Pvr / freeview / wifi / blueray box of tricks
Discussion
Our old Sony pvr has just given up so need to find a replacement.
Ideally it needs freeview, blue ray, local storage which I can access via wifi and upload my DVDs that I have already ripped to Mkv.
If blue ray needs to be separate then so be it but a single box preferred.
I've messed about with raspbmc in the past but found it hard work to be reliable. Maybe just me but I now want an off the shelf solution. Can't be arsed to do battle with Linux again.
Any recommendations?
Cheers in advance!!
Ideally it needs freeview, blue ray, local storage which I can access via wifi and upload my DVDs that I have already ripped to Mkv.
If blue ray needs to be separate then so be it but a single box preferred.
I've messed about with raspbmc in the past but found it hard work to be reliable. Maybe just me but I now want an off the shelf solution. Can't be arsed to do battle with Linux again.
Any recommendations?
Cheers in advance!!
I think the only thing that would fit that bill would be a custom PC install with something like XBMC, a blu-ray drive and a freesat add-in card. XBMC would be the media aggregator and you could run it all on Windows if you wanted to avoid Linux, but be prepared for some fiddling.
I can't think of anything in the consumer space that does all of those things in a single box. The market has moved away from letting you store and control your own content, it's all buy the media or stream it now.
I can't think of anything in the consumer space that does all of those things in a single box. The market has moved away from letting you store and control your own content, it's all buy the media or stream it now.
A media PC is the only thing to tick all the boxes.
Windows 7 is relatively stable, and you can use the standard media center program to do all the things you mention....
mkv format *may* confuse it slightly but you can get it to work.
It *will* involve fiddling!
I want exactly the same thing, so if you find one then let me know - I'll buy one too!
Windows 7 is relatively stable, and you can use the standard media center program to do all the things you mention....
mkv format *may* confuse it slightly but you can get it to work.
It *will* involve fiddling!
I want exactly the same thing, so if you find one then let me know - I'll buy one too!
I'm after the HD Humax. Would be nice perhaps to have a built in Blu Ray player (if one is actually needed any more?), but i can see everything is swinging to network now so what is the point. I'm never going to replace my current DVDs with Blu Ray.
But what I really want is a tv and tuner that doesn't take over a minute ot two to get up and running. I don't want to leave these on all day, and I don't need something waking up as if from a 100yr sleep either. I despair of my current Sony TV that seems to have to wake up, work out what source was coming in, switch it around a bit, have a think, flip between a few channels then settle down on the DVD player that's not even on. Then the PVR gets switched on and we go through all that again.
Swiching between channels and page transition on TV and PVR is always poor too. I can't imagine how much faff dealing with a media PC would be like. And I'm not even going to look at an Apple product.
And while I'm at it. I have young kids. They are impatient little buggers. Disney should be sued against the trades description act for "Fastplay". God I'm ranting now, but every now and then it gets pressed and all hell breaks loose.
But what I really want is a tv and tuner that doesn't take over a minute ot two to get up and running. I don't want to leave these on all day, and I don't need something waking up as if from a 100yr sleep either. I despair of my current Sony TV that seems to have to wake up, work out what source was coming in, switch it around a bit, have a think, flip between a few channels then settle down on the DVD player that's not even on. Then the PVR gets switched on and we go through all that again.
Swiching between channels and page transition on TV and PVR is always poor too. I can't imagine how much faff dealing with a media PC would be like. And I'm not even going to look at an Apple product.
And while I'm at it. I have young kids. They are impatient little buggers. Disney should be sued against the trades description act for "Fastplay". God I'm ranting now, but every now and then it gets pressed and all hell breaks loose.
My media box with an ssd boots from cold to the media centre app in less than 15 seconds.
Wake from hibination is as close to instant as makes no difference.
The solution works well and gives you total flexibility. It isn't cheap and it will take some fiddling.
Be aware that I think the intel on board graphics have a bug with the codec that uk free view hd uses....
Wake from hibination is as close to instant as makes no difference.
The solution works well and gives you total flexibility. It isn't cheap and it will take some fiddling.
Be aware that I think the intel on board graphics have a bug with the codec that uk free view hd uses....
I haven't dabbled recently, but a few years back I built a HTPC so I could watch and record the early BBC HD broadcasts as it was the only HD source I could afford for my projector. However, I found I spent so much time fiddling about with it and any little update seemed to mess with the operation somehow. I made great use of 'Norton Ghost' to clone the windows drive so I didn't have to reinstall from scratch everytime it went wrong, but it was still a pain. However, no one else in the family could use it (even with a remote I bought) they just would get confussed and/or give up if something didn't work straight away or the way they thought it should work.
These days my Humax PVR can do most of what I'd want from a HTPC, though it can be a little clunky at times (compared to a new smart TV I now have). I also have an Oppo BluRay player that does all the network features that I need to use. However, unlike on of the earlier posters I play lots of BluRays since I have a projector I need the best quality I can get on that screen size. However, I pretty much only ever rent from an online account, so it's only about £1 a film for me.
I think Panasonic used to do a BluRay and PVR combined, but it was pretty expensive, not sure if it's still available and it may not do the 'smart' things asked for. I think the OP might need two boxes if the HTPC route isn't for him/her.
These days my Humax PVR can do most of what I'd want from a HTPC, though it can be a little clunky at times (compared to a new smart TV I now have). I also have an Oppo BluRay player that does all the network features that I need to use. However, unlike on of the earlier posters I play lots of BluRays since I have a projector I need the best quality I can get on that screen size. However, I pretty much only ever rent from an online account, so it's only about £1 a film for me.
I think Panasonic used to do a BluRay and PVR combined, but it was pretty expensive, not sure if it's still available and it may not do the 'smart' things asked for. I think the OP might need two boxes if the HTPC route isn't for him/her.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Tuesday 3rd September 21:57
Thanks for all the moments so far.
I don't have the time or patience to build something myself otherwise of I would have persevered with the Pi.
Really looking for something off the shelf. Blue ray not essential i suppose but I do want to be able to upload ripped DVDs with minimum of fuss.
Looking at the Samsung Pvrs which may do the job albeit at a cost.
I don't have the time or patience to build something myself otherwise of I would have persevered with the Pi.
Really looking for something off the shelf. Blue ray not essential i suppose but I do want to be able to upload ripped DVDs with minimum of fuss.
Looking at the Samsung Pvrs which may do the job albeit at a cost.
Edited by breamster on Wednesday 4th September 07:38
prand said:
I'm after the HD Humax
They are really good. Install the custome firmware from hummy.tv and you are golden.http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product.asp?ProdRef=1...
prand said:
I'm after the HD Humax. Would be nice perhaps to have a built in Blu Ray player (if one is actually needed any more?), but i can see everything is swinging to network now so what is the point. I'm never going to replace my current DVDs with Blu Ray.
But what I really want is a tv and tuner that doesn't take over a minute ot two to get up and running. I don't want to leave these on all day, and I don't need something waking up as if from a 100yr sleep either. I despair of my current Sony TV that seems to have to wake up, work out what source was coming in, switch it around a bit, have a think, flip between a few channels then settle down on the DVD player that's not even on. Then the PVR gets switched on and we go through all that again.
Swiching between channels and page transition on TV and PVR is always poor too. I can't imagine how much faff dealing with a media PC would be like. And I'm not even going to look at an Apple product.
And while I'm at it. I have young kids. They are impatient little buggers. Disney should be sued against the trades description act for "Fastplay". God I'm ranting now, but every now and then it gets pressed and all hell breaks loose.
I share your pain! Kids can't wait dammit! Feel free to continue rant if it helps.But what I really want is a tv and tuner that doesn't take over a minute ot two to get up and running. I don't want to leave these on all day, and I don't need something waking up as if from a 100yr sleep either. I despair of my current Sony TV that seems to have to wake up, work out what source was coming in, switch it around a bit, have a think, flip between a few channels then settle down on the DVD player that's not even on. Then the PVR gets switched on and we go through all that again.
Swiching between channels and page transition on TV and PVR is always poor too. I can't imagine how much faff dealing with a media PC would be like. And I'm not even going to look at an Apple product.
And while I'm at it. I have young kids. They are impatient little buggers. Disney should be sued against the trades description act for "Fastplay". God I'm ranting now, but every now and then it gets pressed and all hell breaks loose.
OldSkoolRS said:
However, no one else in the family could use it (even with a remote I bought) they just would get confussed and/or give up if something didn't work straight away or the way they thought it should work
My family have no problems with my XBMC setup. The Raspberry Pi is always on so no startup times. CEC means we use the TV remote to control it all. Works really well.Mine just look at the screen and decide that it's different to just using a TV and give up. 
However, they don't use the photo/network features of the PVR/Oppo either, but at least it's there for me if I want to. The other thing being that I don't bother with ripping: I rarely want to watch a film twice and when I do I want top quality (for use on a projector) which means BluRay. Since I'd have to get the BluRay in the first place to rip, then I my as well just watch it, then send it back. Compressed downloads would be a waste of a good AV setup IMHO.
I'm sure many people enjoy having a list of films they could select from a HTPC, but for me it would become the same as flicking through my disc wallet...I go all the way through it without picking a disc out since I've already seen the film and don't fancy seeing it again for a long while. However, it does make life simpler for me: There are usually 3 BluRays available to watch from my on line rental supply and if I have sent them back there is plenty of things recorded on my PVR. I don't spend my time fiddling about with the HTPC trying to sort out the latest issue, I just watch stuff when I want to.
EDIT: My point being that if you think about how you really use your system and your tastes/requirements then you might find you don't need a complicated set up. Of course the gadgets can become an end in themselves, but that's a different matter.
However, they don't use the photo/network features of the PVR/Oppo either, but at least it's there for me if I want to. The other thing being that I don't bother with ripping: I rarely want to watch a film twice and when I do I want top quality (for use on a projector) which means BluRay. Since I'd have to get the BluRay in the first place to rip, then I my as well just watch it, then send it back. Compressed downloads would be a waste of a good AV setup IMHO.I'm sure many people enjoy having a list of films they could select from a HTPC, but for me it would become the same as flicking through my disc wallet...I go all the way through it without picking a disc out since I've already seen the film and don't fancy seeing it again for a long while. However, it does make life simpler for me: There are usually 3 BluRays available to watch from my on line rental supply and if I have sent them back there is plenty of things recorded on my PVR. I don't spend my time fiddling about with the HTPC trying to sort out the latest issue, I just watch stuff when I want to.
EDIT: My point being that if you think about how you really use your system and your tastes/requirements then you might find you don't need a complicated set up. Of course the gadgets can become an end in themselves, but that's a different matter.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Wednesday 4th September 08:37
prand said:
Disney should be sued against the trades description act for "Fastplay". God I'm ranting now, but every now and then it gets pressed and all hell breaks loose.
I'm with you. Sorted in my house by ripping all my content to native (decrypted) VOBs for DVD or MKVs for blu-ray. Small fanless media PC with IR remote, XBMC with Aeon Nox skin and "Banner Wall" boxart display to select movie. Kids now just point and click on film, launches straight in to the main feature. And no more evenings spent reuniting disc with correct box...Media streamer...£150 for an Intel NUC running OpenELEC.
Media server...£100 for an HP microserver and another £300 for 12Tb of space, running NAS4free.
A few evenings spent ripping discs, and you're away.
marctwo said:
It's taken me years and I still haven't finished ripping everything!
I did about 800 discs in 7 long evenings.But I did put together a "ripping station" with 3 DVD/blu-ray drives so I could rip concurrently. With DVDs I was down to about 6 minutes per disc, with 3 going at once I was like some acid fuelled hyperactive disc jockey. I would have installed more drives but the hard drive was bandwidth saturated at 3 and I couldn't be bothered going to a striped array for more throughput.
It does make you realise quite how much space these things take though...I'm up to about 8Tb for the decrypted source material and moving these things around even a gigabit network takes hours!
I also setup Handbrake to convert them to high quality M4Vs...took a chunky desktop quite a few weeks to chew through that lot.
How about a YouView box for HD TV/PVR and iPlayer/ITV Player/4OD etc..?
We then use an Apple TV for viewing ripped films/series which connects to iTunes running on an old desktop which is left on in the spare room 24/7. this would mean re-encoding your ripped disks to MP4 though (which can be time consuming)
We then use an Apple TV for viewing ripped films/series which connects to iTunes running on an old desktop which is left on in the spare room 24/7. this would mean re-encoding your ripped disks to MP4 though (which can be time consuming)
PhilboSE said:
I did about 800 discs in 7 long evenings.
But I did put together a "ripping station" with 3 DVD/blu-ray drives so I could rip concurrently. With DVDs I was down to about 6 minutes per disc, with 3 going at once I was like some acid fuelled hyperactive disc jockey. I would have installed more drives but the hard drive was bandwidth saturated at 3 and I couldn't be bothered going to a striped array for more throughput.
It does make you realise quite how much space these things take though...I'm up to about 8Tb for the decrypted source material and moving these things around even a gigabit network takes hours!
I also setup Handbrake to convert them to high quality M4Vs...took a chunky desktop quite a few weeks to chew through that lot.
I have a single drive and convert everything to mp4. DVD takes around 20 minutes and Blu-ray around 3 hours. Ripping and naming TV series takes ages too. I've almost filled my 4TB NAS and am in the process of setting up Unraid on a Microserver for an extra 16TB. All this just so the kids can watch Octonauts!But I did put together a "ripping station" with 3 DVD/blu-ray drives so I could rip concurrently. With DVDs I was down to about 6 minutes per disc, with 3 going at once I was like some acid fuelled hyperactive disc jockey. I would have installed more drives but the hard drive was bandwidth saturated at 3 and I couldn't be bothered going to a striped array for more throughput.
It does make you realise quite how much space these things take though...I'm up to about 8Tb for the decrypted source material and moving these things around even a gigabit network takes hours!
I also setup Handbrake to convert them to high quality M4Vs...took a chunky desktop quite a few weeks to chew through that lot.
marctwo said:
I have a single drive and convert everything to mp4.
I took the view that storage is practically free and having made a mistake with my CD collection (ripped to MP3 not lossless) I decided just to keep all the source material in its original form.marctwo said:
All this just so the kids can watch Octonauts!
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