# FTA Receiver Comparison



## zz_scarab

Hi,

Is there a website that can give me a side-by-side comparison of the receivers available on the market, hopefully with the ability to set filters (e.g. number of tuners, HD, PVR, Internet vs USB update, price, ...etc.) so I can zero in on which one will be most suitable? I've done lots of searches but have not been able to find one.

Thanks


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## Davenlr

Ive not seen one, but the only ones I am aware of with more than one tuner are the AZBoxes, where I believe a second tuner is optional. It can be buggy depending on what firmware you have loaded, but its the only box available that does all the major broadcast type, SD, HD, DVS-S, DVS-S2, 4:2:0, 4:2:2, and has blind search. I found it a bit to buggy (great for hobbiests and feed hunters, not for my purposes). I have a Pansat9200HD with DVS-S2 board for watching and feed hunting, and a DVS-S2 PCI card in my server for recording/archiving. Both setups were approx the same price, around $400 for the AZBox on tuner version, or the Pansat/PCI card combo (two tuners total).

What are you wanting to do or watch??


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## zz_scarab

Thanks for your reply. Strange I never received an email that you did. I want to be able to record one channel while I watch another, mostly FTA channels on Galaxy 25. There are no HD channels that I'm aware of yet, but I don't want to be replacing the receiver in the next few years either.


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## Davenlr

I dont think any of the FTA receivers actually allow you to record one tuner while watching the other, although I might be wrong. I could never get my AZBox to even record one tuner  Could copy files to the hard drive, save settings, but when I hit record, it just wouldnt, so I returned it. If you want to record from one satellite, and watch another channel on the same satellite, then if you have a computer with a spare PCI slot, that would be the best for recording, since it just simply captures the entire datastream to the hard drive and they are cheap. USB recording is problematic, and highly dependent on voodoo selection of the correct external drive.

A PCI card records perfectly, but also requires a strong computer for playback, since your CPU has to do the decoding. Thats why I have a combination, one to watch, and the pci card to record.

Check out the available stuff on ricks satellite http://gofastmotorsports.com/rickssatellitehome.htm

He answers questions, and will be able to recommend a receiver or combination that will work for your specific purpose.


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## PTown

DVB Dave. DVB.


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## jeffgbailey

Pansat 5000 or 6000 has dual tuners and a PVR

Its an older model but works fine for what you want to do


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