Thinking of Building my PVR

I've been thinking about building my own PVR (personal video recorder). I don't have Tivo, but I've seen how it works and I think it would be fantastic to have. I'm reluctant to buy a Tivo for several reasons: A) The monthly fee you have to pay, B) Their control over how you skip commercials C) Their data collection of what you watch.

So combine those three issues with my natural tendency to tinker with all things technical and I've a sincere interest in building my own PVR.

I'm interested in MythTV (a Linux based PVR). Building one of those looks really nice. With the KnoppMyth (Knoppix + MythTV) it looks like its fairly straight forward. But, this IS Linux we're talking about and I'm a little concerned that it might take more time than I've got. I'm not much of a Linux user yet Plus, using Linux there's NO chance in using any of the software that would come bundled with the TV Capture card itself (though... truth be told.. its probably not that good anyway).

The other option would be to buld a Windows based PVR. (not a "Media Center" PC though.. that again looks like too many limitations to me) [Sidebar - one of the problems with commercial media tools is that they seem to not be build with 100% of the user's needs in mind, but instead seem to cater to the interests of the media companies. Its understandable, but its NOT what I want.] BeyondTV (with Beyond Media) looks very interesting, but its kinda pricey.

GB-PVR looks very promising as well. Its priced right (Free) and includes most of the functionality of MythTV (they look very similiar).

My thinking is to give KnoppMyth a try, then GB-PVR and fall back with BeyondTV if I have too.

First things first, I have to convince my wife that we "need" a PVR... :-)

I'll post details about my PVR experience when (er.. maybe if) I start...