tv star 1020

Depends on your needs.

Newer boxes will be out soon so not sure it's worth paying through the nose till then. For those who can get UK signals through an aerial Freeview HD is looking like a good choice (review boxes to see which ones work best for what you want)



Second hand Saorview approved boxes can be got for ~ €40 so no real savings getting a random grey-market MPEG4 box

USB tuner can be got for ~ €6 for watching on laptop/pc - most TV's these days will take VGA or HDMI input (DVI to HDMI adaptor's are v. cheap on Chinese sites) (USB is non-approved, and you'll need a newer computer to watch RTE2 HD because more picture needs to be decoded)


AFAIK We still don't know if any box will support saorview series link, because it isn't being transmitted yet.

Also it appears that the .ts files recorded on the vestel clones are 'watchable' on a PC (no menu yet) where as the files recorded on some generic MPEG4 receivers aren't (don't quote me on this - but check before you buy if it's important to you)

Bob Z wrote: »

what one would you recommend?

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Depends on your needs.

all the non-triax set boxes so far are vestel clones so esentially the same so much of a muchness

at this stage some of your family , friends , neighbours have boxes , call round, bring biscuits or sticky buns and see which you like

Bob Z wrote: »

i mean the usb tv tuner i havent a clue about them. are they any good?

for €6 (including envelope & postage from China) what are you expecting ?

it works on a decent laptop,
I've an old (2006) laptop that will show everything except RTE2
you'll almost certainly have to cut the cable to connect it to a real aerial

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_rights/consumers_and_the_law_in_ireland.html

Under this Act the purchaser of goods has a number of rights - the main ones are

Goods must be of merchantable quality – goods should be of reasonable quality taking into account what they are meant to do, their durability and their price
Goods must be fit for their purpose – they must do what they are reasonably expected to do
Goods must be as described - the buyer must not be mislead into buying something by the description of goods or services given orally by a salesperson or an advertisement.

I think it's reasonable to expect such a box to see the teletext on more than 3 out of 8 channels if it says teletext anywhere on the box or the ad.

Saorview is not just an MPEG4 signal. It's also the EPG and the fancy teletext (and hopefully soon series link). Anything that can't do the extras is not a Saorview receiver nor should it be described as such. If the sales person or the ad or box says it can receiver saorview then misleading.


Had it been advertised as "MPEG4 receiver, limited compatibility with Saorview transmissions" then maybe.


When you go back to Tesco you may be lucky enough to see both the Laurus ~€80 and Technika boxes ~€49 in stock, then you can play spot the difference


Had it said Recorder (via usb) that would be fine

In this part of the world PVR mean something like SKY+ or the UPC boxes that allow you to watch one channel while recording another. They are by far the oldest and most common PVR systems here so anything advertising it's self as more than a recorder would have to be up to scratch.

SKY, UPC, Approved Saorview boxes can record from the EPG, if the 1020 can't then it most definitely is not a PVR by any stretch of the imagination.

STB wrote: »

PVR is the ability to record. Dual tuner PVR is the ability to watch one station and record another.

Again consumer law is based on what a reasonable person would expect.

For yonks SKY and UPC have provided boxes that can record any channel while watching any any other and can do time shift too and series link from the EPG. 49% of households now have them.

A box which doesn't offer the basic features that most television viewers in the country are using isn't really a PVR

BTW I've a satellite receiver where you can record one channel and watch another on the same mux. That feature isn't much use on satellite, (many regional variations / +1) nor would it be up north where there is more than one mux on DTT. That feature is useful here now only because of a lack of channels. Once a second mux goes on line it'll be really annoying. And any sold on the basis that you could record one channel while watching another could be returned.

By the way some of the early Saorview approved boxes (Vestel chassis) whilst having a USB port on the box arent for PVR purposes and arent configured to be. PVR is not a requirement in the specification for Saorview.

Which is why I said the word recorder was used on the box. They should not be sold as PVR's because they aren't.

The word Recorder would set an expectation similar to a video recorder in that you can only do one of play or record or choose channel at a time. Many VCR's could be set using videoplus or scraping teletext, so a PVR would have to do a good bit more.

STB wrote: »

Despite the fact that the UK is the most similar technical spec'd market, Combo products have not been a huge marketable item there, so knock on effect here. Unfortunately our dependance on UK TV to bolster Irish DVB-T TV content means that Combo boxes are the main requirement for Irish FTA consumers. But the products that get certification will be priced off the wall and wont be functionality friendly as a Freesat/Freeview HD product which of course dont do both dvb-t and dvb-s2 to our satisfaction.

Saorview is closer to the Nordic countries

Freesat/Freeview combo is a niche area. I'd nearly compare it to Saorsat here. It's for people who can't get their channels any other way and enthusiasts.

There is a huge overlap between Freesat and Freeview.
Most of the UK have most of the FTA channels worth watching on DTT - they have more than one MUX
http://www.ukfree.tv/txdetail.php?a=IJ287750


Yes there are extra channels on satellite, but there are a lot of old sky boxes in place too.


SKY and UPC have been offering dual tuner PVR's with a single EPG for a long time. 49% of homes have them, 97% TV ownership so most people with TV's have only seen fully functional PVR's. Anything that offers less can't really be considered a PVR in the Irish context.


At present it looks like the closest to a fully functional PVR is a linux satellite box that get's it's EPG from the internet and Saorview through a USB DTT adaptor. And it's not that cheap. And I don't think it updates it's channels automatically.

Another option is certain Freesat HD recorders with Saorsat (dual diseqc switches etc.) and a bit of dexterity on the remote control