recording tv at home for when away in our motorhome

[starfire1]

Hi i have a Panasonic hdd pvr with dvd writer which i record tv and films on to and take the whole unit away with and use on site 240v of grid i use an inverter for the 240v for the Panasonic unit not efficient use of leisure battery.

Is there a better way to record tv and films to use when away even a 12vdc and 240v ac pvr would be better how does anybody else do this ssd drive?

I had problems in the past with discs in our avetec tv so would like h drive option

or pvr.

[Barryd999]

I tend to just download series etc from the various sites around the internet directly onto my laptop and just watch them on that. Sometimes I plug in USB powered speakers for extra volume. Laptop has a 12v adaptor for the van and Ive power tested it and the best way to run them is plugged in but fully charged. They draw next to nothing. About 10-12 watts mine.

 

BBC iPlayer of course allows you to download stuff but they will have the same expiry date as they do online.

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

 

(This thread has been moved from the Chatterbox forum.)

[Deneb]

If you have a Humax Foxsat HDR recorder, search for Raydon Custom Firmware. It's a third party firmware for the box which you load over the original. It can do everything the factory firmware does, but has a lot of extra functionality including allowing recordings to be transferred to a PC or disk drive and played back on any other device, including HD recordings with copy protection. It also has a web interface that allows you to log in to the Humax box remotely and set or delete recordings, etc.

 

It hasn't been maintained for several years, but it still works perfectly for what it does.

[simian]

Just record straight on to USB stick from TV USB port. Best if you have a 2nd TV of course.

When you come to watch/view off grid the only power used is the TV. A couple of 128GB USB

sticks are fairly cheap these days and will give roughly 250 hours viewing time.

Advisable I find to opt for branded USB drives, such as eg Sandisk.

 

Laptops and HDD drives will consume unnecessary power, Even a laptop with a SSD.

 

 

[whatsupdoc]

simian - 2021-11-22 11:15 AM

 

Just record straight on to USB stick from TV USB port. Best if you have a 2nd TV of course.

When you come to watch/view off grid the only power used is the TV. A couple of 128GB USB

sticks are fairly cheap these days and will give roughly 250 hours viewing time.

Advisable I find to opt for branded USB drives, such as eg Sandisk.

 

Laptops and HDD drives will consume unnecessary power, Even a laptop with a SSD.

 

Most new TVs encrypt their recordings, so playback will only work on that TV (my LG won't even playback on another LG of the same model). So it's OK only if you are recording on the same TV as you will be watching in the van. Our old Avtex is perfect for this.

[Barryd999]

simian - 2021-11-22 11:15 AM

 

Just record straight on to USB stick from TV USB port. Best if you have a 2nd TV of course.

When you come to watch/view off grid the only power used is the TV. A couple of 128GB USB

sticks are fairly cheap these days and will give roughly 250 hours viewing time.

Advisable I find to opt for branded USB drives, such as eg Sandisk.

 

Laptops and HDD drives will consume unnecessary power, Even a laptop with a SSD.

 

Thats not my experience. As said if my laptop is always fully charged it uses very little power at all. I plug it into the load socket on my MPPT Controller with a dedicated 12v adaptor and typically when watching a series or film on it its only consuming 10-12 watts as the controller tells me whats being used on that socket. My TV which is really low power anyway is consuming about 17 watts, many are much more than that. Charging my mobile phone uses as much as the laptop when its fully charged. The killer though is if you let the charge drain on a laptop, then it can be consuming up to 65 watts as it builds it back up again.

[Barryd999]

whatsupdoc - 2021-11-22 11:38 AM

 

simian - 2021-11-22 11:15 AM

 

Just record straight on to USB stick from TV USB port. Best if you have a 2nd TV of course.

When you come to watch/view off grid the only power used is the TV. A couple of 128GB USB

sticks are fairly cheap these days and will give roughly 250 hours viewing time.

Advisable I find to opt for branded USB drives, such as eg Sandisk.

 

Laptops and HDD drives will consume unnecessary power, Even a laptop with a SSD.

 

Most new TVs encrypt their recordings, so playback will only work on that TV (my LG won't even playback on another LG of the same model). So it's OK only if you are recording on the same TV as you will be watching in the van. Our old Avtex is perfect for this.

 

I seem to remember a while back (might not have been on here) that some had success with this little box of tricks which will play just about anything. Amazon link. https://tinyurl.com/w59wedkf

 

Not tried it myself but you stick it into the TV and put your USB files on a stick in it and it should play them.

 

All seemed too much of a faff to me though which is why I just use the laptop.

[Deneb]

whatsupdoc - 2021-11-22 11:38 AM

Most new TVs encrypt their recordings, so playback will only work on that TV (my LG won't even playback on another LG of the same model). So it's OK only if you are recording on the same TV as you will be watching in the van. Our old Avtex is perfect for this.

 

And most (all) high definition broadcast content is protected by HDCP copy protection, preventing it being transferred from the original device or played on a different device, hence the Raydon Custom Firmware for the Humax box, which circumvents this.

[simian]

Barryd999 - 2021-11-22 11:52 AM

 

whatsupdoc - 2021-11-22 11:38 AM

 

Most new TVs encrypt their recordings, so playback will only work on that TV (my LG won't even playback on another LG of the same model). So it's OK only if you are recording on the same TV as you will be watching in the van. Our old Avtex is perfect for this.

 

I seem to remember a while back (might not have been on here) that some had success with this little box of tricks which will play just about anything. Amazon link. https://tinyurl.com/w59wedkf

 

Not tried it myself but you stick it into the TV and put your USB files on a stick in it and it should play them.

 

All seemed too much of a faff to me though which is why I just use the laptop.

 

I've never found problems recording and playback of Freeview Channels. Perhaps Netflix et al enforce

encryption.

I have 2 or 300 hours ready to take to Spain/Morocco this winter as is usual. We're dedicated FLTs these

days which means we might be dependent on batt. power for lengthy stops in poor solar charging weather

conditions, so even 12-14W (1) power consumption can add up to some significance. Quite a few laptops

will draw plus 20W. I've a power hungry Asus of 2014 vintage that eats at least 75W, unfortunately I found

that out the hard way winter of 2014. Cheap Chromebook might be a good low power alternative.

 

Admittedly the likes of Humax do incorporate a deal more sophisticated software than the simple

generic brew integrated with most TVs. But for simple recording and playback I've found nothing simpler.

Suits my simple minimalist mind !

 

I've had a couple of Humax's and the like go awol halfway through a trip, and guess who gets the

blame, and it's not 'er indoors! Having several USB drives means you're very unlikely to have more

than one go a**e up.

[Ocsid]

My solution is via our Humax PRV; similar features might be available with Panasonic kit, that I would not know.

 

It involves our Humax being on the house modem's "network", so appears as a "drive" on any Windows PC we use.

 

Opening this "drive" allows access to all that is recorded on the Humax, and these selectively can be "copied" onto the PC, or onto USB sticks mounted to the PC. I have not tried transferring these files to an external portable, USB mounted drive, either HHD based or SSD, but I expect that to be viable.

 

The recorded stick when inserted in one of the two USB ports of our Avtex can be read and the saved programme watched.

 

As has been mentioned earlier copyright protection encryption impacts things and I can only use my method with original recordings made in SD, not with HD. For recordings made for use in our Avtex that's not great issue as the Avtex resolution is only "HD ready" anyway.

 

There is another issue and that is related to the use of USB technology, you can't have files larger than 4GB with its file format system.

Now with what we watch and the SD format I have not encountered that 4 GB limit. The system might be intelligent enough to sort out transferring overly large files, by automatically splitting them. If not, it is something I can do with free programs on computers, I have used Avidemux for removing the adverts to make viewing more pleasurable; all a bit time consuming but something to help get through winter!

 

[Barryd999]

simian - 2021-11-22 3:50 PM

 

Barryd999 - 2021-11-22 11:52 AM

 

whatsupdoc - 2021-11-22 11:38 AM

 

Most new TVs encrypt their recordings, so playback will only work on that TV (my LG won't even playback on another LG of the same model). So it's OK only if you are recording on the same TV as you will be watching in the van. Our old Avtex is perfect for this.

 

I seem to remember a while back (might not have been on here) that some had success with this little box of tricks which will play just about anything. Amazon link. https://tinyurl.com/w59wedkf

 

Not tried it myself but you stick it into the TV and put your USB files on a stick in it and it should play them.

 

All seemed too much of a faff to me though which is why I just use the laptop.

 

I've never found problems recording and playback of Freeview Channels. Perhaps Netflix et al enforce

encryption.

I have 2 or 300 hours ready to take to Spain/Morocco this winter as is usual. We're dedicated FLTs these

days which means we might be dependent on batt. power for lengthy stops in poor solar charging weather

conditions, so even 12-14W (1) power consumption can add up to some significance. Quite a few laptops

will draw plus 20W. I've a power hungry Asus of 2014 vintage that eats at least 75W, unfortunately I found

that out the hard way winter of 2014. Cheap Chromebook might be a good low power alternative.

 

Admittedly the likes of Humax do incorporate a deal more sophisticated software than the simple

generic brew integrated with most TVs. But for simple recording and playback I've found nothing simpler.

Suits my simple minimalist mind !

 

I've had a couple of Humax's and the like go awol halfway through a trip, and guess who gets the

blame, and it's not 'er indoors! Having several USB drives means you're very unlikely to have more

than one go a**e up.

 

Even your old laptop should only pull 75w if its battery is really low but the newer the machine the more efficient it should be unless your gaming on something powerful with a huge independent Graphics processor. Both ours are fairly recent so when fully charged its just a trickle to keep them topped up. We tend to only stay off grid between April and September when the solar is at its best so generally have more than enough power to run two laptops, two smart phones, various other odds and sods, Satellite TV etc. Later or early in the year I would be looking for EHU.

 

 

[simian]

Actually it's worse than that, I had allowed 15W to 20W for charging tailing off ! Theoretically 3 recharges for a night's viewing. needless to say I never take it with me.

I've tailored my typical power usage to more or less match likely recharging rates, and by incorporating the usual low consumption options such as LED lighting 12v stepup transformer for various laptop power voltages, avoid using the inverter, done away with PVR recorder/player etc. And to make the most of alternator output on the move have B2B

charging.

[Barryd999]

simian - 2021-11-23 9:06 AM

 

Actually it's worse than that, I had allowed 15W to 20W for charging tailing off ! Theoretically 3 recharges for a night's viewing. needless to say I never take it with me.

I've tailored my typical power usage to more or less match likely recharging rates, and by incorporating the usual low consumption options such as LED lighting 12v stepup transformer for various laptop power voltages, avoid using the inverter, done away with PVR recorder/player etc. And to make the most of alternator output on the move have B2B

charging.

 

If your leisure battery cant cope with 15-20w of usage for a few hours on an evening you maybe need to think of more batteries, more solar etc.

[simian]

Barryd999 - 2021-11-23 10:07 AM

 

simian - 2021-11-23 9:06 AM

 

Actually it's worse than that, I had allowed 15W to 20W for charging tailing off ! Theoretically 3 recharges for a night's viewing. needless to say I never take it with me.

I've tailored my typical power usage to more or less match likely recharging rates, and by incorporating the usual low consumption options such as LED lighting 12v stepup transformer for various laptop power voltages, avoid using the inverter, done away with PVR recorder/player etc. And to make the most of alternator output on the move have B2B

charging.

 

If your leisure battery cant cope with 15-20w of usage for a few hours on an evening you maybe need to think of more batteries, more solar etc.

 

It copes very well, as I state I've tailored usage to suit recharging regime. I have 2x110A leisure batteries 240W of solar and 1.8 tonnes of spare payload should I wish to upgrade, plus enough roof space to triple the solar panel real estate. so not really restricted. I avoid the temptation to add panels and/or batteries for the unforeseen or unplanned circumstances and if memory serves I've never run out of power. Had the odd dud battery to eff things up.

 

The thing is, if you camp off grid in the winter even in southern Spain there are periods where the weather is such that demand on power, exceeds supply and may deplete the batts. to sub 12.3v which is something i've tried to avoid in calculating the spec. of my 12v "system".

 

Not unexpectedly inclement weather coincides with maximum 12v power usage, blown air heater fan, radio, tv, lighting, water pump (because confined to barracks for long period). So could be 20A per day deficit, which gives me 4 to 5 days practical usage, but most importantly almost without fail the sun comes out or the sky brightens within this time frame, and almost biblically, we are saved!

[Barryd999]

simian - 2021-11-23 11:17 AM

 

Barryd999 - 2021-11-23 10:07 AM

 

simian - 2021-11-23 9:06 AM

 

Actually it's worse than that, I had allowed 15W to 20W for charging tailing off ! Theoretically 3 recharges for a night's viewing. needless to say I never take it with me.

I've tailored my typical power usage to more or less match likely recharging rates, and by incorporating the usual low consumption options such as LED lighting 12v stepup transformer for various laptop power voltages, avoid using the inverter, done away with PVR recorder/player etc. And to make the most of alternator output on the move have B2B

charging.

 

If your leisure battery cant cope with 15-20w of usage for a few hours on an evening you maybe need to think of more batteries, more solar etc.

 

It copes very well, as I state I've tailored usage to suit recharging regime. I have 2x110A leisure batteries 240W of solar and 1.8 tonnes of spare payload should I wish to upgrade, plus enough roof space to triple the solar panel real estate. so not really restricted. I avoid the temptation to add panels and/or batteries for the unforeseen or unplanned circumstances and if memory serves I've never run out of power. Had the odd dud battery to eff things up.

 

The thing is, if you camp off grid in the winter even in southern Spain there are periods where the weather is such that demand on power, exceeds supply and may deplete the batts. to sub 12.3v which is something i've tried to avoid in calculating the spec. of my 12v "system".

 

Not unexpectedly inclement weather coincides with maximum 12v power usage, blown air heater fan, radio, tv, lighting, water pump (because confined to barracks for long period). So could be 20A per day deficit, which gives me 4 to 5 days practical usage, but most importantly almost without fail the sun comes out or the sky brightens within this time frame, and almost biblically, we are saved!

 

Sounds pretty good. More than enough power most of the year to run a bank of laptops I Would say. Your camping style is obviously different to mine though. I go running looking for hookup by mid September and would only spend the odd night or two wilding in the depths of winter.

 

I have to ask though. 1.8 tons of spare payload!!! What are you driving? A Chiefton tank? (lol)