Combined Freeview/Freesat PVR?
PVRs (at least decent ones) can be a bit pricey, so what are the odds that HUMAX will release a combined Freeview/FreesatHD PVR at some point? For me, this would be an instant no-brainer purchase.
Should Freesat really take off, then I'd have a really good unit capable of receiving all the free HD channels. If it didn't take off, I'd still be left with a brilliant Freeview PVR. There would be no real risk for the buyer as I wouldn't have to choose between them.
If I were to buy a HUMAX unit in the summer I'd be stumped as to which to buy. The Freesat player gives me HD and a bit of future-proofing, but it’s high risk, and it'll also give me less channels. The freeview player on the other hand would give me more channels initially, but should Freesat take off, I’d only receive a fraction of the available channels.
I can't help thinking that a combined unit - which would share a lot of the tech (hdmi, decoders etc) would be a very attractive proposition to the buyer. Hell, it'd even get a Freesat box into a great many homes that only want Freeview for now. Add a few channels to the Freesat service, and they can simply plug a dish in to upgrade and experience them.
Should Freesat really take off, then I'd have a really good unit capable of receiving all the free HD channels. If it didn't take off, I'd still be left with a brilliant Freeview PVR. There would be no real risk for the buyer as I wouldn't have to choose between them.
If I were to buy a HUMAX unit in the summer I'd be stumped as to which to buy. The Freesat player gives me HD and a bit of future-proofing, but it’s high risk, and it'll also give me less channels. The freeview player on the other hand would give me more channels initially, but should Freesat take off, I’d only receive a fraction of the available channels.
I can't help thinking that a combined unit - which would share a lot of the tech (hdmi, decoders etc) would be a very attractive proposition to the buyer. Hell, it'd even get a Freesat box into a great many homes that only want Freeview for now. Add a few channels to the Freesat service, and they can simply plug a dish in to upgrade and experience them.
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That was, one tuner of each type, basically a satellite receiver/recorder with terrestrial tuner added. (Maplins did have some, about £100 then add your own HDD).
So it's fundamentally possible and I'm sure they'll eventually be manufactured, but maybe it would still be for a niche market.
Surely the point about Freesat is that the greatly increased bandwidth will enable more HD channels to be transmitted, and, eventually, a wider range of free channels. It must be the hope of BBC and ITV that Freesat will ultimately replace Freeview.
Robin
I still don't see the point, one is terrestrial the other is satellite, why would you need both?, you would surely pick one or the other. As for more channels, I would prefer less channels with better quality programming than a thousand containing the present rubbish.
Possible objections are:
Freeview isn't likely to have any more channels than Freesat, so what would the buyer gain from it? It would just make for a confusing and unintuitive box.
Apart from;
TV: five, Fiver, five US, UKTV History, Dave, Virgin 1, Sky Three, Sky Sports News, Sky News, The Hits, TMF, Channel 4+1, E4+1
Radio: The Hits, Smash Hits, Kiss, Heat, Magic Q, Smooth, Mojo, Kerrang, Talksport, Virgin, Heart
Some of these channels may eventually turn up on Freesat (and the Sky ones will probably disappear from Freeview), but at the current point combined Freeview/Freesat looks to have benefits to me. (i.e. Freeview + HD channels)