Freeview HD + PVR Recommendations

[DarrenMcCabe]

I just spent an hour looking in to the most cost effective way of getting Youview only to find I cant get Youview as the internet in my area isnt quick enough.

So I am now looking at Freeview HD+ or something similar.

Essentially all we want is:
- The ability to pause, rewind, record and series link
- HD Channels

Which is the best way to go? As well as most cost effective ?

 

[Oakley7]

What channels are you specifically after ? I'd simply use Sky, can't fault it.

 

[DarrenMcCabe]

I am just after the standard freeview channels with addition of BBC HD and other free HD channels.

Dont have SKy at the moment and not looking for any install charges

 

[british steve]

Try Richer Sounds!

http://www.richersounds.com/products/home-cinema/home-cinema-separates/digital-set-top-boxes

 

[Faevilangel]

Sky regularly do free install offers especially when taking out certain packages.

If you want sky without the charges, then Freesat is another alternative here, you put up a dish and box and get freeview through the dish.

If you have a decent TV signal then you can get Freeview (we didn't) by just buying a freeview box (Humax boxes are well recommended).

 

[Oakley7]

Any of those boxes at Richer Sounds will be suitable, all depends on your budget really.

 

[garyk]

I have had a humax foxsat hdr freesat box for over 3 years now and its brilliant. You need a dish but once up I find it much better quality than freeview. Channels are pretty much the same and I can pause/rewind, series link.

I had a quad LNB on my dish so I could run two cables into two rooms which is what you need to record one programme and watch another and also watch something I have recorded whilst recording on 2 other channels. I can also plug in an external usb drive and copy content off of the device (its in .ts format which are huge files but can be converted to avi or mp4).

The latest humax freesat box has catch up TV built in (called freetime) so is pretty much like the youview box.

Gary

 

[DesignerNick]

My mum has the Humax Freesat HD box with 500GB that you can record with, it looks a lot nicer than my SkyHD Box, this seems to be the spec from it:

Record freesat HD and SD channels onto this PVR
Twin HD tuner - simultaneous viewing of one channel and recording of another channel, or record two channels at once
Massive 500GB HDD - up to 250 hours recording
Watch BBC iPlayer when connected to broadband
Simply connect to a functioning satellite dish with a twin-LNB to receive freesat, a no contract TV service (dish not supplied)
Receive and record over 150 free-to-air digital channels and HD broadcasts from the Astra 28.2E satellite
Pause and rewind live TV
Record a series at the touch of a button
Receive HDTV signals (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and MPEG-2) as well as standard definition
Eco friendly - under 1W power consumption in standby
HDMI-digital interface for perfect transmission of picture and sound
Simultaneous playing of transmissions over HDMI, Composite or SCART
Easy installation and operation
Multiple output resolutions: 1080i, 720p, 576p, 480p, 576i, 480i
RJ45 Ethernet connection for upgrading software and future features
Full colour, high resolution 7-day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)
Dolby digital audio output (S/PDIF)
Automatic software upgrade via satellite
HD upscaling for standard definition, improves picture quality through HDMI connections
Audio description / One touch subtitle
Input voltage: AC 90-250V (Free voltage)
Power consumption (Standby): <1W
Power consumption (On): 50W (max)
Dimensions: 380(w) x 55(h) x 252(d) mm
Weight: 3.1 kg

You would need to get a dish fitted but if you can do it yourself it would be ok but if not there is still the installation charge

It is at Maplins for 219.99 at the minute which seems to be the cheapest I can find it for (link)

 

[Tamar Telecommunications]

Hi,

I too would recommend Humax boxes. You can skip through the adverts easier than on sky. You can jump forward a minute or two without having to see it fast forwarding. Usually two presses gets you straight to the end of the ad break!

You can still do series links and all that too. Just like sky but without the rental.

Jamie

 

[CamperVan]

i like the look of those youview boxes

 

[FirstClassVirtualOffice]

We've bought 2 Humax freeview plus boxes and we got them direct from Humax on the managers special deal offers they do on their website. They do other models as well so worth checking them out.

 

[leemason]

If you fancy a bit of "fun" building your own system have a look at http://www.mythtv.org/. Mythtv is an Open Source PVR (and lots more) as is compatible with many DTV cards (requires a standalone PC to run on though).

 

[Page]

This one does the job nicely - just normal (no dish but ariel required) HD freeview

For the extra cost get 1TB version

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Humax-HDR-F...KNEM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357894404&sr=8-2

It also has an "app" for BBC iplayer built in

 

[cjd]

Another vote for the Humax Foxsat - my only complaint with is the functional but poorly designed remote.

It will work fine on a Sky dish btw, but to get all the clever functionality you need two inputs from it.