Most Pc Network Friendly Pvr?

[k00k1503559827]

I'm in the throes of trying to decide on a PVR, my first. Tis all a bit confusing to be perfectly honest. One thing I'm pretty keen is a PVR thats easy to move/copy files around to the 4 PC's on my home network. I know this is a pretty broad question, but which would be the easiest to move files around on. Also, will the PC's be able to browse the PVR's HDD? And will the data once moved from the PVR be in a format that can be readily played on any other PC/DVD player?

I nearly went and bought a Pana 350 the other day. Is that a good choice?

Edited July 14, 2009 by k00k

[twitch1503562349]

I nearly went and bought a Pana 350 the other day. Is that a good choice?

Not a good choice if you want to move recordings around easily.

The Beyonwiz non-freeview models are the best in terms of your requirements as they're the easiest by far to move video files on and off (in a playable format).

Edited July 14, 2009 by twitch

[pgdownload]

I nearly went and bought a Pana 350 the other day. Is that a good choice?

Considering it has no networking capability probably not.

Setting up a network as you envisage is not a trivial thing. The idea sounds simple enough but in practice networked PVRs are usually pretty slow offloading files (which are routinely 5Gb to 10Gb in size).

I would suggest your best bet at the moment might be one of two approaches:

1) Set up a HTPC. This means adding a couple (2,3,4?) of tuners to a new (or existing PC) and plugging into the aerial. Then all recordings are made on that PC and then instantly available as files that can be shared around your network.

2) Best bet for a PVR solution would probably be the BeyonWiz P2. Coupled with this I would be looking to add a NAS central server to your home network. For something like $150 you can get say the DNS-313 (Or 323 if you want more space). The advantage is this hangs off your internet router modem and is available at all times to all PCs. You can set the P2 to be able to view the NAS and play files directly off it (so if you have a bunch of AVIs MKVs etc they are available to watch on the TV. Similarly There's software (WizTV) to select and offload files from the BW via your network and put them into a single TS file playable, convertible or editable by most PC software.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[diesel]

Although I own a Beyonwiz, I would also recommend looking at the newer Toppies that have very fast network transfers (compared to the achingly slow BW transfer rates - hence I queue them up overnight) and some of teh newqer models allow you to FTP into the HDD

[DaveMews]

havent had a chance to copy recordings off the new mediastar hd8000t box, but since it has ethernet connectivity and records to xvid format, I would imagine it would be simple copy and play. Will have to confirm the file format... satellite on the 9100 records to xvid and the box is made by the same manufacturer.

[myrantz]

Tivo fits the bill?

[diesel]

Tivo fits the bill?

HNP including 1 MAK = $199

Additional 3 x MAKs for the other PCs = $$$

Edited July 14, 2009 by diesel

[k00k1503559827]

Just wondering what sort of tranfer rates are we talking about on the Beyonwiz? How long approximately to transfer say 1Gb?

[ozdoc]

HNP including 1 MAK = $199

Additional 3 x MAKs for the other PCs = $$$

You just need one MAK.

[prl]

Just wondering what sort of tranfer rates are we talking about on the Beyonwiz? How long approximately to transfer say 1Gb?

Typical wired network transfer rates for the the Beyonwiz are about 3-4MB/s. That's around 10-12GB/hr. 1 GB, then, would take about 5 minutes. I assume you meant 1GB (gigabyte), not 1Gb (gigabit).

SD TV recordings are about 1MB/s, HD TV recordings are about 2MB/s, so the transfer time is about 3-4 times faster than the recording time for SD, and about 1.5-2 times faster for HD.

[Guest Andyg33]

Considering it has no networking capability probably not.

Setting up a network as you envisage is not a trivial thing. The idea sounds simple enough but in practice networked PVRs are usually pretty slow offloading files (which are routinely 5Gb to 10Gb in size).

I would suggest your best bet at the moment might be one of two approaches:

1) Set up a HTPC. This means adding a couple (2,3,4?) of tuners to a new (or existing PC) and plugging into the aerial. Then all recordings are made on that PC and then instantly available as files that can be shared around your network.

2) Best bet for a PVR solution would probably be the BeyonWiz P2. Coupled with this I would be looking to add a NAS central server to your home network. For something like $150 you can get say the DNS-313 (Or 323 if you want more space). The advantage is this hangs off your internet router modem and is available at all times to all PCs. You can set the P2 to be able to view the NAS and play files directly off it (so if you have a bunch of AVIs MKVs etc they are available to watch on the TV. Similarly There's software (WizTV) to select and offload files from the BW via your network and put them into a single TS file playable, convertible or editable by most PC software.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

Guys,

I have an older (no digital tuner) plasma I'm using in another part of the house, is there a HD STB I can use that has an ethernet connection that will enable me to see video files on my NAS or PVR, I know I could run for instance a DP-P2 in both rooms but would prefer not to go to that expense - or is that my only alternative ?

thx in advance

AG

[twitch1503562349]

Guys,

I have an older (no digital tuner) plasma I'm using in another part of the house, is there a HD STB I can use that has an ethernet connection that will enable me to see video files on my NAS or PVR, I know I could run for instance a DP-P2 in both rooms but would prefer not to go to that expense - or is that my only alternative ?

thx in advance

AG

Beyonwiz DP-H1 should be perfect for you: http://www.beyonwiz.com.au/product.asp?SKU=DP-H1

Edited July 14, 2009 by twitch

[pgdownload]

You possibly want a media player, something like the Popcornhour (Cost ~ $300). You can put a drive in them but they also plug into a NAS/Network and stream files. They also handle ALL video files very well (including MKV etc)

Otherwise if you want to network a Beyon Wiz then as mentioned get a P2 and a H1 (~ $350) and you have an integrated solution.

PCH is also neat cause you can download all your movies to it, then just pick up the tiny box and head out and play your shows anywhere.

Regards

Peter Gillespie

[diesel]

The versatility having an additional two tuners is worth consideration, especially when runout P1 models are in the low $500s

[ford]

Unless you want to wait all night to transfer recordings then the toppy is the one.

36 gigs an hour no problems,only way to go.

[Guest Andyg33]

Unless you want to wait all night to transfer recordings then the toppy is the one.

36 gigs an hour no problems,only way to go.

thx heaps everyone for your advice, much appreciated. I had heard of the slow transfer rates between BW's previously. Would this affect streaming from either the NAS or the other BW ? I am running a gigabit network

I do like the idea of the H1, but I guess by the time you add a USB drive to it you might as well buy the P1

AndyG

Edited July 14, 2009 by Andyg33

[prl]

... Would this affect streaming from either the NAS or the other BW ? I am running a gigabit network

I do like the idea of the H1, but I guess by the time you add a USB drive to it you might as well buy the P1

AndyG

The low transfer rates on the Beyonwiz are a deliberate restriction in the firmware to prevent the resource use by streaming (disk I/O, CPU use, internal bus use) interfering with the Beyonwiz's main functions of displaying and recording. This means that as there is more activity on a Beyonwiz streaming server, the likelihood of the streamed video throughput falling below the rate that's needed to sustain a reliable stream increases. This is especially so for higher-bitrate HD. Streaming HD recordings is really only guaranteed to work if the Beyonwiz server is not decoding video; so in the File Player or Setup menu. Sometimes HD streaming can be sustained if you just watch live video, sometimes even timeshifting or one recording. It depends on exactly what the HD bitrate is, and what's being viewed on the WizPnP server.

I measured some WizPnP data throughput rates for various loads on the Beyonwiz server, and compared them with typical broadcast HD bitrates. If the server can sustain a throughput greater than the broadcast bitrate (plus a bit of a safety margin), then viewing HD should be possible). As broadcasters add the "extra" SD service for Freeview, the typical broadcast HD bitrate for that broadcaster will fall - this is bad for picture quality, but good for the Beyonwiz's ability to stream.

Running a Gigabit network rather than 100Mb/s probably won't help the Beyonwiz networking speed problems, unless your 100Mb/s network is loaded with other traffic, because the network leg from the router to the Beyonwiz will always run at 100Mb/s, and the Beyonwiz never runs its network interface at more than about 30-40Mb/s.

Streaming video, either archived Beyonwiz recordings or other media files, from a computer using Windows Shares or NAS is less problematic, except for streaming DVD folders or DVD ISO files, but those problems appear to be more related to problems in the DVD playback code, rather than being network related (DVD bitrate is a modest 10Mib/s). The reason why it's thought to be due to the playback code is that most of the problems with playing bach DVDs over the net also occur when playing physical DVDs on the DP-S1. The next firmware release will probably contain a new version of Sigma Design's (the manufacturer of the Beyonwiz's main chip) SDK, which contains new DVD player code. It is hoped that this will address many of the DVD playback issues, including networked playback of DVDs.

There's much more information about Beyonwiz networking on the Beyonwiz forum, including discussion of which NAS devices work well with Beyonwizes.

Edited July 14, 2009 by prl

[Guest Andyg33]

The low transfer rates on the Beyonwiz are a deliberate restriction in the firmware to prevent the resource use by streaming (disk I/O, CPU use, internal bus use) interfering with the Beyonwiz's main functions of displaying and recording. This means that as there is more activity on a Beyonwiz streaming server, the likelihood of the streamed video throughput falling below the rate that's needed to sustain a reliable stream increases. This is especially so for higher-bitrate HD. Streaming HD recordings is really only guaranteed to work if the Beyonwiz server is not decoding video; so in the File Player or Setup menu. Sometimes HD streaming can be sustained if you just watch live video, sometimes even timeshifting or one recording. It depends on exactly what the HD bitrate is, and what's being viewed on the WizPnP server.

I measured some WizPnP data throughput rates for various loads on the Beyonwiz server, and compared them with typical broadcast HD bitrates. If the server can sustain a throughput greater than the broadcast bitrate (plus a bit of a safety margin), then viewing HD should be possible). As broadcasters add the "extra" SD service for Freeview, the typical broadcast HD bitrate for that broadcaster will fall - this is bad for picture quality, but good for the Beyonwiz's ability to stream.

Running a Gigabit network rather than 100Mb/s probably won't help the Beyonwiz networking speed problems, unless your 100Mb/s network is loaded with other traffic, because the network leg from the router to the Beyonwiz will always run at 100Mb/s, and the Beyonwiz never runs its network interface at more than about 30-40Mb/s.

Streaming video, either archived Beyonwiz recordings or other media files, from a computer using Windows Shares or NAS is less problematic, except for streaming DVD folders or DVD ISO files, but those problems appear to be more related to problems in the DVD playback code, rather than being network related (DVD bitrate is a modest 10Mib/s). The reason why it's thought to be due to the playback code is that most of the problems with playing bach DVDs over the net also occur when playing physical DVDs on the DP-S1. The next firmware release will probably contain a new version of Sigma Design's (the manufacturer of the Beyonwiz's main chip) SDK, which contains new DVD player code. It is hoped that this will address many of the DVD playback issues, including networked playback of DVDs.

There's much more information about Beyonwiz networking on the Beyonwiz forum, including discussion of which NAS devices work well with Beyonwizes.

thx prl, much appreciated. It might take a week for my feeble brain to absorb and understand the technicalities of what you've written but I get the general idea