Freeview HD PVR - The Facts as I understand them

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Freeview HD PVR - The Facts as I understand them - 5 December 2008

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Ultimate Geek

#197729 24-Feb-2009 13:00

jonathan18:
UltraPower: Thanks, I have contacted Freitasm and will send him soon one set of Hyundai AH-3110 to test and review . Cheers

Hi there - can you confirm whether a unit has been provided for a review? And if so, can we be told when we may expect this review to be posted?

Many thanks

I was wondering the same thing myself.

sbiddle

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#197734 24-Feb-2009 13:10

jonathan18:
UltraPower: Thanks, I have contacted Freitasm and will send him soon one set of Hyundai AH-3110 to test and review . Cheers

Hi there - can you confirm whether a unit has been provided for a review? And if so, can we be told when we may expect this review to be posted?

Yes freitasm does have a unit. I borrowed it for a few days and had a play with it and had no issues with it.

The most obvious downside is the lack of MHEG5, this means you have no EPG on DVB-T just now & next data which makes scheduling recordings a bit more difficult. DVB-S works fine and gives the whole 8 day EIT EPG.

The menu did occasionally become a bit sluggish and to be honest isn't as simple as it could be.

The most significant downside to the unit is that unlike approved boxes such as the Zinwell that setup can be a bit more difficult. It won't automatically scan and use map the correct Freeview DVB channel numbers and it is also has issues where it encounters multiple Freeview MUX's (from primary transmitters and SFN transmitters).

During some testing it tuned both Kaukau and Fitzherbert MUX's and tuned every channel twice in the channel list. Because the aerial was aimed at Fitzherbert the signal strength from Kaukau was actually too low to display a picture (even though the box tuned it) so you need to manually go through and delete the duplicate channels. For somebody who just wants a play & play box this is a big ask. The Zinwell boxes (and I believe most IDTV's and other approved STB's) all detect multiple MUX's and will only tune the strongest signal which stops duplicates from occuring.

Other than that I had no issues with picture or sound quality, it would have been nice to have an auto select option for the output format (instead of having to force 1080i or 720p) so content can be passed through in it's native format to the TV but this is more of a wish as many boxes don't have this.

Let me know if you've got any other questions.

Jaxson

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#197737 24-Feb-2009 13:30

sbiddle:
Other than that I had no issues with picture or sound quality, it would have been nice to have an auto select option for the output format (instead of having to force 1080i or 720p) so content can be passed through in it's native format to the TV but this is more of a wish as many boxes don't have this.

Let me know if you've got any other questions.

The Zinwell standard STB does this too, you have to select an output resolution that all channels are then scaled to.

Could you use the EPG (which is from the sat service) to set up recordings/ or series links for the HD UHF channels? Or do you have to manually enter these yourself, or set up based on sat channels and then go back in to the item and switch to UHF?

Cheers.

JaBZ

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Ultimate Geek

#197739 24-Feb-2009 13:36

I have been contemplating this box however one question still remains and is not clearly answered hope you can help. The supplier mentions while there is no MHEG5 EPG, you can use the EIT DVB-S EPG to shedule shows for DVB-T? You can also use this EIT to schedule season passes etc for DVB-T. Is this the case?

My opinions and ideas expressed in posts are solely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer in any way..

sbiddle

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#197743 24-Feb-2009 13:56

I didn't see any way to map the EPG but to be honest I didn't look in depth at trying to do this - I just assumed there was no way to get a DVB-T EPG and hadn't actually seen any comments saying that mapping the EPG was possible. When you tune both DVB-T and DVB-S they simply appear as different channel numbers in the channel list and when you click on the channel you see a small TV aerial or satellite dish logo to indicate what source you are viewing.

The problem with "series link" is that it's a feature of MHEG5 which gives a unique code to a show. All anything that doesn't have MHEG5 can do is compare show descriptions within the EIT show data which while it's reasonably accurate it not completely foolproof.

freitasm

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#197746 24-Feb-2009 14:16

butlerboy:
jonathan18:
UltraPower: Thanks, I have contacted Freitasm and will send him soon one set of Hyundai AH-3110 to test and review . Cheers

Hi there - can you confirm whether a unit has been provided for a review? And if so, can we be told when we may expect this review to be posted?

Many thanks

I was wondering the same thing myself.

Yes, I got a unit pretty soon after we talked. I had it here for a couple of days and sbiddle took it to try on his place. I have it back now. Will post a review with pictures soon.

It works well and managed to scan DVB-T channels pretty quickly. It's easy to use but the menus can be a bit confusing - I guess you don't do much after you have it setup.

I was send an external USB drive but decided to use my own, which was recognised with no problems. Recording is fine, but only one DVB-T receiver. The unit supports EPG but not MHEG5 - which means now + next (or a bit more), but not the full week guide (I haven't tested with DVB-S though).

Picture quality is very good and it worked well with HDMI directly to my Sony Bravia.

I left it recording for a couple of hours from the Freeview|HD demo channel - which is full HD all the time - and didn't have problems with picture or sound.

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Jaxson

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#197754 24-Feb-2009 15:06

sbiddle:
When you tune both DVB-T and DVB-S they simply appear as different channel numbers in the channel list and when you click on the channel you see a small TV aerial or satellite dish logo to indicate what source you are viewing.

Guess you could just use the Sat EPG to schedule a recording of a program on CH3 for instance, then go back to the recording program list afterwards and change just the channel part of it to an HD channel instead of the sat it will use initially.

Wonder if these guys have any plans to implement the MHEG5 EPG given the new version now supports programming selecting directly from it?

jonathan18

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#197768 24-Feb-2009 16:24

I have read elsewhere (even perhaps on this forum?) that the Hyundai can indeed use the EIT EPG to set up recordings, however one must manually switch the timer to record from the appropriate channel on the terestrial receiver (as, of course, the EPG functions first and foremost with the satelite receiver).

Would appreciate it if you'd be able to have a play with this and let us know how big a hassle this is.

UltraPower

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#197774 24-Feb-2009 16:48

As we have confirmed before this Hyundai combo is capable of recording both satellite and high definition terrestrial through the EPG without the need of MHEG5. It is very simple and easy to use the satellite EPG and on demand change the channel name with one push on the button and use the high definition terrestrial channel instead. It is also capable to record through the EPG from terrestrial for a few hours directly or using the eight-days-schedule which appear in this receiver (dots need to be re-named).
With the standard EPG the user can avoid the very complicated MHEG5 recording system which causes for example the Zinwell certified PVR to crash constantly in need of help from Freeview to support and change platform and we believe it is hard for the next certified set to work as perfectly with this system as the Hyundai is now performing.
With the next SW update we are planning to adopt NATIVE resolution (automatic) and Hyundai is still working on this.
It takes the user only 2 min and one time only to sort the channel sequence as requested. There is no need for MHEG5 to do this job if you consider high definition recording so easy, robust and cheap from a well known Korean company.

sbiddle

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#197794 24-Feb-2009 17:40

Do you have any plans to impliment MHEG5? The reality is this is no longer some unused obscure middleware format, it's not virtually become a defacto standard in all new (and recent) DVB rollouts. Even Australia has deployed MHEG5 as part of it's new Freeview launch.

EIT is obsolete in terms of an EPG and can't support the feature people really do want such as series link.

Deev8

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Ultimate Geek

#197804 24-Feb-2009 18:40

UltraPower: It is very simple and easy to use the satellite EPG and on demand change the channel name with one push on the button and use the high definition terrestrial channel instead.

It sounds quite cumbersome to me rather than "very simple and easy".

It's pointless criticising the MHEG5 EPG because that's what we have got. I can understand an initial implementation that doesn't use the MHEG5 EPG, because developing that PVR/EPG interface can take some time. However any PVR that decides to ignore the programme guide long term will be second rate at best.

sbiddle

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#197806 24-Feb-2009 18:51

Just FYI there are two different parts to the MHEG5. Anybody who's used a certified box will know what the static MHEG5 EPG looks like, anybody who's used a Zinwell box will know what the MHEG5 PVR extensions are. This adds PVR style functionality to the EPG.

INMO anybody who's used a PC based EPG solution such as Windows Media Center, GB-PVR or Media Portal or the MHEG EPG PVR extension to record a show will find most standard STB's quite complex.

UltraPower

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#197827 24-Feb-2009 20:02

Please read the review once it is out to see how easy it is to use the standard EPG for recording from both satellite and terrestrial

We did not ignore MHEG5 EPG for recording but this option was found to be very complicated (not user friendly).You need to have both PVRs certified and non-certified on hand to see the difference.

We already tested this many times and we do not recommend at all to embed MHEG5 EPG for recording in this model.

If you have a better and easier way for recording, why would anyone choose the complicated one? Not to mention all recorded files with the Hyundai AH-3110 could be played-back directly on your PC no matter if you have formatted your HDD to Linux or FAT32 and later you could burn it on high definition DVD which Freeview certified PVR sets will never allow.

freitasm

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#197829 24-Feb-2009 20:14

Yes, but this is the case IF someone has both DVB-S and DVB-T - which mean additional costs in satellite dish, installation, etc.

For example I use DVB-T only because I have a 100% signal and 100% quality - I live just about two kms line of sight from Mt Kaukay. Sbiddle can confirm that if you open the curtains in the lounge here you can see the lights in the tower.

So EPG support is something I consider essential since I am not up to paying for a second installation just for that...

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UltraPower

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#197845 24-Feb-2009 20:57

In that case if you have only a UHF aerial and do not wish to add a satellite dish (around $100.00 investment) and you do not like the idea to rename the dots found in the standard 7 days EPG for UHF signal in this receiver you would need to wait a while for a better set than the Zinwell certified PVR without any bugs with built-in probably 500 GB (100 hours of recording) and target price around $600.00, then you would have the perfect set for you.

The Hyundai AH-3110 is more recommended for users who have both

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