Loosing my mind over PVR media players

[admin_exported]

Hi, please, please, please can someone help me and suggest a solution to my problem, as i'm starting to lose my mind!!! [:'(]

All i would like to do, is watch and record freeview or freesat tv, plus watch my DVD collection which is stored on my external hard drive as TS files!

Ideally it would be one unit, but i don't think there is anything out there that can do both - please prove me wrong

I have though about, Western digital and PVR setup, apple tv and pvr setup, and i'm don't know what is best, so any suggestions or options would be greatly received and would stop a simple man loosing his already small brain!!

[😀]

 

[strapped for cash]

Panasonic offer Freeview and Freesat PVRs with Blu-ray players/recorders to boot. As a one box solution, they're apparently very good; but you pay a premium for the lack of clutter.

It makes more sense, in my view, to buy separate components that are class leaders in their respective categories. You'd save money overall, without too great an incursion into available shelf space.

 

[Anonymous]

Humax do generally well regarded and good value PVRs - both Freeview and Freesat versions - and AFAIK they use the TS file format, so it may be possible to play your files through your external drive via the PVR's USB port. Check carefully though as I've a feeling they won't play non-native TS files - ie TS files that weren't created by the unit itself - which would be a potential stumbling block.

Another option could be a Media Center PC - custom build it yourself (mostly out of old PC bits if available to save money) or buy a ready made one for a price. That would give PVR function with multiple tuners and lots of recording space (if specced appropriately) and ability to play TS files easily enough through software such as VLC Media Player or others. Windows 7 Media Center is pretty slick with good EPG functions. If you've got an old PC you could run Linux on it and use the Linux version of VLC Media Player, and use a separate PVR for duties that need a tuner / recorder.

I don't think Apple TV plays TS files natively but could be wrong - one option would be to convert the TS files into another format that is more easily used / read natively by a media player or extender.

 

[professorhat]

Possibly the Topfield PVRs could do what you're after as well, but I'm not sure. Might be worth looking into a specific PVR forum for these types of questions as it's a pretty specialist requirement.

 

[Dave_]

noddycat:
Humax do generally well regarded and good value PVRs - both Freeview and Freesat versions - and AFAIK they use the TS file format, so it may be possible to play your files through your external drive via the PVR's USB port. Check carefully though as I've a feeling they won't play non-native TS files - ie TS files that weren't created by the unit itself - which would be a potential stumbling block.

Not sure about Humax's Freeview recorders, but the Humax Foxsat HDR (Freesat recorder) does use .TS format however it won't play back non-native files (even if they;re in the .TS format) without using the excellent and free third-party programme called AV2HDR (created by a Humax user known as Raydon on various forums) to set the correct parameters and create the .hmt and .nts companion files needed for playback.
http://video2hdr.blogspot.com/

 

[kinda]

A Sagem might do it.

You can export programs to USB as TS, and it will read them back off it, but never tried a TS file it hasn't created.

Also, limited to FAT32, (< 4Gb file size)..