Question A Good TV App for HTPC

[ktriebol]

Years ago, on my HTPC, I used Microsoft Media Player (at least I think that is what it was called). It worked great, but Microsoft discontinued it many years ago. I have used a couple others in the meanwhile (can't remember the name of them), but they were very difficult or impossible for me to set up. I am currently using Hauppauge WinTV8.5. It was easy to set up, and I am fairly pleased with it, but it does have some minor glitches here and there. The biggest issue is that once in a while motion will be jerky, and the only way to fix it is to close WinTV and restart it. I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion for a TV App that is easy to install and have had good results with.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Are you streaming through an online service on a smart tv or are you streaming your own files through your application on from a home theater PC or server? Or both. Or both plus something additional. Knowing exactly what the main use case is will help to pick the best software because each purpose might best call for something different. Right off the bat, I think if you are serving your own files you want to look at Plex. Kodi is another option you will want to look at as well as Emby. These are all good products, but there are certainly a lot more out there.

 

[ktriebol]

I am not streaming through an online service because my internet service is very slow. My use consists of watching live TV through an antenna, and also recording antenna TV shows on a storage drive in my HTPC. I have tried storing recordings on my SSD and on my HDD. They both seem to work the same, an I have the jerky motion issue regardless of which drive I use. I am currently storing programs on my HDD so as not to diminish the life of my SSD. I believe Kodi is one of the apps that I tried and was unable to get it set up successfully. Ease of installation is important.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Is this a PC you are recording WITH, or some kind of DVR type system?

 

[ktriebol]

I am recording with a PC.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So what are your full hardware specifications for that system?