Beginner wanting HD/PVR setup

[BGonaSTICK]

I see your logic, but I think the Sky+/HD system wants to use tuner 1 for viewing and tuner 2 for recording

Well, as I see it, a PC solution would work, or a nice non-sky PVR STB with no HD, but with HDMI and upscaling capability (there are a few of these around.) Maybe an HD box like the Topfield or Humax and forget the PVR functionality?

Then there are the Linux boxes - Dreambox 7xxx etc. or the all-singing, all-dancing Dreambox 8000 High Def. out in the next few weeks or months which will do it all.

To get the most out of any of these, you will want another small dish. You can merge the signals from this with the feed from the Sky dish and have the best of both worlds. A small flat dish could sit inside a south-facing window, for example. Astra 2 is never going to excite you in FTA terms.