Hands on: Freesat on your PC

What software?
Once you’re receiving the signal, you’ll need software to view and record shows. Windows Media Center is not natively compatible with DVB-S(2). Some DVB-S(2) cards come with virtual drivers that trick Media Center into working with them, but anyone wanting to use Freesat for its HD broadcasts will run into problems.

Freesat’s standard-definition channels may be broadcast using MPEG2, but BBC HD on Freesat uses the H.264 codec – as will other HD channels when they launch. Sadly, Windows Media Center is also unable to handle H.264 natively, so it’s not a sensible choice. Incidentally, lack of support for H.264 isn’t an issue for HD broadcasts in the US, as these tend to use MPEG2 compression instead.

Luckily Cyberlink’s Powercinema is up to the job; it works with DVB-S and H.264, is recommended by Black Gold for its BGT3540 card and comes supplied with the Hauppauge HVR-4000; see www.cyberlink.com. Alternatively, you could use DVB Viewer, which can receive, record and time-shift DVB-S broadcasts; see www.dvbviewer.com for details.

Finally, remember that while almost any modern PC is capable of playing MPEG2 video, the H.264 standard can represent a significant challenge. You’ll need a PC with a fast dual-core CPU and a graphics card featuring hardware acceleration for H.264 to play it smooth.

Early days
It’s still early days for configuring media PCs to work with Freesat. That said, we have no doubt it’ll power the TV reception of many media PCs in future and we’ll report back with more tips on getting it all working. In the meantime, there’s some great advice at www.avforums.com and we’d love to hear your experiences.