VU+ DVR

HeadBanger

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After waiting for an age for the new Freesat PVRs to be released I am now almost ready to pull the trigger on one of these thanks to @Carpcat and @pedro2000uk. I'm going for the Duo model as it has two tuner slots (I'm going to run a combined satellite and terrestrial PVR).

I spoke to a guy at World of Satellite and he recommended using a Unicable LNB as the VU+ satellite tuners cannot use the wideband technology in the 6 way Sky hybrid LNBs. I have 2 cables run from this to the lounge for Sky Q (now cancelled) and the other four to a TRIAX DDU. Can anyone offer some advice on this and whether a) my current Sky Q connections will work and b) whether 2 standard feeds via the TRIAX DDU will work if not please?

I may just bite the bullet and order a new dish and Unicable with a splitter if needed.

Also, I was thinking of using a dedicated HDD in my Synology NAS for recording over my LAN. Is this a good idea or is it better to fit an internal 2.5" HDD?

TIA

HB

edit - thread title
 
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You are correct in that the Vu does not use wideband technology but the FBC tuners still allow a greater range of recording possibilities, so you may not need to upgrade to a unicable lnb depending on your recording requirements. For instance most of the HD channels are on the lower bands so you can record both BBC 1HD and ITV1 London HD using the same input even though they are on different transponders as they are both on the lower frequency and vertical polarisation. This then frees up the other input to a high band or horizontal transponder in order to watch or record another channel.

Plus the fact you have mentioned you'll be adding the terrestrial tuners means you can also use this to get around any clashes.

So if I were you I'd see how you got on with your current set up rather than installing another dish.
 
Many thanks - I think I’ll do just that.

Do you have any experience with using a NAS to record to? Does this work OK (especially if you have multiple recordings)?

HB
 
I have a Mutant HD2400 - now obsolete but still supported - and I've been using it for a number of years. It has 3 terrestrial and one satellite tuners. I use OpenVIX. I don't have a dish now as I've just moved house but when I had all four tuners in use I never had any recording clashes. With one tuner tuned to a FreeView multiplex you can record all channels on that multiplex.

It doesn't have true Series Link and it doesn't have accurate recording but it does have "autotimers" which set timers based on programme titles, and which most of the time work OK. I pad two minutes at each end of a programme and rarely miss any of the transmission. It doesn't compare to MyStuff (what does) but it's acceptable.

I do all the programming remotely via its web interface, much easier than the TV interface, but you can do it on the TV if you prefer. You can create "bouquets", essentially favourites lists, so you don't have to scroll through all the dross.

Software is regularly updated but I don't tend to do updates very often as it basically just works. Very occasionally it will hang but almost all the time you can just ssh into it and restart. It's very rare to need to use the power switch.

It has FTP and Samba clients so you can archive recordings to a NAS. Each recording is represented as five files with different extensions but only the .ts file is needed.

It's easy to use. My (not so tech savvy) wife has no problem using it. She doesn't program it, she just marks up the Radio Times once a week and the programmes she marks mysteriously get recorded for her.

It has useful things like programmable skip amounts using 1/4/7 to skip backwards and 3/6/9 to skip forwards. I set mine to 30, 60 and 120 seconds but you can set whatever suits you, and have the forward and backward skips use different amounts if you want.

You can create subfolders in the recording folder and arrange for different recordings to end up in different folders, so we have three folders, for me, her and both.

I don't know how it gets its EPG but there is always seven days available. If you should do a factory reset then you have to wait a couple of hours for it to populate. There has in the past been issues with some channels having a blank EPG - Paramount was one - but it's OK right now.
 
Also, I was thinking of using a dedicated HDD in my Synology NAS for recording over my LAN. Is this a good idea or is it better to fit an internal 2.5" HDD?
I currently have an USB powered external HDD connected to my VU+ UNO 4K SE, which works fine for recordings/captured streams and general file storage.

However, what you might be interested to know is that it's possible to download and install a 'DLNA Media Server' plug-in onto the VU+. Which when enabled means that all your smart TV's and other devices such as, home computers and even tablets and mobile phones (with the appropriate media player such as VLC) that are connected to your home network will be able to access and play your recordings along with any other media files you decide to store on the HDD.

Essentially, the VU+ can be turned into another NAS. How cool is that :)
 
Looks good kit and moving towards it, particularly as it has built in Bluetooth.
I'll be using it at home and on a boat. On the boat I have to set up the dish, 63cm, each time we move, so I hope the VU+ can cope with that. The Humax Foxsat was fine. I manage to get a 100% signal, just pointing the dish where I think the sat is, about 1/3 of the attempts. And I use a twin LNB for Astra 19 and 28E.
 
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Thanks so much for the detailed replies. Very useful info!

The only thing I’m a little worried about is the lack of series link. If my wife cannot easily set a series of recordings with one or two commands I am going to get a constant ear bashing and/or have to setup all of her recordings for her. So how are these done? Do you have to set repeat timers instead? Does sound like a backward step if so.

So am I correct that Unicable LNBs uses the same frequency bands as standard LNBs? And in theory a triplexed feed (terrestrial/satellite/FM DAB) would work (it does not work with the Sky Q wideband as it uses all frequencies)?

If you run other programmes does it need an internal HDD for these or are they stored in flash memory or can they be run from an attached USB?

TIA

HB
 
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Thanks so much for the detailed replies. Very useful info!

The only thing I’m a little worried about is the lack of series link. If my wife cannot easily set a series of recordings with one or two commands I am going to get a constant ear bashing and/or have to setup all of her recordings for her. So how are these done? Do you have to set repeat timers instead? Does sound like a backward step if so.

So am I correct that Unicable LNBs uses the same frequency bands as standard LNBs? And in theory a triplexed feed (terrestrial/satellite/FM DAB) would work (it does not work with the Sky Q wideband as it uses all frequencies)?

If you run other programmes does it need an internal HDD for these or are they stored in flash memory or can they be run from an attached USB?

TIA

HB

Enigma 2's Autotimer might work out better than series link in some respects, & not in others, it's not just setting repeat record which you can do on most sat stbs.
 
The only thing I’m a little worried about is the lack of series link. If my wife cannot easily set a series of recordings with one or two commands I am going to get a constant ear bashing and/or have to setup all of her recordings for her. So how are these done? Do you have to set repeat timers instead? Does sound like a backward step if so.

This is the UI for autotimers in OpenVix:

2020-03-09 16_38_47-Mut@nt HD2400 - OpenWebif.png


You create them from the EPG so most of the entries are filled in for you. The only thing I changed here is to check "Use a custom location" and choose a folder to save in.

Having said that, my wife makes series links by writing "Please record all" next to an entry in Radio Times....
 
Thank you.
Having said that, my wife makes series links by writing "Please record all" next to an entry in Radio Times....
:laugh: I wouldn't do this as I just couldn't bear the wrath if I missed something!!

Well I ordered a Duo 4K earlier today from WoS and received an email soon afterwards saying they have none left and it's been discontinued! :thumbsdow I'm a little surprised as it is one of VU+'s most recent releases (2018 I think).

So now I don't know what to do! Wait a bit and see what they replace it with I guess. :(

HB
 
Thanks - had already tried Pulsat too. They do not have actual stock either but advise that they may get some very soon.

HB
 
Any one have the two of these and which one gives the better picture quality or best chipset it uses ?
and can the Vu + Zero record on to the usb 2.0 port ?

VU+ ZERO 4K DVB-S2X Freesat
Freesat 4K media box ( new one )
 
Any one have the two of these and which one gives the better picture quality or best chipset it uses ?
and can the Vu + Zero record on to the usb 2.0 port ?

VU+ ZERO 4K DVB-S2X Freesat
Freesat 4K media box ( new one )

Might not be freesat - sounds like an advertiser just using the word freesat
 
These models
is not the vu + model cannot be used to pick up freesat channels thought it could ?
 

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You can, sort of. These are Linux based machines and you can flash third party firmwares that can gather the Freesat and Freeview EPGs.

They don’t have proper series link but do have other smart record features. They also have many other features if you are slightly more technically minded. They are not plug and play like the Freesat boxes.

HB
 
These models
is not the vu + model cannot be used to pick up freesat channels thought it could ?

Some say better than freesat as you get all the freesat 'channels' plus all the other channels on 28e & in a more logical order
 
Thanks guys will have a think on what route to go shame the freesat 4K box with usb port is unable to record .
 
Thanks guys will have a think on what route to go shame the freesat 4K box with usb port is unable to record .

You may have misentupreted something there, pretty much all satellite receivers can record, especually enigma 2 stbs to USB flash drives if they haven't got an internal hdd.
 
You may have misentupreted something there, pretty much all satellite receivers can record, especually enigma 2 stbs to USB flash drives if they haven't got an internal hdd.

The new Freesat 4K box cant record or there maybe a firmware block on it ?
Hence why at the end of the month there Recorder boxes are released with internal drives 500gb ,1tb , 2tb at a price to.
hence why looking at Vu + boxes .......
 
The new Freesat 4K box cant record or there maybe a firmware block on it ?
Hence why at the end of the month there Recorder boxes are released with internal drives 500gb ,1tb , 2tb at a price to.
hence why looking at Vu + boxes .......
Oh right - I may have misentupreted something there lol.. been a long day.
 
Oh right - I may have misentupreted something there lol.. been a long day.

No worries keeping up with it all can be a minefield at times it seems .
 
the new gen freesat recorder is out now. It is exclusively sold at currys for a few months.
 
So with no Duo replacement on the horizon I ended up taking the plunge with an Uno 4K SE and am running OpenVIX.

There’s a lot to configure and this is certainly not a route I’d recommend unless you are willing to spend time reading manuals and configuring. However, once set up and your favourites are set it is extremely flexible. Picture quality is spot on IMO - it equals that of my Panasonic OLED’s internal Freesat and is certainly better than the Sky Q I recently ditched.

One question I have to existing VU+ owners is how to configure Unicable tuners. I have split the feed into tuners A & B on the DVR and they both work fine but I cannot get tuners 3-8 to function. I have Gigablue Ultra SCR LNB and Have configured tuner A and B and set user bands 1 & 2 (1210 & 1420).

For tuners C-E I have set as connected to tuner A and for tuners F-H I have set as connected to tuner B (setting user bands 3-8). Attached is a screenshot of tuner H as an example.

I do realise that I will never need 8 tuners but what have I configured incorrectly?

Many thanks,

HB
 

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The guys at World of Satellite helped me figure it out. The Unicable feed into the physical tuner B had not had a channel scan run so it was only using one feed (I had wrongly assumed that one scan of 28.2 on tuner A would cover both).

Furthermore, I of course do not even need a second physical feed as one will feed all tuners (the unicable II LNB I have is capable of feeding 24 independent tuners)! I have now removed the second feed and now have tuners B-H all looped off tuner A (with relevant IDs set). To test I set off 12 random concurrent recordings earlier (some were obviously using the same transponder/tuner) and it is now working perfectly.

To answer one of my original questions, Unicable does work through triplexed feeds. I split the LNB FBC output using a four way splitter (that allows power pass) into the four inputs on my TRIAX DDU and it works perfectly once you assign each tuner ID in your DVRs.

This is a nice piece of kit once you get your head around things :)

HB

edit - triplexing
 
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