PVR question...

Sir_Bargains-A-Lot

I'm thinking of buying a PVR box for temporary storage of programs, pausing live TV, time shift and all that kind of stuff...

Question is, do they come with scart inputs, and will those inputs pick up signals that aren't aerial receptions i.e. if I plug my cbale TV output into the PVR input, will I be able to record the cable TV output on it?

Secondarily, if the PVR has built in Freeview would it still do it?

Woby_Tide

I'm fairly certain all PVR's can only record their internal tuners whether analogue/digital

MORPH3US

Yes they should come with at least 1, probably 2 scart inputs but it depends on the make / model so thats something to look out for!

Yes you should be able to plug in Sky and record from sky to the PVR but again, best bet is to go into somewhere that sells them, ask the questions about the model you are looking at and then buy cheaper off the net!

M

Sir_Bargains-A-Lot

Great idea if I wasn't stuck with a load of Argos vouchers I wish to get rid of!

payless

The freeview PVRs I looked at would not record from scart input- maybe others do though.

Woby_Tide

MORPH3US wrote:

Yes they should come with at least 1, probably 2 scart inputs but it depends on the make / model so thats something to look out for!

Yes you should be able to plug in Sky and record from sky to the PVR but again, best bet is to go into somewhere that sells them, ask the questions about the model you are looking at and then buy cheaper off the net!

M

DVD Recorders do accept inputs, PVR's don't they pretty much exclusively record from internal tuners only due to the encoding/decoding requirements of the picture stream.

If there was one they would be selling like hotcakes as it would be making Sky+ pretty much redundant


Edit:
At the time of writing, NONE of the currently available range of Freeview PVRs has any ability to record anything except Freeview broadcasts. They will NOT record from VCRs, Cameras, or DVD players etc. Those that have inputs on them have these solely for loopthrough purposes.

The wish to encode digitally and record on a Hard Disk from external analogue sources is best met, currently, only by combination HDD-DVD recorders.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174255

Moss5

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=90

MORPH3US

Apologies if I was incorrect.

OP, my advice stands though, go to a shop that can advise you about them, and then instead of buying off internet, buy from Argos!

Also, have you thought about getting a PVR and DVD recorder in one so that you can record from Scart input?

M

wonderfullife_2

Hi
No mine can't record from Sky and I have the Topfield 5800, 160gb, freeview, twin tuner, excellent quality and reception.
If you need to ask a question, they have an excellent forum, you could ask here.
http://www.toppy.org.uk/index.php


Hope this helps

penrhyn

Humax make twin tuner PVR's which are pretty good,( a little cheaper than the Toppy) but also do not have an external recording facility.
NTL were supposed to be introducing a PVR for cable TV, see article below, but I can't see that its been introduced yet.

NTL's PVR to be MPEG-4, HD compatible

Saturday, October 22 2005, 03:48 GMT - by James Welsh
NTL's upcoming personal video recorder (PVR), also known as DVR, will be the MPEG-4 and high definition compatible Explorer 8450DVB from Scientific Atlanta.

The Explorer 8450DVB also features three tuners, enabling subscribers to record three programmes at the same time. NTL's merger partner, Telewest, is planning to roll out a similarly-specified box, minus the MPEG-4 compatibility, later this year.

"We look forward to offering cable customers the combination of MPEG-4 PVR and high quality Video on Demand services in 2006," said Shai Weiss, NTL's managing director for consumer products. "We wanted to leverage both this new technology and Scientific-Atlanta’s extensive PVR experience to enable us to deploy a first-of-its-kind MPEG-4 PVR platform for the UK cable customers."

Like Telewest's Explorer 8300 box, NTL's PVR will have a 160GB hard drive, USB 2.0 and Ethernet connectivity, and will be multi-room compatible. Multi-room functionality, if NTL chooses to enable it, will allow customers to play back programmes recorded on the PVR on any other Scientific-Atlanta set top boxes in their homes.

"In every market where we have helped operators launch PVR service, consumers have quickly embraced the choice, convenience and control delivered by this exciting technology," said George Stromeyer, VP and managing director of Scientific Atlanta Europe. "Incorporating three video tuners into the Explorer 8450DVB HD PVR will further differentiate NTL's PVR offering in the market and enhance the experience of PVR service for NTL’s customers."