DVB-S tuner card in UK!

[nemulate]

Does anyone have a dvb-s card working without any problems in the UK for SKY with latest release?

[MicroSark]

I've checked other threads on this and other DVB forums but there doesn't appear to be a definitive answer - if anyone has any experience here I'd be glad to read it.

Thanks.

[elite]

I'm not aware of any compatability issues - but some of the FTA is encrypted: see here

[MicroSark]

Thanks for that.

I see that for me, regardless of GB-PVR, going completely digital is going to be a real pain-in-the-*rse, as I can only get Satellite Digital where I live, and they don't expect EVER for my area to be covered by Digital Terrestrial. I have to have a masthead amp/attenuator and an additional signal amp just to make analogue TV watchable, and even then its up and down like a brides nightie.

I currently have the 'crap' terrestrial TV for our 'normal' TV viewling, and use my SKY box to input to GB-PVR for recording the stuff that we don't want to miss.

It seems that even if I buy a digital TV, DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner and a DVB-S card for the PC, I won't be able to do everything I might ever want to without shelling out for an extra Sky TV box for each device!

Digital Sucks (and Blows)!

[martynw]

and they don't expect EVER for my area to be covered by Digital Terrestrial.

Whereabouts are you? Have you tried to get Freeview or are you basing your non-availability on what THEY tell you?

I live in Northampton which they class as a non-covered area, even the local aerial riggers told me it's impossible to get FreeView here and wanted £300 odd to fit a mast / aerial with a "it still won't work" promise!

I almost believed them, as we too get a really cr*p analogue picture, but a quick price up of parts myself came to only about £70 (4.1 metre mast £28, 24" T&K standoff brackets £25, Triax Unix 52 DTV aerial £18, I already had CT100 cable and an 18db mast-head amplifier).

I figured it was worth a try for the relatively small outlay and at the worst it would probably improve the analogue reception.

I rigged everything up, got the aerial as high up as I could, found out the correct compass bearing of where the nearest transmitter was (sandy heath) and borrowed a Freeview receiver (well, I bought a cheap one from Currys for £19 and would have taken it back if it didn't work ).

Well, I got a much better analogue picture for a start ..................... and ................... all 6 digital muxes with good to excellent strength / quality resulting in every single available Freeview channel in all their digital loveliness

So I guess the moral is that for Freeview reception don't believe it's not available until you've seen it for yourself!


HTH

Martyn

[MicroSark]

Thanks for that response. Sounds like I should definately 'borrow' a DVB-T box and see what the crack is. The actual aerial rig was converted to a digital one not so long back to try to improve the analogue signal, so I should have even less outlay than you.

Anyway, thanks again.

[elite]

You may want to take a look at Wolfbane.com - They have a detailed predictor (based on your OS grid reference) and IIRC will even show you a plot of any terrain that may obscure your view of a transmitter

[youngbob]

Im wanting to setup the same so I can pickup the FTA HD signals - any ideas on a pci card that would support this?

Thanks

Steve