Freeview PVR

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Spinal

MB Enthusiast
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As some may have seen, I've just swapped to BT infinity... which means I'll be losing my Virgin TV service.

Now, I don't watch much TV and while I will miss the history and discovery channels, I can always get sky if really desperate. That said, I do need a freeview box as my tv doesn't appear to have a receiver built in.

I was thinking of something with PVR and HD capabilities... what's the general consensus? Any brands/models I should be looking at (or avoiding?)

M.
 
We recently dumped BT's freeview offering (after being with them from launch) simply because BT refused to upgrade the boxes to HD..

Now have a Panasonic PVR freeview box with twin HD tuners, access to Netflix etc.. and all the "wind-back" tv services. Excellent bit of kit. :)
 
Don't be tempted to get a cheap non HD freeview PVR-- won't have access to On Demand TV such as BBC IPlayer- check the spec carefully as to the extra facilities /inputs video formats it will accept. Difficult to decide between the big names Humax PANASONIC SAMSUNG SONY etc maybe get one that will integrate best with your existing TV = one less remote. They have all been criticised for their EPG sources from time to time which are farmed out to third party providers -- some offer better= further into the future recording facilities then others.
 
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I have Humax HD PVR. Didn't cost a lot and works well, will get another when/if it goes phut. TV is Pan Viera.
 
Does the Humax one allow to stream video from a SMB share?
 
Does the Humax one allow to stream video from a SMB share?


Is that the same as this?

"....share your recorded content with other devices around the home."

If not then no idea :(

Ian
 
Quite a few options in the Panasonic range with twin Freeview HD tuners that are DLNA compliant (server and client).
 
Thanks- Ian, nope, it's not.

I was thinking of something that lets me stream directly from an SMB share as I have a drobo and have no idea how to get the DLNA server working. Drobo themselves are dreadful with support of apps... I have a PS3 that will stream, but it needs another computer on to do the SMB->DLNA transition.

M
 
You get a free Humax YouView box with BT Infinity, with monthly fee of either £5 for their Essentials package, or £12 for their Unlimited package.
 
We bought a cheap one from Tesco two and a half years ago (Technika Smartbox 8320HD) and have to say it's been fine. It was £200, which was quite a bargain for a twin-tuner HD box back then.
 

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