Combo box for second tv

mortimer33

Hey Guys

I would like to get a combo box for my spare TV. I don't need anything fancy.. It should be easy to use and responsive. Don't really care about recording - but being able to pause TV would be handy. I currently have a Walker Wp645ts but its rubbish. Constantly freezing and locking up. Any suggestions?

Cheers

codar

Budget is always a factor.
Ariva combo box (120, 150, 152, 153, 250, 252) are ok, adding a usb key may do the trick to pause live tv.
Your going to have to arrange your channels manually though either using the remote (takes ages) or with the ferguson channel editor on your pc (which is faster but still tedious).
A better option would be a linux combo receiver but they generally are more expensive than the likes of the ariva, walker etc, but the have a far superior epg and can auto update channel lists on the satellite side of things.
For the epg alone, i'd go for the linux receiver.
Most if not all linux receivers can have a usb/hdd attached for pvr/timeshift/pause live tv.

enfant terrible

codar wrote: »

Budget is always a factor.
Ariva combo box (120, 150, 152, 153, 250, 252) are ok, adding a usb key may do the trick to pause live tv.
Your going to have to arrange your channels manually though either using the remote (takes ages) or with the ferguson channel editor on your pc (which is faster but still tedious).
A better option would be a linux combo receiver but they generally are more expensive than the likes of the ariva, walker etc, but the have a far superior epg and can auto update channel lists on the satellite side of things.
For the epg alone, i'd go for the linux receiver.
Most if not all linux receivers can have a usb/hdd attached for pvr/timeshift/pause live tv.

What's the cheapest linux combo receiver/recorder?

Can it receive Saorview too?

codar

Dunno what the cheapest one is but a golden interstar xspeed lx2 combo is worth a look.
It is a twin tuner (dvb-s/s2, dvb-t/t2/c hybrid) so will do satellite and terestrial channels.
I have had one for a while and it runs well, should set you back between €165 to €190 depending where you source one from.
They can be got from across the water but sterling is fierce strong at the moment so this should be factored in.
The above mentioned receiver can receive saorview channels(although not certified and probably doesn't have mheg5 middleware for full saorview compatibility)
You will have to add a hdd for pvr capabilities though

enfant terrible

codar wrote: »

Dunno what the cheapest one is but a golden interstar xspeed lx2 combo is worth a look.
It is a twin tuner (dvb-s/s2, dvb-t/t2/c hybrid) so will do satellite and terestrial channels.
I have had one for a while and it runs well, should set you back between €165 to €190 depending where you source one from.
They can be got from across the water but sterling is fierce strong at the moment so this should be factored in.
The above mentioned receiver can receive saorview channels(although not certified and probably doesn't have mheg5 middleware for full saorview compatibility)
You will have to add a hdd for pvr capabilities though

Cheers codar,

Can you plug in a hard drive to that receiver to record?

Is the EPG as good as the Sky boxes? series link etc.

codar

Yes, a hard drive is a must for recording/timeshifting/pausing live tv.
Epg is slightly different to sky (depending on image, openvix image have a nice graphical epg although coolmans epg in my opinion is the nicest but that is officially only available for vu receivers running blackhole) but you can get sky looking skins which make the look and feel of the receiver very similar to sky's one.
There is a plugin for series link although i can't comment on weather it works like sky as i've never had a sky plus or hd box.

enfant terrible

codar wrote: »

Yes, a hard drive is a must for recording/timeshifting/pausing live tv.
Epg is slightly different to sky (depending on image, openvix image have a nice graphical epg although coolmans epg in my opinion is the nicest but that is officially only available for vu receivers running blackhole) but you can get sky looking skins which make the look and feel of the receiver very similar to sky's one.
There is a plugin for series link although i can't comment on weather it works like sky as i've never had a sky plus or hd box.

Thanks codar