Advice needed on satellite/dtt options

Kashkai

Hi all,

I've recently installed my own Freesat dish, receiver etc (proud of myself I am ). However, wife is bemoaning the fact that the terrestrial channels are missing (she's from Mayo and grew up on a diet of RTE 1 and 2:rolleyes:). So after a little research I've come up with the following:

Option 1.
Erect new ariel for DTT which I can connect to the wiring installed by the sparks for the tv points which are not used at the moment. However am I correct in thinking that I'll also need a need a decoder for these signals and if so where can I get one?? The newest tv in the house is a Samsung Series 6 but I don't think even that can decode the dtt signals.

Option 2.
Get a satellite/dtt box like the MVision combo but the drawback there is that it is not a freesat box and I'll be missing out on the 7 day epg which I find very useful.

I was also thinking about getting a freesat HD box to go with the 46 inch Sammy but if I also need a dtt decoder, then this will alter my thinking as I don't want to end up with a load of boxes under the telly. I already have an Onkyo a/v amp, PS3, Wii, DVD and now a Freesat box and its getting a little crowded :eek:

snaps

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

don't want to end up with a load of boxes under the telly. I already have an Onkyo a/v amp, PS3, Wii, DVD and now a Freesat box and its getting a little crowded :eek:

Come around to my house and you'll faint if you look at my TV/AV system!

Cant give you to much advice really about DTT as we have not got it this far west and not sure what the plans are for the switch over to it. Getting a UHF aerial installed to your TV points is not a bad start.

Combo recievers are good, but a lot of them only allow you to watch one channel at a time (Not record one and watch one either DTT or Satellite)

jackbauer

snaps will you be stocking combo boxes?

Tony

Technomate 6900 combo worth checking out

snaps

Tony wrote: »

Technomate 6900 combo worth checking out

I personally use the TM6900 as my main box. Its the cream of the crumb when it comes down to its HD picture. Recording is very good.

Only thing like other combos is it cannot record 1 channel and whatch another.

I havent tested the DTT side of it yet as there is no signal here for DTT and not even sure when we will get it this far west.

bugfreebob

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Hi all,

I've recently installed my own Freesat dish, receiver etc (proud of myself I am ). However, wife is bemoaning the fact that the terrestrial channels are missing (she's from Mayo and grew up on a diet of RTE 1 and 2:rolleyes:). So after a little research I've come up with the following:

Option 1.
Erect new ariel for DTT which I can connect to the wiring installed by the sparks for the tv points which are not used at the moment. However am I correct in thinking that I'll also need a need a decoder for these signals and if so where can I get one?? The newest tv in the house is a Samsung Series 6 but I don't think even that can decode the dtt signals.

Option 2.
Get a satellite/dtt box like the MVision combo but the drawback there is that it is not a freesat box and I'll be missing out on the 7 day epg which I find very useful.

Well done with installing your own dish - it's the way of the future. I'll bet you did a better and neater job than the average Sky or UPC installer.

Personally, I strongly recommend using a Combo box rather than a Freesat box, such as the MVision, Clarke-Tech, Technomate etc. You get all the channels in one box, one remote, one EPG, HD, PVR etc. As you say, the problem is that Satellite EPG is not 7 day. This may change in time if software becomes available for these boxes to do the Freesat EPG. My current solution to this is to subscribe to www.digiguide.com which gives a personalised EPG over Broadband covering all UK & Irish channels. Not integrated with the combo box, but excellent programme info for about a tenner a year - a good compromise.

By the way, you will still need to feed your DTT signal to the combo box and may need an antenna in the attic or outside, depending on how strong your signal is.

Don't forget, you could still fall back on analogue for Irish channels. Not a bad option for 2nd/3rd TV, and you could recycle your Freesat box there, even if you get a proper Combo box for living room. By the time of Analogue switch-off combo boxes will be a lot cheaper.

snaps

bugfreebob wrote: »

My current solution to this is to subscribe to www.digiguide.com which gives a personalised EPG over Broadband covering all UK & Irish channels.

Or use Radio times website. Its free and covers all the Irish channels as well as UK channels. You can select your channel lineup.

Kashkai

bugfreebob wrote: »

Well done with installing your own dish - it's the way of the future. I'll bet you did a better and neater job than the average Sky or UPC installer.

Personally, I strongly recommend using a Combo box rather than a Freesat box, such as the MVision, Clarke-Tech, Technomate etc. You get all the channels in one box, one remote, one EPG, HD, PVR etc. As you say, the problem is that Satellite EPG is not 7 day. This may change in time if software becomes available for these boxes to do the Freesat EPG. My current solution to this is to subscribe to www.digiguide.com which gives a personalised EPG over Broadband covering all UK & Irish channels. Not integrated with the combo box, but excellent programme info for about a tenner a year - a good compromise.

By the way, you will still need to feed your DTT signal to the combo box and may need an antenna in the attic or outside, depending on how strong your signal is.

Don't forget, you could still fall back on analogue for Irish channels. Not a bad option for 2nd/3rd TV, and you could recycle your Freesat box there, even if you get a proper Combo box for living room. By the time of Analogue switch-off combo boxes will be a lot cheaper.

Thanks. For anyone who's ever done a DIY satellite installation, you know the hardest part is aligning the dish. This took me 4 hours alone to do. I managed to cut the tops off some trees, erect the dish, run 4 separate cables to the 3 tv points and tidy them all up so you can't see them in less time than it took to finally took to lock onto Astra 2. I did a damn good job even if I do say so myself.:D

Anyways, my new freesat box is in the kids playroom so they're happy with all the new channels. I've run 2 cables to the living room for a PVR at some point (I've connected up my old SKY box as a temporary receiver. Now what I want to decide on is a satellite PVR (Humax?) / Satellite combo for the living room and another combo box for the sunroom - this is to keep the wife happy so she can see RTE. I've looked at the Technomate 6900 and the Mvision combos. They appear to need a separate hard drive for recording which is a bit messy IMO. Are they the best options or would I be better off ignoring the combos and getting an analogue aeriel to pick up the signal for the terrestrials now and get MPEG4 ready tvs for dtt when the analogue gets switched off?

watty

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I've looked at the Technomate 6900 and the Mvision combos. They appear to need a separate hard drive for recording which is a bit messy IMO. Are they the best options or would I be better off ignoring the combos and getting an analogue aeriel to pick up the signal for the terrestrials now and get MPEG4 ready tvs for dtt when the analogue gets switched off?

The combos are still not good value compared to separates. You can get a universal remote.

Freesat HD PVR now + aerial and worry about DTT (box or TV set or upgrade to combo PVR) later

bugfreebob

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

They appear to need a separate hard drive for recording which is a bit messy IMO. Are they the best options or would I be better off ignoring the combos and getting an analogue aeriel to pick up the signal for the terrestrials now and get MPEG4 ready tvs for dtt when the analogue gets switched off?

I actually prefer the fact that they have separate Hard Drives. A previous PVR I had with integrated hard drive developed a fault, and I had to send everything back. Was without it for 3 months. The Hard drive is the most likely thing to go faulty, and being separate means you still have your receiver and can easily replace the drive. Also if you need a bigger drive in the future, its easy to add. I recommend that you try to get a drive with the ESATA port if you are getting the Technomate, Clarke-Tech or other box with ESATA ports. USB works also, but ESATA is faster.

Personally, I would go for at least one combo if I were you. It also depends on how proficient other members are in the household at juggling remotes to go between analogue and satellite. In my own case, I was happy to juggle, but I got a lot of grief from OH before I got the combo box! I tried universal remote before, but it wsa still messy. The combo box is extremely easy to operate - I got one for an elderly relative also, who has no problem handling it.

Kashkai

Thanks again for the replies guys. Guess I have some decisions to make, i.e. combo like the Technomate/Mvision or go for the Humax HDR. Funds won't stretch to both.

If I get an aeriel next week for current analogue, can I get one that will be "future proof" in that it can pick up DTT as well? We currently use an indoor aeriel for the terrestrials. RTE1 is excellent (reception wise!!), RTE 2 varies between good and grainy while TV3 is usually pretty poor. Any advice on what aeriel I should get, if I could place it in the attic or would I have to go outside again and go up the ladder to mount it on a pole. The neighbours all seem to have a square mesh aeriel that points southwest but the aeriels I've seen on the web are more like this:-

http://www.freesat.ie/index.php?cat=Terrestrial_Aerials&ActinicSID=58c73d4d9b12013778ca163e4010ce56. If I could get this aeriel set up next week, I could connect it to the RG6 cable the sparks left in the attic for the currently unused tv points. This might (and I emphasise might) make herself happy if she had RTE.

As for jugling remotes, I'm currently working with a tv remote, a/v amp remote, old sky remote and ps3 remote, all of which I can operate in the dark by touch alone so thats not a problem for me but it drives her indoors mad as she never knows which one to use and it scares her away from the living room - some would say I planned it that way :D:D

snaps

The technomate really is for the hobbiest who receives channels from a motorised system, especially HD channels. I wouldnt really recommend the Technomate for Astra 2 alone.

If i was you get the aerial up (The wideband grid aerials) are a decent bet, good gain on them as well and then take it from there!

Like a few have said as time goes on, combos will become cheaper and have the proper ability to record and watch one from either DVB S or DVB T (1 processor does both tuners at the moment).

The Mvision 200 HD combo Has PVR function, DVB S & DVB T both mpeg4 ready, BUT its a bit on the buggy side and its nearly half the price of technomate.

As time goes on, more will be available.

Kashkai

Thanks for the advice snaps. I was wondering why the Mvision was a lot cheaper than the Technomate. However, reliability would be a major plus for me and if the Technomate was the leader in the reliability stakes, then I'd pay the extra.

Guess I'll get the aeriel for now to get the terrestrials and think some more about which I'll buy i.e., the HD receiver/pvr or the combo instead.

jackbauer

Just for a bit of balance i have a technomate 6900 and am not that impressed. They talk a good product. Cheaper boxes out there just as good.

stanley1

why are you not impressed ?

bugfreebob

snaps wrote: »

The technomate really is for the hobbiest who receives channels from a motorised system, especially HD channels. I wouldnt really recommend the Technomate for Astra 2 alone.

I have to disagree. Ordinary non-techie users (probably not you or me) need a good box that is easy to use - not buggy, with one remote control. The Technomate is not the cheapest, but it fulfills this role well. Personally I use the Clarke-Tech combo, which is slightly cheaper but has an identical spec to the Technomate.

While these boxes are relatively expensive vs a Lidl Satellite only box (or Freesat box), the payback is still excellent vs a UPC or Sky annual subscription. Furthermore, unlike UPC, you get HD PVR, loads of extra channels, and you don't have to put up with UPCs lousy customer service. Well worth the money, in my view.

It amazes me how some people object to paying €300 for a box, and have no problem with UPC or Sky spiriting €25 per month out of their bank accounts. €25 per month adds up to €1,500 over 5 years, and that's not even taking into account price increases!

My advice is treat yourself to a good combo box for the living room. If you have another TV that is used a lot, get another combo for that too, if you can afford it. Satellite only with analogue is fine for the kids playroom or the bedroom.

On the antenna's, it sounds like you have a reasonable analogue signal. A cheap UHF antenna (mesh or yagi) inside the attic will probably be fine for DTT. However, you can lose a lot of signal in the wiring around your house. I recommend that you put an amplifier as close as possible to the antenna, with distribution outputs for each room. You will need to power this locally in the attic, or else power it with an adaptor that sends DC power up the coax from one of the TVs. Amplifiers with both types of power feed are available.

jackbauer

I have posted before about a few specific issues but my main bug is that I paid a premium price for the 6900 expecting this "second to none" support I keep hearing about should I have any problems. Well I had some issues and support has been non existant either from the dealer or technomate themselves. Drop me a pm if you want the details.

stanley1

I'm thinking of getting one of these boxes, why not put issues and problems on this forum.

jackbauer

Ok i just didnt want to duplicate as i'm fairly sure i did post before when i first had the problems. I posted on a lot of forums and while people were helpfull , no fix has been found.
The main problem I am experiencing is with the MSNBC channel on the Telstar12 satellite at 15W. The sound is 8 to 10 seconds out of sync , experiences random noises and the picture is prone to random jumps and jerks. I use a 1.1 metre triax dish , H-H motor and .2db lnb. The 6900 reports 72% signal quality. Other receivers have been tried to narrow down the problem ranging from a technomate 1500ci+ to various cheap fta units and none have any problem at all with correctly displaying this channel. Investigation reveals the problem to be frame rate conversion of ntsc to pal. I think Snaps has this problem also.

The dealer where i purchased the receiver were uninterested. Suggesting I watch some porn channels instead:rolleyes: Phonecalls and emails to technomate over the past 6 months have ranged from no response , to our engineers cannot duplicate the fault , to "oh yes we see what you mean" to finally "we're working on a software update but it will take several months. The warranty runs out in august.

Now i fully accept that not everyone in interested in those channels but thats not the point. If i had purchased a cheap piece of crap i'd say ok no big deal.

the latest problems are with hd channels dropping out due , i believe, to overheating and now in the last few days some of the remote buttons have started to need steve austin strength to get them to respond and yes i replaced the batteries.

The PVR functionality is very hairy. Sometimes recordings are unwatchable due to juddering and lip sync particularly on hd channels. Its no better than the budget boxes in terms of pvr.

Overall I find it a good receiver but not at all up to the hype and blurb.

byte

I have the TM6900 Super, and so far, I'm happy enough. I'm not overly impressed with the PVR functionality though, if I'm honest. It's hit and miss if the rxr will see the HDD, and I've also encountered stuttering when trying to playback HD video. Turning on and off HDD and TM sometimes fixes the issue, but it should't be there in the first place.

I'm hoping to get an eSATA HDD soon to see if that's more stable than the USB one.

There was a recent software update taht supposedly increases tuner sensitivity :rolleyes: though I've not noticed any change on that score yet (will know when a rainfall starts).

WRT MSNBC, I don't have my motor sweeping the arc properly so can't see 15W. Might sort that probem out soon, and see if I can duplicate the problem you have.

jackbauer

thanks byte. I guess you have the new "super" model? Unfortunatly i have the original which does not offer esata.

byte

jackbauer wrote: »

thanks byte. I guess you have the new "super" model? Unfortunatly i have the original which does not offer esata.

Yeah it's the "Super" model I have.

snaps

Yes the same problems here with the Hard drive sometimes not being detected, But ive found with experiments its the kind of hard drive you use with it.

Ive a cheap smart running upstairs now with pvr function (For astra 2 only) and to be honest no problems with hard drives so far with this.

Yes the TM NTSC problems are annoying and would have thought these would have been sorted out by now as many other TM's ive owned have been able to cope with the NTSC-PAL converstion well (I have my PC with skystar sat card looped through the TM6900 now for these channels and 422 feeds)

The new software patch ive found that was realeses over the weekend, has not made any difference in signal sensativity as i tried to pull in the German beam on 23.5 that was borderline with me, Sometimes in good weather i get blocky pictures, so tried yesterday after update and still the same.

But other than that its a great piece of kit. I wouldnt though buy it for a fixed dish fta setup! Buts thats just my opinion.