Saorview / Freeview Boxes Recommendations!

RobitTV

Hi i need A Box that can Recieve Saorview Perfectly And has all the Features any Recommendations?

ftakeith

RobitTV wrote: »

Hi i need A Box that can Recieve Saorview Perfectly And has all the Features any Recommendations?

humax freeview HD+

watty

Wait a few months?

FREETV

RobitTV wrote: »

Hi i need A Box that can Recieve Saorview Perfectly And has all the Features any Recommendations?

As there are no certified Saorview boxes or televisions yet as the Saorview technical launch isn't until Halloween we are all a bit left in the dark. We only have the technical requirements supplied to us and no other information unfortunately only speculation so it seems like a neverending waiting game as the tests for DTT have been ongoing for years and we need to wait as Watty said earlier for boxes, tvs to be one hundred percent compliant.

recyclebin

Walker have approved saorview boxes and TVs. I think they are the only ones so far.

pigeon1916

RobitTV wrote: »

Hi i need A Box that can Recieve Saorview Perfectly And has all the Features any Recommendations?

Hi
I Don't know what features you are looking for.
But like many others, I have a Sagem ITD81-SD Picnic STB which I bought on Ebay for €22. It works perfect for me, As before I bought this box I had to watch RTE through snow . It also has 7 day EPG and Teletext.

For me it has been a very good purchase and good stop-gap until I get a TV with a built-In Mpeg4 tuner.

FREETV

pigeon1916 wrote: »

Hi
I Don't know what features you are looking for.
But like many others, I have a Sagem ITD81-SD Picnic STB which I bought on Ebay for €22. It works perfect for me, As before I bought this box I had to watch RTE through snow . It also has 7 day EPG and Teletext.

For me it has been a very good purchase and good stop-gap until I get a TV with a built-In Mpeg4 tuner.

I too bought two of them, one was for my Dad when Currys stocked them in Newry at 19.99 Sterling each but they are SD only and won't work for the part time HD broadcasts on RTE2 starting soon so a new Saorview compliant box will have to be bought. Their power supplies are faulty also but I have had no major problems with the unit since replacing the psu.

watty

pigeon1916 wrote: »

Hi
I Don't know what features you are looking for.
But like many others, I have a Sagem ITD81-SD Picnic STB which I bought on Ebay for €22. It works perfect for me, As before I bought this box I had to watch RTE through snow . It also has 7 day EPG and Teletext.

For me it has been a very good purchase and good stop-gap until I get a TV with a built-In Mpeg4 tuner.

It's a bad purchase.
It shortly will be useless. There will be no simultaneous HD and regular TV on Saorview. It was specially made for a Sky service in UK that didn't get approval. Hence these Picnics were "dumped" in the Market.

RTE2 will be first with HD, then over the coming next couple of years RTE2, TG4, then TV3 (they have announced HD plans) and possibly the Film Channel. Also AAC audio for ordinary stereo rather than MP2 is quite possible even for Radio channels.

When RTE made the initial HD announcement for RTE2 HD "lite" they thought the 2nd Multiplex (needed for complete HD changeover) was not until 2013. They now have green light for 2nd Multiplex and have already tested it at many sites. Hence HD plans will be moving forward almost 2 years earlier.

Even if you don't have HDTV, you need a Saorview compatible box (or TV), that does HD, MPEG4, AAC and MHEG5. Compatible boxes down-convert to SCART as well as having HDMI.
See http://www.techtir.ie/saortv/saorview
and http://www.techtir.ie/saorview/preliminary

pigeon1916

FREETV wrote: »

I too bought two of them, one was for my Dad when Currys stocked them in Newry at 19.99 Sterling each but they are SD only and won't work for the part time HD broadcasts on RTE2 starting soon so a new Saorview compliant box will have to be bought. Their power supplies are faulty also but I have had no major problems with the unit since replacing the psu.

Nothing wrong with the PSU in the one that I bought.
You must be happy enough with the STB or you could have got your money back, due to a faulty PSU.

WATTY says that it is a bad purchase. I suppose it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. Some people on this forum have a lot of money to splash around on various box's, In my opinion, it is one of the best buy's that I have got in terms of value for money.

Regarding RTE HD, Nobody knows when this will come along. It could be 2 months or 2 years. Depending what SHORTLY USELESS MEANS. If the Picnic stops working in 2 months/2 years time. It will go in the bin with the €20 MPEG2 box that served me well since the first DTT trials started.

You could buy an expensive Walker Box (Top Name):rolleyes:
The only approved STB for Irish DTT. But there is no guarantee it will last long enough to see Irish DTT HD.

It all comes down to opinions and how much money the OP has to spend.
But If I listened to half the people on the forum saying hold off until something better comes along. I would have been watching my rubbish reception of RTE for the past 4 YEARS instead of high quality digital.

Gerry Wicklow

pigeon1916 wrote: »

WATTY says that it is a bad purchase. I suppose it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. Some people on this forum have a lot of money to splash around on various box's, In my opinion, it is one of the best buy's that I have got in terms of value for money.

If you think of it in terms of how many DVDs or newspapers £20 would buy what are we talking, 1 weeks entertainment at best.
As some other genius once said, "it's all relative":)

watty

pigeon1916 wrote: »

WATTY says that it is a bad purchase. I suppose it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. Some people on this forum have a lot of money to splash around on various box's, In my opinion, it is one of the best buy's that I have got in terms of value for money.

Regarding RTE HD, Nobody knows when this will come along. It could be 2 months or 2 years. Depending what SHORTLY USELESS MEANS. If the Picnic stops working in 2 months/2 years time. It will go in the bin with the €20 MPEG2 box that served me well since the first DTT trials started.

Considering there is not even officially a service yet...

It's pernicious to promote incompatible "dumped" equipment that was built for a service that doesn't exist in Ireland for a new service when:
1) The service doesn't exist yet.
2) 31st October 2010 is not a full launch. Just a start.
3) Full launch between April 2011 and December 2011
4) We have known for over two years the service would quickly migrate to HD only on the main channels. That has even been brought forward.
5) There are other boxes and TVs without Saorview certification that have some 99.999% chance of being OK, the "picnic" is not one of them.

pigeon1916

watty wrote: »

Considering there is not even officially a service yet...

It's pernicious to promote incompatible "dumped" equipment that was built for a service that doesn't exist in Ireland for a new service when:
1) The service doesn't exist yet.
2) 31st October 2010 is not a full launch. Just a start.
3) Full launch between April 2011 and December 2011
4) We have known for over two years the service would quickly migrate to HD only on the main channels. That has even been brought forward.
5) There are other boxes and TVs without Saorview certification that have some 99.999% chance of being OK, the "picnic" is not one of them.

It is extremely harsh to say that I am being pernicious to the OP.
I have just stated FACTS.
The Picnic STB works with Irish DTT TODAY

I like your # 5) Everything But the Sagem Picnic will work.

watty

Picnic STB absolutely does NOT work. It just happens to receive some services from the Test transmissions.

It was irresponsible of anyone to sell these and of Sky to get them built assuming they would get approval.

It's irresponsible to recommend equipment that's essentially been dumped, (that is why thery are cheap) that is 100% known to be incompatible with the service. Such actions have caused huge problems for DTT rollout in Slovakia.

Sam Russell

No-one is saying 'Go out and buy a Picnic box.'

What is being said is that the Picnic box works (sort of) with the current test service (except for the HD test card) and that for £20 was great value as a stop-gap.

The best products to look at are the FreeviewHD boxes that are currently available in the UK if the purchaser cannot wait for a 'proper' Saorview certified STB. iDTVs are a different proposition as there is every likelyhood that major manufacturers will be compatible, but still it is advised to wait.

I am waiting for a FreeviewHD and FreesatHD iDTV to be launched. I am a bit wary of the Panasonic G20B on the market at the moment.

watty

RobitTV wrote: »

Hi i need A Box that can Recieve Saorview Perfectly And has all the Features any Recommendations?

The OP.

So no need to muddy the waters with "dumped" gear, no matter how great value it was a year ago. The Picnic meets neither of the OP requirements.

Thargor

A new hdtv with an mpeg-4 tuner will be okay for HD RTE and TV3 though wont it?

Bob_Harris

Thargor wrote: »

A new hdtv with an mpeg-4 tuner will be okay for HD RTE and TV3 though wont it?

Assuming the TV can handle decoding HD (I assume all mpeg-4 HDTVs can) and can decode AAC, and assuming all DVB standards are meet by both parties (in the broadcast and on the TV) and assuming the broadcasts aren't "neutered" in any way so only certified receivers will work with it, then yes, it will be ok.

KetchupKid

Hi

I've been looking for a Saorview / Freeview Box for Irish DTT and from what I understand we have at least 5 options.

1) A DTT Set Top Box that doesn't have a hard drive, but you would use your own external hard drive. This is one of the less expensive option, but it's not a true PVR that will allow you to pause and rewind live TV. The two cheapest options I've seen are about €60 to €70: Sigmatek DVBR-520 HD
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/4258890...tal-tv-re.html
and the XORO HRT7510
http://www.cdiscount.com/high-tech/l...o_hrt7510.html

2) The next option is a true PVR with an internal hard drive, this will cost more and the bigger the hard drive the more you will pay. The best option is the Humax HDR-FOXT2 Freeview+ HD Digital TV Recorder (DTR) which runs over €300:
http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/humax_hdr-fox_t2.shtml?avforums

3) The next option is a combo box that receives HD satellite & Terrestrial all in one, like the Ferguson HD combo receiver, but this like option 1 isn't a true PVR since it doesn't have an internal Hard drive and requires an external hard drive, this model is about €170:
http://www.freesat.ie/index.php?cat=HD_receivers1
or the Technomate TM-6900 Super + PLUS COMBO HD which is about £227
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technomate-TM-6900-Super-COMBO-SILVER/dp/B003XYC170/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1287173800&sr=8-1

4) Then next option is a Freeview\Freesat combo PVR with internal hard drive. Such as the Technomate TM-8000 HD Combo satellite receiver with internal 400Gb hard drive for about £320:
http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/technomatehd.htm

5) Or a Freeview PVR with internal hard drive and a Blue Ray DVD player and Recorder such as the Panasonic DMR-BW780EBK 250GB HDD Blu-Ray Recorder with Twin Freeview HD Tuners for about £500.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMR-BW780EBK-Blu-Ray-Recorder-Freeview/dp/B003H9N7E2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287175999&sr=1-1

I'm sure there's a lot of other options and some over £1,000, but after a lot of soul searching and since Irish DTT currently only has 3 channels and one is mostly in Irish and the other two aren't much better plus there's still a lot of confusion with the whole DTT launch I'm going to initially go with the Sigmatek DVBR-520 HD. It will give me the basic RTE channels which I previously received clear, but since the testing started my reception has deteriorated, plus I'll be able to record to an external drive and it shouldn't break the bank.

I'm not an expert and there could be some inaccuracies above, so verify with the experts before purchasing.

watty

watty wrote: »

Even if you don't have HDTV, you need a Saorview compatible box (or TV), that does HD, MPEG4, AAC and MHEG5. Compatible boxes down-convert to SCART as well as having HDMI.
See http://www.techtir.ie/saortv/saorview
and http://www.techtir.ie/saorview/preliminary

My sony ex403 freeview hdand the sagemcom T2 freeview hd box both do RTE digital text no bother.
It doesn't appear to have series link although,I notice Desperate housewives has appeared in the scheduler for tomorrow night and I don't recall putting it there.
I recorded it last week.
Any UK recordings with series link have an S beside them in the planner,RTE programmes don't.

marclt

It does seem extremely peculiar that no boxes are being touted as 'officially' compatible, whether RTE is officially broadcasting or in this prolonged test phase.

We are at the stage now where things should be ready to roll, as launch is imminent.

We've already been promised fanfare with this Q3 2010 launch, and so far - nothing!

If this is the way things are going, the switchover process, which should be simple is going to be very confusing for people not familiar with technology.

watty

Ah, but they have said that 31st October 2010 is start of Availability, and not the "real" Public Launch. So they do have 4 to 6 months left