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Advice needed on what to buy?

D

DJMac

New Member
Firstly thanks for any replies!

Whilst being a techie I am a complete numpty when it comes to all things TV/PVR related.

I have been trying to read up on these forums first but I seem to end up more confused than when I started.

So this all started after the missus and I decided we wanted the YouView box. A call to both BT and TalkTalk confirmed that my crappy 4Mb internet wasnt good enough.

However readin here seems to suggest it will actually work. So I did some reading on the YouView thing, but then saw you all mentioning this HDR-FOX T2 job, which then added to my confusion.

So what I would like is

  • Pause/Rewind/FF Live TV
  • HD Recording
  • Series Linking/Recording Schedules
  • Watch things on iPlayer/ITV Player/YouTube
  • Watch videos from USB
I thought the FOx T2 couldnt do the iPlayer/ITV Player bit but then saw something somewhere that said it had iPlayer, but does it do ITV also?
Thanks for any help in advance.
 
As no-one has answered yet here is my answer.

As far as I know the HDR Fox-T2 only has access to BBC iPlayer out of the 4 main terrestrial broadcasters.

The HDR meets you requirements otherwise though there may be some limitation on USB videos dependent on their coding.

The custom software adds functionality but, personally, I have not used it.

Martin

PS. The fact that BT and Talk Talk rejected your 4Mb internet connection indicates to me they were more interested in your (chargeable) download usage rather than viewing broadcast TV. My 4Mb does ok for SD iPlayer programmes.
 
The YouView box can do everything in your list apart from "Watch videos from USB"
Unless you really need the non-BBC catch-up services, I would choose the Fox T2 over the Youview.
Yes, the Fox T2 does include iPlayer.
 
Thanks dudes! Has anyone had experience in the Humax A Grade stuff? as I see you can get Fox T2 for £159 in the A Grade section?
 
I bought a Grade A HD Fox-T2 (and added a USB drive to record) over a year ago. It looked new and has worked perfectly. Any Grade A box should work as good as a new one, if not send it back.

Martin
 
Although 4Mb internet is probably fast enough for 'live' streaming anyway, it is worth pointing out that HDR-Fox T2 will buffer BBC-Iplayer , YouTube etc. videos so that a slow broadband link can be used, however the YouView DRT-T1000/1010 doesn't buffer these streams so it is more important to make sure that 'live' steaming can be carried out, this is probably why BT and TalkTalk are being over cautious
 
For reference, my 2.5Mbps Internet is good enough for BBC iPlayer (no, the HDR-FOX does not "do" ITV Player etc, just iPlayer).
 
Well I must say it's refreshing and nice to have a forum where you are not treated like a fool for asking questions. Thanks all for your help I will ge going for FOX 2 PVR
 
So far as USB viewing is concerned, you can watch most avi and mpg files. If you want to view mkv files you will need to recode them to mp4 format. There are a number of utilities that let you do this quickly (on a pc) without actually transcoding the video. I haven't tried other formats, such as mov or wmv, but I'm guessing you will probably need to do a full transcode.
 
I regularly watch .mkv files created with Handbrake on my HDR Fox T2 but it's a container format so it depends on what is inside.
 
af123 said:
I regularly watch .mkv files created with Handbrake on my HDR Fox T2 but it's a container format so it depends on what is inside.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of downloaded files. I used to be able to use home-grown Handbrake files, but not since the last update of HB. It seems to be accepted practice now to include stuff in the mkv headers that break the Humax. I can still view old mkv downloads too, but not current ones.
 
fenlander said:
I was thinking of downloaded files. I used to be able to use home-grown Handbrake files, but not since the last update of HB. It seems to be accepted practice now to include stuff in the mkv headers that break the Humax. I can still view old mkv downloads too, but not current ones.
Click to expand...
I think that is header compression.

I used to get this problem with my WDTV Live. I have a Batch file now that automatically strips out header compression for all files in a folder.
 
Do you have MKVtoolnix?

If you run your files through 'MKVinfo', it should tell you all about the streams contained within the container. If one of the audio streams contains 'Header Compression' (something that is now 'on' by default in mkv creation tools), then that could likely be your problem.

You can strip out header compression using 'MKVmerge' and changing the required settings. This was such a big deal in the WDTV circles, that some clever chap wrote a batch file that did this all automatically when double clicked.

I have to leave work now, but this thread (http://wdtvforum.com/main/index.php?topic=6897.0) could well give you all the info you need.

If not, I'll check back tomorrow and help with anything you need to know.
 
Had a quick try using version 1.3 of the script, but the Hummy didn't like it: 'format not supported'. To be honest, XVid4PSP5 is probably quicker at remuxing an mkv to a usable mp4 - about 75sec for 1GB without recoding the audio on my media PC. Usually, I prefer to recode the audio to AAC and normalise it in the process: this take a bit longer but gives a better volume level. The hummy will play the original AC3 audio, but at a lower sound level.
 
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