Recommendation for newbie

[pvrboy]

Hello,

I am looking to replace an existing PVR that has twin tuners with something new.
I'd like to put together something relatively small and neat but have some flexibility on size.
I'd like it to have an SSD to store the recordings internally - I don't have any home servers to stream recordings from/to.
I live in the UK, and get Freeview only.

I realise that different people have different views and different needs from their hardware but could someone recommend a full and current-day list of UK-compatible hardware I should be thinking of getting please? I'm a bit uncertain about what will work with what, and which components will work in the UK.
Things like small(ish) form factor pcs, which tuner cards, which remote control, which other bits I might need?

Many thanks for your advice and suggestions!

[McBainUK]

My first thought would that using an SSD for storing large video files would be expensive (with regards to £ per GB).

As for tuner cards, most people here use Hauppague or BlackGold for Freeview recording. Are you interested in watching/recording Freeview HD?

What's your current setup?

[jcjefferies]

I use a single and a twin USB DVB-T tuner by KWorld from Maplins for recording Freeview and do have all three running occasionally. Because of viewing distance I would not get any advantage recording in HD at the moment. I have been considering adding a DVB-S2 card from TBS for HD but there does seem to be quite a few reports of failure just out of warranty. I recently bought a HP Microserver which had "cashback" in June but was later cheaper from Ebuyer without the cashback!

Not sure why you want to record to SSD! If its noise then most disks are very quiet these days. I have just bought a 30mm deep microPC as a NPVR Client and you can only hear the 750GB disk with your ear touching the case. If its power usage then you can stop the disks when not in use or "Sleep" the computer between recordings. My 2TB disk after 2 years has been steady at about 70% full for several months but would have filled up much sooner if there were HD recordings so would have to be more ruthless deleting things I may not watch!

I started out several years ago with an old PC sat next to the TV with single tuner and 500GB to record and watch the recordings. I have gradually upgraded to a server in a cupboard and small PC under both TVs for playback. Nothing high spec is needed even for HD although a GPU which will do HD decoding is needed for HD playback if the processor is low spec.

[pvrboy]

Hello,

Firstly, thanks for the tips.
Ok, perhaps SSD is a mistake, but yes, I was thinking about noise and a bit about power consumption. I currently have a Topfiled 5800 PVR box, with custom software. It's doind a very decent job, quite happy with it, but it's a little bit noisy, it's long out of warranty, i don't think Topfield is active anymore in the UK and I can't do things like watch iplayer through it. It doesn't support HD but I only have Freeview through an arial, not through satellite, so I don't get an HD feed anyway.
So I'm not rushing out to buy anything today, but I've been thinking about how I'd upgrade to something a bit more modern and internet connected.

So am I right to think that overall all I need to be up and running with nextpvr is
- pretty much any pc (to act as server + client)
- install any decent sized disk (probably HDD sounds like the best plan)
- any UK / PC compatible USB DVB-T tuner (twin tuner is my preference)
- any USB infra red remote and sensor
- the next pvr software and instructions

Thanks

[Zeb]

I only have Freeview through an arial, not through satellite, so I don't get an HD feed anyway.

Hello pvrboy. Freeview has DVB-T2 HD channels, however the PCTV NanoStick 290e might be the only USB tuner that can receive them: http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php...post456632

[jcjefferies]

As long as you don’t take "- pretty much any pc (to act as server + client)" too far! If it is an old PC check it has:-

1) SATA disk connectors

2) 2.8 Ghz or later Pentium with hyperthreading or any twin core processor to prevent corruption of recordings when other software is started. This happens on a single processor system when it would momentary run at 100%.

3) PCI Express connector for a basic video card with GPU if you want to play HD and there is no on board GPU. You may also need a video card if you want HDMI out for the TV.

[NigelG]

JCjefferies,

Thanks for putting up a clear set of requirements, the WiKi doesn't seem to provide any clear guidance.

I have been playing with an installation of NextPVR to see if I can replace my existing Philips Freeview PVR. I have arrived at NextPVR via a circuitous route because of my long relationship with XBMC on the original XBox. Having just moved to a RaspberryPi (OpenELEC) running ver 12.2 (Frodo) I wanted something to serve the 'Live TV' feature that has just been added. My preference is for Windows as Linux is a lot of command line stuf I don't fully understand.

I have a relatively old PC with an AMD3200+ (1.8GHz Single Core) and have managed to cobble together 2GB of memory (Win7 reports 1.75GB Useable).

I purchased at B-Grade KWorld USB Dual DVB-T tuner from Maplin and was so pleased with it have just bought a second one so that I know have four DVB-T tuners ( 2 USB Dongles) which appear to be working well (Very impressed as they were only £17 each delivered).

From your comments it would seem that I am at the low end of PC Spec for what I am trying to do. I also note your comment on using a Dual Core CPU but I don't think I have seen this type of problems (at least I haven't recognised it) as my machine is dedicated to this task. I was running MCEBuddy but this is currently not running.

What I have noticed from time to time is stalling of playback on the RaspberryPi and an installation of XBMC on my Win7 Laptop. I have been monitoring CPU Load, Ram usage and Swap File usage. CPU varries from a typical 5% - 50% with occasional 100%, RAM at around 40-50% and Swap Usage also at 40-50%. I assume it would be better to keep these figures below 40% typically to allow for occasional activities that would place more load on the system.

Also not 100% confident that my network may not be adding/causing the stalling. The network is based on a Netgear 100M Managed switch but I haven't implemented any QoS features. both the Pi and the Laptop are connected via the switch and the same Wireless access point (802.11g). I also run a very large backup job between another server and a NAS on the same network daily which I have just noticed today is taking more than 12 hours... I have cancelled this going forward and will see if this reduces/eliminates the problem over the bank holiday weekend...

I am seriously considering upping the RAM to 3 or 4GB as I feel this will improve the situation.

The RaspberryPi has not been overclocked but again my gut feeling is that this is back at the server because of the similar effect experienced on my Laptop.

In fact when things are going well I can stream Live TV to both the Laptop and Pi at the same time with no issues.

Any thoughts or observations welcomed.

BR Nigel

[stustunz]

32 bit windows will only see 3gb usable (guessing that's what you are using)
If not playing back on pc and not recording analog CPU doesn't really matter

[NigelG]

Thanks stustunz,

Yes I am using a 32-bit version which would limit me to 3GB useable RAM, I did have it with 1.5GB when I first put the machine together and re-configuring it to 2GB seems to have improved the playback.

Thanks for the heads up on the CPU, it does seem as if the heavy lifting is done in the USB dongle. All the more reason to think that a Dual Tuner for £17 is a bargain...

Have been able to record multiple channels from each tuner too, so have been able to stream a channel and record 4 other channels simultaneously which is what I was hoping for because two tuners is not quite enough with the current PVR....

[stustunz]

Yeah ram is a cheap upgrade
Buy all the same size and brand if you can don't mix( some will say this is rubbish but for stability I think it makes a big difference) and the fatest your machine can take