Xbox One X - UK Freeview PVR?

Kugelspritzer

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Hi all,

My kids have been hinting that they'd love a new console for Christmas with PS4 Pro being their favourite. It's hard to justify a spend of that size to be honest but if the console had a wider family application then that might be OK. We have a mid-range Sony 4k HDR 55" TV and an amazon TV box (4k). We also have a BluRay player but no 4k blu ray, nor do we have a PVR having ditched Sky+ and more recently Virgin Media TiVo.

Does anyone know can the Xbox One X can be used as a PVR recorder for UK Freeview with pausing of Live TV? It's certainly not advertised as a device that does this but if it could be used like this then it has value as a games console, 4k disc player and PVR all rolled in to one. My searching suggests that with the addition of a TV tuner device and an external HDD this is possible, but I need some certainty before I fork out £400. I'm comfortable with some configuration and mucking about provided it's easy to use once set up.

Thanks
 
Bad timing the USB TV tuner feature is being removed, I don't think it had PVR functions to begin with (though not certain).

The other way PVR is done these days is with a network tuner, basically a device sits on the network then streams the broadcast TV to any compatible client. It can also do PVR duties too.

HD Home Run devices are the most simple to setup and has an Xbox client, however these devices require a separate network server as storage for recordings.

Plex media server also has TV features however these are locked behind the Plex pass subscription, you also require a server running Plex and a DVB tuner to plug into it, many pro home NAS like Synology/QNAP support USB DVB tuners or use a PC.

Xbox has a Plex client as does PS4 if your kids want a PS4 instead and you go down this path.

Kodi is one of the main PVR platforms, it supports a wide variety of backend PVR servers including free ones like TVheadend that don't cost any money. This again requires a PC or NAS with a DVB tuner running PVR backend like TVheadend, (available on Synology/QNAP NAS) or DIY PC NAS OS.

Xbox has a Kodi client however it is still in development so not entirely stable.

Emby is basically the same thing as Plex but less costly it can use the some of the same PVR backends as Kodi and has an Xbox client.

There are also commercial PVR servers you can buy like TV Mosiac that will run across multiple platforms provide EPG/DVR etc and plug in to all of the above media front ends.
 
Many thanks for this, very helpful!

I have a Synology NAS (214Play) so am now looking at solutions involving this and an extra HDD. The HD Home Run solution looks like the easiest, but is a little expensive and the annual subscription puts me off. I have a cabinet in the cellar (basement) where the NAS lives along with my switch and patch panel, I also have a terrestrial DTV Arial feed to the cabinet. So a solution that you suggest could work well.

What I need ideally is a solution that pauses live TV, without subscription via an app that works on Amazon TV. One potential solution is Synology DS Video which allows recording of shows, but I'm unsure if you can pause TV. Kodi might do it but it's a little clunky for just simple watching of TV.

Anyway - I've taken a plunge and bought a Hauppauge WinTV dual HD dongle. It's a big name in tuners so is likely to work according to info on the synology pages. All I need now is an app that:
  1. Works with a Synology NAS
  2. Records TV programmes
  3. Can Pause live TV
  4. Works on Amazon TV box
  5. Works on iOS & Android
  6. Looks nice and is easy to use
If anyone has a view on the best software solution please let me know. DS Video, Kodi, Emby, and TV Mosaic all look like potential solutions. Of course for less than £150 (USD$200) I could just buy a set top box PVR which will work seamlessly I suspect - although it might not be as satisfying as a home-brew solution! :)

Kugelspritzer
 
TVHeadend is the best free PVR server, it's available on Synology NAS, just add the third party data source to the package center and you can install it direct.

TVHeadend can be a bit overwhelming initially but basic setup is quite easy once you get going, just follow the wizard and it takes care of most things. Their user guide can explain more and their forums.

TVHeadend can work with Kodi/Emby without subscription and on multiple platforms. There are also iOS and Android clients specifically for TVheadend.

For FireTV I'm not so sure but MrMC an app store fork of Kodi should work with it. MrMC is also available on iOS and Android unlike stock Kodi which is Android only (& side loaded on FireTV).


TVMosiac is available in the stock Synology package center but that does cost money.
 

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