Upgrading

trebor28

so i have a technomate 1000 d super fta receiver and satellite set up.

nothing wrong with it but its a few years old and the technology has obviously improved.
i was thinking of upgrading to a new receiver with a pvr and some live pause etc.
the technomate 5000 is quite cheap and if i got an external drive i think i could have a very good set up then.
i am quite technically minded so would have no problem installing it (i think),
but what i really want to know is is it just a case of replacing a new receiver with the old one? especially as its the same brand device.

or is there some better model that i could go with without having to install a new satellite etc.

thanks in advance.

byte

What receiver you use won't matter.

Any receiver will work fine, you'll just have the initial setup to do (tune channels, etc).

The TM5000 series are good receivers alright, with the USB port for external HDD.

What is your dish setup? Is it a dish fixed on Astra2/EB1 28°E for BBC, etc, or is it motorised? Or something else?

If you're fixed on 28°E, then maybe the likes of the Humax Foxsat HDR with built in harddrive would be the one to go for. The only downside is that it's considerably more expensive than the TM5xxx and ideally needs two feeds to your LNB on the dish.

trebor28

thanks for the reply byte.

its a fixed one it picks up the astra 28.2e and also the arabsat 26 e.
more or less the same channels but on one i can watch the bbc interactive as channels.

why would the humax box be better?

all i want really is to be able to record some programmes that are on opposite each other or when im busy so can watch them at another date.

byte

Ah, you pick up two satellites. In that case, the Humax would be less than ideal so. It's specifically suited to just 28.2E channels.

The reason I mentioned it, is because it's like Sky+ as you can record a programme, watch something else etc. Also, more importantly, it has a 7 day EPG.

But. Since you're picking up two satellites, presumably with a DiSEqC switch, the TM5000 would be better for this job, or a TM6800/TM6900 if you want HD also.

trebor28

i wouldnt be that bothered with not having the 7 day epg, or at least i have never had it to know what im missing.

i dont think i have the DiSEqC switch, dont see it anywhere in the set up.

hd would be nice but i dont have a hd tv nor will i be getting one anytime soon i would think.

think it'll just be the 5200d for now, at just €100 here
http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Technomate_Free_to_Air_receiver_for_Freesat_channels.html

plus an external drive for about €70, i think id have a nice little set up.

byte

Well, considering what you've said, yes, the TM5200 seems suitable for your needs.

I'd have figured you'd have some sort of satellite switch to switch between 28.2E and 26E satellites... unless you don't really have Arabsat? I'd guess a huge dish is necessary for Arabsat in Ireland.

steveon

The Technomate 5200 although has usb hd recording it has no rewind or fast forward functions which is a real shame.

However the Technomate 5200 Super + edition which replaced it does indeed have the rewind and forward features however I would recommend you dont use a drive too large as I have had a few problems with a 1tb box...you will need to format the drive into FAT32 format, there is a program on Technomate's own website to do the formatting for you.

byte

steveon wrote: »

The Technomate 5200 although has usb hd recording it has no rewind or fast forward functions which is a real shame.

However the Technomate 5200 Super + edition which replaced it does indeed have the rewind and forward features however I would recommend you dont use a drive too large as I have had a few problems with a 1tb box...you will need to format the drive into FAT32 format, there is a program on Technomate's own website to do the formatting for you.

Good advice - I hadn't realised that only the Super+ model had rewind/FForward ability.

Technomate's model numbering policy is annoying at times. Why not give the othre model a different number, like TM5210 or something, not the "Super" and "Super+" kinda garbage. [/minirant]

trebor28

i have an elliptical mesh dish approx 1m wide.
well i think i am picking it up.

if i click the sat button on my remote, i can then choose what one i want.
i have loads on the list and can pick which ever one i want but obviously the channels are not tuned is cause the satellite is not lined up correctly.

i presume the only way i am able to pick it up is cause its only 2 degrees out from the astra 2.

i dont understand how the size of the drive could interfere with the receiver?

surely it wouldnt make a difference. i can understand how the file system might affect it but not the size of the disc.

byte

I get a suspicion you're only really receiving 28.2E.

What channels do you receive when on 26E?

I'd be inclined to think Steveon is right regarding 1TB drives. It is down to the receiver software how much HDD space it's willing to acknowledge.

A bit like Sky+ boxes which wouldn't address anything beyond 500GB unless formatted using SkyCopy+ software (after which you can't do a factory reset on the Skybox).

trebor28

you could well be right byte.
i had a look at the channel list of both online and i dont think i am getting 26e at all.
but for some reason most of the channels on 28.2e are showing up on it. ie all the bbc, itv, c4, e4, m4 etc.
i dont know am i receiving any of the channels from 26e cause i generally delete anything that is scrambled or not showing up.

steveon

Technomate always bring out super models of their receivers, It usually claims it has a better and more sensitive tuner, not sure if its true...

Also the remote is slightly different between 5200 and 5200 + Models.

I only know this as my mam has a 5200 but wouldnt use it as she could rewind and fast forward. If you stopped the recordings then you had to start at the beginning if you didnt watch the whole program..

I wrote to technomate and they confirmed the 5200+ rectified this so i upgraded her and not use the 5200 myself as a test model to scan and update channel lists etc...which is easily done via usb upgrades...