Need advice on PVRs

mapleleaf1010

I'm thinking about buying a PVR and need your advice on how to choose it.

I've got a LG HD TV and a Sky 'pay once, watch forever'. That means I've got the Sky dish and box, but no contract, which is what I want.

If I want to avoid having an aerial installed, does that mean that I'll have to buy a Freesat PVR?

What do you think about the Humax Foxsat HDR Freesat (320 GB)? Would that work in my case?

Hammyman

Yes, you'd want a Freesat PVR. The Humax Foxsat HDR is regarded as the best in that category and it'd do what you want but you won't get all the channels you currently do on your Sky box as you'll get the Freesat list and not "FreesatfromSky" list.

However if you've only got one wire coming out of your dish, you'd not be able to record one channel whilst watching another so you'd need another LNB on the dish and another cable running.

ddoris

The Ross HD sat kit has pvr capabilities , the black dish ones are best, only £79 if you can find them, you need your own hdd or usb stick tho'. You won't get the same channels tho' ,as posted by Hammy. A quad lnb is well under a tenner, just got 2 from a local market for a fiver each!
Freeview pvr don't usually have any input connects.

mapleleaf1010

Hammyman and ddoris, many thanks for your useful advice.

Can I record programmes from 2 differect channels at the same time if I only have one wire coming out of my dish?

scotsbob

You can compare all available PVRs side by side on this web page.

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

Before rushing to buy a Humax you would be advised to read about the many problems users are starting to experience with them

http://www.wirefresh.com/humax-pvt-9200t-pvr-problems-slow-performance-and-freezes/

http://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=143376

BillTrac

Mapleleaf,

as Hammyman said, if you want to watch one channel while recording another, then you require TWO cables from your dish to your receiver. If your dish only has an LNB with one connection then it needs to be replaced.

I have the aforementioned Humax and I am very pleased with it.

spakkker

"Can I record programmes from 2 differect channels at the same time if I only have one wire coming out of my dish? "
No , you need to change to a dual or quad lnb -the pick-up on the end of the sat dish arm.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VISIBLEWAVE-SKY-QUAD-LNB-both-New-and-old-Brackets-/150521986109?pt=UK_ConEle_SatCableFreeview_RL&hash=item230bcf3c3d

You can change this without having to re-align the dish .

almillar

mapleleaf - the simple answer, which goes at least 90% of the way, is No, it's certainly not practical, and you can't record BBC1 and watch ITV for example. Depending on your home it may be easy and cheap enough to get another line down from the dish.
Ignore Scotsbob's post, it's about a Freeview recorder, not a Freesat recorder. I've got a Foxsat HDR and it's the most reliable TV recorder I've owned and I thoroughly recommend it.

scotsbob

almillar wrote: »

Ignore Scotsbob's post, it's about a Freeview recorder, not a Freesat recorder. I've got a Foxsat HDR and it's the most reliable TV recorder I've owned and I thoroughly recommend it.

Feel free to accept or reject my advice, but I suggest Mapleleaf puts Humax Foxsat HDR Problems into Google and reads about the many problems users have with this model before making a final decision.

almillar

Feel free to link to those links then Scotsbob, instead of 2 links to Freesat boxes that aren't made any more (I think). There are 2 recommendations in this thread from happy users.

missile

mapleleaf1010 wrote: »

... Can I record programmes from 2 differect channels at the same time if I only have one wire coming out of my dish?

You need two feeds. I have a communal dish and that would be expensive so I went for freeview Topfield PVR5810. This has a massive 500GB hard drive and twin tuners which allows me to record two programs whilst watching a third. :j

There are very few programs on Freesat that I would want to watch which are not on Freesat. I still have my sky box so I can watch those if I feel the need.