Cheap PVR Tivo Alternative....

[Antp]

Hi,

im looking for a pvr that can transfer recordings to pc.

over network would be favoured. All i can find is the Tivo series 2 box which has tivo2go which is perfect all im not usre about is what the subscription is for.

Anyone got a tivo or any suggestions for dedicated pvr.

Thanks.

[CyberNerd]

We are building a mythtv box to stream TV over the school network.

The Mythtv has a web interface to book record TV programs in advance, secure webinterface then allows it to be downloaded or streamed.

 

At school we have a Nova-t DVB-T card but I'm getting a DVB-S card for home because the school setup looks so good.

 

MythTV

 

edit: here are some screenies

http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures

[Antp]

im looking now,

i heard someone asking about setting up a av server. and sounded good ive ordered 5 Tv tuner cards for a computer at school but was looking for software to run it sounds good though thanks.

[Antp]

iso by mythtv box do you mean your putting a mini pc together?

[CyberNerd]

yes, at the moment our (experimental) system is running on an old desktop computer.

For just recording single channels it doesn't need to be very high spec.

Edited December 8, 2008 by CyberNerd
spell

[SpuffMonkey]

Using GBPVR on a cheap PC at the moment - working fine - needs a TV card with onboard mpeg encoding though.

[ChrisH]

How well or not does mythtv work with the likes of Sky?

[tmcd35]

If you've got a PS3, PlayTV may be worth a look. Don't know if it can copy off the PS3 hdd to PC though, would need to look into that. I'm certainly looking at this as a media center solution early 2009.

[RabbieBurns]

Im not sure how the mythtv box would interact with sky?

 

I built a box with a TechniSat SkyStar 2 TV PCI [0002/4094] card, using ProgDVB as the software, but had to buy a Infinity USB WB Electronics to get the Sky card working.

[plexer]

I have Sky+ and for recording Sky TV there is nothing better, nothing else will give you the integration you get with the tv guide.

 

Alternatives could be one of the Technomate satellite receivers which are also available in HD now, I have a Technomate TM9100S with a 500GB drive fitted and this can stream and be accessed across a network.

 

Ben

[CyberNerd]

we don't have any paid sky channels but it does work if the tv card has a CAM module.

Things like pausing and rewinding live tv work in myth, but we're only using the web interface for streaming across the school network.

 

nothing else will give you the integration you get with the tv guide.

The mythtv guide does pretty well, We can record single episodes, entire series or book things to record re-runs. It can even flag and skip commercials. What does sky+ do that I'll be missing out on?

[Marci]

im looking for a pvr that can transfer recordings to pc.

over network would be favoured. All i can find is the Tivo series 2 box which has tivo2go which is perfect all im not usre about is what the subscription is for.

Anyone got a tivo or any suggestions for dedicated pvr.

 

Ignore Tivo2... that's a US Standard. Only the original Thompson Tivo 1 units work in the UK (I've got one!). Anything beyond that is a) NTSC color palette, b) wrong voltage usually, c) tunes to wrong frequencies. The subscription connects you (via dialup for Tivo1, or via the net for newer models) to Tivo HQ to download Programme Listings (essential).

 

Sky bought out TiVo here in the UK a while ago, and ripped the technology license to do their own Sky+ box... you can still buy Tivo1 boxes off eBay, but you'll need to pay subscription fee to Sky to use it (£199 one off lifetime subscription)... and there is no aftersales support for the system. The subscription is tied to the Tivo unit you own, and if it dies and you have to get another, you'll have to subscribe again (and pay again). That said and done, Tivo IS superb even now, 15+yrs after the boxes were launched over here. Based on IBM PPC processor and run a version of Linux iirc... there are sites that still sell spares and mods for them, but if I were in the market for summat, I'd just get one of the new freeview PVRs or a Technotrend card with CAM module...