Question German EPG receiver for Astra 19.2East

I720P

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I can receive the German channels using an old (10 years+) DVB-S receiver, on Astra 19.2East.
The user interface is very crude, and you are lucky to get Now and Next program info.

I would like to buy a satellite receiver STB ( Set Top Box ) that an ordinary German would buy in Germany, like we would with a FreeSat (not Sky) receiver, or PVR, such that it automatically tunes in the German channels on Astra 19.2East, and displays a ONE WEEK EPG for all the channels, like the FreeSat program listing table we get for the UK.

I understand that HD+ is a CAM oriented pay service, where you buy a card that lasts quarterly, half yearly or annually, so I do not need HD+ capability. Free HD channels are welcome.

The ability to record using the EPG would be good, but not normally, so a USB port usable for plugging in a flash drive or hard drive would be good.

Of course I need HDMI output.

Ideally, Dlna through Ethernet or Wi-Fi would be good, so it can play programs from a PC, or send a recorded program to a TV via the home network.

I found this one on eBay

Originale Skybox F5S HDMI Freesat PVR TV Satellite Empfänger Box HD Digital | eBay

I would like one with a good remote control, and a well designed user interface.
I have other TVs for other jobs. As far as the STB is concerned, it is in Germany, getting its signal from Astra 19.2East.

Please recommend some brands or models.
 
There is no equivalent EPG system (as Freesat/Sky) that will both provide a 7 day EPG and automatically tune/update channels vis satellite broadcasts.

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A non-linux machine such as a Technomate will receive the channels and provide an EPG on the few channels that carry one.
 
Does this mean terrestrial has the full EPG? I find it hard to believe that Germans do not set up recording from a program menu. No Series Link either? Poor, poor Germans.
 
No, maybe they do.
 
Some channels broadcast more than now/next via the standard dvb EPG, eg Das erste and ZDF etc, however you need to visit each channel to load them.

A Linux based box can load the EPG for Sky UK and Sky Italia via a plugin such as CrossEPG. I'd be surprised if Sky Deutschland was left out, that may cover all you need. Look at Enigma 2 Linux receivers by companies such as VU+.

A Linux box can also download channel lists to make channel changes easier to manage and will handle your streaming requirements. I'm not sure about Dlna support as I don't use it, but you certainly stream via nfs and sub shares. You can also use a share instead of a hard disk and recordings are stored in unencrypted standard formats.
 
I can receive the German channels using an old (10 years+) DVB-S receiver, on Astra 19.2East.
The user interface is very crude, and you are lucky to get Now and Next program info.

.....

I found this one on eBay

Originale Skybox F5S HDMI Freesat PVR TV Satellite Empfänger Box HD Digital | eBay

I would like one with a good remote control, and a well designed user interface.
I have other TVs for other jobs. As far as the STB is concerned, it is in Germany, getting its signal from Astra 19.2East.

Please recommend some brands or models.

The old box may not work with some newer EPG S/W &/or just show non or now & next when 7 day EPG is actually available.

The new box you linked to might be the very cheap & cheerful all on one chip + cheap PSU minimum spec box sold here as the Sky f5 box, nothing to do with Sky UK/ Germany or Italy btw - not the best user interface but you can put up with it/ might have only 5000 or 6000 channel limit but that's enough for 19.2e - not for motorised though / picture quality on HDMI was OK-ish but awful if you tried it's composite/ lan was 10/10 even though it was advertised as 10/100 - don't know about that one- old motor control s/w etc..

The Technomate TM5402HD or TM F3/5 look like they do the same thing as that box but are miles apart on build quality/ spec/ user interface / sw hw support / picture quality / reliability etc.

Or look at Linux Enigma 2 receivers such as Dreamboxes / Vu+ receivers or Technomate's own latest Linux E2 receivers

I checked the channels on 19.2e & roughly they have about 60-80% with EPG of various forms but that's including all channels & just at a quick glance.

It's easy to forget how lucky we are here in the UK with so many free channels/ good 7 day EPG & English being so popular elsewhere thanks to US & especially the US film & TV industry, Germany has no such worldwide popularity & I've heard they actually prefer English soundtracks retained & maybe subtitled rather than dubbed.
 
German public channels carry EPG schedule info for up to 4 weeks ahead - it used to be 7 or 14, so maybe some older boxes aren't able to show that far ahead (memory limits?) Also, they sometimes provide longer descriptions - often several pages - using the "Extended Event" descriptors, so again more memory is needed. The full schedule is sent for all channels on each transponder, along with Now/Next info for other transponders in the bouquet, so the guide should show at least current information after tuning one channel, but you'd have to tune others to collect the full info. You might look for a box that can do this on a schedule.

Any box should be capable of automatically scanning all transponders. A standard network tuning option should pick up transponder changes if the list is empty, or out of date. The transponders carry bouquet information as well, providing a more limited list (e,g, public channels) - I don't know if there's a feature in a FTA box that can use this info for tuning, as it might help cut out unwanted channels.

As for recording, most channels seem to carry PDC info, so look for a box that can use this to adapt to schedule changes.
 

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