New house, new (hobby) installation.

[Yam]

Hello,

I'm moving out of my parents house at the end of January and am trying to work out how to set up my media systems for my new house. I currently have V+ at my parents, and unfortunately cable isn't available in my new house, so I'm trying to work out what I can do to get more channels than standard terrestrial and freeview.

I'm quite a tech junkie and have been looking into creating a HTPC for the lounge with the ability of sharing my media throughout the house with the use of media extenders. I purchased an Acer Revo (R3700) recently and plan to use this as my HTPC with the help of media center/XBMC/Dreamportal/MythTV/etc. I'm quite comfortable with this as I share my media currently and know how to setup the above software to handle this request.

Now to get to the part I'm not too sure about - I want to receive satellite into my HTPC. I've read a thread about this but it was from a few years ago (http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/satellite-pc-card-receivers-internet-satellite/95167-htpc-sky-hd-uk-working-also-viewing-card-has-been-out-my-sky-box-months.html), so I'm assuming it's still possible to do, but need to assistance with what I need to buy/know/install. Will I need multiple tuners to enable me to watch different channels at the same time? And also record one channel and watch another?

My hope is to be able to stream and record live TV/satellite through the HTPC in the lounge and also to the other rooms (I've no idea if this is possible, so many just stream to the other rooms). I know I need a tuner (at least) on the HTPC and, unfortuantely, the Revo doesn't have any PCI/PCIe slots (it does have mini PCI, but I've not seen any mini PCI tuners) so I need to go for USB tuners. I plan to stream in HD eventually, so I know I'll be needing a DVB-S2. I've looked a few tuners and I'm not too sure which to buy, but I don't think that will be a big issue for me.

I know I'll be needing a satellite dish installed, I'm not entirely sure what dish I'll need. Initially I want to be able to pick up the FTA channels inside (and possible outside) the UK, then I'll be looking for a subscription to be able to pick up the football in HD (maybe 3D depending on the tele I purchase) and also the 3pm football on weekends. I'm not really sure what's involved in this, so would need some advice.

That pretty much sums up my knowledge of the topic. I'm not sure whether I need a satellite card in order to view the FTA channels. I know I'll need CAM software, but I'm not entirely sure what it is - I'm assuming this software is the decoder from the satellite to the PC.

I've done some research in the subject, but I've struggled to find any very basic/beginner/A-Z guides on the subject. A lot of the guides I've found are based on a pre-built satellite receiver (Dreambox for example), so I'm struggling to string together the bits of information I've found.

I'm very keen to learn, so if someone could help advise me or point me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful.

Regards,

Liam.

 

[PaulR]

No answers but just encouragement for what you're trying to do.

One thing that has changed since those days is the $ly card which is now on a new issue which, AFAIK, is not useable on any CAMs. Fortunately you don't need a card for true FTA satellite signals.

One thing that might be difficult (again, I'm not entirely sure) is a proper 7 day EPG. Freeview might be easier to implement than Freesat but here's hoping someone can tell you for sure.

 

[pgh13]

Hi Liam....welcome to the forum.

I can't speak for any of the others, but I've been using a PC for a few years with 2 Freeview and one Skystar card to receive German FTA channels from Astra 1. Software was GBPVR (.com) which runs under Windows and has recently been rewritten and is currently a very usable N-PVR beta . Very easy to set up (it also has a friendly and helpful user forum). It will pull EPG off-air (Can't speak for S-y but certainly for Freeview and most of the German channels), although for UK EPG I have previously used Birtles XMLTV software pointed at Radio Times.
As you've already realised, small size and multiple tunes aren't particularly compatible. By mini PCI do you mean low profile or PCI-E? Either way, you can get some low profile tuners and also, PCI-E tuners are becoming more common. I have also used a PCI DVB-T tuner but can't comment on sat.

You can record multiple channels from the same Mux.

I stream to 2 (rather dated now) Hauppauge Media MVPs, but the Popcorn Hour is also supported and these remote stations are presented with the full list of menu options so can view EPG, schedule recordings etc.

 

[Analoguesat]

If you want HD 3pm football games I hope you have deep pockets - the prices are around £1500/year if you have to use a uk based reseller. You will also need additional kit and probably a bigger dish installed

If you just want the stuff provided by Sky UK then the sub is about £50-60/month depending on if you want the sports and movie channels.

 

[Huevos]

Another option is using a dedicated Linux satellite receiver in the main room and streaming to the laptop,etc. A receiver like the Vu+ Duo has 2 DVB-S2 tuners, you can plug in USB DVB-T tuners, the EPG is not a problem and it will currently read a white Sky card. You can set up an internal hard drive for recording, or you can record to and playback from a NAS. This way you would have satellite and terrestrial on any PC/laptop anywhere on your network without any further equipment, as well as HD TV via an HDMI cable into your main TV.

 

[Yam]

First of all, thanks a lot for your replies. I put off posting for several days because of how unwelcoming and elitest some forums seem to be lately. So thank you for no flamebait, it's appreciated.

I can't speak for any of the others, but I've been using a PC for a few years with 2 Freeview and one Skystar card to receive German FTA channels from Astra 1. Software was GBPVR (.com) which runs under Windows and has recently been rewritten and is currently a very usable N-PVR beta . Very easy to set up (it also has a friendly and helpful user forum). It will pull EPG off-air (Can't speak for S-y but certainly for Freeview and most of the German channels), although for UK EPG I have previously used Birtles XMLTV software pointed at Radio Times.

Thanks for the heads up on GBPVR, after a quick search it looks like it will run with Sky as a source and there is also a way of getting an EPG, which is awesome. Definitely keeping it as possibility for viewing software.

As you've already realised, small size and multiple tunes aren't particularly compatible. By mini PCI do you mean low profile or PCI-E? Either way, you can get some low profile tuners and also, PCI-E tuners are becoming more common. I have also used a PCI DVB-T tuner but can't comment on sat.

By mini PCI, I was talking about this _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_Mini_Card I wrongly said mini PCI, the slot is actually a mini PCI express.

I'm more than happy using USB tuners, I just hope two can work at the same time.

You can record multiple channels from the same Mux.

Does this mean I can also watch two different channels at the same time? Meaning I won't need two tuners?

If you want HD 3pm football games I hope you have deep pockets - the prices are around £1500/year if you have to use a uk based reseller. You will also need additional kit and probably a bigger dish installed

If you just want the stuff provided by Sky UK then the sub is about £50-60/month depending on if you want the sports and movie channels.

I'm not entirely bothered about getting HD 3pm football, since at the minute I don't even get SD 3pm football, so a standard stream would be fine.

Another option is using a dedicated Linux satellite receiver in the main room and streaming to the laptop,etc. A receiver like the Vu+ Duo has 2 DVB-S2 tuners, you can plug in USB DVB-T tuners, the EPG is not a problem and it will currently read a white Sky card. You can set up an internal hard drive for recording, or you can record to and playback from a NAS. This way you would have satellite and terrestrial on any PC/laptop anywhere on your network without any further equipment, as well as HD TV via an HDMI cable into your main TV.

I've thought long and hard about this, I was originally considering getting a Dreambox, but I'd rather create my own HTPC so I can tinker (I'm pretty awful for it). From my limited understanding, there's nothing you can do on a Linux satellite receiver, that you can't do on a HTPC - it just might take more man hours to setup. Am I correct with my thinking?

Is there any benefit to getting the linux box other than it being built for the job?

Unparsed URL - [Admin]