Walker combi Saorview/Saorsat TV coming in August

The Cush · 15-07-2012 7:36pm #1

Article in today's Sunday Business Post - "Up to 200 channels will be free for Saorview users"

The article basically discusses combi STBs and mentions the approved Triax and Walker receivers and the non-approved Ferguson.

It also says that Walker will launch a range of combi TVs in the first week of August, prices starting from €320.

... The Saorview-approved free-to-air TV, by Walker, will be available from the first week of August.

The TV set will be capable of offering free-to-air satellite and Saorview or Saorsat (the satellite solutionfor the 2 per cent of households that cannot get Saorview). It will be available in a range of sizes, starting at about €320.

watty · 16-07-2012 10:03am

A nonsense headline as Freesat/FTA Satellite is nothing to do with Saorview and not one of these Combi sets is a true Freesat HD receiver.

Free UK TV via Satellite has been available for years.

Johnboy1951 · 16-07-2012 10:56am

It is looking increasingly like some 'home building' will be required to get a combination Freesat & Saorview receiver/STB ...... but I hope I am wrong and someone comes up with a suitable product at reasonable price ...

Wote · 16-07-2012 12:36pm

I'm running with a "htpc" and that gives me everything on one EPG, complete with 7 day EPG and MHEG-5 text.

Needs a lot of set up but is very family friendly once up and running.

Macy0161 · 16-07-2012 12:46pm

watty wrote: »

A nonsense headline as Freesat/FTA Satellite is nothing to do with Saorview and not one of these Combi sets is a true Freesat HD receiver

Haven't seen the full article, but does the article claim to that it's Freesat?

Personally, I think anything that gets the message out about FTA Satellite is to the consumers advantage.

Johnboy1951 · 16-07-2012 6:57pm

Wote wrote: »

I'm running with a "htpc" and that gives me everything on one EPG, complete with 7 day EPG and MHEG-5 text.

Needs a lot of set up but is very family friendly once up and running.

Yep, it might be the only answer for some time ....

The Cush · 18-07-2012 11:43pm

WALKER 32" SAORVIEW & SATELLITE TV Model : WP3270LCD up on the Powercity website - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-12-WP3270&pages=1&prod=WP3270&brands=WALKER&image=

Due Mid August.

Specification

Walker 32 Lcd Saorview Tv
Saorview & Fta Satellite Tuners
50hz 720p Hd Picture
Live Pause And Record Ready
4x Hdmi Digital Av Connections
Aertel Digital Teletext
Rte Digital Radio Tuner
7 Day Rte Program Guide
C Energy Rated
2x Usb Connections
Usb With Movie Play & Record
Scart Connection
Pc In Via Hdmi And Vga
Headphone Socket
Vesta Wall Mountable
Piano Black Finish
No Subscription Or Monthly Bills
Rte - Bbc & Itv Stations
Hd Bbc And Itv Via Satellite

Kristopherus · 19-07-2012 12:53am

Not too bad at 370 yoyos ,I suppose. No doubt there will be cheaper options in time.

recyclebin · 19-07-2012 11:18am

If anyone is going to buy a Walker TV just make sure you get a demo in the shop as their seems to be huge differences in quality between different models. On some models the digital text for saorview is really slow.

uck51js9zml2yt · 19-07-2012 11:57am

will this dispense with the need for a combobox?

Digital Satellite TV · 19-07-2012 12:27pm

Lyle Angry Blackberry wrote: »

will this dispense with the need for a combobox?

not really, just giving folks other options. Yet to be seen what the quality of pic will be like on them as mentioned above.

If you had a decent TV already, you'd hardly spend 300-400 yo-yos on a new TV when you can get combo boxes around 100 spuds.

Advantage would be just one remote for everything though.

NewBeefFarmer · 05-09-2012 9:01pm

just noticed that power city has now these in stock,

would love to hear from people that got one, as its a bit of a journey to Dublin to see one,

JonathonS · 05-09-2012 9:49pm

NewBeefFarmer wrote: »

would love to hear from people that got one, as its a bit of a journey to Dublin to see one,

AFAIK they are literally just in the door so you might have to wait a while for someone to come on here and review it. But Walker are sold by TV dealers around the country, so depending on where you live you should be able to see one locally.

The Cush · 06-09-2012 8:08am

3 Walker Saorview/sat TV models are/will be available from Powercity

26" - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-11-WP2670&pages=1&prod=WP2670&brands=WALKER&image=
32" - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-12-WP3270&pages=1&prod=WP3270&brands=WALKER&image=
42" - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-13-WP4270&pages=1&prod=WP4270&brands=WALKER&image=

Johnboy1951 · 06-09-2012 8:12am

The Cush wrote: »

3 Walker Saorview/sat TV models are/will be available from Powercity

26" - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-11-WP2670&pages=1&prod=WP2670&brands=WALKER&image=
32" - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-12-WP3270&pages=1&prod=WP3270&brands=WALKER&image=
42" - http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-13-WP4270&pages=1&prod=WP4270&brands=WALKER&image=

50hz 720p Hd Picture

.......

homer911 · 06-09-2012 8:58am

Per the Walker site, the 42" is 1080. They have just copied/pasted the details

The 32" is "HD Ready"

Macy0161 · 06-09-2012 9:05am

I'd be interested if they went down to a smaller size. Combo TV is a neat solution for second/ third TV's such as bedrooms. And campervans/ motorhomes. Might be a technical reason why they're not though I guess.

Johnboy1951 · 06-09-2012 3:47pm

homer911 wrote: »

Per the Walker site, the 42" is 1080. They have just copied/pasted the details

The 32" is "HD Ready"

I was sure when I posted that the 42" also read 720 ... but maybe I got mixed up

JonathonS · 06-09-2012 4:45pm

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I was sure when I posted that the 42" also read 720 ... but maybe I got mixed up

1080p alright, but LCD....and 50Hz. Think they should have gone for LED in a 42in, and 100Hz.

The Cush · 21-09-2012 2:49pm

Walker combi TV being demo'd at the Saorview tent at the Ploughing Championships next week.

Saorview
2 hours ago

We'll be pulling on our wellies next week and heading to New Ross for the Ploughing Championships. We have a SAORVIEW Information marquee for the three days so if you're planning a trip to the event, be sure to call in and see us. We'll be demonstrating the new Walker combi TV which gives you all your favourite Irish and UK channels for free - well worth checking it out!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/saorview/posts/394073053996053

laugh · 22-09-2012 8:53pm

Any samsung do saorview and freesat?

This one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE26EH4500-26-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B007JURB1U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1348341779&sr=8-4

The Cush · 23-09-2012 12:45am

laugh wrote: »

Any samsung do saorview and freesat?

This one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE26EH4500-26-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B007JURB1U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1348341779&sr=8-4

No, any Samsung TV with model no. ending in UXXU has a satellite and Saorview tuner e.g. http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?brands=SAMSUNG&pages=1&par=10-13&action=brandstory&cat=10-13, http://www.samsung.com/ie/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/viewall

inabina · 07-10-2012 11:18am

My folks have an old tele and I need to sort them for Oct 24. Am thinking the Walker Combo would be ideal since they want a new TV and need the saorview and FTA satellite.

Has anyone got this walker WP3270LCD? How is it?

Given they have an aerial, we just need a dish and nothing else if we go with this walker? How much could we expect to pay for dish and install and set up? and any recommendations who could do it?

Many thanks!

excollier · 07-10-2012 11:29am

Wote wrote: »

I'm running with a "htpc" and that gives me everything on one EPG, complete with 7 day EPG and MHEG-5 text.

Needs a lot of set up but is very family friendly once up and running.

Please feel free to share details of how it is set up and controlled, would be nice to set up the same using something like a Raspberry Pi.

watty · 07-10-2012 1:29pm

DVBViewer + MHEG5 works well (XP or Windows7). Windows 7 Media Centre is nearly as good.

Linux is possible but much much harder to setup and make sure you buy sat card and DTT DVB-T USB stick that are compatible.

excollier · 07-10-2012 2:00pm

I have an XP laptop, a dual boot Vista / Linux Mint laptop, but what i really want is a Raspberry Pi to set up as a media server, so linux is what I need to research

Johnboy1951 · 07-10-2012 2:15pm

watty wrote: »

DVBViewer + MHEG5 works well (XP or Windows7). Windows 7 Media Centre is nearly as good.

Linux is possible but much much harder to setup and make sure you buy sat card and DTT DVB-T USB stick that are compatible.

Are you referring here to the necessity to select compatible hardware, or is there something else that one should be aware of?

inabina · 07-10-2012 6:00pm

would appreciate anything on this one ....thanks a lot

My folks have an old tele and I need to sort them for Oct 24. Am thinking the Walker Combo would be ideal since they want a new TV and need the saorview and FTA satellite.

Has anyone got this walker WP3270LCD? How is it?

Given they have an aerial, we just need a dish and nothing else if we go with this walker?

watty · 07-10-2012 6:03pm

Compatible receiving hardware and Graphics card with suitable de-interlacing & H.264 via GPU support on Linux (doing it with main CPU needs more CPU than most people have and not all graphics card that "work" on Linux have "full" GPU support).

watty · 07-10-2012 6:13pm

excollier wrote: »

I have an XP laptop, a dual boot Vista / Linux Mint laptop, but what i really want is a Raspberry Pi to set up as a media server, so linux is what I need to research

The Raspberry Pi is really a phone chip on a breakout board for general purpose use. There are MUCH better solutions for Linux based Media Centre.

The ARM CPU can't do any useful HD de-interlacing or H.264 or AAC codecs at all. You are totally dependent on the SoC "phone to HDMI" hardware codec support.

As you know the requirements for broadcast H.264 HD and AAC are different to typical "MPEG4 HD" files that would be played on a phone.

Also you need ARM versions of the Linux drivers. There is nowhere to connect a decent Satellite card (USB Satellite adaptors are madness), so you'd only have DTT and only for a USB stick with a suitable ARM driver (which isn't many).

Really for BROADCAST media streamer/player you need PCI or PCIe slots for satellite cards, USB2.0 host (not USB 2 go), x86 dual core CPU, 1G RAM, and high end fanless GPU with linux support for de-interlacing, rescalling and H.264 HD codec etc.

zg3409 · 07-10-2012 6:31pm

inabina wrote: »

Has anyone got this walker WP3270LCD? How is it?
Given they have an aerial, we just need a dish and nothing else if we go with this walker?

Yes. However if you have no dish I would not recommend having a go yourself. Best to get a professional and get them to provide the dish. Try to get a solid dish as the ones with the holes in them last far less. Installation and dish could be 100 to 150 Euro. Installers are mad busy at the moment.

Regarding the TV
32" is really too small for HD unless you are sitting really close.
Those TVs are cheap and cheeful. Not the best picture but a low price.
They won't give 7 day guide on Satellite channels just now and next.
I have noticed on some Walker's the new "digital aertel" is very very slow to load
If recording a channel (using an external hard drive) you may not be able to watch any other channel.
UK Channels will dissapear from time to time and TV will need to be re-tuned and channels re-sorted. This could take 1 hour 3 or 4 times a year.

So yes it is a one remote, UK and Irish channels solution. Probably fine for the casual TV user.

I would also ask the question do they only have the Irish channels now and never had the UK ones? If so this will be a big step up.

Walker combi Saorview/Saorsat TV coming in August

Comments