windows should it need to. USB equivelant devices for Windows are around 50 euros. So I have had an idea that I would be interested to know if it would work....
Install some form of vm software - parallels possibly, connect a cheap usb dvb-s device to the virtual machine running Windows and have that handle all recording duties. Then use plex as a front end to the recordings. I would also use the machine for basic tasks at the same time i.e. surfing, email, itunes, open office etc.
I would probably buy the higher spec off the shelf mac with 2gb/320gb. I also don't tend to watch any form of HD content if that makes a difference.
Does this idea stand a chance or will it bog down the machine too much ?
Are there any other alternatives for satellite recording ?
Thanks for any help/inspiration