Newbie Questions & Topfield 7710HDPVR

[dakang]

Hi all,

About to take the plunge into the world of Satellite....

We live in ROI (a.k.a Rip Off Ireland) and the only option to date for havng 'more than 3 channels' is to pay for cable or sky. Freeview don't exist, hence the interest in Freesat. Plus I'd like BBC London not BBC NI!

In terms of viewing habits, we'd be looking to watch BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and the missus would like some Spanish and Italian channels.

I know I need the following:-

1. Dish
   - Thinking of going for a 80cm MESH dish cos I've heard that they are better in windy areas? 80cm cos of greater satellite reach.
   
2. LNB
   - We want to record something while watching something else. Plus we want a receiver in the bedroom so that means 3 cables coming from the dish? (2 to the living room and 1 to the bedroom). Therefore we need a quad LNB right??
   
3. Cable
   - From what I have read, there is little difference between RG6 and WF100 for normal domestic use. Therefore RG6 is what I'll buy... does it carry HD signals ok?
   
4. Receiver
   - I am looking to buy a receiver that has High Definition capability. Ability to record and , cos we want to record one channel whilst watching another, this means we need a twin-tuner receiver right?
   
   The best value for money receiver meeting the above spec seems to be the Topfield 7710HDPVR at around £300. All the others seem to be around £400ish.
   
   However before I buy, my only concern is this supposed lack of 7 day EPG. Some forum posters say you get 'now and next' only. However the specs of the receiver say 'EPG compatible' therefore...
   
   ...is it possible to use a PC connection/ download/ additional software to add a 7 day EPG to this receiver?
   
   We really want the ability to set a recording a few days into the future, I dont mind messing with a PC to achieve this... any ideas?

Any help would be really appreciated!
.dakang

 

[Topper]

Welcome to the forum dakang

1. 80 cm will be fine

2. Quad lnb is correct

3. Stick with wf100 or ct100

4. Twin tuner receiver is correct

5. 7 EPG is not available yet on any AFAIK and I have not heard of any workaround

6. If the missus wants Spanish and Italian channels then you will need a motorised setup as freesat on 28.2 East Astra 2 does not have any Spanish or Italian channels.

 

[guest]

Spanish Channels are chiefly on Hispasat at 30W (plus others on Hotbird at 13E and a small number on Astra 1 at 19.2E) and Italian Channels are chiefly on Hotbird at 13E plus a smattering on various other Satellites.

As Topper suggests, a Motorised Dish would be best, but you would also get value from other solutions such as a second Dish aligned to eg 13E.

 

[jphili]

The best value for money receiver meeting the above spec seems to be the Topfield 7710HDPVR at around £300. All the others seem to be around £400ish.
However before I buy, my only concern is this supposed lack of 7 day EPG. Some forum posters say you get 'now and next' only. However the specs of the receiver say 'EPG compatible' therefore...

1. 
   ...is it possible to use a PC connection/ download/ additional software to add a 7 day EPG to this receiver?
   
   We really want the ability to set a recording a few days into the future, I dont mind messing with a PC to achieve this... any ideas?

I haven't really seen anything that will put the EPG on the TF, there are however a couple of options to manage timers on the TF from within a PC EPG:

• TopField GUI has a command-line mode that can be used from any EPG program that can launch an external program to create a timer. (see here).
• There is a plugin for TV Browser (eTipotPlugin) that essentially allows for the same thing.

 

[dakang]

Thank you for your helpful responses.

I thought it *was* possible to pick up both UK and some continental channels with an 80cm dish *without* a motor. I appreciate that Hispasat at 30W is exclusively Spanish but I thought it was possible to pick up the foreign channels on Hotbird with an 80cm with no motor as well as Astra?

So the only way to get a 7 day EPG is for Freesat channels to buy an official Freesat box (which is poor for non-Freesat channels) or to go down the Sky route? Am i missing something or is this not a big downside to buying a normal 'non-freesat licensed' receiver?

Cheers
.dakang