Thinking of going DIY - what would I need?

dulpit

Hey all,

I think my Sky contract is nearly up, was thinking of ditching it entirely and going down the DIY route. What I would need is the following:

• Satellite & Saorview on the same EPG
• Ability to record
• Ability to series link
• 7 day EPG for both satellite and saorview
• Internet connectivity would be nice (i.e. remote record), but not essential
• Don't mind it being complicated to set up, but should be easy to use once set up

I don't mind doing some heavy lifting myself - what sort of options should I be looking at? What would a ballpark spend be?

swoofer

If you look just below your thread, there is one on a Tiviar Alpha Plus Combo STB and at the moment it can be had for £99.00. That is what you need so have a good read of the thread.

Tigerandahalf

swoofer wrote: »

If you look just below your thread, there is one on a Tiviar Alpha Plus Combo STB and at the moment it can be had for £99.00. That is what you need so have a good read of the thread.

If you are abroad can you view all channels and recordings remotely? Could they be casted to a tv?

Thanks

Johnboy1951

dulpit wrote: »

Hey all,

I think my Sky contract is nearly up, was thinking of ditching it entirely and going down the DIY route. What I would need is the following:

• Satellite & Saorview on the same EPG
• Ability to record
• Ability to series link
• 7 day EPG for both satellite and saorview
• Internet connectivity would be nice (i.e. remote record), but not essential
• Don't mind it being complicated to set up, but should be easy to use once set up

I don't mind doing some heavy lifting myself - what sort of options should I be looking at? What would a ballpark spend be?

Is this for a single TV point or do you wish to do multi-room, and distributed Live TV and stored media? Maybe access the system from outside the LAN?

GSRNBP

So, I'm looking for the exact same thing as the OP, but in addition to that I definitely want:

- ability to remote view (outside LAN);
- 4k

Doesn't look from the Tiviar thread that this is the right box for me. Is there one?

EDIT: Should say I don't care too much that the box has apps, etc., as I'm happy with my Shield TV for that - but I presume the boxes that would do what I want will have these as standard?

Tigerandahalf

GSRNBP wrote: »

So, I'm looking for the exact same thing as the OP, but in addition to that I definitely want:

- ability to remote view (outside LAN);
- 4k

Doesn't look from the Tiviar thread that this is the right box for me. Is there one?

EDIT: Should say I don't care too much that the box has apps, etc., as I'm happy with my Shield TV for that - but I presume the boxes that would do what I want will have these as standard?

This remote viewing is probably the only thing that would attract me to this type of setup, especially if it could be casted to a tv in your hotel or holiday accommodation.

With tv moving towards 4k is transmission over an LAN going to burn up a lot of data?

Gerry Wicklow

Remote viewing depends on how fast your upload speed is. This is usually a lot lower than your download rate. HD files/streams are large, UHD even bigger. You better be on an unlimited contract before even considering anything like that.

FreudianSlippers

I wouldn't care too much about the remote viewing, but I'd definitely want a 4k box now to deal with future-proofing.

It's also seemingly quite difficult (for me at least) to find a combo box that does PVR series link well for both freesat and saorview?
I'm basically in the market for the exact same box as the OP and GSRNBP above, but don't need remote viewing. Suggestions?

Gerry Wicklow

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

I wouldn't care too much about the remote viewing, but I'd definitely want a 4k box now to deal with future-proofing.

It's also seemingly quite difficult (for me at least) to find a combo box that does PVR series link well for both freesat and saorview?
I'm basically in the market for the exact same box as the OP and GSRNBP above, but don't need remote viewing. Suggestions?

Any linux enigma based box will do any mix of Saorview and FTA satellite with timeshifting and comprehensive series linking

GSRNBP

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

I wouldn't care too much about the remote viewing, but I'd definitely want a 4k box now to deal with future-proofing.

It's also seemingly quite difficult (for me at least) to find a combo box that does PVR series link well for both freesat and saorview?
I'm basically in the market for the exact same box as the OP and GSRNBP above, but don't need remote viewing. Suggestions?

After looking into 4k the past week, I don't think I'm convinced it's worth "future-proofing" for it now. There seem to be no (actually good) channels broadcasting in 4k yet and from what I've read it doesn't seem to be too close on the horizon for FTA or FreeSat.

Johnboy1951

In general I see STBs going the way audio devices went many years ago.

Started out with different devices for different functions, then later they got amalgamated into 3-in-1 and all-in-1 devices, which were extremely convenient.
A large number of users were dissatisfied with the quality & functions of those devices and gradually moved back to 'separates'.
The 'all-in-1' devices still had their place, but much better was available if you wanted that by using separate devices.

For instance 4k is often mentioned for the future.
I have made no specific allowances for moving to 4k ...... but if I do then the only thing needing to be changed will be the client device at the 4k capable TV (or TVs if I win the lottery).
Those devices are cheap at present, and will no doubt remain cheap for 4k when required.
The main system remains as is.

I guess it comes down to convenience and requirements.
For me the extra functions available completely overcome any perceived lack of convenience.

There is no 'one size fits all'.

Gerry Wicklow

I can't see any decent 4K FTA channels in the next few years. Just like HD in the past, Sky will bribe subsidise the higher transmission costs to lock up everything. Even on 13E or 19E you only have the choice of German shopping channels, "Fashion TV" and NASA 4K. Nasa tv looks great but the novelty soon wears off after the third repeat of the day.

Maybe in 3-4 years time it will be different by which time the gear should be a lot cheaper.