Ack! PVR DVDR type noob needs some help

ALienBC

ALienBC

ALienBC

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16 Jan 2003
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170
Right: the other half has been badgering me for years now to get Sky+. We've just got normal Sky at the moment. I'd like to take the box outside and stomp on it, cos it's crap, but noo... she likes it. And wants to do the HD record pause yer live crap TV and all that. So for Xmas, she wants some sort of shiny pausey live tv thing. And I don't know what to get:

1) At the moment we have Sky. Can I get anything other than a Sky+ box and use it to record Sky progs?

2) We're gonna be moving house next year, into an NTL area. Which might mean swapping one Big Evil TV company for another... again, what kind of unit would be most flexible to cope with recording anything from any provider?

3) I like the look of Topfield and Humax PVRs; but I can't tell if they'll let me record external sources, or just Freeview

4) I've no idea about DVD recorders... would they provide a bit more flexibility, as per my comments above? Ie, getting something without a tuner praps. Tho I do like the idea of Freeview, it's just so... free :]

Ta muchly
abc
 
Yeh, I know the Sky+ box is supposed to be dead easy to use - I just object to having to buy something and then rent it as well. And I believe it's only single tuner.

Tivo, hmmm...
abc
 
Actually you do rent it. As far as I can tell, Sky+ at the moment is:

- 99 quid for the box
- free installation if you take multiroom, which is 10 quid a month (ie, rental)
- 60 quid installation if you don't take multiroom
- and potentially another 10 quid a month (ie rental) if you don't take two premium channels on top of your standard mix

Sadly I've lost the argument with the missus, and it looks like we're doing it anyway. Great :)

abc
 
Thanks both. I just spoke to NTL, and had an amusing conversation with someone who was supposed to have training this morning on their new "Tivo" system but it got cancelled, so she knew almost nothing about it. There's an updated price list on the NTL website that talks about the V+ box, which sounds promising (although it'd be much more sensible if they just resold Tivo... who knows, I guess it'll be some kind of PVR they're rebadging). Usual thing, 80hrs recording, record two watch one, etc etc. Sounds a bit like what you're talking about, Vogon, tho she didn't mention HD. 10 quid a month rental (she thinks) on top of the usual tv mix, and available everywhere (she claimed) by the end of Feb.

I guess that's ok... would still be cheaper than Sky. Perhaps I'm just old and crotchety but I still think the hardware should be free. Without it you can't pay them for TV subs so... ah well, anyway - more to think about.

As for the Sky+ box... see, that's great. Buy a PVR, rent it too, and you still have to buy another box to archive recordings. Same with NTL I guess? Life'd be so much easier if you could just network it. I've already got several DVD recorders in tower cases :)

abc
 
If NTL's new "Sky+" thing is indeed the "V+" box they now have on their price lists... and if the woman I spoke to is to be believed:

- you get free installation for V+
- it costs 10 quid a month for a V+ box if you have their uber TV package, or 15 quid a month otherwise
- additional normal settop boxes are a fiver a month if you have V+, or 15 a month without

On the plus side, apparently I have two premium Sky channels already (news to me, they're all ***** as far as I'm concerned) so Sky+ would only cost me the install fee. The place we're moving to doesn't have a dish, so it'd cost me £40 for a new dish install, then £99 for Sky+. But they made me a great offer: after "speaking with his manager" the guy at Sky customer support offered to install Sky+ at the new place, with a new dish, for... £139 :)

I can't believe how complicated the whole thing is. I need two phone lines, one for work, one for home; at least one broadband connection for work; and TV; and the missus wants SKy+ or something equivalent. I'm trying to compare NTL, Sky and BT, each of which offers a confusing mix of options I don't really want, but need some of.

Do I need NTL (with the PVR stuff after February) for TV, for phone or for neither? Do I need Sky with BT for phone and Interweb? Do I get NTL phone, broadband and TV, and just use BT for work phone? Do I get NTL broadband and ADSL on the BT line too? Aaargh :) I know they're all scrambling for our business with their triple plays, quadruple plays etc, but it drives me nuts.

abc
 
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