During this period, USB DVB-T2 tuners (like the Hauppauge WinTV-dualHD or August DVB-T210) became affordable. Raspberry Pi 3 units, loaded with TVHeadend, turned into silent, low-power recording beasts. Enthusiasts didn't watch ITV live; they scheduled their DVB software (NextPVR, MythTV, or DVBViewer) to grab The Chase at 5 PM.
One of the biggest frustrations (and joys) for DVB-er users was ITV’s regional structure. From 2016 to 2021, ITV had 15 distinct regions (e.g., Granada, Yorkshire, Meridian, Anglia, etc.). Each had its own:
A DVB-er allowed you to record all regions simultaneously if you had multiple tuners. This was a popular hobby for “continuity enthusiasts”—people who wanted to preserve local idents, announcer voiceovers, and regional variations that streaming services homogenised. itv dvber 2016 2021
Example file naming convention used by enthusiasts:
ITV_Granada_2021_03_15_19_00_CoronationStreet.ts Audio: Supports Dolby Digital pass-through
This denotes channel, region, date, time, and programme.
| Software | Key Feature for ITV | Best For | |----------|---------------------|-----------| | DVBViewer (Windows) | Full TS recording with teletext subtitle preservation | Archiving soap operas with original regional ads | | TVHeadend (Linux) | Multiple tuner support, remote access | Recording all 15 ITV regions simultaneously | | NextPVR (Cross-platform) | Commercial skipping, EPG via XMLTV | Daily recording of ITV daytime schedule | During this period, USB DVB-T2 tuners (like the
Why not just use Freeview Play or YouView? Those boxes often locked recordings with Digital Rights Management (DRM) , making them unplayable on PCs. A true DVB-er bypassed this by recording the raw transport stream.