Moving to Marlborough, No Terrestrial, Sat help needed. re choices.

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Moving to Marlborough, No Terrestrial, Sat help needed. re choices.

antcj

22 posts

Geek

#109250 16-Sep-2012 17:14

We are moving to Blenheim in the near future. I understand there is no terrestrial transmission there.And No future plans.
So i can kiss my Tivo goodbye.

I have trawled many sites and forums, and unfortunately nothing seems to stack up against the functionality of Tivo.

However , needs must and all that, so the choices as i see it are:
Ultraplus 9200
S7090,
Vu+ Duo ,which I have been told are due in NZ in approx 4 weeks time.

The S7090 I wont consider.

Ive had no experience with either of the other 2, other than what i read.
The Vu+ has a huge following if the forums in UK are anything to go by.

My main concerns are

series link or season pass as tivo call it.
not recording duplicate programs, as we currently have the same programs at different times on the same night, on some channels.
not recording series that have aired previously
Being able to add time to beginning and end of selected recording.

Is there anyone here that has used both and can advise on what they think of them.

cheers
Ant

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904 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#686729 16-Sep-2012 17:21

Yes there are no Terrestrial transmitters in Marlborough, but if you are on the coast, you might get something from Wellington - Clifford Bay south of Blenheim gets DTT the north Island.

antcj

22 posts

Geek

#686731 16-Sep-2012 17:23

I wandered about that but assumed the distance was too great . Thanks for the info

bfginger

1268 posts

Uber Geek

#686781 16-Sep-2012 19:05

The signal would be very weak and a standard aerial is unlikely to work. I doubt even a 91 element would be enough. If it isn't you could look at something more high end.

It's possible to receive UHF in some very marginal locations with special setups like a UHF parabolic aerial.
http://www.dtvs.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=85
Don't give up if a standard aerial isn't enough.

antcj

22 posts

Geek

#686801 16-Sep-2012 19:48

bfginger: The signal would be very weak and a standard aerial is unlikely to work. I doubt even a 91 element would be enough. If it isn't you could look at something more high end.

It's possible to receive UHF in some very marginal locations with special setups like a UHF parabolic aerial.
http://www.dtvs.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=85
Don't give up if a standard aerial isn't enough.

Thank you.
Prob best to get a local installer to assess i guess, rather than splashing out on an ant. that may not work.
good suggestion, does give me some hope.

knoydart

904 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#686804 16-Sep-2012 19:51

There is at least one viewer in Clifford bay, approx 71Km from Kaukau whom it works for (DTT). From the information I have, the install is reasonably standard. If you are keen to keep the TiVo services, a small bit of playing around might be a good investment - if you are not too far from the coast.

antcj

22 posts

Geek

#686806 16-Sep-2012 19:55

knoydart: There is at least one viewer in Clifford bay, approx 71Km from Kaukau whom it works for (DTT). From the information I have, the install is reasonably standard. If you are keen to keep the TiVo services, a small bit of playing around might be a good investment - if you are not too far from the coast.

Im pretty sure i will end up in Blenheim town itself.
So I suppose on reflection, im back to a sat box.
But at least i can keep the possibility in mind.

Thunderflash

58 posts

Master Geek

#686859 16-Sep-2012 21:53

You must have a pretty good reason to move to Blenheim?

Quic Broadband

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Zeon

3916 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#686900 17-Sep-2012 00:14

Surprised there is no terrestrial there!

Speedtest 2019-10-14

Apsattv

2389 posts

Uber Geek

#686902 17-Sep-2012 00:37

Wait until you get there. Last time I was over in Blenheim the place was full of UHF 91 element antennas. For ex SKY reception from Kaukau.

Although I understand that the DTT transmitter is lower down the mast. There will be pockets of Blenheim that still can get usable DTT signal.

also see thread here
http://www.nzdtv.com/forum/showthread.php?832-Blenheim-Freeview-DTT-Reception

antcj

22 posts

Geek

#686911 17-Sep-2012 06:19

Thanks to all who responded.
I do intend to hold off for the short term, but in the end it looks like I still need advice on a choice of sat box.
No one has commented on that yet.

Apsattv

2389 posts

Uber Geek

#686948 17-Sep-2012 09:02

If you got the Ultraplus 9200 X you could get it with one DTT tuner and one Satellite tuner?

So both options are covered

xarqi

727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#687270 17-Sep-2012 18:05

If you got a Vu+ Duo, you could get a USB DVB-T tuner and have both options covered, and have 3 tuners!
The Vix image has a reasonably functional "series link" feature, I believe, but it won't do all that you ask for; I don't know if any box does. Adding time before and after a recording is simple.

antcj

22 posts

Geek

#687327 17-Sep-2012 19:07

Thanks everyone.
Im really trying to get a handle on the better unit if anyone has used both?

xarqi

727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#687339 17-Sep-2012 19:20

Easy enough. You've seen the following the Vu+ Duo has overseas, and indeed here. Contrast that with the global popularity and support for anything with "Ultraplus" on it.

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#687375 17-Sep-2012 19:52

antcj: The Vu+ has a huge following if the forums in UK are anything to go by.

My main concerns are

series link or season pass as tivo call it.
not recording duplicate programs, as we currently have the same programs at different times on the same night, on some channels.
not recording series that have aired previously
Being able to add time to beginning and end of selected recording.

Is there anyone here that has used both and can advise on what they think of them.

cheers
Ant

I've only used a Vu+, but can give you some detailed info. regarding its capabilities in the areas you have raised above:

- Series Link works extremely well if you have the VIX image. They provide a function called "Auto Timer" which does all that Sky's Series Link will do and more. It will even scan alternate channels if you wish, and you can set a "Time Window" during which it will look for a matching entry in the EPG. So your series link will continue to work with BBC programmes that move an hour earlier/later after daylight saving starts/ends. Series Link was not available for some BBC World programmes on MySky, probably for that reason.

- You can add time before and after a recording according to whatever you want. I use 5 mins before and after, and very seldom miss anything (except with the Olympic Opening Ceremony where it ran well beyond the scheduled time.

- There is no issue with recording duplicate airings of the same programme. You nominate the Time Window and it will only record matching EPG entries which fall during that period.

- I don't know how any PVR could avoid recording programmes that have aired previously? Surely it's up to the user to sort that out when looking at the EPG?

I hope I've answered your queries there. I have a 2TB hard drive in my Vu+ and disc space is no longer an issue, even though we record quite a bit of stuff. Free space has never got below 70% during the 18 months or so we've had it.

BTW, can you divulge the name of the Vu+ importer who will have stock in 4 weeks time?
Last I heard, there was nobody bringing these into NZ any more, which is a great pity.

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