PVR/DVR Build advice

[Tattysnuc]

Hi,

Long time lurker, looking for some advise and suport. I'm going round and round looking for inspiration and direction, but coming up short.

Some background:
I've got a home full of old PC parts, and I've found myself moving away from PC gaming due to time commitments & work over the past few years.
We've several machines dotted over the house: Gaming PC, Server(s), HTPC, etc.
We still have very good mileage out of our Humax DVR box which we use in conjunction with an old Dell laptop which we use as an HTPC.

I'd like to replace both the Humax DVR and Laptop with a single machine.

I know I can stick Linux on the laptop it and "eek" more performance out of it, however, I don't like the form factor and would like to switch to using an actual HTPC case that I have that has an integrated 8" (I think) touch-screen LCD.

The reason for the desire to change has gotten "more" pressing is that the PVR set-top box we have is now officially EOL. I'd like to build something that *functionally* replaces it.

We have a fairly high-specced Plex server along with a plexpass lifetime membership, so we want something that supports a PLEX player. As mentioned in the intro, I've got loads of old kit - and specifically, I've got a ASrock mATX board, 32 gb ddr3 ram, 6 core i7 3960X from yesteryear that should(?) be more than capable of video playback, however, this would mean a foray away from familiarity, and I'm finally readying myself for the plunge.

We want:

• to build a PC to sit under the TV
• that behaves like a TIVO so that my wife can use it EASILY
• that can play AND RECORD TV LOCALLY

Does anyone have any good experience or tips they can share on getting started on this project? Due to Plex, I'm thinking of Linux to get off Windows, but that seems a bit of a rabbit-hole every time I start researching. I cant find anything CURRENT (or very little)- is this just such an outdated way to consume TV?

Ultimately this has to be easy to use so that me and my wife can use it with a remote or a keyboard.

Who knows about this stuff?

 

[LuckyBenski]

There's a world of options really and I must admit I've not done much hands-on with PVR. I do however work in smart TV testing (and all the technology/backend type knowledge that entails). So a few pointers:

Almost all TV tuner cards and USB dongles should work universally under Linux using fairly generic drivers. You'd want a DVB-T2 tuner (or more than one) if you want all the channels. It's not just for HD - some SD channels are carried on T2 multiplexes.

For remotes, one excellent trick is to buy a FLIRC USB infrared receiver. With some fairly simple commands you can trainit to listen to your existing remote and voila, familiar physical interface.

In terms of the actual operating system and software for PVR including EPG, I'm less familiar but imagine there are a few pre packaged open source options... including some kind of Kodi/Plex type plugin?

Oh also: that 3960X is likely to be very inefficient and power hungry so it might be worth considering trading it in for something with more modern architecture, especially if you'll move towards 4k decide and encode in future.

 

[Tattysnuc]

You reminded me - I've found my FLIRC Usb, still in it's box in the drawer

Plex has a solution for EPG, but it installs on the server and is very clunky, so hence the "it must record and play LOCALLY". We've invested in an HD homerun as, at that time, it was the only one that was certified to work with plex, however we stopped using it when we got the Humax unit as it was quite clunky to use and the recording options were quite naff.

Thanks for the DVB-T2 recorder tip. noted. Any particular model you can recommend/avoid? From experience, we ideally want something with 3 tuners so that we can record x2 and still watch on a 3rd.

 

[alex24]

I don’t think you can put together a reliable and power efficient device that would be any better than the Humax. In fact, it would probably be less reliable, less easy to use and more power hungry. I’d actually stick with the Humax, maybe add a larger HDD if needed. My Humax box now has an issue and despite having built HTPCs in the past, I would never replace it with one, even with its flaws. I think it will be a real challenge and in the end be more frustrating than rewarding. Each to their own of course, but that best reflects my experience of HTPCs. Which Humax box is it?

 

[LuckyBenski]

I don’t think you can put together a reliable and power efficient device that would be any better than the Humax. In fact, it would probably be less reliable, less easy to use and more power hungry. I’d actually stick with the Humax, maybe add a larger HDD if needed. My Humax box now has an issue and despite having built HTPCs in the past, I would never replace it with one, even with its flaws. I think it will be a real challenge and in the end be more frustrating than rewarding. Each to their own of course, but that best reflects my experience of HTPCs. Which Humax box is it?

Have to agree with this actually, the dedicated product is likely to be the best experience. I'd keep using it so long as it works. But I've also seen lots of PVR enthusiasts running 8-10 year old boxes and lamenting their end...

Thanks for the DVB-T2 recorder tip. noted. Any particular model you can recommend/avoid? From experience, we ideally want something with 3 tuners so that we can record x2 and still watch on a 3rd.

Have to admit I've never used a consumer grade card based receiver We use professional cards from DekTec but they're very pricey (hundreds of thousands). I think Hauppage are still the most recommended brand. TBF the technology hasn't changed in years and years so any well reviewed card should do regardless of age. I love the DVB spec for that reason - it still works 20 years after it was written!

 

[Tattysnuc]

I don’t think you can put together a reliable and power efficient device that would be any better than the Humax. In fact, it would probably be less reliable, less easy to use and more power hungry. I’d actually stick with the Humax, maybe add a larger HDD if needed. My Humax box now has an issue and despite having built HTPCs in the past, I would never replace it with one, even with its flaws. I think it will be a real challenge and in the end be more frustrating than rewarding. Each to their own of course, but that best reflects my experience of HTPCs. Which Humax box is it?

it's the FVP-5000T 500gb version

Since ITV X, we've lost access to their player, so the wife can't do her Corrie catch-up (so she switches to the laptop), plus the media player cannot play PLEX content. Not sure why as it *used* to work. I've tried enabling and disabling DLNA and gone through all the firewall rules and network settings, but it, the Humax, just will not play ball, adding to my frustration. Every machine in the house EXCEPT the humax connects, even my antique Philips music streamer stereo

 

[LuckyBenski]

Should add - I do use a cheap USB based receiver from Taiwan and find it's a bit flaky. But this is largely for experiments and recording stuff for tinkering with (entire multiplexes not just one channel). I imagine consumer grade is actually more oriented to what you want!

The FVP-5000T is the original generation if Freeview Play devices so 2015. There are a few more set top boxes since then, plus some TVs have a "plug in a hard drive" type feature. If you want to check out the other STBs, Manhattan have a recorder and a non-recorder. Netgem also have a box but I don't think there's a PVR version. Humax released an Android box but don't know the model name.

 

[alex24]

OK so it’s probably more about access to streaming services and local media than it is being able to tune freeview/Freesat since that still works? I have kept a Humax box but also was simply using smart TV apps on my LG TV to do those until recently as my TV is over 5 years old and support and performance is waning. Therefore I switched to a newer Apple TV 4K which does all those things better anyway and more.

It would be awesome to have all that in one dependable device, but I think it will be an uphill struggle. I settled on my approach.

 

[Tattysnuc]

OK so it’s probably more about access to streaming services and local media than it is being able to tune freeview/Freesat since that still works? I have kept a Humax box but also was simply using smart TV apps on my LG TV to do those until recently as my TV is over 5 years old and support and performance is waning. Therefore I switched to a newer Apple TV 4K which does all those things better anyway and more.

It would be awesome to have all that in one dependable device, but I think it will be an uphill struggle. I settled on my approach.

Our tv is somewhat old, so the idea is to build something and replace the SMART features which are not longer supported on the TV, with a single box that does it all. I just find it difficult to comprehend why this would be so difficult to achieve - android boxes do a reasonably good job of this so surely there must be something else out there that being tied into HUMAX etc architecture/platform....?