Are Private Tivo Sales allowed ?

[fe_man2000]

Hello,

I may be moving to Freeview and getting a Humax or Topfield PVR - actually I would value anyones opinon on these as an aside before I get one. But I have a UK Tivo I no longer use and was wondering what the rules are about advertising on the forum ? Please let me know before I go any further.

cheers

[ozsat]

No ads are allowed!

[fe_man2000]

Fair enough - anyone got a humax 9300/9200 or a topfield 5800/5810 out there ? I have had Tivo and Sky+ so this new freeview option is a mystery to me.

[Pete77]

It sounds like you should consider getting a Freesat Humax PVR box when launched shortly as they will let you record HD programs and have Series Links etc without paying any extra subs to Sky. Your existing Sky dish and Quad LNB and cabling for your Sky HD box should also be compatible with one of these new Freesat boxes.

See www.freesat.co.uk/index.php?page=products.Main

Alternatively why didn't you continue using your Sky HD box as a recording source for Tivo when you desubscribed from Sky+ and then just watch any HD programs you want to view live (as Tivo can't record programs from the Sky HD box in HD)?

[fe_man2000]

Thanks Pete but I dont have a HD box - its sky+. Also I am moving to freeview due to a house move so I wont have a dish anymore so freesat wont help me.

Also as I understand it you cannot record anything on a sky+ without a a sky sub, even freeview stuff, its disabled at present with no plans for sky to release it that I have seen. so basically I have 2 PVR's I cant use, well the tivo is of course usable but I dont want ot have to pay as I have no life time sub and I dont see it as worth while to get one now.

basically I am want a PVR with HMDI or Component out and no charges - tivo loses on both of these and my scart inputs are very average on my TV - that and the Tivo is just too damn big - it wont fit under my TV along with the centre speaker anymore. I love tivo but its great PVR interface and searching/learning system is no longer enough to compete with other kit. dammit I cannot beleive that even now I cannot get a newer tivo in the UK - whats wrong with this country. rant over

[Pete77]

Also as I understand it you cannot record anything on a sky+ without a a sky sub, even freeview stuff, its disabled at present with no plans for sky to release it that I have seen. so basically I have 2 PVR's I cant use, well the tivo is of course usable but I dont want ot have to pay as I have no life time sub and I dont see it as worth while to get one now.

But you will be able to record on a Humax BBC/ITV Freesat PVR (including in HD on the BBC HD and ITV HD channels) as and when they are launched in the Autumn. That is why they are nothing at all to do with Sky and come from the BBC/ITV/C4 consortium funded website at www.freesat.co.uk and not from www.freesatfromsky.co.uk

So the fact that you have no satellite dish at present on your new house is surely no obstacle to one being installed for the new free of subscription BBC/ITV Freesat product unless you don't have a line of site to the satellite or planning restrictions that prevent a satellite dish being erected.

I understand why like many people you no longer want to have anything to do with Sky and paying them a sub but HD is available now on satellite (but not till 2009 or probably significantly later than that depending on slippage etc, etc in implementation on Freeview) so the new www.freesat.co.uk option and its PVR (which I repeat is nothing to do with Sky) is one you may also want to consider. Also any Freeview box you buy now is likely to be incompatible with HD channels on Freeview as and when they are eventually launched.

[fe_man2000]

ah I see your point yes, I have seen freesat about but I am renting and the sky dish option is out, also I am above the 2nd floor so sky installs (even if I could convince the landlord) might be a bit more interesting (costly) than my last one.

To be honest I am not that bothered by high def - (draws target on chest) I dont really rate it. My TV is only 32" and when I see it on my mates 47" its pretty good, then we watch a upscaled DVD and its pretty good - infact every thing on his plasma is pretty good but I dont think I could guess which is the HD TV signal (I was to polite to tell him) even the HD DVD was similar to me eyes - I must be the only person around who is not in love with HD - upscaling is up enough for me at the moment. Death to scart is all I want - terrible terrible thing it is. Dont even get me started on bluray lol.

[Pete77]

ah I see your point yes, I have seen freesat about but I am renting and the sky dish option is out, also I am above the 2nd floor so sky installs (even if I could convince the landlord) might be a bit more interesting (costly) than my last one.

OK I understand the situation then although Sky will install a Free Shared Dish scheme (one dish hidden away shared between all the flats) for small blocks of flats so long as you can get four flats to sign up for one year on at least a minimum Sky £16 per month package.

See http://communaltv.sky.com/options.aspx?page=2 and www.dastv.co.uk/Free_Shared_Dish_residential.php

Assuming that's not possible then check out for opinions on all the various Freeview+ PVRs at www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=90. The one that often seems to be recommended as value for money and yet not as expensive as Topfield or Humax is Tv-Onics. See www.tvonics.com

[fe_man2000]

Thanks Pete I will check those out - any idea if they are scart only or HMDI or component. Just thats a deal breaker for me.

[DX30]

Fair enough - anyone got a humax 9300/9200 or a topfield 5800/5810 out there ? I have had Tivo and Sky+ so this new freeview option is a mystery to me.
I've not got (or even seen) the 9300 but yes on the others.

If HDMI is really a deal breaker for you that rules out the 9200 and 5800, although I would urge you to reconsider this. (IMHO with SD broadcasts an HDMI output isn't that much of an advantage unless your TV has a really cr*p SCART input. In practice I see very little difference between using RGB SCART and HDMI with Freeview.)

On the software side I assume the 9300 is similar to the 9200. If so it will be usable, but limited in comparison to the TiVo. You will miss your TiVo. ;)

The 5810 suffers from problems with the firmware. Topfield have yet to get Freeview Playback firmware right, and while you can use an older firmware on the 5800 you don't have that option on the 5810. Do a lot of research at www.toppy.org.uk before going the Topfield route. On the plus side if you are willing and able to customise with 3rd party applications (called tap's) you can get much more functionality than with the 9300.

So on balance I'd suggest the 9300 is likely to be the least pain-free experience, given your HDMI requirement. If you can forego HDMI then the 5800 is the most flexible.

Edit: on re-reading your posts I see you mention component. The 5800 will do component in SD (no upscaling). I don't see any great difference from RGB SCART, but you may want to check it out.

[fe_man2000]

I agree about the SD video via hdmi or component not being much better but my Amp has video up scaling and switching for HD sources only - scart cannot be connected to it. hence I only have one connection to the TV and everything else connected to the amp these days - its much tidier and if I ever get around to wall mounting the TV I dont want more than the single connection.

I really really hate scart leads - there have no redeeming features as far as I can see and will avoid them every time over a hdmi lead (and not because hmdi is new and therefore "better" but because it functions more to my liking on my setup) also its neater and doesnt pickup interferance on cheap cables.