Freeview PVR with 4k Blueray

Justnotsleeping · 30 Mar 2021 at 09:20

I'm looking to replace my old Humax Youview PVR box with a new Freeview one, and while there are plenty of decent looking options for a PVR like the Humax Aura, I'm also looking for a unit which also includes a 4k Blue Ray player. I don't watch that many 4k movies on disc so didn't want a stand alone unit.

The ones I have seen just seem to be standard 1080p Blue Ray. At the moment I use an Xbox One X as a 4k player but I wish to move that from the living room up stairs.

Are there any good options around?

Simmz · 30 Mar 2021 at 10:41

What TV do you have ?

Don't think there is any bluray players that will do full 4k and have a pvr freeview built in.

Only one I know close-ish is - Panasonic DMRPWT550EB and that just upscales everything to 4k and isn't cheap.

Would be far more beneficial to just get them separate and also would be much better quality.

Justnotsleeping · 30 Mar 2021 at 16:33

My TV is a 2016 Sony 4k Bravia XD83 with the Android TV. Its not gonna be on par with the current batch of TV's but will not looking to upgrade until next year. In theory I can set up my TV as a PVR but its a bit of a clunky workaround rather than a proper fully featured PVR.

My biggest issue with separate units is a space issue, I just don't have the space, unless I stack one unit over the top of the other, which is probably not very good for the equipment. I'm surprised a UHD player/PVR como has not been released given how commonplace 4k discs are. Suppose the other option I could do is rip the discs to my Plex server, but thats all very time consuming.

lucid · 30 Mar 2021 at 19:22

Justnotsleeping said:
My TV is a 2016 Sony 4k Bravia XD83 with the Android TV. Its not gonna be on par with the current batch of TV's but will not looking to upgrade until next year. In theory I can set up my TV as a PVR but its a bit of a clunky workaround rather than a proper fully featured PVR.

My biggest issue with separate units is a space issue, I just don't have the space, unless I stack one unit over the top of the other, which is probably not very good for the equipment. I'm surprised a UHD player/PVR como has not been released given how commonplace 4k discs are. Suppose the other option I could do is rip the discs to my Plex server, but thats all very time consuming.

I don't see evidence that the market for 4K UHD physical media is quite as buoyant as you'd like to believe. Also, the recorder market is dominated by hard disc recorders. DVD recorders were a nightmare for reliability. Bli-ray disc recorders, there's maybe a handful of models at best, if that? (I haven't bothered to keep up-to-date on this because it's so low on the consumer radar.) The inability to record HD broadcast to BD disc rendered the tech pointless. Is there even a UHD recorder? There's no market for it.

Once streaming hit the mainstream then that was classed as good enough for the casual consumer who isn't interested in watching a film several times. Those of us who are collectors are very much in the minority.

Buy separate machines. Stack them. They're not going to die instantly. Put the PVR on top where it can cool better.

barmyllama · 30 Mar 2021 at 20:04

Justnotsleeping said:
I'm surprised a UHD player/PVR como has not been released given how commonplace 4k discs are. Suppose the other option I could do is rip the discs to my Plex server, but thats all very time consuming.

I reckon there have been less than 800 mainstream UHD Blu ray disk released since the first titles came out, around February 2016. It really is a tiny market.

You've also had some brands leave the UHD player market in that time as well.

It takes around 45-60 minutes to rip a UHD disk and Plex plays them back in full.

Justnotsleeping · 30 Mar 2021 at 20:12

I was never sold on the recordable DVD/blue ray either, so not surprised that they didn't go mainstream. I just thought there would be a freeview PVR hard drive recorder with a UHD player, but I suppose there are not that many Freeview PVR with standard Blueray player.
Ive just checked the dimensions of the Humax Aura and its only 25cm wide so I might be able to get away with that under my TV, and I can put a 4k bluray player in the TV unit where my current PVR is.

barmyllama · 30 Mar 2021 at 20:23

Justnotsleeping said:
I was never sold on the recordable DVD/blue ray either, so not surprised that they didn't go mainstream. I just thought there would be a freeview PVR hard drive recorder with a UHD player, but I suppose there are not that many Freeview PVR with standard Blueray player.
Ive just checked the dimensions of the Humax Aura and its only 25cm wide so I might be able to get away with that under my TV, and I can put a 4k bluray player in the TV unit where my current PVR is.

Plenty of VESA mountable shelves available to sit the Freeview box on if you have room behind the TV.

Justnotsleeping · 30 Mar 2021 at 20:51

VESA mountable option...thats a good shout