DTT / Freesat Combo

MartyM

Hi Guys

I was under the impression that a Freesat / DTT combo did not exist, i.e. a box that provides the Freesat EPG and also does DTT, but is the following link offering that very box (Mvision HD300 PVR)?

http://www.satellitetv.ie/shop/index.php?controller=product&product_id=224

RTE1, RTE2, TV3, TG4, BBC, ITV, CH4 plus the NEW UK Freesat service www.freesat.co.uk/index.php, all together in one Complete package.

Cheers!

STB

The Mvision HD300 doesnt do 7 day epg for sat and doesnt have the freesat menu. Infact no combo box that combines DTT and freesat menu exists. The only bit of hardware that actually combines both (but not on the same menu obiously) is an LCD in the LG Lf7700 range which can switch between HD Sat and DVB-T on the remote.

This "installer" is basically charging 300 for an install.

Rick_

I'm moving out this week and would like to take some of my home sat kit with me. As I will be house sharing I would like to get the main TV set up with all the free TV I can gather in the one box. If possible, I'd like to have Freesat and Freview in the one STB, but also the RTÉ DTT channels too, as I believe they are available at the hew house as it is much higher up than where I am currently and with a better aerial.

There are quite a few STB's that will do what I want but none seem to carry the full EPG for all the channels. Is there one, or does th eMVISION 300 above decode the Freesat 7 day EPG as well as the Freeview one and the ROI one? If I could have them on one STB in the order I want and with full EPG, I'd but one today!

MBSnr

It's wrong (or misleading at least) on many counts...

Full HD package with no monthly fee.

Only the BBC HD and ITV HD. Wouldn't define them as "full HD package".

... giving you all your RTE stations in HD and over 300 TV channels from the new UK HD Freesat service, all this with no monthly fee and no contract and no telephone line connection.

Irish DTT digital broadcasts are not in HD. They are MPEG4 and the Mvision flags them as HD. There is only "Now & Next" program/EPG detail on the Sat channels. It's not a Freesat box and they shouldn't be using the Freesat name in the advertising.

Like I said misleading.

STB

Eternal Wonderer wrote: »

I'm moving out this week and would like to take some of my home sat kit with me. As I will be house sharing I would like to get the main TV set up with all the free TV I can gather in the one box. If possible, I'd like to have Freesat and Freview in the one STB, but also the RTÉ DTT channels too, as I believe they are available at the hew house as it is much higher up than where I am currently and with a better aerial.

There are quite a few STB's that will do what I want but none seem to carry the full EPG for all the channels. Is there one, or does th eMVISION 300 above decode the Freesat 7 day EPG as well as the Freeview one and the ROI one? If I could have them on one STB in the order I want and with full EPG, I'd but one today!

The MVISION HD300 does not display 7 day Sat EPG for 28.2.

The azbox HD is the nereast you will get to doing both at the moment but that does have to be gunthered and relies on loading XML TV data via an app like http://azopen.sourceforge.net/.

St Senan

MBSnr wrote: »

It's wrong (or misleading at least) on many counts...



Only the BBC HD and ITV HD. Wouldn't define them as "full HD package".



Irish DTT digital broadcasts are not in HD. They are MPEG4 and the Mvision flags them as HD. There is only "Now & Next" program/EPG detail on the Sat channels. It's not a Freesat box and they shouldn't be using the Freesat name in the advertising.

Like I said misleading.

It's like what i said in a previous post that their is a lot of Installers telling customers that they are getting Freesat when actually the installer supplys a Free To Air receiver that needs retuning everytime a channel moves TP or changes Frequency. Very Very Misleading

Mr McBoatface

If you have some time to spare and a PC you can build your own Free-sat/Free-view combo box with Full 7 day epg on Irish DTT and Freesat, what's more you can tune in and receive the 7day EPG on SKY's un-encrpted free-to-view channels that are not on freesat. I've done this and I swear it's my pride and joy !! The EPG is loaded from the DVB signal source (DVB-S and DVB-T)

Hardware Required:-

You'll need a PC with good specs, not top of the range but 2GB of ram and I recommend a dual core CPU combined with a DVB-S & DVB-T card/s that supports the BDA driver. Media Centre Remote control. At least 250 hard drive.

Software:-
Windows OS , Vista or XP (I use XP)
Mediaportal 1.1 RC1 ;- HTPC software I use with it with StreamMP skin " http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/streamedmp-301/new-streamed-mp-v1-0-rc2-13-mar-2010-supports-mp-1-1-0-rc1-79351/ "
Mediaportal EPG addon :- " http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/general-development-no-feature-request-here-48/sky-uk-uk-freesat-epg-43261/ " This pulls the EPG from the DVB source no XML file or internet connection needed.
For RTE you need a h264 decoder , I use DIVX 7 H264 freeware.

The resulting HTPC can play TV, music and Video files. It may be more expenses than the usual combo receivers but has much more functionality and it's easier to upgrade.

Rick_

You see, for a while I was using my computer for the TV channels. I have a Hauppauge HVR4000 and had Freesat and Freeview that way, but it was a pain to have it all set up, especially as the auto tuing takes so bloody long and it requires a lot of manual fine tuning once done, something that you don't get with a STB. Also, due to Microsoft's lack of updates, channels are there that shouldn't, current channels are missing, and there is an issue currently with HD channels so BBC HD and ITV 1 HD don't show up correctly.

When I get into the new house later this week I may try running the set-up again and see what I can do with it, but I would need another HVR4000 to get dual recording or watching one thing and recording another. I would also have to dedicate my PC to using for the TV full time and would have nothing to browse the internet on.

Mr McBoatface

Read page 89 of the mediaportal sky/freesat epg addon Forum in the link I provided. A full freesat/Sky transponder scan " will take around 25 seconds and you should have around 910 channels, 770 TV and 140 radio. This method will find the channels that aren't "switched on" for example if you searched at 9 in the morning it would still find BBC Three etc.. " This add-on also groups all channels as per your Sky menu.

For DTT you can select the UK all regions from mediaportal tvserver menu and do a full scan should only take 30-40 minutes and once it's tune in you can note the frequency of the signal and do any future scan on that frequency it will take 30 seconds.

The pinnicale 7010ix has 2 DVB-S and 2 DVB-t tuners you could get one of them on new on ebay for 39 euro , but it's coming from a german company who will only courier post at an additional 30 euro " http://cgi.ebay.ie/TV-Tuner-Pinnacle-PC-TV-7010iX-DVB-T-DVB-S-Analog-TV_W0QQitemZ190379662916QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDE_Technik_Computerzubeh%C3%B6r_Multimedia?hash=item2c53831e44 " but it's still excellent value at 70 euro new. BTW no free-sat channels are DVB-S2 at the moment and that's not likely to change for a good while, you could sell your HVR 4000 and that would pay for the pinnicale 7010ix. You can still get ITV-HD and BBC-HD using a DVB-s tuner.

Second hand good spec PC can be got on adverts.ie for 200 euro or less

Rick_

In Media Portal, can the line-up be amended once all the channels have been scanned? Is it possible to mix channels up so DSAT and DTT channels all appear in one TV guide? Can the channels also be customised by changing their names and having logos come up for them instead of just text names? What about the actual look, can the colours/fonts etc. be changed to suit?

My PC is dual core Intel with 3GB of RAM, Media Centre remote, 360GB HDD so that should be fine, I can just move my stuff from the HDD onto a spare 500GB WD storage drive and then transfer it to a new laptop I was thinking of getting.

I wonder if that card can be sourced from anywhere local instead of Germany? Don't fancy paying the same price if not more on postage than the item cost itself. And having to return it to Germany if something is wrong with it.

The Media Portal screens look lovely, but I won't be the only one using it, two non-computery people will too, so is it straight forward enough to use? All that information for TV shows and films you have recorded/stored doesn't come from them obviously, it has to be provided yourself I'd imagine. Doesn't it seem like a lot of work and faffing around? I wouldn't have the time to get it all running like it is on that link you provided, even though it looks brilliant and I would love to have a dedicated HTPC that way.

Mr McBoatface

The TV guide shows the channels from all sources combined together. Channel names and groups can be changed and renamed as you wish I believe icons & logo's can be used but I've never done so. The fonts are part of the Skin and can't be easily changed.

@ 70 euro new and delivered that card is super value. It's one of the most popular HTPC cards around and it's not being made any more. Second hand ones sell for over 80-90 euro on ebay & elsewhere that's excluding delivery. The delivery cost is a killer but the overall price is excellent.

Ease of use :- Well my wife who is a technically challenged has no problems using it and much prefers it to our old media system set-up , Sky , Blu-ray player , Hard drive media player etc. Everything is available from one box under the TV and all the other "crap" (as she puts it) is now gone. TV , Video , Music , Photos are all available from the main menu which is accessed via the green button on the MS media centre remote. The up, down, left, right and select buttons do every thing else you need. The My Video , My TV , MY Music short-cut buttons etc on the MS remote are also supported out of the box with no messing about.

The screens shots your looking at included several non-essential additional Mediaportal add-ons such as "My TV Series" these add-on's are great eye candy and they use varies online databases to pull all the data and images for the files you have stored in a selected location. You only need to update the data for these addons when you've added files to your collection.

Without the eye-candy options Recorded TV is available from the main TV menu , it's stored/recorded with the epg program data and description data embedded into it so details/info on what you have recorded are there.

For me it's the best time I've spent on a pet project and anyone who's seen it say they would love to have one, indeed I've made several for friends and family. I'm not saying it's for main stream users but for my demanding needs integrated DVD/Blu-Ray , DDT & Freesat TV, Hard Drive Media Player etc it's the best option.

Bar the MS remote you've already got all of the necessary equipment why not give it a go and see if it meets your needs for all free TV in one box and decide for yourself. As things stand to test it out you don't need to buy any additional hardware. The worse thing that could happen is you'll try not like it and lose a few hours of your life.

Rick_

I have a MS remote I bought last year when I was using Media Centre as my all in one, but it required too much work to be done after the initial set-up to it to make it work properly. I want somehting I can instal, run set-up and then perform very slight tweaks to to get it working, not spending hours/days trying to sort everything, and then having to do it all again just to add something else or change something simple.

I have plenty of drinkin' to do tomorrow and I move into my new house Thursday, so if I get all the moving done by the weekend, I may try things with my HVR4000 and see how it goes. If it works well then I might consider getting one of those Pinnacle cards instead.

Does that Pinnacle card have 4 tuners then, 2 SAT and 2 DTT? So I could be recording a programme on DSAT and also on DTT and still have all DSAT and DTT channels available to watch/record? Could I potentially record 4 things at once and be able to watch backj a recording or a live channels on the same transponder as any of the 4 channels I'm recording?

Also, this card doesn't do DVB-S2, so I'm pretty much screwed if the UK FTA HD channels move around and end up changing to a S2 transponder. Are there no current TV cards that are exactly like the Pinnacle but with DVB-S2 capability? There must also be cards coming out soon with DVB-T2 capability too. I don't want to buy now and have to buy again next year.

rabbitsears

I found Mediaportal to be a frustrating, fiddly package to use. I use DVBViewer which gives me a full EPG via plugins.

Rick_

I have installed MediaPortal and the StreamMP add on but trying to get it all set up. It is showing the channel logos beside the channel names, but I want to get rid of them now, but can't find the option. It's being very glitchy with the video, what is it the best codecs for it and where can I get them? I also can't seem to find BBC HD or ITV 1 HD either.

I have checked the Freeview signal at my new house and it is rock solid, full signal quality and strength for 5 of the MUX's, but MUX D won't come in at all. I think it's because the signal has been blocked due to the diplexer, and the RTE MUX also comes in, not very strong, but the sound at least is stable, can't check the video as I don't have an MPEG 4 box. I'm not too sure why CH48 won't come in though, I have the Freeview and RTE diplexed at my house and pumped around all the rooms and I can get everything, so why it's not coming through at the new house is a mystery, unless theres some sort of signal blocker on to stop interference with analogue channels or something?

Mr McBoatface

@ External Wonder , I've never used logo's but if they are installed on your system and you want get rid of them you'll need to delete them from the Application data folder and clear the MediaPortal cache . The Logo's should be stored in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Team MediaPortal\Thumbs\TV\Logos on windows XP on Vista C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\Thumbs\TV\Logos . The cache should be stored at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Team MediaPortal\cache or C:\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\cache.

Best Codec's ? well that may depend on how clean your system is and what OS . I find on XP the default codecs supplied with MP work fine. The only Codec I needed to add was for H264 video content like RTE or BBC-HD , for that I used divx h.264 " http://www.divx.com/en/software/divx-plus/codec-pack ". I found BBC-HD with no issues at all , ITV-HD shows up as channel 10510 from what I can remember. I have not done a channel rescan in a while so I'm not sure if names etc have changed , I'll do one later today and let you know.

Once the Divx codec is installed you'll be able to view RTE DTT. The Video glitches your having could be down to old codec conflicts. I use my HTPC solely for that job and installed MP on a clean windows install to avoid conflicts.

Other users of MP recommend Arcsoft Total Media Theatre 2 or PowerDVD 8 for their video and audio codec. They come in demo's and you can continue to use the codecs after the demo expires , you'll have to google for them.

Alternatively you could google HDPACK 2.3

Mr McBoatface

I done the scan last night , got BBC-HD with no problems at all. For ITV-HD I have to scan a single transpoder manually .

Do a manual channel using these setting for ITV-HD:
Frequency: 11427000
Symbol Rate: 27500
Polarisation : LinearH

ITV-HD doesn't appear using the quick 30 second scan , but if you do a manual scan above or full scan on all the transpoders it will scan in fine.

For more details on the scan method read DJBlu post at the start of page 89 of this forum " http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/general-development-no-feature-request-here-48/sky-uk-uk-freesat-epg-43261/index89.html "

Also I just remembered this : With the RC1 release there was a problem with one of the dll files that for me caused black screens or snowy grainy images on My TV. A replacement dll file can be found here " http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/mediaportal-1-1-0-rc-1-496/playing-problems-rc1-tv-radio-avi-dxva-78501/ " download the core.zip file extract it to the media-portal program folder overriding the original.

Also user rabbitsears suggested DVBViewer , this is a good program too. If your problems continues you may have better luck with it