Alternatives TO UPC And SKY+ DVR's

gary_dunbar

Hi I currently have NTL digital with sky sports and Setanta and used to find it annoying I couldn't record a match when I had to go away somewhere.

My friend has sky+ and it seems to work well. But NTL is cheaper for me plus I currently don't have a phone line in my house. I've read the reviews here on the UPC. Sky+ obviously seems to be better but I think i'll be happy enough to go with UPC's DVR. but was just wondering does anybody else use an alternative to SKY+ or UPC? Would be nice to just pay a once off fee rather than paying the monthly cost of €7.50.

Seen a few reviews on technology review sites of dvr's but they seem to be American based.

Is UPC's DVR the best alternative if I don't want to switch to SKY or is there another alternative as good someone could suggest?

Thanks,
Gary.

Sniipe

hmm NTL box has a much bigger HD and the other main difference is that u can't record an entire series... which isn't a bigi for me.

I agree, 7.50 per month seems a rip off.

I haven't heard of an alternative to both but it would be nice to know if something like it exists.

I still don't call UPC NTL yet... their name change campaign isn't working on me...

What ur looking for I think is the NTL box for a fixed fee where u don't need a phone line... so the programs and such would have to come in another way... such as over the internet???

gary_dunbar

Yeah looking for an alternative to the NTL/UPC and the SKY+ box that would be a once off fee that can record sky sports/setanta etc.

watty

If you want pay TV then the only decent option is the providers PVR.

non-Sky Satellite PVR are only good for non-Sky PayTV (Albanian or whatever) or Free Satellite TV. Even then a program guide can be problematical, though can be solved.

Otherwise you are using analogue input and degradation of quality and no integrated Program Guide to schedule recordings.

Freddie59

gary_dunbar wrote: »

Yeah looking for an alternative to the NTL/UPC and the SKY+ box that would be a once off fee that can record sky sports/setanta etc.

What about one of these:

http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-17-RDX25

Probabaly not as versatile as a PVR, but a good alternative nonetheless. I have one for 12 months now. No problem with it.:)

gary_dunbar

Thanks for the replies. With that DVR can you record sky sports etc? or is it just ordinary channels e.g. rte, tv3 UTV etc and can you set it to record them at a particular time?

Thanks again.

murpho999

gary_dunbar wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. With that DVR can you record sky sports etc? or is it just ordinary channels e.g. rte, tv3 UTV etc and can you set it to record them at a particular time?

Thanks again.

The DVR will record any program that you have in your package. However if you cancel a subscription then you will not be able to view it. So for example you record a film on Sky Movies. 2 days later you cancel your Sky Movies Subscription then you will not be able to watch the film on your dvr.

As for recording at a particular time....I do not fully understand your question but you can select it to record programmes from an 8 day EPG or you can manually enter a memo to record a station at a particular time.
Hope this helps!

Santa Claus

What about a small form factor PC with media centre on it. Just need a TV PVR card and then no running fees. Only thing is that you need to leave the receiver on the station you're recording whereas the NTL/Sky+ you can watch a 2nd channel !

loyatemu

the problem with using a PVR or DVD recorder on NTL Digital is that you can't watch one channel and record another - you have to watch whatever it is you're recording. And making timed recording is a fiddle as you have to set the NTL box to auto-tune as well as setting the timer on the recorder. NTLs DVR is the best way to go (well actually Sky+ is the best way to go if you can put up a dish).

hmm NTL box has a much bigger HD and the other main difference is that u can't record an entire series... which isn't a bigi for me.

I don't know if you've used Sky+ but series link is the absolute killer application on it - I'd be lost without it now and it genuinely does change the way you watch TV. Also Sky+ can record 2 things at once which does come in handy if you have a lot of series set up.

gary_dunbar

thanks for all the replies much appreciated it. Think i'm going to opt for the UPC box seems most straightforward for me. May consider switching to sky at a later stage but NTL still working out cheaper for me.

Thanks,
Gary.