Freeview terrestrial decoder recommendations

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Klipspringer

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#85809 25-Jun-2011 15:36

Hi

I have seen so many types of decoders on trademe, not sure where to start. Some advice will be usefull.

The setup is actually for the kids playroom. Currently we have Sky multiroom but it looks like cr@p as its coming in via the Dish and the second sky decoder is not HD. Sky cannot offer any practical solution to get High Definition onto the second TV, seems the only way is to purchase a second mysky decoder or paying even more of a monthly subscription. Multiroom is already costing $25 extra per month, which to me seems to be a waist.

So I have decided to go for freeview on the kids TV.

Lots of these freeview decoders have the PVR function, when hooking up a external harddrive. Are these any good?

The decoder should also have a good easy EPG interface.

I have been looking at these so far:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/TVs/Terrestrial-receivers/auction-385572590.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics-photography/TVs/Terrestrial-receivers/auction-385459005.htm

ANy ideas?

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#485796 25-Jun-2011 15:59

They look like a pretty poor option. No mention anywhere of MHEG5 so they won't have an EPG, and being FAT32 based they have to split files into multiple parts which can cause issues.

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dukester

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#485837 25-Jun-2011 18:21

The second decoder would be a good option as it has MHEG 5 support and is a dual tuner, which means you can record a different program than the one you are watching at the same time.

bfginger

1237 posts

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#485863 25-Jun-2011 19:15

Most of the "Freeview" receivers on Trademe aren't, and generally don't support the MHEG-5 EPG.

The DishTV 1020 UHF model should be alright. There is a firmware update available that adds support for recording
http://www.dishtv.co.nz/Freeview|HD-aerialBox/1-DishTV-Freeview|HD-1080p-Receiver.htm
It is a single tuner model so you cannot do something like record TV3 and watch TV1 on it at the same time. I've seen it selling for $149 offline.

If you're more serious about recording then something like the Homecast HT9200DTR would be a better option. It should be available for $4x0.

Klipspringer

2385 posts

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#485980 26-Jun-2011 10:47

Thanks for all the help guys, I think the dishtv t1020 will be a good option.

4grandkids

15 posts

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#486123 26-Jun-2011 16:34

i use a homecast digital recorder, its simple to use and has one touch record and one touch series record features. you can record 2 channels and watch a third as well as pause live tv. i'm in chch and got it at smith city on spec for just under $500.

DaMo73

121 posts

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#486130 26-Jun-2011 17:02

It is a single tuner model so you cannot do something like record TV3 and watch TV1 on it at the same time. I've seen it selling for $149 offline.

That's true but according to Dish TV's website on this model.

Record two channels and watch another channel on the same frequency.

But realistically that's a poor option so the PVR's with dual tuners are clearly the way to go.

4grandkids

15 posts

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#486165 26-Jun-2011 18:59

i'm really not sure what the previous posting is about, so i will be clear,
the homecast 9200dtr digital recorder can do all the things i say in my previous post, they cost $400 plus depending on where you buy them.

Brunzy

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#486166 26-Jun-2011 18:59

DaMo73:
It is a single tuner model so you cannot do something like record TV3 and watch TV1 on it at the same time. I've seen it selling for $149 offline.

That's true but according to Dish TV's website on this model.

Record two channels and watch another channel on the same frequency.

But realistically that's a poor option so the PVR's with dual tuners are clearly the way to go.

For the price I would say that's a good feature

cldlr76

289 posts

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#486175 26-Jun-2011 19:29

Noel's are selling the Dish T1020 for $169 at the moment http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/tvs-dvds/freeview-decoders/dishtv-t1020-high-definition-freeview-hd-receiver/prod108009.html

I also recall seeing a terrestrial box in the latest warehouse mailer for about the same price (sanyo I think)

Klipspringer

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#486193 26-Jun-2011 20:34

cldlr76: Noel's are selling the Dish T1020 for $169 at the moment http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/tvs-dvds/freeview-decoders/dishtv-t1020-high-definition-freeview-hd-receiver/prod108009.html

I also recall seeing a terrestrial box in the latest warehouse mailer for about the same price (sanyo I think)

Bought this one. Worked out of the box. Very happy so far.

Just updated the firmware, want to try out the media capabilities. Will let you guys know.

JimmyH

2820 posts

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#486555 27-Jun-2011 19:41

I would be very interested to know if you can view/transcode the files that it records to the USB hard drive on your PC.

I quite want to do this so I can grab HD material off Freeview, but tried and gave up with the weird format my Visione VE4000 recorded in.

Klipspringer

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#486600 27-Jun-2011 21:39

JimmyH: I would be very interested to know if you can view/transcode the files that it records to the USB hard drive on your PC.

I quite want to do this so I can grab HD material off Freeview, but tried and gave up with the weird format my Visione VE4000 recorded in.

Will try it out and report back to you guys..

AKLWestie

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#487174 28-Jun-2011 22:06

Hi all,

I bought this STB (Dish T1020) and a Western Digital Elements 2TB HDD (external 3.5" USB HD). I created one partition (2TB) and formatted it with fat32format.exe .

The STB can recognise the HDD with no problem. So I booked ONE news and Shortland Street via the EPG as I wanted the STB to record the whole series.

I got a problem during playback, every now and then, it jitters/pixelates. It is worse with Shorty, sometimes when the scene switch from one angle to another, or if there is a new scene, the jitter/pixelation gets quite bad.

I have checked the signal level and signal quality by using the "i"/info button on the STB remote and I get 90+% for both signal strength and quality.

Can anyone give me some suggestion (or how can I solve this problem)?

Also, can you tell me your experience?

FYI, I flashed the STV with the latest firmware ( v1.0f ).

Thanks!

Klipspringer

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#487189 28-Jun-2011 22:33

I have managed to record nicely without problems.

However I am only using a smaller drive. 250GB. Maybe its the size of your drive thats causing the problems? Did not even think it was possible to have a 2TB Fat32 drive?

What i found a waste of time though was the media services. Its unable to play many formats of files from the USB. Sometimes it freezes. It recognised my tversity media server, again only could play some of the formats. It did not even play a basic mp3 via the tversity media server.

I suppose $160 gets us what we paid for. I am happy though that it can record to USB, thats all I really wanted.

DaMo73

121 posts

Master Geek

#487194 28-Jun-2011 22:50

@AKLWestie I got the Dish TV T1020 as well and I emailed the company soon after getting it as I wanted to know what they recommend on disk size and the info they told me might help you.

They told that I could use a 1Tb hard drive, but said that 500gb would be sufficient and that it should be AC powered.

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