Thinking of switching from Topfield 5800 to HTPC running NextPVR

[HydeTheDarkerSide]

Hi Folks. First post after doing a little searching for other ex Toppy users and they're rather thin on the ground somewhat naturally.

I've been a member of the Topfield forums for a number of years and have the pleasure of being involved with the functional design of MyStuff, an application that skins the Toppy and provides for a much better PVR experience.

More recently I've subscribed to TalkTalk's Youview box and after a year of pure torture I'm just about fed up to the back teeth over it's inability to do anything particularly well. My only reason for going that route was the subsidy thrown at me when combined with their fibre broadband product and that it could handle HD that the Toppy can't.

So after much research I came across this site and very much liked the similarity between NextPVR and MyStuff running on the Toppy.

My next step is possibly to retire my Toppy, My Windows Home Server V1 and my PS3 as my main methods of viewing Freeview SD, home movies, pictures, music (in FLAC and MP3) and ripped DVD's. The Youview box will just go in the bin! My TV has both Freeview and Freesat HD tuners. Then go for a HTPC with BlackGold tuner card[s] http://shop.blackgold.tv/epages/BT3159.s...ts/BGT3602 and install NextPVR and flexraid for a multi harddrive recording and playback system. With the above and NextPVR I'd be looking forward to recording Freesat and Freeview HD programmes simultaneously and also multiple channels from the same Mux.

Questions:-

1. What would be a sensible chip/motherboard/RAM/Graphics card combi for a HTPC running NextPVR and flexraid?
2. Does anyone here have experience of using MyStuff on the Toppy and could give me an indication of how close in functionality NextPVR is?
3. I note there's not been an update to NextPVR since last October. Is this product still being actively developed?
4. If the answer to 3 is Yes, how open is the developer to adopting functionality from MyStuff? (assuming there is some functionality missing )

Sorry for the long first post. Really don't want to end up with another Youview experience, hence my caution here.

Cheers
Hyde.

[mikeh49]

For hardware advice, check this out. I think there is pretty good info there:

http://assassinhtpcblog.com/

From my experience, you don't need a powerful CPU or tons of memory or a super fast disk, but you do need a good graphics card (or integrated graphics) with good driver support.

Sub is working on the next release. NPVR is so good that it doesn't need much for updates, especially for straight-forward PVR use, i.e., record and playback TV.

[johnsonx42]

The answer to #3 is yes. Small bug fixes and updates are handled between releases as "patches" (replacement .dll files); I maintain a list of patches with a cumulative update .zip in the sticky thread at the top of the forum. Once development moves on to the next version (as it has), no further patches are released for the prior version. Honestly though doesn't it seem a bit of a leap to wonder if a project with a major release just 5 months ago is still being developed?

The answer to #4 is a qualified yes. sub is rarely interested in hearing what some other software did or does. he is interested in hearing what features you think would make his software better. whether he implements said features depends on his interest in them and his available time; sometimes apparent popularity of a requested feature will sway him even if he doesn't see the value.

[HydeTheDarkerSide]

All sounds good.

Wasn't challenging the release schedule when asking if the product was still being developed, just checking that I hadn't seen the last evolution of the product ;-)

Particularly like the answer to #4 :-)

Anyone with experience of the BlackGold card and NextPVR please?

Just checking out the Assassin HTPC hardware specs. Thanks for that. :-)

Oh, another question...

Windows 7 64bit or Windows 8.1 for NextPVR?

[mikeh49]

IMHO, Seven all the way. In 7 you get the very good MS DTV-DVD decoder that can be used with NPVR. In 8, it cannot be used for MPEG2 decoding in 3rd party apps, but apparently can be used by, for example, NPVR for h.264. May, or may not, be significant for you in UK-land. If you have a compelling reason for 8, there are other decoder options. In the US, the MS decoder is easy, and works.

[martint123]

I'm currently just using an old P4 XP as the server and all the client viewing/scheduling is done with non-pc devices. A couple of old Popcornhours and more recently a beta release of a Samsung smart tv app that behaves very well.
Currently changing server to W7 and a bit more oomph. There are some blackgold users here, no doubt along shortly to report. Tuners here are Hauppauge nova-t-500's dual dvb-t, PCTV nanostick DVB-T2, Hauppauge nova-S DVB-S2 and a USB q-box dvb-s2. Also in the mix is a PVR150 to control and record from a Sky box. I had success with using a sky card in the PC, but for family use, it lives in the STB now.

[HydeTheDarkerSide]

Okay, will look to use W7 (at least until MS sorts out the horrible UI in W8.1 with W9, or whatever it'll be called).

Had a go at using the configuration tools on this site http://www.quietpc.com/sys-mamba but the result came out rather expensive ;-)

Now using the same site but going for components as a comparison. http://www.quietpc.com/components

[edit]Nope that don't work either, for the difference, might as well stick with a pre-built system. Both methods coming in around £1,300.00.[/edit]

BTW, can NPVR be used with a remote control like WMC?

Cheers.

[Graham]

BTW, can NPVR be used with a remote control like WMC?

Yes. http://www.nextpvr.com/nwiki/pmwiki.php?...teControls

I also have a TalkTalk Youview box cos it was "free" with my broadband. I hate the thing with a passion. It's so very slow.

Almost any computer will record and playback Freeview (including HD channels) with NextPVR ... you do not need to spend big money. Likewise the graphics card. It used be that you needed top end graphics for HD playback ... Any graphics bought now will do the job.

I can simultaneously record 4 HD channels and playback 1 HD channel on a machine running a 2.1 GHz AMD processor and a Nvidia N210 graphics adapter. If you plan to build your own machine, I recommend a motherboard with built in graphics (to avoid fan noise on a graphics card) (or a fanless graphics card). Plus, I am a fan of these ... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...=HS-035-AR (pun intended).

I use Blackgold devices without incident ... You choices of tuner are few if you want DVB-T2 tuners ... It is likely that all future extensions to Freeview in the UK will be DVB-T2.

Good Luck.

[HydeTheDarkerSide]

Yes. http://www.nextpvr.com/nwiki/pmwiki.php?...teControls

Nice :-)

...Plus, I am a fan of these ... http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...=HS-035-AR (pun intended).

Good Lord! Thought was some kind of industrial blower when I first saw the picture. ;-)

I use Blackgold devices without incident ...

Even better!

Many thanks for all the pointers Folks. It's a long, long time since I last looked at desktop style machines, having used laptops almost exclusively since 1996, so I'm well behind on expansion card styles. That is the difference between a PCIe 16 Vs PCIe 1 and the corresponding slots on the motherboard. I know the BlackGold card I want is PCIe, but what flavour I've no idea? There's a possibility I might want to put two of these cards in the HTPC and have fears I'll buy something that doesn't have the required number of slots. Can someone please point me at a good resource for learning the differences?

Many thanks.

[mikeh49]

Tuner cards are PCIe1, graphics cards are PCIe16 (generally). That said, a PCIe1 card can plug into a PCIe16 slot. A full size high(er) end ATX MB will probably have 2 PCIe16 slots (two graphics cards for gamers) and at least 2 PCIe1 slots. uATX will likely have about the same, but I haven't looked recently.

With the recommended integrated graphics, you need a minimum of two PCIe slots (of whatever flavor). If you decide to go with a real graphics card, you will need a -16 slot in addition to the two -1 for the tuners.

@Graham: good to know the N210 will work for HD. Are you MPEG or h.264 for UK HD?