DTB for basic TV, channels, PVR and cost

[DeeChaos]

I am new to Satellite and DTBs and have *very* basic needs compared to many people here. Could someone give me advice or links to visit to help me decide what I need please.

My basic needs are: SCART, Stereo, DVD-quality, EPG and Multi-timer-PVR (and F'ware) via (Ext. or Int.) USB, CAM if software rather than card/HW. A twin tuner would be nice *but not essential*. Ideally 4x3 as well as 16x9 formats. Ethernet MAY be useful - see end of post.

If I can view European channels in English for Sci-Fi, National Geo, Discovery that would be great, Bloomberg would be nice.
I plan to fix a .8m dish (in S. Manch) on the Southern house wall not far from the main TV. TVs around the house are wired RF/Coax I installed 25+ years ago.

From what I can see - the cheaper options are: Openbox, Skybox, Technomate. On eBay there is: "***OPENBOX S11 HD*** + 3 PIN UK PLUG, ORIGINAL CHIP ID 100% Genuine, Chip ID 085B Latest Channels List" which I can buy for £50 and collect in person from a seller with 100% rating from 1600 feedbacks but some posters here say not to buy on eBay.
Do I need anything more than one of those cheap boxes? Any suggestions, ideas, contradictions welcome!

PS I am PC+Network-literate and have a (Linux) NAS box which would be nice to interoperate but that really would be icing on the cake!

[ramjet]

hardly any of your chosen few fit the bill

they mainly fall down on epg and hdd , as they usually need an external usb pen drive or external powered usb hdd drive

none are twin tuner from what I can see

the vu+ duo is probably your best bet for a twin tuner linux box with ability to fit an internal hdd for pvr use, and a downloadable epg via plugins

80cm is probably ok , 88cm or 110cm dish would be better , and get an inverto ultrablack lnb too , typically around ?20 ish from flea bay delivered for a twin output ultrablack , fitted one myself recently off there

alternatives for you are vu ultimo , or clarketech 9200 SL , twin tuner or better , downloadable epg

for a single tuner , try the tm5402 or blade 7000s but these require external usb drives for pvr use

[DeeChaos]

07:30 PM. Reason: I Clarified: Ext. HDD is OK, Twin tuner is "nice to have".

Are you saying the boxes I am looking-at don't have *any* EPG or are you saying that they are useless for some reason - slow, poor updates, etc. etc..

[ramjet]

07:30 PM. Reason: I Clarified: Ext. HDD is OK, Twin tuner is "nice to have".

Are you saying the boxes I am looking-at don't have *any* EPG or are you saying that they are useless for some reason - slow, poor updates, etc. etc..

the standard epg on satellite is NOW AND NEXT

most people want a 7 day epg , and very few boxes can do this , certainly not your openbox selection

it also cannot have an internal hdd fitted , its single tuner as well , and can only record to external sources via usb

basically , you ask for too much for ?50

the blade and tm5402 can download the epg from certain transponder on 28e , the openbox and skybox cannot , neither can an eagle either

even a spiderbox has problems with the 7 day epg download

so for your purposes , a vu+ duo fits the bill , and can use the nas too

[potrobber]

i will second that the openbox range will come nowhere near what your looking there is no epg to record from and even the layout of channel lists is not great there just a bedroom box if you can live with the above

as ramjet says the duo is the best value twin tuner box on the market today

or next on the list and he has already said is the blade bm7000

both the above are good boxs and have 7 day epg

the blade being single tuner and ext hard drive also simple to set up and online channel list updates make this box fool proof

and i use both myself and cant fault them

[DeeChaos]

I never thought that EPG would be such a "big deal" for boxes that are web-connected - it *should* be trivial but obviously not. That obviously screws-up the PVR scheduled recording.

I have taken a look at the VU+ boxes and the Blade too and I can see that they are all at the "next level" and I will probably get one of them for the Lounge when I have finished experimenting with a cheaper box that will help me understand what I (+1) really need.

We only watch 5-10 hours of TV a week and our last experience of Pay TV was NTL negotiated down to £12/month *including* the line rental. Then RupertM took Sly1 away from RichardB and we never upgraded - hence the toe in the water!

Thanks to you both for the input - any other input welcome as I am still open to ideas... Cheers, DC - LoL.

[cactikid]

curious if your old coaxial of 25+ years would still be good?degrades over time and the new range is better for sat if you go that way,if you still had live cable kryptview 780? needs a lan connection also.just a thought.

[DeeChaos]

I realise that I am showing my age here - that Coax was what they used when we had aerials on the roof although I can remember when we converted from 405 *lines*! to 625.

The RF signal is pretending to be from an aerial - I use two old video players (VHS not Betamax!) to convert the Scart into RF which then goes into a 4-way aerial amplifier and off to the other rooms in the house!

Thanks for the thought on the cable - I know it was active for at least a year or two as it acted as a Freeview box. Does the Kryptview 780 work in a similar way to the Openboxes do - I will look on these forums after I submit this post... Thanks again for that.

[ramjet]

I realise that I am showing my age here - that Coax was what they used when we had aerials on the roof although I can remember when we converted from 405 *lines*! to 625.

The RF signal is pretending to be from an aerial - I use two old video players (VHS not Betamax!) to convert the Scart into RF which then goes into a 4-way aerial amplifier and off to the other rooms in the house!

Thanks for the thought on the cable - I know it was active for at least a year or two as it acted as a Freeview box. Does the Kryptview 780 work in a similar way to the Openboxes do - I will look on these forums after I submit this post... Thanks again for that.

yes it does , so if your vm feed is still live (check it with an old cable box for fta channels) , then a 780 will work ok although you need a dvd recorder (or vcr) for recording via scart as you cannot record directly onto an a780 , and the only other alternative for that is the sv7 which works in a similar internet access way (no other boxes available - before you ask). so live feed + internet access is required , and is SD not HD too

[DeeChaos]

Having looked at the KV780 I think I will stick with what appears to be "mainstream" - i.e. Satellite despite some obvious benefits of not needing a dish, no weather interference etc...

The variety of free channels from Europe and the broad and strong community of people who are helping others to share the knowledge and technology of how to connect them to and within the household is a big, big plus point.

Thanks to all for their help - I will try to post anything here (DK) that I find en-route and think would be useful to others who are new to this hobby too.