PVR recorder advice?

jewelly

I've cancelled my Sky subscription. But I'm really going to miss the SKY plus feature as I've got so used to being able to press a button to record a whole series no matter if the times are variable.

A friend said she's got the same sort of thing with her DVD recorder/player. I believe it's called a Personal Video Recorder. I don't understand all of this I'm afraid.

Can anyone explain in simple terms what it is I need, and perhaps recommend a machine that would do the job?

Thanks in advance.

vfish

I think we would need a little more information to suggest a pvr/dvr for you. Basically, if you are planning to link it to your satellite dish you need a freesat pvr/dvr with series link (which will be mentioned on the box). If you plan to link it to an aerial you want a freeview pvr/dvr with series link.

You also have to decide if you want standard definition or high definition. I think the digital tv board (in the home and play section) might be a better place to post for the best advice?

jewelly

Yes. I probably posted in the wrong place. I may re-post later if I don't get a good result here, or maybe someone will move it for me.

I will be using my Sky dish. I don't have HD and have no intentions of getting that.

Nile

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

vfish

In that case, often people seem to recommend humax for freesat pvrs (and they definitely have series link). I don't have a satellite dish myself so hopefully someone will who does will read the thread
and have some advice for you.

scotsbob

Humax or Topfield. Topfield has qite literally hundreds of apps which you can download free and then load on to customise the receiver.

However both Humax and Topfield are now quite old and technology has moved on. Many people advise waiting for the new series of both products to be released.

This website lists and compares all PVRs available with Freeview, FreeviewHD and Freesat

http://www.pvrjunction.co.uk/resources/compare-freeview-pvrs/

jewelly

Thanks all. I will do some research and make a decision.

almillar

If you had Sky Plus (and I don't know how good your aerial is for Freeview) I'd just get a Humax Foxsat HDR. This is a High Definition Freesat box which can record programmes to a hard drive similarly to your Sky box. It will plug into all the same connectors as the Sky box, easily installed, and the dish doesn't need to be moved or anything. Watch one, record one, or record two, same as Sky plus. You say you're not interested in HD, but you've got it anyway just in case, and theres no such thing as a non-HD Freesat recorder anyway. They're £240 in Richer Sounds at the mo, can probably be had cheaper elsewhere including the Humax refurb store.