PVR SECRETS
YOU MIGHT THINK YOUR PVR IS ONLY GOOD FOR RECORDING TV SHOWS, BUT TODAY’S INTERNET-CONNECTED VARIANTS CAN DO A WHOLE LOT MORE. Many units can stream content from their hard drive to an external device, including your smart phone when you’re out and about. You can also use your phone as a remote control when you’re away from home, to set up recordings when someone tells you about an awesome new series while you’re at the office. If you really want to tap into the best EPG recording, video aficionados rave about IceTV, an Aussie-made EPG that allows you to set up recordings from anywhere with an internet connection. While the company went through some issues a few years ago, they’re now back on their feet, and widely acclaimed as the easiest EPG to use. There’s a free 30-day trial, if you don’t take our word for it at www.icetv.com.au. If you’ve only got limited disk space for recording, you might want to lower the bitrate or format that each show is recorded at. You’ll find this somewhere in the recording options; a good idea is to change it from HD to SD to dramatically lower recording sizes, though image sharpness will drop as a result. On the subject of running out of recording space, check to see how easy it is to upgrade your unit’s hard drives. With mechanical drives becoming ever cheaper, it might be more affordable for you to upgrade the storage yourself than buy a model with a bigger hard drive. As mentioned in our reviews, most units can’t downmix a 5.1 signal to stereo while streaming if you download your chosen video in that format. If it’s not, use a free program like handbrake ( to first transcode it to the right format, and then stream it over your network. If you live in a remote location and your home doesn’t get a very good TV signal, attaching a PVR to it won’t magically boost the signal. If you get signs of signal degradation while watching digital channels (it usually shows up as the image degrading into boxes that look almost Lego-like), you’re going to need a better antennae installed. Most PVRs that have integrated Wi-Fi also include an Ethernet port. As those of you who have tried to stream HD video over Wi-Fi know, wireless playback is flaky at best. If at all possible, use a direct Ethernet connection between your PVR and your media server. An Ethernet over Power kit can come in mighty handy here. Some, but not all, PVRs allow forward skipping during playback in 30 second bursts... which just happens to be the exact length of most commercials. As this feature encourages viewers to skip commercial breaks, it’s not widely advertised, but a bit of research on your prospective model should reveal all. Otherwise you can simply fast forward, and hope your reflexes are fast enough to catch the end of the ad-break (though some units automatically rewind a little after fast forwarding for just this reason).