On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 13:20:24 +0000, John Laird
wrote:

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 08:19:29 -0000, "PJO" wrote:

Why would you be amazed that a single box picks up a single channel?

Yes, I do find that amazing. Basically the STB needs two tuners.

That's all it does, though - decode a single channel from one of the digital
multiplexes. To put in a second tuner is to duplicate its primary function
and would lead to a significant extra cost. Your options a
a) Watch analogue while recording digital.
b) Get a second STB.
c) Get a TV with a built-in digital decoder.

I'm considering the purchase of a USB digital decoder from a company whose
name I forget (it's not Hauppauge), and going fully digital for recording,
onto a PC disk. The box under consideration can also output an entire
multiplex for recording, too (somewhere between 5 and 8 channels). An
obvious next step after that is a DVD recorder.

The boys at work are building me such a box right now. With DVD
writer, freeview TV tuner, 160Gb disk and more ports you could shake a
stick at it will cost £400 odd plus VAT. It's all built into a neat
cubic box and will be on my LAN so I can use it as a fileserver too.
Audio quality won't be audiophile, but I can live with that for the
convenience it will give me in general use.

The crappy, broken Sony HD recorder is going back to the shop,
liberating £340, and I won't have to buy the wife a new VCR to replace
the dying one she uses for taping Corrie.


--
Tim Hobbs