DVB-S on a PC?

[VP959]

I'm struggling here to understand what I need to get to view/record satellite freeview TV on my PC.

I'm afraid I'm one of those few with no experience of satellite TV, plenty of experience of diabolical service from NTL's cable TV "service" and a near non-existent terrestrial TV signal, due to the local terrain.

So far I've spent a small fortune on fancy aerials, cables, amplifiers, big poles on the roof, a natty DVB-T PVR/tuner etc, to try and get decent Freeview (to try and escape the clutches of NTL) to no avail.

As an experiment, I'd like to try a DIY satellite DVB system on my PC. I know that I'll need a DVB-S PCI card, that bit look straightforward and not too expensive.

Where my knowledge of these things (and Googling skill) has fallen over is in finding what I need to get in the way of a dish, LNB etc and how all this hooks together.

Looking around, I'm sure I can get a good signal from Astra 2D and Eurobird, but have noticed that the polarisation of some channels is horizontal, whilst others are vertical. I recall from playing with TV aerials that this meant fitting the aerial the right way round, so how do you do this with the dish/LNB and make it switchable (which seems to be needed)?

The PCI DVB-S card I'm looking at is a TechniSat SkyStar 2, for about £50.

Sorry if this is a bit OT and asking too simple a question..............

VP

PS: I may have an array of DVB-T kit for sale, including the PVR, if I can get the DVB-S system to work!

[Conan the Librarian]

I bought a USB Freeview box from Maplins. Good little device if you can get a good core signal. About £60. Mine? I took it back. The signal here is dreadful, though that is down to my particular location.

If you don't know your local signal strength, it may be a case of Plug and Pray.


Conan

[VP959]

Thanks Conan. Was this terrestrial Freeview, via an aerial?

If so, this is what I've been struggling to get working here for the past few months. Even with a £120 monster aerial on a 12ft pole on the chimney, plus head amplifier, mega expensive double shielded cable etc I still get a lousy terrestrial Freeview signal. Every time a local boy racer drives past the picture freezes for up to 30 seconds or so.

What I'm trying to experiment with now is a satellite Freeview system, using my "spare" PC as a receiver/PVR. If I can get this working, I think I may opt for a PC based "media centre" to drive the main TV.

First off I need to get to grips with all this dish, LNB etc stuff to understand what on earth I need to make it all work!

VP

[Conan the Librarian]

I had that same problem and having a "spare" sat box, wanted to plug that in as choice one. After having seen the quality of the little USB box for the PC, (Yes, terrestrial coax type) I called the drones at Sky who for 50 quid, came and installed a new box. For a further ten pounds per month, all of the existing channels were mirrored to the new box, making it a both cheap and easy way out.

Now - if I wanted to get this satellite signal running through my PC and use it as a recorder in much the same way as Sky Plus, then I could take a line out from the sat box and line in to the analogue TV card which I put into my PC a year or so ago. That would give me ultimate flexibility, but I am still waiting for anything decent on Sky at all really, so I can't be bothered.

Other plusses of a setup like this might include being able to run TV trhough a flatscreen monitor, but in my own case, I invested in a Samsung 930MP Monitor/LCD TV which already has more inputs than a phone exchange, so my computers sit outside the loop after all. Oh - and I have another spare LCD screen as well.

Full circle, eh?


Conan