Boards.ie

amroche · 03-05-2012, 19:04

Hi I am based rurally outside Claremorris Co Mayo. We were recieving the UK channels (BBC 1 & 2, UTV, Channel 4) via an aerial on the roof, we paid the local group scheme an annual amount of approx €175. We also got the 4 Irish channels which I had assumed up to now were coming via the same aerial . This week the UK channels have been turned off, so now having had the head in the sand for the past few months I actually need to research and understand my options.

1) If I get Saorview boxes will I have to get one for every TV in the house?
2) Will these only give me the 4 Irish channels?
3) What is my cheapest option to get UK chanels (only want the basic 5).

A neighbour said to get a satellite dish in Lidl or Aldi, and once installed that would give me the UK channels and more. So the costs would be the dish and the installation. But would this give me the Irish channels? I'm not interested in SKY, etc, just a few basic IRish and a few basic English channels. Can anyone give me a steer on the best thing to do, (in non technical language) and better still an idea of cost.....

I suspect to I have to invest in:

Saorview boxes x 3
Satellite dish x ? (1 per TV set or can you split to serve more than one TV)?
Installation for all of the above?

Is the aerial on the roof therefore redundant now?

**icdg** · 03-05-2012, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by amroche

Hi I am based rurally outside Claremorris Co Mayo. We were recieving the UK channels (BBC 1 & 2, UTV, Channel 4) via an aerial on the roof, we paid the local group scheme an annual amount of approx €175. We also got the 4 Irish channels which I had assumed up to now were coming via the same aerial . This week the UK channels have been turned off, so now having had the head in the sand for the past few months I actually need to research and understand my options.

1) If I get Saorview boxes will I have to get one for every TV in the house?

If you want to watch different channels on each set, then yes. Unless the TVs a relatively new and have built-in DTT tuners that is.

Quote:

2) Will these only give me the 4 Irish channels?

And 3e. You'll also receive RTÉ1+1, RTÉ News Now, and RTÉjr, but these channels are primarily composed of simulcasts and very recent repeats.

Quote:

3) What is my cheapest option to get UK chanels (only want the basic 5).

It depends. Free to air satellite costs quite a bit to install, but you'll never pay any more again. However it may actually work out cheaper to get in Sky - you'll get free installation and equipment, and you can cancel after 12 months is up.

In previous times I'd probably have suggested MMDS as an alternative but with that looking ever more likely that it'll be shut down, you won't really have any other alternative to satellite.

Quote:

Is the aerial on the roof therefore redundant now?

No you'll still need it if you have Saorview.

GBCULLEN · 03-05-2012, 20:24

here is a reply but you will no doubt get loads of others either agreeing or disagreeing.

1. First off you need to know if your existing roof aerial will pick up saorview and a quick way is, if you can get a good picture on tv3 or tg4 at present then you can pick up saorview. If no, then you need a new aerial, can be about 50 euro plus install.

2. For your main tv I would suggest you get a combo box, ie it will get saorview from the aerail and all the uk channels from a satellite dish and in HD. Even if your current tv is not HD you get better picture quality on say BBC1 HD than BBC1 SD via the scart. combo box is about 90 euro. dish about 60 plus install about a 100, unless your good at diy. you only need one dish and can fit a quad lnb that will allow 4 boxes to be connected. lnb is 15-25 euro can be more or less. And with the combo you can add an external HDD and make it a Personal Video recorder.(PVR)

3. You can buy an RF modulator for about 40 euro that you could attach to the combo box and then beam channels round the house ie the sat channels and the saorview but you could only watch same channel.

4. For the other tv's you can buy a set top box for each for about 40 euro each.

The big caveat at the moment is the use of digital teletext, it looks nice but a lot of boxes will not pick it up including the combo.

so to summarise to get you up and running.

1 combo box

2 2x soarview boxes

a combo box requires a bit of know how, ie update software, add a new channel list. these days is easy as that good old usb stick does a multitude.

good luck

ps if you buy a bigger dish, say 80cm where you are and add a multi lnb bar you can pick up saorsat and the uk tv on the combo box, as soarsat is the new isrh sat service. So you would have 2 lnbs on the dish, saorsat is a twin lnb = 2 outlets and then the quad for bbc etc but tv3 and 3e is not on soarsat yet.

givecredit · 03-05-2012, 21:43

First of all I would not recommend Lidl/Aldi satellite receivers. These will not get you RTE/TV3 etc.

Get 3 of these:
http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/HD_...Combo_Box.html
Get one of these:

http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Sky..._quad_lnb.html

and take option for quad lnb with above dish.

When asked for discount code insert: boards.ie

All above should work out at circa €300 after discount. Then pay a local installer to install above. Probably cost circa €100

So €400, Not cheap but you will never have to pay your €175 per year again.

Above will get you ALL irish free tv channels and All uk free tv channels including the main five you want and about 150 more!

Watch RTE's new digital service, RTE1, RTE2 HD, TV 3, TG4, 3e & RTE News Now via aerial and BBC, UTV, CH4 CH5 and many more via satellite.

Please be aware that the future digital Teletext service system used by RTE is not compatible with this box.

This receiver box will allow you to watch free to air High definition satellite TV via a dish and Irish MPEG 4 terrestrial digital TV via an aerial .

The above solution lets you watch any channel in any room. You do not have to watch same channels on 2 tvs.

Please note I have no connection with the above linked online store. The reason i quote the above links is the well priced equipment and the excellent online support the store owner Tony supplies online here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...403172&page=37

The Cush · 03-05-2012, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by amroche

1) If I get Saorview boxes will I have to get one for every TV in the house?

If any of your TVs are newish they may have a digital MPEG-4 tuner and you won't require a Saorview STB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amroche

2) Will these only give me the 4 Irish channels?

http://www.saorview.ie/what-is-saorview/

Quote:

Originally Posted by amroche

Is the aerial on the roof therefore redundant now

http://www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/
http://www.rtenl.ie/wp-content/uploa...ctober2010.pdf

Suggestion for satellite, another option not mentioned by the lads above is Freesat - Uk channels only, Sky-like programme guide, digital text, channels automatically arranged and updated, recording version available, dish required.
http://www.tvtrade.ie/satellite-receivers/freesat.html
http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/index.html

Digitaltv · 04-05-2012, 23:55

[B]Then pay a local installer to install above. Probably cost circa €100/B]

per hour, or are you joking ?

Insurance,equipment,diesel,experience.

Cesium Clock · 05-05-2012, 01:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by givecredit

First of all I would not recommend Lidl/Aldi satellite receivers. These will not get you RTE/TV3 etc.

Get 3 of these:
http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/HD_...Combo_Box.html
Get one of these:

http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Sky..._quad_lnb.html

and take option for quad lnb with above dish.

When asked for discount code insert: boards.ie

All above should work out at circa €300 after discount. Then pay a local installer to install above. Probably cost circa €100

or in keeping with your recomendations you could choose the following options from the suppliers website

Would you like an Aeial for RTE digital fitted for €149.00 ?
Would you like us to install a dish for €149?

hardly circa €100 and you expect 3 boxes installed for that, try 'Done Deal' or 'Adverts' for the full package, im sure there is some uninsured, dole sucker on there who will 'locally' supply and install it for a pint.

snaps · 07-05-2012, 07:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digitaltv

[B]Then pay a local installer to install above. Probably cost circa €100/B]

per hour, or are you joking ?

Insurance,equipment,diesel,experience.

also any professional installer would not install equiptment he hasn't supplied. Wouldn't be worth the hassle if something went wrong and the customer was blaming the installer. Also don't forget cabling, that's not cheap, especially for 3 feeds. The average price for a combo box and a dish install seems to be 300e. Some cheaper and some more expensive (250-350). There is 1 local guy doing it for 190, heaven knows how he can do it so cheap and I know also if you have a problem, he won't come back. So shop around and take my advice, word of mouth recommendations is the way to go and cheapest is not always best.

1dave · 07-05-2012, 19:22

hi, if people can afford it the solution is bbc/rte is a freesat HD box and a saorview tv. to achieve this in 1 go it is pricy. so do it in steps. saorview tv for main room and a sky box. the sky box works the like a freesat box, it has the same features interactive (for sports on bbc), 7 day tv guide. and the remote can be tuned in work the basic tv functions, volume on/off change channel. note: sky boxes are not perfect, using it as a freesat box but for 30 euro on adverts i think well worth it.
for the saorview i would have 1 official saorview box/tv for teletext. if you dont get it you will never have it.
for the other rooms what ever is cleap and upgrade as the years go by. so more sky boxes and cheap terrestrial tuners.
the dish, if u live where things rust fast get a good rush proof dish. if rust isnt an issue, a sky dish will last about 5-7 years . it has 4 outputs/quad lnb.
1 output from the lnb is needed for tv. a lidl dish will only have a single lnb/ 1 output. a quad lnb is another 15-40 euro.

1dave · 07-05-2012, 20:15

if you have the square aerial it will do for saorview . check saorview.ie to see where to aim it . if there is a good signal where u live the aerial might do 3 tvs. split the aerial signal 3 ways . if not you might need a dristrabution amp . the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture. weather affects signal.

STB · 07-05-2012, 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1dave

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1dave

1. if you have the square aerial it will do for saorview
2. the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture
3. weather affects signal.

Can you please explain these statements and why you think they are true

Kristopherus · 08-05-2012, 01:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by STB

Can you please explain these statements and why you think they are true

I think he means the wide band grid type aerial - which is/was used to pick up the deflector signal in most areas in the west.

Peter Rhea · 08-05-2012, 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kristopherus

I think he means the wide band grid type aerial . . .

You think so? Let us here it from the man himself.

I'm particularly interested in his comment about the weather, as that seems to be a favourite get-out clause of incompetents.

1dave · 08-05-2012, 16:38

amroche said: Can anyone give me a steer on the best thing to do, (in non technical language) and better still an idea of cost. i was trying to point out to amroche if he went about doing it himself his square aerial may do. he may need to point it in a different direction and just because he has a good picture doesnt mean he has good reception. if he has a weak signal to start add a bit of bad weather and he might have nothing. no technical language used.

1dave · 08-05-2012, 17:13

just for u STB.
1. if you have the square aerial it will do for saorview
2. the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture
3. weather affects signal.

Can you please explain these statements and why you think they are true
the man who started the thread said he wanted non technical language help.
i was trying to look at it from his point of view.
he would understand square aerial but he might not no its a grid aerial.

analogue tv (which he has delt with till now) the better the signal the better the picture. ----the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture---- meaning no snowy picture. if the signal is bad to start with the picture could go when clowds/rain (weather) goes bad
im not a whizz on this stuff and dont explain myself correctly, bad puncuation and spelling BUT ive tried to help. if you tried to help rather than take issue with me i might learn something too.

03-05-2012, 19:04	#1
amroche Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 15 Adverts \| Friends	UK channels turned off this week in Mayo - trying to understand options now..? Hi I am based rurally outside Claremorris Co Mayo. We were recieving the UK channels (BBC 1 & 2, UTV, Channel 4) via an aerial on the roof, we paid the local group scheme an annual amount of approx €175. We also got the 4 Irish channels which I had assumed up to now were coming via the same aerial . This week the UK channels have been turned off, so now having had the head in the sand for the past few months I actually need to research and understand my options. 1) If I get Saorview boxes will I have to get one for every TV in the house? 2) Will these only give me the 4 Irish channels? 3) What is my cheapest option to get UK chanels (only want the basic 5). A neighbour said to get a satellite dish in Lidl or Aldi, and once installed that would give me the UK channels and more. So the costs would be the dish and the installation. But would this give me the Irish channels? I'm not interested in SKY, etc, just a few basic IRish and a few basic English channels. Can anyone give me a steer on the best thing to do, (in non technical language) and better still an idea of cost..... I suspect to I have to invest in: Saorview boxes x 3 Satellite dish x ? (1 per TV set or can you split to serve more than one TV)? Installation for all of the above? Is the aerial on the roof therefore redundant now?

03-05-2012, 20:24	#3
GBCULLEN Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: EUROPE Posts: 2,044 Adverts \| Friends	here is a reply but you will no doubt get loads of others either agreeing or disagreeing. 1. First off you need to know if your existing roof aerial will pick up saorview and a quick way is, if you can get a good picture on tv3 or tg4 at present then you can pick up saorview. If no, then you need a new aerial, can be about 50 euro plus install. 2. For your main tv I would suggest you get a combo box, ie it will get saorview from the aerail and all the uk channels from a satellite dish and in HD. Even if your current tv is not HD you get better picture quality on say BBC1 HD than BBC1 SD via the scart. combo box is about 90 euro. dish about 60 plus install about a 100, unless your good at diy. you only need one dish and can fit a quad lnb that will allow 4 boxes to be connected. lnb is 15-25 euro can be more or less. And with the combo you can add an external HDD and make it a Personal Video recorder.(PVR) 3. You can buy an RF modulator for about 40 euro that you could attach to the combo box and then beam channels round the house ie the sat channels and the saorview but you could only watch same channel. 4. For the other tv's you can buy a set top box for each for about 40 euro each. The big caveat at the moment is the use of digital teletext, it looks nice but a lot of boxes will not pick it up including the combo. so to summarise to get you up and running. 1 combo box 2 2x soarview boxes a combo box requires a bit of know how, ie update software, add a new channel list. these days is easy as that good old usb stick does a multitude. good luck ps if you buy a bigger dish, say 80cm where you are and add a multi lnb bar you can pick up saorsat and the uk tv on the combo box, as soarsat is the new isrh sat service. So you would have 2 lnbs on the dish, saorsat is a twin lnb = 2 outlets and then the quad for bbc etc but tv3 and 3e is not on soarsat yet. Last edited by GBCULLEN; 03-05-2012 at 23:16.

03-05-2012, 21:43	#4
givecredit Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Midlands Posts: 869 Adverts \| Friends	First of all I would not recommend Lidl/Aldi satellite receivers. These will not get you RTE/TV3 etc. Get 3 of these: http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/HD_...Combo_Box.html Get one of these: http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Sky..._quad_lnb.html and take option for quad lnb with above dish. When asked for discount code insert: boards.ie All above should work out at circa €300 after discount. Then pay a local installer to install above. Probably cost circa €100 So €400, Not cheap but you will never have to pay your €175 per year again. Above will get you ALL irish free tv channels and All uk free tv channels including the main five you want and about 150 more! Watch RTE's new digital service, RTE1, RTE2 HD, TV 3, TG4, 3e & RTE News Now via aerial and BBC, UTV, CH4 CH5 and many more via satellite. Please be aware that the future digital Teletext service system used by RTE is not compatible with this box. This receiver box will allow you to watch free to air High definition satellite TV via a dish and Irish MPEG 4 terrestrial digital TV via an aerial . The above solution lets you watch any channel in any room. You do not have to watch same channels on 2 tvs. Please note I have no connection with the above linked online store. The reason i quote the above links is the well priced equipment and the excellent online support the store owner Tony supplies online here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...403172&page=37 Last edited by givecredit; 03-05-2012 at 21:59.

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04-05-2012, 23:55	#6
Digitaltv Registered User Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 33 Adverts \| Friends	[B]Then pay a local installer to install above. Probably cost circa €100/B] per hour, or are you joking ? Insurance,equipment,diesel,experience.

07-05-2012, 19:22	#9
1dave Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 51 Adverts \| Friends	hi, if people can afford it the solution is bbc/rte is a freesat HD box and a saorview tv. to achieve this in 1 go it is pricy. so do it in steps. saorview tv for main room and a sky box. the sky box works the like a freesat box, it has the same features interactive (for sports on bbc), 7 day tv guide. and the remote can be tuned in work the basic tv functions, volume on/off change channel. note: sky boxes are not perfect, using it as a freesat box but for 30 euro on adverts i think well worth it. for the saorview i would have 1 official saorview box/tv for teletext. if you dont get it you will never have it. for the other rooms what ever is cleap and upgrade as the years go by. so more sky boxes and cheap terrestrial tuners. the dish, if u live where things rust fast get a good rush proof dish. if rust isnt an issue, a sky dish will last about 5-7 years . it has 4 outputs/quad lnb. 1 output from the lnb is needed for tv. a lidl dish will only have a single lnb/ 1 output. a quad lnb is another 15-40 euro.

07-05-2012, 20:15	#10
1dave Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 51 Adverts \| Friends	if you have the square aerial it will do for saorview . check saorview.ie to see where to aim it . if there is a good signal where u live the aerial might do 3 tvs. split the aerial signal 3 ways . if not you might need a dristrabution amp . the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture. weather affects signal.

08-05-2012, 16:38	#14
1dave Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 51 Adverts \| Friends	amroche said: Can anyone give me a steer on the best thing to do, (in non technical language) and better still an idea of cost. i was trying to point out to amroche if he went about doing it himself his square aerial may do. he may need to point it in a different direction and just because he has a good picture doesnt mean he has good reception. if he has a weak signal to start add a bit of bad weather and he might have nothing. no technical language used.

08-05-2012, 17:13	#15
1dave Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 51 Adverts \| Friends	just for u STB. 1. if you have the square aerial it will do for saorview 2. the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture 3. weather affects signal. Can you please explain these statements and why you think they are true the man who started the thread said he wanted non technical language help. i was trying to look at it from his point of view. he would understand square aerial but he might not no its a grid aerial. analogue tv (which he has delt with till now) the better the signal the better the picture. ----the thing with digital tv is, its a good picture or no picture---- meaning no snowy picture. if the signal is bad to start with the picture could go when clowds/rain (weather) goes bad im not a whizz on this stuff and dont explain myself correctly, bad puncuation and spelling BUT ive tried to help. if you tried to help rather than take issue with me i might learn something too.