Advice needed on narrowing down options

[cerebros]

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

[Willo3092]

I have no idea about Plex or HD Homerun but I have a unicable 2 LNB which will allow distribution to 24 tuners.
It just has a single wire running into the loft and distributed via a splitter to various E2 boxes.
A box with FBC tuners usually has 2 physical tuners and 6 virtual tuners which will give you 8 in total if connected to a unicable 2 LNB.

There is a guide to Unicable here:

https://www.world-of-satellite.com/s...using-Unicable

I record to a Synology NAS which my other boxes can connect to via LAN so that any box can watch recordings or downloaded stuff from the net.

Most decent boxes are 4K and if you decide on FBC tuners I would recommend the Gigablue UHD UE. https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk...blue-uhd-ue-4k

[abu baniaz]

Don't limit the hrtunerproxy plugin to satellite services only. It will work with terrestrial services too. Guide to plugin here if you have not seen it already:
https://www.world-of-satellite.com/s...-PlexDVR-Setup

Please unlearn the incorrect assumption that you must use a Unicable LNB with an FBC tuner. They are two separate technologies that are best used together, nonetheless separate.
If you can unscrew an F-plug and screws, you can change the LNB.

[Huevos]

Using a Unicable II LNB with an FBC tuner is highly recommended if you want to get the full functionality out of the tuner.

These days there aren't any 4 tuner boxes, so FBC is the only option for 4+ tuners. So you are looking at GB quad 4k or GB UE 4k, or Vu+.

There are only very few 4k broadcasts, but there are many other sources of 4k material, e.g. IPTV.

All FBC boxes are also 4k.

[JonMMM]

Unlike with FreeSat Receivers, the number of tuners you have is not necessarily the same as the of channels you can watch / record, but I will let someone else explain that.

[cerebros]

Apologies for the delay in responding to your responses... As it's been a while since I've signed up to a new forum I'd forgotten that not all of them are set up to send you notifications of replies to the threads you start by default and so was thinking no one had replied until I checked back yesterday

[cerebros]

There is a guide to Unicable here:

https://www.world-of-satellite.com/s...using-Unicable

Thanks, that page is really helpful

[cerebros]

If you can unscrew an F-plug and screws, you can change the LNB.

After taking a closer look over the weekend it appears the LNB isn't secured to the arm of the dish with a screw but some kind of bung plug which complicates things a bit in that I might have to borrow my neighbour and his long ladders to be able to get at the bung properly to remove it, so not quite as straightforward a procedure as I was hoping (but then that's why I'm checking this now so it doesn't come as a surprise when I come to do the install and then find I'm not faced with a screw to undo)

[cerebros]

These days there aren't any 4 tuner boxes, so FBC is the only option for 4+ tuners. So you are looking at GB quad 4k or GB UE 4k, or Vu+.

Well at least that solves the issue of a bewildering range of choice of boxes...

[twol]

Well at least that solves the issue of a bewildering range of choice of boxes...

Of the 2 giga,s unless there is something that specifically grabs you on the gbuhd4k, then the gbue4k is the more cost effective box.

[adm]

After taking a closer look over the weekend it appears the LNB isn't secured to the arm of the dish with a screw but some kind of bung plug which complicates things a bit in that I might have to borrow my neighbour and his long ladders to be able to get at the bung properly to remove it, so not quite as straightforward a procedure as I was hoping (but then that's why I'm checking this now so it doesn't come as a surprise when I come to do the install and then find I'm not faced with a screw to undo)

Assuming a Sky type Mark4 dish (earlier models have a different LNB holder arrangement)....
There is a plastic bung and and two plastic lugs on the sides that clip into two holes in the metal dish arm. You probably/definitely will need a new fitting for the end of the dish arm (LNB adapter/holder). When I replaced a LNB and holder this year the old one came off fairly easily with a bit of brute force with the help of a large flat blade screwdriver as a lever. The holder just broke in two places because the plastic was somewhat brittle.

If you buy the holder before before going up the ladder you will see how they fit. Youtube video showing fitting of LNB holder to sky type dish......
https://youtu.be/uG3XtQ7Yxi0?t=545

Note: sky supplied LNBs have a different fixing diameter to other LNBs thus requiring a different LNB holder if you change the type of LNB (which are cheap and readily available).

[cerebros]

Assuming a Sky type Mark4 dish (earlier models have a different LNB holder arrangement)....
There is a plastic bung and and two plastic lugs on the sides that clip into two holes in the metal dish arm. You probably/definitely will need a new fitting for the end of the dish arm (LNB adapter/holder). When I replaced a LNB and holder this year the old one came off fairly easily with a bit of brute force with the help of a large flat blade screwdriver as a lever. The holder just broke in two places because the plastic was somewhat brittle.

If you buy the holder before before going up the ladder you will see how they fit. Youtube video showing fitting of LNB holder to sky type dish......
https://youtu.be/uG3XtQ7Yxi0?t=545

Can't remember if this dish was here when we moved in or if we had it moved from the place we were renting previously but it's at least 15 years old while I'm guessing the one in that video is much newer

Have (hopefully) inserted images below to show what I'm dealing with (fortunately the dish is in-between the windows of my eldest's bedroom so was able to get a shot of the bung from there)

20220627 153650 Satellite Dish FUJIFILM X-T3 DSCF7851.JPG
20220627 153720 Satellite Dish FUJIFILM X-T3 DSCF7855.JPG
20220627 153818 Satellite Dish FUJIFILM X-T3 DSCF7860.JPG

[adm]

Can't remember if this dish was here when we moved in or if we had it moved from the place we were renting previously but it's at least 15 years old while I'm guessing the one in that video is much newer

You have the older sky type dish fixing
See
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/LNBpics.htm
Note: the web page is from Satcure who are no longer trading

Be prepared for the plastic to be brittle and break (the arm it fits into is metal)

[urie]

You have the older sky type dish fixing
See
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/LNBpics.htm
Note: the web page is from Satcure who are no longer trading

Be prepared for the plastic to be brittle and break (the arm it fits into is metal)

My sky dish is same one and I ordered one to fit 40mm collar and I even the lnb holder that came would not slip over the arm I ended up having to use a blowtorch to heat the plastic up and eventually managed to get it to go over arm but had to eventually secure it with Self-amalgamating tape. Still going strong but to be perfectly honest I shoild haev just invested in a new dish, to save all the hassle if lnb holder gets broken again.

[cerebros]

Sigh, not turning out to be my year. Finally copped a dose of Covid which, once the migraine finally went, left me unable to read a screen properly for several days.

I'd hope not to have to swap the dish given that it's another item on the shopping list plus the whole day it'd probably take me to get it aligned properly but on the other hand I don't own a blowtorch...

Are there not any adapters I would be able to use? I see there are a lot of mk4 to mk3 adapters for, if I'm reading things correctly, newer Sky LNBs to be put on the older dishes but I believe from what I've read that these are 37mm, not 40mm collar. I can't seem to find anything to put a 40mm collar on the Mk3 dish, or at least not in the first couple of pages of Google results I'm g etting, unless I'm not understanding what I'm seeing (highly likely)