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Getting rid of sky, what's my options?

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  • 04-03-2013 10:15pm
    #1
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭


    Hi there,

    I'm not usually stupid on these matters, but the saorview and free to air information has me totally confused.

    I currently have a sky subscription which I would like to terminate (I'm out of contract, so no worries there), now my problem is what do I replace it with...

    I checked on the Power City Website and seen this box

    http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-24-DS186&pages=1&prod=DS186&brands=SAGEM&image=

    I asked them for a list of stations and they sent me back this:


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free-to-air_channels_at_28%C2%B0E

    Great, loads of stations but no Irish TV stations, so my question is this, do I have to get a separate saor view box for my tv and then switch between the two if I want to watch the Irish channels? My TV is a Samsung Digital HD Ready it was bought just over two years ago so it's not Saorview approved.


    Is there anything I can get that can provide both?

    Any help would be much appreciated. It's also just occured to me what can I get from my sky box without a subscription? It's also important to state I like the idea of using the Sky equipment (namely satellite dish) and not having any messing on the roof.
    Tagged:


«1

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    #2
    Mindfulness
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Mindfulness


    Are you in a position to get cable? My parents use UPC and they have a very good selection of stations. Not sure if you can get the cable without the broadband and phone at the same time, I assume you can but worth checking out anyway if they serve your area.

    In before: I used UPC and had terrible problems with them (show me a provider that has never had a user with an issue!).


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    #3
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Mindfulness wrote: »
    Are you in a position to get cable? My parents use UPC and they have a very good selection of stations. Not sure if you can get the cable without the broadband and phone at the same time, I assume you can but worth checking out anyway if they serve your area.

    In before: I used UPC and had terrible problems with them (show me a provider that has never had a user with an issue!).

    Hi Mindfulness,

    Thanks for this, but I want to get away from a subscription service, UPC don't do broadband in our area only tv and I pay enough for wifi as it is so I want to cut back on my TV bills if you get my drift.


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    #4
    R1200RT
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭R1200RT


    There are plenty of products around that will pick up all the Irish and UK channels. A 'Satellite Combo Box' is what you need. It runs off your aerial and your dish and picks up all the Saorview channels.

    Before you purchase, research what is known an a 'Skybox F3' or a few variances of that.

    http://www.ebay.ie/itm/170997498245?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:VRI&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2661#ht_743wt_1186

    Apparently this will pick up all the channels through your satellite dish only, as well as anything else through WiFi (rte player etc).

    Haven't tried one of these but they seem pretty cheap and may be worth a go.


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    #5
    Chuck Stone
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,030 ✭✭✭✭Chuck Stone


    In fairness why would you get UPC when you have the choice to back to SKY? UPC's EPG is a clunky piece of crap.

    OP there are combo boxes that will combine Saorview (from an aerial) and UK Free To Air channels (from your satellite dish) on the one channel list.

    Saorview will have a 7 day Electronic Programme Guide but the UK channels will only have now and next. My folks ditched their UPC and got a two Ferguson Ariva 150 HD and they're delighted with them.

    There's a thread here that will give you all you need to know on the Ariva 150 and help you out if you are setting them up yourself.

    http://www.satworld.ie/product-info.php?Ferguson_Ariva_150_Combo-pid547.html

    http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Ariva-150-combo.html

    They're around €100

    Good luck.


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    #6
    dubrov
    Registered Users Posts: 3,547 ✭✭✭dubrov


    Here are your options for free tv

    1) Free to air
    This has all the main UK channels (BBC 1-4, ITV 1-4, Channel 4, E4 etc.).
    It requires a box with a DVB-S tuner and receives the signal via a satellite dish.
    The channels are on the same satellite as Sky so you can use the same dish without realignment to get a signal.

    2) Freesat
    Same channels as Free to air but includes a 7 day EPG and series link recording features.
    It requires a freesat branded box and receives the signal via a satellite dish in the same way as free to air.

    3) Saorview
    This has all the Irish channels and requries a DVB-T tuner which can handle MPEG4 encoding. The signal is received by a normal UHF aerial.

    Note DVB-T2 tuners can handle DVB-T signals and DVB-S2 tuners can handle DVB-S signals.

    So your first problem is getting a signal. You already have a sky dish so that solves 1) or 2). For Saorview you need an aerial.

    The second problem is decoding. A combo box can handle decoding of both 1) and 3) and a decent example is the Ariva 250.
    [URL="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?
    t=2056711036"]http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056711036[/URL]

    Most Irish TVs sold in Ireland can decode 3) as they have the required tuner inbuilt.
    The box you saw in Powercity can only handle 2).

    An interesting alternative is the higher end 2012 Samsung smart TVs (6300 and above) which have tuners built in for 2) and 3)


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    #7
    Ronnie Raygun
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,351 ✭✭✭Ronnie Raygun


    Missymoohaa wrote: »
    My TV is a Samsung Digital HD Ready it was bought just over two years ago so it's not Saorview approved.

    Post the model no. of the tv, it doesn't necessarily have to be Saorview approved to work with the service.

    You'll need a UHF aerial (indoor might be satisfactory in some locations), your Sky dish won't be any use for receiving Irish channels free-to-air.


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    #8
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Guys thanks a million for all the replies, in work at the moment but intend to look at all the links when I get home. I live in blessington in a bit of a valley surrounded by mountains so I would definitely (I think) need a roof aerial.

    But I think I get the gist of what you are all saying. The Ariva 250 will give me what I need but I need an aerial on the roof, but everything will be on the one listing/remote control.

    I will get the code from my tv and post later also.

    This seems the way to go, €48 to sky every month is ridiculous especially when we could be having a couple of pints with it :D:D


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    #9
    sweetie
    Registered Users Posts: 9,791 ✭✭✭sweetie


    I would also recommend getting netflix. The irish version is fine but for a small monthly fee it is very easy to switch between all the different countries which have varying content and some very recent movies and tv shows added.


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    #10
    Willby
    Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭Willby


    Hi,
    As an ex Sky subscriber you will have been accustomed to having full 7day EPG, pause live tv, series link etc. If you still wish to have these facilities then you should definitely consider the Freesat option as mentioned in item (2) of Dubrov's post above.
    Unfortunately there is no combo box that will give you both Freesat and Saorview so you would need separate Saorview box if your tv does not have the required tuner.
    Personally I have the Humax Freesat recorder and it is an excellent piece of equipment and every bit as good as a Sky box.


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    #11
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Willby wrote: »
    Hi,
    As an ex Sky subscriber you will have been accustomed to having full 7day EPG, pause live tv, series link etc. If you still wish to have these facilities then you should definitely consider the Freesat option as mentioned in item (2) of Dubrov's post above.
    Unfortunately there is no combo box that will give you both Freesat and Saorview so you would need separate Saorview box if your tv does not have the required tuner.
    Personally I have the Humax Freesat recorder and it is an excellent piece of equipment and every bit as good as a Sky box.

    The Amiko Alien 2 does all this and much, much more. Has triple tuner 2x sat, 1x terrestrial, working RTE and TV3 player plugins, auto updates the satellite transponder changes and streams out over http to pc/laptops/tablets. It takes a little configuring to get it going, but all the info you need is in the thread:
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402
    May be a little overbudget for the OP, but these options are not exclusive to Freesat


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    #12
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    sweetie wrote: »
    I would also recommend getting netflix. The irish version is fine but for a small monthly fee it is very easy to switch between all the different countries which have varying content and some very recent movies and tv shows added.
    Hi Sweetie,

    Already done, have the American Netflix and love it, so hence my needs to cut down my tv bills. (Started watching The West Wing, have already watched Mad Men, Scandal and once upon a time, excellent viewing all of them btw):D:)


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    #13
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Ah lads my head is wrecked now, don't know what to do. Money (or the shortage of) as always is an issue to bear in mind. I had a look at curry's website and seen this, what do you think?

    http://www.currys.ie/Product/4ife-HD-Irish-Digital-Ready-Combi-Set-Top-Box-SV400/315509/339.5

    I don't need anything fancy, just want to watch the english channels plus the Irish channels and to record would be nice.


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    #14
    dubrov
    Registered Users Posts: 3,547 ✭✭✭dubrov


    The Amiko Alien is a more expensive box but would ultimately deliver more functionality. There are some teething problems with it though and you would have to do a bit of messing with it (installing firmware, configuration changes etc.).


    If your tv can handle Saorview then you could just get a Freesat box and get both ROI and UK channels. It would probably mean you would have to change source (sometimes called AV) to switch between ROI and UK channels.

    If I were you I'd do the following, add an aerial beside the satellite dish and combine the signal with the satellite feed (I think you use a diplexer for this). Then split the feed at your tv and feed it into a combo box.
    The Ariva 250 box is basic but has all the functionality you will probably need (recording, UK+ROI channels on a single channel list).
    It doesn't have teletext or 7 day EPG so if you can live without these then it would seem to be most suitable and costs around €110.


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    #15
    zg3409
    Registered Users Posts: 6,567 ✭✭✭zg3409


    Gnerally I would stear clear of non Saorview approved combo boxes. they may be a little cheaper, but may give trouble on some of the finer points, such as EPG, teletext, displaying RTE1+1 etc. A verified Saorview combo is more expensive but worth it.


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    #16
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    I recommend approved Saorview boxes, just not combos, as Freesat and linux boxes are so much better. Plenty of people here recommended the Triax 114 as it is an officially approved combo. People expect an official box to be better, which it's not. Like any FTA box it only gets Now and Next for satellite EPG and doesn't automatically update satellite transponder changes which most people expect on a box with an official approved sticker (like Freesat). Recommend it, but make sure these drawbacks are highlighted.


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    #17
    Willby
    Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭Willby


    PogMoThoin wrote: »
    The Amiko Alien 2 does all this and much, much more. Has triple tuner 2x sat, 1x terrestrial, working RTE and TV3 player plugins, auto updates the satellite transponder changes and streams out over http to pc/laptops/tablets. It takes a little configuring to get it going, but all the info you need is in the thread:
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402
    May be a little overbudget for the OP, but these options are not exclusive to Freesat
    I would like the Amiko myself but like all Linux boxes it seems something for techies. From the length of the Amiko thread it would appear that there is constant messing with firmware etc.to get desired results. I stand to be corrected.


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    #18
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Willby wrote: »
    I would like the Amiko myself but like all Linux boxes it seems something for techies. From the length of the Amiko thread it would appear that there is constant messing with firmware etc.to get desired results. I stand to be corrected.

    I have not messed with mine in a few weeks, besides clicking software update every few days.

    Edit, I lie, I updated Autobouquets which updates and numbers the channels in the order Sky have them on their box. This new version works identically to the old version, only a little bit faster


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    #19
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Lads,

    I'm very grateful for all your help and as mentioned several times on this thread I'm going to go for the amiko alien 2 (i've weighed up all the pros and cons and it really does seem to be the only viable option). I think this is the cheapest price I've seen here:

    http://www.satworld.ie/product-info.php?Amiko_Alien_2_Triple_Tuner-pid554.html

    Now, if you could help me out just a little more, please:eek:

    When I purchase this box, what else do I need:

    1. Satellite dish (well I have my sky one, so I'm assuming this is okay)

    2. Aerial outdoor

    and then what else? Do I need a USB flashdrive for instance? It might be useful for back ups??

    Any other parts I need for setting up the box from scratch??

    All help appreciated and thanks again.


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    #20
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Missymoohaa wrote: »
    Lads,

    I'm very grateful for all your help and as mentioned several times on this thread I'm going to go for the amiko alien 2 (i've weighed up all the pros and cons and it really does seem to be the only viable option). I think this is the cheapest price I've seen here:

    http://www.satworld.ie/product-info.php?Amiko_Alien_2_Triple_Tuner-pid554.html

    Now, if you could help me out just a little more, please:eek:

    When I purchase this box, what else do I need:

    1. Satellite dish (well I have my sky one, so I'm assuming this is okay)

    2. Aerial outdoor

    and then what else? Do I need a USB flashdrive for instance? It might be useful for back ups??

    Any other parts I need for setting up the box from scratch??

    All help appreciated and thanks again.

    It depends on how much you want to record. For best speed and usage in Enigma it gets formatted to ext3 so is no longer usable in Windows. This gets used for the EPG and timeshift (pausing) also. Some people do little recording and survive with a 64GB flash drive. Myself I have a dedicated 500GB Usb 3.0 drive, I already had it, I knew it was capable of recording 2x HD sources at the same time. When the Alien2 is fully setup it's miles better than Sky Plus so is probably worth investing in something decent. Flash drives have limited writes


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    #21
    zg3409
    Registered Users Posts: 6,567 ✭✭✭zg3409


    There is a thread for this box here:
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402&page=50

    those people would be the best to advise.

    You would need 2 leads from the Dish (Do you have two?)
    You would need an aerial, generally an outdoor one is best.


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    #22
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    zg3409 wrote: »
    There is a thread for this box here:
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402&page=50

    those people would be the best to advise.

    You would need 2 leads from the Dish (Do you have two)
    You would need an aerial, generally an outdoor one is best.

    HI zg,

    I've read through that thread a couple of times (and it is rather large) but I find the information very confusing, it's not exactly step by step is it. Also at some stage during the thread I think the spark became replaced by enigma which had much better EPG's anyway I digress.

    Yes I have a sky plus dish so I have the two leads (great), which I'm assuming plug in somewhere to the AA2.

    Reading through the notes though I realised that it does not have a hard drive is this correct? I will have to locate a hard drive.

    So with your help zg I think I have every thing I need to get started anyway, I'll look into the hard drive business later. thanks a million.


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    #23
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Oh and BTW apart from all the lovely channels, what else does this bad boy do? Can I look at Youtube? Can we view our Netflix?


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    #24
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Just be aware, this is not an off the shelf solution, you will need to get your hands dirty to flash Enigma and configure it with plugins as this is what makes the Amiko shine. These are the posts explaining how to do that
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82445809&postcount=185
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82445824&postcount=186

    Head over to the thread and ask your questions there. Some of the plugins and Enigma have been updated since I prepared that guide. You will get the most up to date advise there.
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=82445824


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    #25
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Is this the sort of hard drive I'd need, sorry a bit clueless

    http://www.dhgate.com/usb-2-0-3-5-quot-sata-ide-hdd-external-enclosure/p-ff80808138bd3b9d0138dab28a91069c.html?recinfo=8,1,3#cppd-3-1


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    #26
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Missymoohaa wrote: »
    Is this the sort of hard drive I'd need, sorry a bit clueless

    http://www.dhgate.com/usb-2-0-3-5-quot-sata-ide-hdd-external-enclosure/p-ff80808138bd3b9d0138dab28a91069c.html?recinfo=8,1,3#cppd-3-1

    Yes, but it would be unwise to just select one without asking others what they had success with. See my post above, ask in the thread


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    #27
    martco
    Registered Users Posts: 423 ✭✭martco


    first of all, apologies!! I can see that there are many threads up describing to some degree what I need but I have a bit of information overload....

    I have the same question really per title of the thread....but basically I want to shaft SKY

    my story:
    I just found out yesterday that my elderly parents been paying out guts of €90 per month for their 2 box standard sky setup (I think the equivalent seems to be a marketing term called "entertainment plus" with multiroom) and have been paying way over odds now for probably a very long time (I think victims of the early adopter scenario, they've had sky since day 1) the equivalent today price is €50 pm?!?!
    sky attitude was totally unapologetic, even tried to resell them the same thing for €78 pm plus I ended up arguing about them being forced to plug a phoneline into one of the boxes on the multiroom.....I was thinking of cancelling/re-apply under my name but I'm just so totally seriously pissed off at the way we getting treated so actually want to go further now and get rid of sky out of all our lives!

    anyway long story short I want to sort them and myself out
    years ago I was aware of clone cards etc. I had no idea things moved along so far these days....I'm reading about concepts like cardsharing sites etc (although I'm a computer tech I'm very new to this subject so excuse ignorance)

    is the cardsharing concept a workable option in Ireland? is satboxes.com the place to go to solve my woes?

    thanx


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    #28
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    Presumably you & your parents actually want to watch channels that are only available with subscription?

    Or maybe you're solely motivated by your desire to 'shaft Sky' as you put it?


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    #29
    Chuck Stone
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,030 ✭✭✭✭Chuck Stone


    martco wrote: »
    I was thinking of cancelling/re-apply under my name

    Probably the best option for your folks. If they've had Sky for years they're probably going to miss the EPG and other functions.

    Maybe they'd accept a combo box (UK FTAsat/Saorview) in the 2nd room which would further reduce costs and they might even come around to dumping Sky altogether if they grow accustomed to the combo.


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    #30
    Missymoohaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,737 ✭✭✭Missymoohaa


    Now let's not all get narky with Martco, I can understand the frustration with subscription companies, they can drive you to drink sometimes and when it's your elderly parents your emotions can run rife.

    Martco, I really do think that for your parents, the simplicity of sky is what's best for them and I would advise the following. Sky Entertainment plus package at 35euro plus multi room which is normally 15e per connection, now if you tell them you find this hard to afford they will reduce this to half price for 6 months which you can renew again in 6 months if you get me. So that would mean 42.5 per month which is less than half what they've been paying. They will thank you for this because seriously messing with more complicated systems will drive them insane. Hope this helps.


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    #31
    martco
    Registered Users Posts: 423 ✭✭martco


    thanks for the replies all and patience

    frustration is correct but also a bit angry at myself - because I should have known direct debit subscription type scenarios always same same same cheating attitude and I should have been more alert and gotten them to check yearly where they stood e.g. broadband, basically you have to threaten them with unsubscribe brinkmanship before they will even give you the current rate
    but it's the attitude that Sky greeted me with that really tripped me today

    I remember years back when broadband was just becoming mainstream how a certain telco was very pleased indeed to maintain technically unsavvy customers (who had ISDN/leased lines on huge fees) in the dark on developments with adsl etc. whilst emptying their pockets

    as for next moves I think in the parents case I can cut their cost a lot - Sky Atlantic about the only thing they will miss - so I think freeview and downloads for any of the dramas they like

    In my own case I'm willing to give anything a try....already using US Netflix anyway via the laptop hdmi/onkyo up to the tv so I'll be swiftly going free/combo/whatever for the live tv...probably build a media server now

    byebye SLY

    M


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