If money was not a concern...

[PopcornNMore]

If money was not a concern what DVB-S2 and HD compatible FTA receiver with PVR functionality would you buy and where?

Receiver: ?
Place to buy: ?

Now since Montana PBS went DVB-S2 I belive it's time for me to get an updated receiver.

I can tell the wife it will be our Christmas present to each other.

 

[stogie5150]

There isn't one.

Pvr's for FTA are good only for SD feeds. Never had one that was good on a high bitrate feed.

If you watch a lot of sports feeds, an Azbox from the vendor in Florida.

If you don't, the Opensat looks like a good choice.

 

[brentb636]

I'm with Stogie all the way on those recommendations, but I warn you that neither of the boxes will be perfect. They all have their flaws, and we work around them ( sometimes, by having multiple receivers which complement each other ) and sometimes with DVB PCI solutions.

 

[geekt]

If money wasn't an issue, I'd contract a company to make my own.

Or possibly build a set top box, to be more realistic...but I don't really know the Linux support of various distros for different PCI cards, and their use in set top boxes. I'd have to research it. (Please no one reply to me mentioning Windows...)

I've actually been trying to decide on a receiver, and it seems nearly impossible. You have to debate the features with the reviews, and I wonder if any receiver actually meets my dream specifications.

Required: DiSEqC 1.2, Blind Scan (obviously), DVB-S, DVB-S2, MPEG2, MPEG4, USB Hard Drive Support, HDMI/DVI with sub/closed captioning support
Preferably: DiSEqC 1.3, 4:2:2, h.264, 1080p, FAST Blind Scan, Linux, fast processor, Ethernet, Streaming to a computer, playback of vids/music from computer, internal 3.5 hard drive, DVD Burning
Dreams: Split Screen / Multi Screen with 4 or more signals (that would be AWESOME!!! Could have my own version of Superman's news feeds), BluRay/DVD burner, able to play online videos and streams...that's all I can think of now...

I was looking at the DreamBox DM8000 HD...which is literally a dream box...but I don't know if it's actually any good. Just looked pretty cool with all of it's overpriced features.

Edit: Stogie, why do you suggest the Opensat for people that aren't really into sports?

 

[Mr Tony]

The opensat doesnt do 4:2:2 and lots of sports feeds are going that way (even some in HD)

 

[Conky]

A Home Theatre PC
-relatively future proof(just throw in a new tuner)
-add ATSC/NTSC/qam tuner for OTA or cable
-play every media format known to man
-can fix it yourself with widely available parts
-easy to connect to home network for file editing sharing
-with "sleep mode" you don't have to have it running 24/7

On the downside it might be a bit daunting to get everything up andrunning properly

 

[Mikhel]

If money were not a concern i'd buy at least three different boxes besides investing in a HTPC with a prof DVB-S2 card, ATSC card for OTA channels, a QAM tuner for cable channels and a good video card with inputs to use it as a PVR feeding whatever i'm watching on any given receiver to the PC so as free the proccessor while i'm recording =):

An Opensat S9 from opensat.us or whatever the name of their site is (free shipping and reliables);

An AzBox premium plus from rick since i know he's been reliable and fast when a problem arises (like when the power source blew in some models, he attended me and a friend very quickly);

One of those Vantage 8000, they are just soooo pretty! albeit a bit pricey (480 euros).

 

[geekt]

The opensat doesnt do 4:2:2 and lots of sports feeds are going that way (even some in HD)

Well that explains why I was thinking the 4:2:2 discussion was a bit overblown. Mostly I'm interested in MPEG4. I think 4:2:2 is limited in it's lifetime anyway. It's just a tack on to MPEG2. MPEG4 has a LOT better compression. I think either MPEG4 will take over, or another newer format, which will allow better picture quality with lower bandwidth.

 

[brentb636]

Well that explains why I was thinking the 4:2:2 discussion was a bit overblown. Mostly I'm interested in MPEG4. I think 4:2:2 is limited in it's lifetime anyway. It's just a tack on to MPEG2. MPEG4 has a LOT better compression. I think either MPEG4 will take over, or another newer format, which will allow better picture quality with lower bandwidth.

There are mpeg4, dvb-s2 , 4:2:2 feeds. I watched the Yankees 2 years ago on one and the pic was gorgeous.

 

[stogie5150]

Edit: Stogie, why do you suggest the Opensat for people that aren't really into sports?

The opensat doesnt do 4:2:2 and lots of sports feeds are going that way (even some in HD)

What he said.

Well that explains why I was thinking the 4:2:2 discussion was a bit overblown. Mostly I'm interested in MPEG4. I think 4:2:2 is limited in it's lifetime anyway. It's just a tack on to MPEG2. MPEG4 has a LOT better compression. I think either MPEG4 will take over, or another newer format, which will allow better picture quality with lower bandwidth.

From what I understand, 4:2:2 allows more color information to be sent in a given signal bandwidth. you CAN see the difference in a 4:2:0 and a 4:2:2 HD feed. Right now most 4:2:2 is sports. Whether its H264 or mpeg 2 matters not a whit, 4:2:2 can be used regardless.

 

[linuxman]

Ok, so where do you get the Opensat S9?

 

[geekt]

Ahh! I was misinformed then about 4:2:2. Everyone keeps calling it an extension of the MPEG2 format. I assumed that they were just using 4:2:2 as a sort of nickname for this extension. Obviously that's not the case. It's just the people using the spec to explain the extra chroma information. It has nothing to do with the MPEG2 spec...just that it's not in the MPEG2 spec...which is why barely any receiver supports it!

 

[brentb636]

Sadoun, Hypermegasat, maybe some others on ebay. The Sathawk 800, Solomend 800, and Opensat s9 are pretty much the same box. Same firmware . The ports that are actually on the back of the box differ, as the production changes.

 

[Vorg]

I use a Athlon64 X2 running debian linux x64 with a single and a dual atsc tuner. A pair if sata wd 500Gb drivers setup as mirror for storage. 2Gb of ram. I can record 3 channels at the same time no problem. I am using an Asus 8400 silent for the video card and that uses VPDAU for hardware video decoding but.. the card is at the edge for video. Rally should go with a GT220 or 240.

Also, I made the mistake of using FusionHDTV7 Dual Express for the dual tuner. At the time, I bought 2 as I was setting up the same system for my dad. I already had a HVR1800 single tuner. I spent more then a year trying to work out problems with it dropping one tuner thinking it was driver or software problems. Then the Fusion died. I put the other in and got a replacement to get my dads up. I'm not sure which I put in my system, the one that was setting on the shelf for over a year or the new replacement, But that card has started dropping a tuner again and I think my dads is starting to glitch.

Stay away from the FusionHDTV7 cards.

Hauppauge who made the 1800 (which they now sell as the 1850) has a dual out now, the 2250.

Also Blackgold BlackGold - BlackGold offers a range of software components for licence and turnkey products are available for immediate manufacture. We specialise in providing OEM design and consultancy solutions, including turnkey DVB-T, DVB-S, Freeview, Freesat a is coming out with a quad tuner. It will have 2 DVB-S2 tuners and 2 ATSC tuners on it, though it may be OEM only. I know someone who is beta testing. I do know that the dvb-s2 part is NOT based on the Montage M88DS3000 chip. Find a card based on that for future proofing. It supports hardware blind scanning as well as 16psk and 32apsk: Partial software blindscan on PC with TeVii - CiNcH's DVB & HTPC Blog

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Brent!

When I get ready, I'll look one of them up.

Sadoun, Hypermegasat, maybe some others on ebay. The Sathawk 800, Solomend 800, and Opensat s9 are pretty much the same box. Same firmware . The ports that are actually on the back of the box differ, as the production changes.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I might get the Openbox S9.

Openbox S9 HD PVR FTA Receiver

However, it doesn't receive 4:2:2

 

[Anole]

OTA tuner

If we're going to talk about computers and OTA recording, I've taken Linuxman's wise advice and got a Silicon Dust HD Homerun dual tuner.
It was about $90 factory refurbished, and interfaces over the LAN.!.
I've been burned in the past by USB and PCI cards, and this spanks 'em all.

Since I was only interested in OTA, and had a spare laptop with a version of Vista that contained Media Center, I tried it and am very pleased!
Probably not the right OS solution for everyone.
But the tuner sure is! - :up

 

[Vorg]

If they do a proper testing/checkout on the referb, then $90 is a good deal and there is a plugin for vdr to use them.

 

[Anony55]

I agree with a properly equipped HTPC. All the formats, no high bit-rate recording problems, DVB, ATSC, DVR for external sources, DVDs from the hard drive, DivX (and other) media, remote control, ect.

I wanted to build mine for around $600, ROTFL! I ended up around $1,600... and that didn't include the OS, or wireless keyboard & mouse. I've gotta say, I've enjoyed it ever since building it.

Cheers

Edit; Oh yeah, video games too.

 

[Anole]

frugal:

I wanted mine to run from a remote, not a keyboard.
However, it does have a good integrated mouse-function.
$ 14 shipped, @ Amazon.