I am hoping I can get a little advice from people more knowledgeable then me.
For the past two years I have had a tivo with rcn but on Thursday I am finally getting fios which of course does not offer tivo. So that leaves me with two choices the xl4 or build an htpc. I really like the look of wmc, dont hate tivo but it comes down to cost and what I am getting for that price. I can get a new xl4 on ebay for about $350 , the max I could spend on an htpc would be about $450 or $500. I am sure I could build a fine pc for that price but I need a tuner that takes a cable card so that (I believe) leaves me with Ceton or SiliconDust for $200 so I am down to $300. I recently built a desktop for over $1500 with an i5-2500k which would be more then enough but it is often used while someone is watching tv. Then there is reliability. I have read many reviews of people having problems with the tuners, I have never had a problem with my tivo. I wouldn't want to spend $500 and end up with a headache. So i guess it boils down to three questions. 1. Could I build a quality htpc for $300? 2. If anyone has used either device how reliable are they? 3. If you have used tivo and WMC is the extra $150 + worth it? I know there is a service fee ($12) but I only have about $500 available right now.
Thanks for your help.