Slashdot lead me to this fantastic article by a fellow Canuck who compares the major software options for a Home Theater PC. In the 21–page article, he takes an in-depth look a BeyondTV, SageTV, MCE 2005, and MythTV. Jim writes near the end of the article:
You’re probably waiting for me to tell you which application I plan on using in my HTPC. When I started using MCE2005, I immediately fell in love with its smooth look and feel and the fact that I can access online services like ESPN Motion and MSNTV. That said, I’m quite impressed with MythTV and as someone who’s been knee-deep in the Linux world for the better part of a decade, it seems like the logical choice. Over the next month, I’m going to continue using my two test PCs: one running the MCE2005 evaluation version and the other running MythTV. Hopefully by then I’ll be in a better position to decide whether or not I want to shell out the 130 USD on MCE2005 or if I’ll take the geekier path and put MythTV into production.
If you’re looking at alternatives, you should also take a peek at GBPVR and Meedio as well, which weren’t mentioned in the article.
Now it’s off to read the /. comments, they’re always so interesting whenever someone posts something positive about Microsoft products. 
The Nears 