TV spec :) pvr and possibly pc

MrBlobby · 8 Feb 2012 at 13:59

I'm looking for a new TV setup.

I would like a twin HD PVR but also to be able to access the internet on the TV.

I'm not sure if some sort of mini computer is the way to go; I'm not sure I want all the aggravation of waiting a minute or two for it to load up and the like.. hmm just wondered what's available

any help appreciated thanks

arad85 · 8 Feb 2012 at 16:01

Think that's either an HTPC with a twin tuner card or a box like the Humax and an HTPC without the tuner card. It really does depend what you mean by "access the internet". Are you also buying a TV as well - it isn't clear in your post - the title suggests you are.

MrBlobby · 8 Feb 2012 at 18:29

yes indeed we need a new TV

thanks

MrBlobby · 8 Feb 2012 at 18:37

I want to access all the catch up services. Raspberry pi looks like it has potential. I forsee someone clever writing software for iplayer itv catchup etc.

arad85 · 8 Feb 2012 at 21:08

You really need to define what you mean by "access the internet" - is it ONLY for the catchup services? The freeview/freeesat PVRs only access iPlayer AFAIK. You'll have to wait for a YouView box to get access to more than that.

Also, how "geeky" do you want to be. Any HTPC you build won't be as plug-n-play as the set-top boxes are for video recording. TBH, I'd suggest 2 boxes.

Begbie · 9 Feb 2012 at 06:06

arad85 said:
You really need to define what you mean by "access the internet" - is it ONLY for the catchup services? The freeview/freeesat PVRs only access iPlayer AFAIK. You'll have to wait for a YouView box to get access to more than that.

Also, how "geeky" do you want to be. Any HTPC you build won't be as plug-n-play as the set-top boxes are for video recording. TBH, I'd suggest 2 boxes.

2 boxes? Why?

I would say it depends entirely on your budget.

If you want an uber geek set up, I would be looking at a HTPC with dual Freesat TV card (if you have a dish and cabling of course). Using something like XBMC and having all your music etc built into it, which I beleive has plugins for most catch up services also.

But all of this depends entirely on your budget.

arad85 · 9 Feb 2012 at 08:54

Begbie said:
2 boxes? Why?

Because I haven't found an HTPC that does standard TV as well as a dedicated STB (speed of channel change, integration of EPG and recording, deinterlacing support etc...) nor have I found a dedicated set-top box that accesses the internet as well as an HTPC. If all you want to do is access iPlayer, then a set-top box is ideal (although I don't think any STB accesses other catchup services). Beyond that, they just don't cut it at the moment.

Having said that, some of the higher end TVs will stream media from a home network, but again, compatibility is the issue. When I've tried a couple of rips I've done here, I think only a Samsung I tried played them OK. The current gen Panasonics I tried just refused to play them. Can't recall if I tried LG but I'd be concerned what was and wasn't supported for the future - I wouldn't want to pay out for a completely integrated TV only to find it doesn't play something I was expecting it to. It's all about research and what other media you have and how it is stored. Some will also record off air and might suffice for what is needed. Again, it's all about personal requirements.

BTW: I'm to the far right when it comes to geekyness... I have 3 xbmc based systems - 2 with tuner cards in running MythTV backend - and a central server with ALL my media on. All the TVs also have Freeview or Freesat tuners as either integrated or separate boxes.

Begbie · 9 Feb 2012 at 10:23

arad85 said:
Because I haven't found an HTPC that does standard TV as well as a dedicated STB (speed of channel change, integration of EPG and recording, deinterlacing support etc...) nor have I found a dedicated set-top box that accesses the internet as well as an HTPC. If all you want to do is access iPlayer, then a set-top box is ideal (although I don't think any STB accesses other catchup services). Beyond that, they just don't cut it at the moment.

Having said that, some of the higher end TVs will stream media from a home network, but again, compatibility is the issue. When I've tried a couple of rips I've done here, I think only a Samsung I tried played them OK. The current gen Panasonics I tried just refused to play them. Can't recall if I tried LG but I'd be concerned what was and wasn't supported for the future - I wouldn't want to pay out for a completely integrated TV only to find it doesn't play something I was expecting it to. It's all about research and what other media you have and how it is stored. Some will also record off air and might suffice for what is needed. Again, it's all about personal requirements.

BTW: I'm to the far right when it comes to geekyness... I have 3 xbmc based systems - 2 with tuner cards in running MythTV backend - and a central server with ALL my media on. All the TVs also have Freeview or Freesat tuners as either integrated or separate boxes.

Fair enough I thought todays Freesat cards would be pretty decent, are all HTPC based EPGs pretty terrible?

I was hoping to do something similar myself. That is a bit of a drag. What about TV's with built in Freesat?(the higher end panasonics, have this don't they?).

arad85 · 9 Feb 2012 at 10:52

Begbie said:
Fair enough I thought todays Freesat cards would be pretty decent, are all HTPC based EPGs pretty terrible?

All the ones I've tried are not as good, but that doesn't mean they all are! It's not just the EPG - the whole experience is not as good IMHO. For example, if you're feeding a TV with broadcast from the HTPC, the HTPC has to do the deinterlacing and scaling and this processing may be different to playing something from a network share. It is possible to do this, but you need to know what you are doing to set it up correctly IMHO. Add to that the UK digital TV spec is encapsulated in a 700+ page document (the D-book) and most don't implement to the level an STB maker does, and you start to find the rough edges.

Begbie said:
I was hoping to do something similar myself. That is a bit of a drag. What about TV's with built in Freesat?(the higher end panasonics, have this don't they?).

Yes, they do... but that's a good example. Whilst they may have DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 they won't play my rips, so I couldn't use it as an all in one system.

Again, it depends what you want in your media system - what you want to play, where it is held, and how much effort you want to put into understanding how to get the best out of it.

Just IMHO you understand