moneys

iTrader: (5)

Hell, does anyone know of an alternative to sky +? we cant get virgin in my area so thats out, we only watch the normal channels plus the odd freeview ish channels like dave, and the kids have their tele programmes that they like, so what options are there that can record like sky + and also cover all kids programmes as well as the others but dont rip you off like sky do?

cheers ste

Hysteria1983

Humax do a pretty decent freebview recorder.

You can get a version of them at tesco, but we bought a netter spec off the manufacturor and it was cheaper than elsewhere.

It's for the great grandparents!

PaulC72

BT vision but you will need BT broadband to make the system work.

XRS

Humax do PVRs for both Freeview and Freesat. Also do HD, so have a look on www.humaxdigital.co.uk

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

You could consider getting a playstation 3. You can get a freeview tuner with them, that records to the hard drive. Its not gonna be HD though, but as it has internet capabilites, you currently get BBC I-player, ITV player and 4 OnDemand.
Not to mention it has a BluRay player, and plays games.

Just something else to consider.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

media pc? Ive got 2, main one has dual sat card and dual freeview card so I can record 4 different things at the same time (or 3 and watch another channel) few hundred channels even your adult ones which you probably like (babestation etc). This includes the hd channels 2 on bbc, itv and luxe hd (probably more in future)

moneys

iTrader: (5)

oh ye i forgot about your set up jay, how big is it and how easy is it to use? also cost mate? pm me if you like

WRXBOB

Tried life without it, but you just can't beat Sky+ HD

Once you've had it, the alternatives will always be sh!te!

drb5

iTrader: (4)

Interested in hearing more about this setup too...

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

Ste, the main setup is a 50" wall mount with 2 alphasyn gloss black units sat underneath. These house my sony amp, media pc, xbox360 and wii etc with space for more. A media pc is basically just a pc so can be used for normal pc stuff as well, just hook up a wireless keyboard and mouse and browse the internet etc in a nice comfy chair on the 50" screen.

Costs wise depends on what components you use, and the case to house it. You can get a bog standard desktop case but it looks pants. Mine has an lcd display that you can use to show various info, scroll the news / sport / weather etc across whilst your watching tv, or just have it set to display the program name that your watching (not the channel)

TV cards for a standard single sat card your looking at £25, similar for freeview, however to save on space inside the pc case get dual cards (Sat card will require 2 feeds still, freeview just one as it can split the signal)

Gfx card you want a hdcp compliant one which are available from £50 + and basically thats it. I run mine to my sony amp whcih takes care of the sound, and then feed it to my tv. Advantage with the media pc is you can adjust the graphics properties and you can set the resolution upto 1080p (Assuming your tv supports it) so everything looks good.

I use a genuine win 7 home version for both mine which has media centre included, you need to get another remote and that will control it all for you, you have guide listings etc, you can put the channels in whatever order you want so I have my standard 1 - 5 then I just group the bbc channels together, itv, 5 and 4 etc. Keep the hd seperate but again all hd grouped together.
I also have a home network thing (About £150 plus hard discs) and all the computers in the house (not just the media pcs) are connected. I have my blu rays stored on the home network and albums / dvds etc which you access from the menu on the media pcs.
I think my main media pc cost about £500 ish including the case at just under £200 however I did already have the processor (you dont need top spec processors) that was getting the components though over a period of a few weeks using superspecials at the place where i get components etc.
I also have a blu ray drive in that as well
Then there is a plugin that allows you bbc i player, the itv catchups, 4OD, channel 5 catchups etc, also msn videoplayer which has various content (comedy/drama/sci fi/documentarys etc) more than enough channels for us to be honest.

Also now if you have sky broadband, you can keep it even without a tv subscription

SinghSuperStud

iTrader: (2)

sounds like an impressive setup - you should get yourself over to avforums and put a couple of pics up