I'm pretty sure you will only be able to have one PVR per account - that's the way that Mediaroom works. It may be technically possible to reconfigure the PVR to just ignore the hard drive and become just a receiver, but I've never heard of Bell doing that.

There is no stopping the advancement of technology, but trying to keep up has a huge impact particularly to integrated home theatre installations. Basically a new PVR is required along with a new TV, but the impact is much greater.

The single remote solution will not work as the new PVR is controlled via Bluetooth and even a magic eye would be incompatible. The specs do not say if it can be IP controlled. A new AVR will also be required for 4K passthru or we are back into:
- connecting the hdmi directly form the PVR to the TV
- connecing audio from the PVR to the AVR
- multiple remotes

This will be a nightmare for the casual user trying to use the system.

Looks like I will be stuck with my existing setup until something breaks and has to be replaced. Then reach deep into the pocketbook and hope that all the integration issues have settled down.

@Bplayer I suspect the 4k PVRs still have the IR sensor as standard equipment. The Bluetooth remote is an add-on from Arris, so you should be able to use third-party infrared remotes and extenders. See my comments on the previous page for the Arris PDF.

A Harmony remote is a good solution for old AVRs that don't have HDMI pass-through. It works just as well for AVRs that don't have 4k pass-through. As you said, you connect your HDMI cables from the source directly to your TV and program the Harmony remote to switch the TV and AVR inputs depending on the activity you select.

There's no hurry to get 4k TV - there isn't much 4k programming available.

So, the 4K pvr are now available on the bell web site. 600$ and you have to pay 75$ for installation. Not cheap!

but it looks nice. with a new remote too!

Thanks for the links and information. No mention of HDR. Rogers is really promoting this feature. Is it available on this box?

Re: HDR. The Arris hardware supports 10 bit colour and Ericsson (the developer of the Mediaroom software) has been a strong proponent of HDR and wide colour gamut. I also saw a technical paper by Ericsson that shows that there was not much increase in bandwidth to support 10 bit colour using HEVC. So all the pieces seem to be there.

Whether Bell implemented them all or not?

Bell Official 4K Announcement link below,

The latest BCE News Releases About Coporate, Financial, Regulatory, Products & Services » BCE

rwings01

Wrings, thanks for the link.
"Bell's 4K PVR will also be ready for high dynamic range (HDR) broadcasting as the next step in broadcast technology becomes available." Available?? Thought Rogers was pushing HDR.

They need to pick up sportsnet.

They did channel 1399 named Bell Sportnet ONT 4K

Hopefully these are 2160p60 broadcasts

I'm guessing this only applies to specific sports broadcasts and possibly some on-demand stuff down the road, correct? So regular broadcasts will see no benefit from this.

Isn't 1399 TSN?

Correct

Im have my pvr on all channels and I can't get ch 1399 ,is it because I live in peterorough,ont and not toronto or will I need a 4k receiver to get this channel?

I had to reboot my box to get 1399. On the subject of HDR. I can't afford a 4K TV with HDR and can't find any programs or movies in HDR listed anywhere.