Since the end is near, seriously searching out an alternative

[gazter]

The end seems to be approaching for Tivo in the UK. I really love my tivo, but it is showing its age, when displayed on large screen tvs, the sky recompressed picture isnt up to scratch as well as a complete lack of Skyhd, means that even if tivo isnt going to pull epg information, tivo is becoming more and more a hasbeen.

What is essential for me, is full sky support, with support for HD, either now, or in the near future combined with a season pass manager (or equivalent).

It seems the cracking of skys nds encryption is now stable through a PC (still requires a valid card/subscription), when combined with a dragon cam and a floppydtv device.

i) Of course, Media Centre Edition(or Center) would fill pretty much all the requirements normally. But, in typical Microsoft fashion, h264 is not supported, which i understand is the format in which subscription hd material is broadcast.

But in their favour, their new software release called the 'tv pack' gives genuine support to dvb-s, and i presume its just a matter of time for them to get the h264 sorted.

ii) Another alternative, which seems a bit of less hassle, is one called DVBViewer, reports are that this manages encrypted hd and sd material much better then MCE and is compatible with the MCE remote (which is probably second only to Tivos for design).

Do any users here have experience using DVB viewer? Does it use season passes etc?

iii) LiquidTv seems very interesting... A dream scenario (really!) would be Tivo on my PC with full access to sky encrypted material. But there is a lot in the air for that, does nero intend to launch outside the USA? Will it support dvb-s (does it in the usa?)?

[kitschcamp]

Originally Posted by gazter

It seems the cracking of skys nds encryption is now stable through a PC (still requires a valid card/subscription), when combined with a dragon cam and a floppydtv device.

That combination works very well. I use the FireDTV (the floppyDTV in an external box) for both UK and Swedish TV.

ii) Another alternative, which seems a bit of less hassle, is one called DVBViewer, reports are that this manages encrypted hd and sd material much better then MCE and is compatible with the MCE remote (which is probably second only to Tivos for design).

Do any users here have experience using DVB viewer? Does it use season passes etc?

I use DVB Viewer and it works very well with encrypted channels. Records reliably, and has a good web interface for remote access.

I tried SageTV, and it was pants. It claims a lot, but doesn't even do the basics without huge amounts of customisation. e.g. claims an EPG service is available for Europe, except it isn't... Well, unless you count spending 5 days trying to hack the thing to make it work. Hardly intuitive or reliable.

I tried Media Portal and had big problems with it on encrypted channels and with stability.

UKPVR wouldn't even properly recognise the FireDTV cards.

DVB Viewer works, and works very well. Astoundingly good value for money. OK, it hasn't got season passes, but it can work with the Freesat EPG very well, and I find it fine for managing clashes, plus also it can cope with recording multiple channels from the same transponder (e.g. BBC1, 2, BBC three, BBC four and Five). It also handles encrypted channels very well. It'll do me fine till the TiVo PC solution appears.

[gazter]

Originally Posted by kitschcamp

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DVB Viewer works, and works very well. Astoundingly good value for money. OK, it hasn't got season passes, but it can work with the Freesat EPG very well, and I find it fine for managing clashes, plus also it can cope with recording multiple channels from the same transponder (e.g. BBC1, 2, BBC three, BBC four and Five). It also handles encrypted channels very well. It'll do me fine till the TiVo PC solution appears.

If it doesnt have season passes (or their equivalence), i find it hard to see how it can be a substitute for Tivo. Tivo is a fire and forget solution. You give it your shows, you tell it the priority you want them in case of conflicts, and sit back. It sounds like DVB viewer cant do that....

As i understand it, media center can do that (if you ignore all the technical maintenance needed for the general upkeep of a windows system), as i understand it you can get it to record seasons of shows, and prioritise their recording...

[kitschcamp]

As I said, I don't use it to replace TiVo - I've not found anything close. It works well for me for managing clashes, and that's what I use it for.

For Swedish TV it's much much better than the PVRs that are available from the satellite service providers!