cerebros
23-06-22, 21:04
Hi everyone
New here and not 100% certain I'm posting in the right forum but here goes:
My Humax HDR1100s Freesat box has recently died. As we still record some broadcasts I'm looking to replace the capability although not necessarily with the equivalent type of box. As I tried to start with my options reasonably open I was initially looking at going the terrestrial route with the HD Homerun, planning to integrate it with Plex for recording. However, after checking I found that my memory was correct in that we have reception issues with terrestrial and so would probably need to fork out for an external aerial.
In discussion around that on another forum, someone mentioned that I should be able to achieve equivalent functionality to the HD Homerun via satellite using an Enigma2 receiver. Which was great advice until I tried searching for Enigma2 receivers and was completely overwhelmed by the number of models that are out there. So, my main purpose in posting here is to get some advice to help me narrow down the options of what to look for.
To be more specific to what my requirements are:
I want to be able to receive the free to air satellite broadcasts we can get in the UK (principally the ones available via Freesat, although I've come to understand there are some FTA channels you can get from Sky as well, although I've not looked into that enough to know if there's any that I'd be bothered about being able to receive)
I'd like a box that can be used as a tuner by Plex so I can use the DVR functionality from Plex Pass to record broadcasts via an EPG
I'd like to have four tuners (our busiest recording period is around Christmas when it is guaranteed that there will be plenty of times there will be more than two programmes on we want to record which was always a bit of a pain for me trying to work out if there were other showings or which programmes weren't going to get recorded)
I'm not especially fussed about hooking the box up to a TV to watch from. Part of the reason I was looking at the HD Homerun was that I could have stuck it up in the loft out of the way and freed up a plug socket and some space in the lounge (less cables = less mess to untangle whenever one of the kids drops something behind the TV bench)
Things I'm not entirely clear about from the poke around at Enigma2 box details on the main World of Satellite shop site are:
- What the different is between the various firmwares listed. is it just different GUIs if you're using via a TV or is there different functionality enabled for the boxes depending on which you use?
- A number of the receivers have 4k on their specs. Is this because they're also sold in markets where there are 4k satellite broadcasts or because they can upscale if you have a 4k TV/have built-in media players that can playback 4k video files from your network? AFAIK we don't have any 4k satellite broadcasts in the UK so I unless I'm mistaken I'm assuming that little tick on the spec sheet is useless over here.
- are all Enigma2 boxes able to be used as a tuner for Plex? I'm told I'd need to install a plugin on the box to set this up or does this only work with specific receivers and/or firmwares?
I'm planning to do installation myself. As far as I'm aware there are no issues with my current dish and I've terminated satellite cable before so should be able to do so again. I understand that there are "FBC" tuners now that work with a single cable and specific LNB which would mean swapping the LNB over - again if I go that route I can't see that being beyond my admittedly meagre skills. Is there anything else I should be aware of when looking to self-install these days?
Thank you in advance to anyone able and willing to help
New here and not 100% certain I'm posting in the right forum but here goes:
My Humax HDR1100s Freesat box has recently died. As we still record some broadcasts I'm looking to replace the capability although not necessarily with the equivalent type of box. As I tried to start with my options reasonably open I was initially looking at going the terrestrial route with the HD Homerun, planning to integrate it with Plex for recording. However, after checking I found that my memory was correct in that we have reception issues with terrestrial and so would probably need to fork out for an external aerial.
In discussion around that on another forum, someone mentioned that I should be able to achieve equivalent functionality to the HD Homerun via satellite using an Enigma2 receiver. Which was great advice until I tried searching for Enigma2 receivers and was completely overwhelmed by the number of models that are out there. So, my main purpose in posting here is to get some advice to help me narrow down the options of what to look for.
To be more specific to what my requirements are:
I want to be able to receive the free to air satellite broadcasts we can get in the UK (principally the ones available via Freesat, although I've come to understand there are some FTA channels you can get from Sky as well, although I've not looked into that enough to know if there's any that I'd be bothered about being able to receive)
I'd like a box that can be used as a tuner by Plex so I can use the DVR functionality from Plex Pass to record broadcasts via an EPG
I'd like to have four tuners (our busiest recording period is around Christmas when it is guaranteed that there will be plenty of times there will be more than two programmes on we want to record which was always a bit of a pain for me trying to work out if there were other showings or which programmes weren't going to get recorded)
I'm not especially fussed about hooking the box up to a TV to watch from. Part of the reason I was looking at the HD Homerun was that I could have stuck it up in the loft out of the way and freed up a plug socket and some space in the lounge (less cables = less mess to untangle whenever one of the kids drops something behind the TV bench)
Things I'm not entirely clear about from the poke around at Enigma2 box details on the main World of Satellite shop site are:
- What the different is between the various firmwares listed. is it just different GUIs if you're using via a TV or is there different functionality enabled for the boxes depending on which you use?
- A number of the receivers have 4k on their specs. Is this because they're also sold in markets where there are 4k satellite broadcasts or because they can upscale if you have a 4k TV/have built-in media players that can playback 4k video files from your network? AFAIK we don't have any 4k satellite broadcasts in the UK so I unless I'm mistaken I'm assuming that little tick on the spec sheet is useless over here.
- are all Enigma2 boxes able to be used as a tuner for Plex? I'm told I'd need to install a plugin on the box to set this up or does this only work with specific receivers and/or firmwares?
I'm planning to do installation myself. As far as I'm aware there are no issues with my current dish and I've terminated satellite cable before so should be able to do so again. I understand that there are "FBC" tuners now that work with a single cable and specific LNB which would mean swapping the LNB over - again if I go that route I can't see that being beyond my admittedly meagre skills. Is there anything else I should be aware of when looking to self-install these days?
Thank you in advance to anyone able and willing to help