Need a new DVB USB tuner

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gone_bush
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Australia

Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by gone_bush »

HELP!

I need a new TV DVB tuner (Australia only) but after days of searching I cannot find a suitable product / store. grrrr

Do you have any suggestions? And I repeat: must be suitable for Australia FTA DVB use.
loddonlily
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Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by loddonlily »

Might not be exactly what you're thinking of but can I suggest a HomeRun? They seem to be specifically on offer in Oz.

Here in the UK - similar DVB, I think - I also thought I wanted a USB tuner but the couple that I tried were not working very well for me (signal not the strongest where I am, though I do have a good aerial). So then I got a HomeRun and have had precisely no dropouts since - works very well with Myth, and the added bonus that you can directly access a tuner from other random devices such as PCs on your home network.
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kmdewaal
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Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by kmdewaal »

And I repeat: must be suitable for Australia FTA DVB use.
Just curious, is there something special about DVB in Australia?
We all know about drinking champagne from shoes (google for Daniel Ricciardo shoey) but DVB is fairly standardized.

About HDHomeRun, you could use an USB-to-Ethernet adapter and connect a HDHomeRun that way if you do not have an Ethernet port. It costs a bit more but with a HDHomeRun you have 2 or 4 tuners, depending on the model, which effectively ends the "scheduling conflicts" for most people.
For a real USB tuner there is the MyGica T230 which can do DVB-C/T/T2 and works well with my lcoal DVB-T2 system. Of course, this is only a single tuner. There are also various Hauppauge devices but I have never tried them.
nexzzt
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Australia

Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by nexzzt »

I'm using 2 Sony PlayTV USB tuners (the ones you connect to a Playstation 3). They are dual tuner (so I have 4 tuners in total), and don't require separate power. Combined with a raspberry pi and minisatip software, you can even make them available to your whole network, in a similar style to the HDHomerun products.

I bought 2 PlayTV tuners for AUD$15 each 2nd hand via eBay.

Cheers
Ben
gone_bush
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Australia

Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by gone_bush »

Thanks Ben. The unit I have is a Sony of unknown model and vintage - but seriously old. BUT, the reason for my post is that I can't find a store that sells any DVB devices. grrrr USA stuff is not a problem but DVB is plain unavailable. :( Prove me wrong, please.
cliveb
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Great Britain

Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by cliveb »

loddonlily wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:26 pm
Here in the UK - similar DVB, I think - I also thought I wanted a USB tuner but the couple that I tried were not working very well for me (signal not the strongest where I am, though I do have a good aerial). So then I got a HomeRun and have had precisely no dropouts since - works very well with Myth, and the added bonus that you can directly access a tuner from other random devices such as PCs on your home network.
Can I ask a quick one about the HomeRun?
Does multirec work on it - ie. can you record multiple programmes simultaneously on different channels that are on the same Freeview MUX?

The reason I ask is that I currently use USB DVB-T/T2 sticks and although they generally work well, I do get the occasional brief glitch and so perhaps a HomeRun might solve that issue. But multirec support is absolutely essential for me.
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kmdewaal
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Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by kmdewaal »

If you buy a four-channel device you might not need it much but yes, multirec does work on HDHomeRun devices by default and it cannot be disabled.
For a more complete treaty on HDHomeRun see the WIki pages https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Channel_Sca ... Run_tuners and for multirec https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Channel_Scanning#Multirec
loddonlily
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Great Britain

Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by loddonlily »

cliveb wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:36 pm
loddonlily wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:26 pm
Here in the UK - similar DVB, I think - I also thought I wanted a USB tuner but the couple that I tried were not working very well for me (signal not the strongest where I am, though I do have a good aerial). So then I got a HomeRun and have had precisely no dropouts since - works very well with Myth, and the added bonus that you can directly access a tuner from other random devices such as PCs on your home network.
Can I ask a quick one about the HomeRun?
Does multirec work on it - ie. can you record multiple programmes simultaneously on different channels that are on the same Freeview MUX?

The reason I ask is that I currently use USB DVB-T/T2 sticks and although they generally work well, I do get the occasional brief glitch and so perhaps a HomeRun might solve that issue. But multirec support is absolutely essential for me.
It's working very well for me. I have the four way HomeRun. I allocated three tuners to MythTV, leaving one free for random other devices on my network, and I've set up 5 encoders on each tuner for a total of 15. Never come close to running out, especially since UK HD channels (which is all I record these days) are well consolidated.
cliveb
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Great Britain

Re: Need a new DVB USB tuner

Post by cliveb »

Many thanks for the replies that confirm multirec works with the HomeRun.
And I must apologise for the delay in responding!
I think a 2 tuner HomeRun will be sufficient for my needs - I currently have three USB tuners but have never seen the third one get used.
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