Beginner wanting HD/PVR setup

[argonaught]

Hi everyone,
Hope someone can point me in the right direction. I'm soon moving to a flat in Southend-on-Sea, which has a satellite point linked to a dish on the roof (I assumed pointed towards the Sky Digital Astra satellite). I'm a current Sky+ subscriber but I would like to ditch it for FTA. Is there a reciever box I can buy that will support an EPG, PVR (Sky+ esque) functionality and HD?
I know this sounds ambitious, but hopefully worth enquiring.
Thanks
Argonaught

[Gav]

Yes I suppose, but it could be pricey - how much are you thinking of?

It would be slightly cheaper as well if you didn't want Channel 4 & five.

[Jimdefruit]

If the dish is a communal system, as you mention it is a flat, you will probably only have a single sat aerial connection so the twin feed for a sky+ system is unlikely unless the system has been recently installed.

If you just want free to air with recording facilities then I would recommend a PC sat card because eventually that might give you more options. However, the fta high definition options are strictly limited. At the moment only BBC and that is on a trial basis. All other HD transmissions on the Astra 2 sat at 28.2E are on a subscription basis. There are other HD transmissions on other satellites but again they are very limited as fta.

If you can find out a bit more about the dish, ie is it communal or can you have sole access to it etc, we could offer some specific guidance. Also what receiving equipment do you already have?

[argonaught]

Thanks for the replies. It's a communal dish that I have no access to, so I'm limited to only the one LMB and one satellite connection. However, I'd still like PVR functionality, not for the 'record one watch one' but for the selecting programmes to record via an EPG whilst I'm out.

Currently don't have any equipment, and money isn't an obstacle. I understand there isn't much HD content out there, I just wanted a box that supports HDMI ideally in order to future-proof, and in case I should ever buy an LCD that can upscale an SD picture.

[Gav]

Just thinking, if you have access to a single LNB on a dish pointing at 28 East, you could just buy an 'off contract' Sky HD box, you could then do one of the following:

Pay sky £10 a month for use of its PVR features.

OR

Buy a 'Phantom PVR' device

Full details here: bluedelta.co.uk/

And here: satcure.co.uk/tech/phantom.htm

[argonaught]

Cheers for the advice Gav. I actually already own a Phantom PVR - use it with a freeview box and DVD recorder. It's not really what I'm after though - and I want to avoid using Sky.

[Gav]

With the Sky HD box, you'd just be getting FTA channels, nothing from sky.

It seems thats what your stuck with unless you move the dish.

[Analoguesat]

Originally Posted by Gav

Just thinking, if you have access to a single LNB on a dish pointing at 28 East, you could just buy an 'off contract' Sky HD box, you could then do one of the following:

Pay sky £10 a month for use of its PVR features.

That needs 2 inputs Gav..

[Jimdefruit]

Argo, do you have a reasonably fast PC? If so, you could try a PCI or USB satellite card. It is a fairly cheap option.

[Gav]

Originally Posted by Analoguesat

That needs 2 inputs Gav..

I was thinking that, but if you just use one of the inputs, surely it would still work?