How to get RTE Digital? Now on trial run

Freiheit

I've a sky-box and free to air digital satelite channels. Does anyone know where I can find RTE?. No success myself
Danke schoen
F

efb

They are not available on Satellite. MPEG4 digital tuner only atm

IsThisTaken

As far as I know, even though we the people already pay a licence for RTE, (who have their bread buttered on both sides by also getting money from ads) ...RTE gave away the rights to satelite viewing to Sky only.

That means people who already pay for RTE are banned form seeing it on freesat. But wait... when RTE go full time digital, they won't be doing it in the same format as already existing satelite providers... oh no... Rte in their wis-dumb will be using some other format which means we will have to buy another box in order to see it.

Go figure?!

Minstrel27

IsThisTaken wrote: »

As far as I know, even though we the people already pay a licence for RTE, (who have their bread buttered on both sides by also getting money from ads) ...RTE gave away the rights to satelite viewing to Sky only.

That means people who already pay for RTE are banned form seeing it on freesat. But wait... when RTE go full time digital, they won't be doing it in the same format as already existing satelite providers... oh no... Rte in their wis-dumb will be using some other format which means we will have to buy another box in order to see it.

Go figure?!

If you expect RTÉ to go FTA on satellite then how do you expect RTÉ to pay for the rights to do so?

I look forward to your reply.

ps. you pay a licence to own a television, not to watch RTÉ.

watty

IsThisTaken wrote: »

As far as I know, even though we the people already pay a licence for RTE, (who have their bread buttered on both sides by also getting money from ads) ...RTE gave away the rights to satelite viewing to Sky only.

That means people who already pay for RTE are banned form seeing it on freesat. But wait... when RTE go full time digital, they won't be doing it in the same format as already existing satelite providers... oh no... Rte in their wis-dumb will be using some other format which means we will have to buy another box in order to see it.

Go figure?!

This is nonsense.

lawhec

IsThisTaken wrote: »

As far as I know, even though we the people already pay a licence for RTE, (who have their bread buttered on both sides by also getting money from ads) ...RTE gave away the rights to satelite viewing to Sky only.

That means people who already pay for RTE are banned form seeing it on freesat. But wait... when RTE go full time digital, they won't be doing it in the same format as already existing satelite providers... oh no... Rte in their wis-dumb will be using some other format which means we will have to buy another box in order to see it.

Go figure?!

Freesat is a UK broadcasting platform, marketed for UK audiences only, for people who do not wish to subscribe to pay TV platforms whom are either out of range of Freeview transmitters and/or wish to extend their viewing choice.

No one should expect any Irish (Republic) terrestrial broadcaster to broadcast on a foreign broadcasting platform which is not aimed at Ireland.

icdg

IsThisTaken wrote: »

As far as I know, even though we the people already pay a licence for RTE, (who have their bread buttered on both sides by also getting money from ads) ...RTE gave away the rights to satelite viewing to Sky only.

There is a reason for this, it is the simplest way to make it available on Astra AND restrict viewing to Ireland.

If RTÉ were to be available free-to-air on Astra, the rights holders would insist on them purchasing UK rights, against the UK rights holders, for foriegn programming and sporting events. It would mean that RTÉ's costs of acquiring these rights would go through the route. Would you like to see RTÉ lose most of its foreign programming rights and non-Irish sporting rights? That would be the effect of RTÉ being free-to-air on Astra.

The solution would be an RTÉ International channel that would be minus the sports and other foriegn programmes, but that is off the rader for the moment due to the recession. Even if it was on the rader, that would also likely be part of a Sky subscription - in order to STOP viewers in Ireland watching it! (Also cheapest way onto the all-important Sky EPG)

That means people who already pay for RTE are banned form seeing it on freesat. But wait... when RTE go full time digital, they won't be doing it in the same format as already existing satelite providers... oh no... Rte in their wis-dumb will be using some other format which means we will have to buy another box in order to see it.

Not necessarily another box. A different dish (or a motorised dish) certainly. The satellite they are planning to broadcast Saorsat from will be in a different orbital position to Astra. But this service is essentially not really aimed at, well, anyone. Its essentially a way for RTÉ to say that they are fullfilling their requirement to be available free-to-air throughout the country while at the same time cutting the number of sites they need to deploy DTT at. Put simply, its a fudge being done to keep politicians happy. Most Irish people who have gone for satellite will have their dishes pointed at Astra, not Saorsat. After all, if you're going to invest in satellite, why go for one that can get you only 5 channels when you can have 100 or more free to air channels on Astra.

Oh and...moved to Satellite.

watty

Even "home produced" / Produced for RTE material would cost RTE MUCH more on FTA over UK. This is a contributory factor as to why RTE International doesn't exist yet.

Discussion here on retro-fit of Humax foxsat HDR for Freesat HD to do RTE (Saorsat) possibly next April/May, if all goes well. http://www.techtir.ie/node/1003507#comment-1004315

If your TV does Freeview HD, or MPEG4 + HD, or TNT HD or is Saorview certified or you have a box that does one or more of those it's quite easy for more than 95% of people by Full Launch next spring 2011 to get Saorview (Irish Digital) via an aerial on Same TV as has Sky box, FTA or Freesat box. Of existing Satellite boxes only an DVB-S2 HD box will work at all with Saorsat (if it arrives in the Spring) and a UK "Freesat HD" box is best in absence of any "Saorsat" box.

But this service is essentially not really aimed at, well, anyone. Its essentially a way for RTÉ to say that they are fullfilling their requirement to be available free-to-air throughout the country while at the same time cutting the number of sites they need to deploy DTT at.

It will provide Irish Digital for the 2% to 7% that won't get Terrestrial and don't have Sky or UPC. It's also a very cheap backup feed for transmitter sites and a cheap way for a community, apartment block or Hotel to have their own cheap low power Digital TV transmitter without expensive encoder or multiplexer.

matc66

Back to the OP question. How do we go about getting it.
For example I watch NTL tv, so have certain terrestial channels available through their antenna connection.
I've tried to search for extra channels but nothing so far.
Do I need to just buy a separate rabbit ears aerial?
I live in dublin city and my tv does have a digital tuner.
It's a philips pfl9664h/12
Thanks

Apogee

IsThisTaken wrote: »

That means people who already pay for RTE are banned form seeing it on freesat. But wait... when RTE go full time digital, they won't be doing it in the same format as already existing satelite providers... oh no... Rte in their wis-dumb will be using some other format which means we will have to buy another box in order to see it.

As pointed out already, you don't need another box and it's not some 'other format'.

At its heart, Freesat is essentially an EPG service. RTÉ already take part in Freesat with the radio channels. If they wished, RTÉ could integrate the Saorsat service from 9E into the Freesat EPG.

A number of the Freesat boxes already support Diseqc switching, so say port 1 is for 9E and port 2 is for 28E. By entering an "ROI postcode", a Freesat box could be programmed to display both the Irish and UK channels on the one grid. Selecting any of the Irish channels would change the Diseqc switch to 9E while selecting any of the UK channels would switch to 28E.

We've already seen a precedent for this with the Sat4Free boxes and their modified Freesat firmware.

Apogee

matc66 wrote: »

Back to the OP question. How do we go about getting it.
For example I watch NTL tv, so have certain terrestial channels available through their antenna connection.
I've tried to search for extra channels but nothing so far.
Do I need to just buy a separate rabbit ears aerial?
I live in dublin city and my tv does have a digital tuner.
It's a philips pfl9664h/12
Thanks

Yes, rabbit ears should be sufficient as your TV is mpeg4 capable according to this.
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Productinformation/Philips_42PFL9664H__7222338

Sometimes if the NTL cable is leaky, it will act as an aerial of sorts, but doesn't appear so in your case. And this question should really be in the terrestrial forum.

Tom Slick

matc66 wrote: »

Back to the OP question. How do we go about getting it.
For example I watch NTL tv, so have certain terrestial channels available through their antenna connection.
I've tried to search for extra channels but nothing so far.
Do I need to just buy a separate rabbit ears aerial?

You'll find answers to these questions more quickly in the terrestrial forum.

Freiheit

Does that mean then that I'll need an additional dish or box in conjunction with my free to air system at the moment?. Can two dishes function concurrently?.

watty

If using a multiswitch though, you want port1 = 28E so that Sky box works.

I always put 28E on 1 even on Diseqc as at power on without commands you get port1, so a Sky box will work.

For example I watch NTL tv, so have certain terrestial channels available through their antenna connection.
I've tried to search for extra channels but nothing so far.
Do I need to just buy a separate rabbit ears aerial?
I live in dublin city and my tv does have a digital tuner.

UPC (NTL is gone) is not terrestrial. It's Cable.

Actual rabbit's ears are for VHF, you want a UHF aerial. Also a "freeview" digital tuner won't work. You need MPEG4 HD, Freeview HD*, TNT HD or Soarview*. Only * Soarview and "Freeview HD" give full feature.
See http://www.techtir.ie/radio-tv/uhf-aerials
and http://www.techtir.ie/saortv/saorview

watty

Apogee wrote: »

At its heart, Freesat is essentially an EPG service. RTÉ already take part in Freesat with the radio channels. If they wished, RTÉ could integrate the Saorsat service from 9E into the Freesat EPG.

Interesting idea. I wonder though does the EPG service support the Diseqc?
support via satellite name/position rather than Diseqc port would be best as that works with motorised or larger switches that "pretend" GotoX/Usals

How much is Freesat EPG for TV? £50K pa per channel?

Apogee

Freiheit wrote: »

Does that mean then that I'll need an additional dish or box in conjunction with my free to air system at the moment?. Can two dishes function concurrently?.

It will work perfectly fine with your existing FTA system if its HD (ie. DVB-S2 MPEG4), in the same way as you could watch 28E and Hotbird 13E on your current setup.

You would prob need an additional dish for 9E or a special multifocus dish which can view both 9E and 28E like this:



You will also need a Ka-LNBF for 9e. And a diseqc switch which would allow you the receiver to automatically switch between 9e and 28e.

rlogue

I know that Freesat boxes are being touted as being capable of receiving Saorsat but is it not the case that they will simply display a now and next and not a full 7 day EPG?

Apogee

rlogue wrote: »

I know that Freesat boxes are being touted as being capable of receiving Saorsat but is it not the case that they will simply display a now and next and not a full 7 day EPG?

With the current Freesat boxes, in order to receive Saorsat, the box would need to be put into non-Freesat mode. We don't know what the EPG on Saorsat will be, but if it's most likely a copy of the DTT mux, then it'll be DVB-Si and therefore will provide a full 7-epg for the Irish channels. But in non-Freesat mode, you will only get 'now and next' for the channels on 28E.

What I outlined in the earlier post would mean that you'd have a full 7-day epg for both Irish and UK channels with a Freesat box. Technically, it's pretty straightforward.

The third approach is to use a Linux box, which can seamlessly integrate both EPGs.

rlogue

Indeed a Linux box or a HTPC can already do that with the existing Saorview trial and the Freesat EPG.

FRIENDO

Apogee wrote: »

With the current Freesat boxes, in order to receive Saorsat, the box would need to be put into non-Freesat mode. We don't know what the EPG on Saorsat will be, but if it's most likely a copy of the DTT mux, then it'll be DVB-Si and therefore will provide a full 7-epg for the Irish channels. But in non-Freesat mode, you will only get 'now and next' for the channels on 28E.

What I outlined in the earlier post would mean that you'd have a full 7-day epg for both Irish and UK channels with a Freesat box. Technically, it's pretty straightforward.

The third approach is to use a Linux box, which can seamlessly integrate both EPGs.

Hi Apogee, I have a Freesat Humax HDR and a sat4free box.
Will I be able to recieve Saorsat with 7 day EPG in non-Freesat mode by adding the relevant software for the Saorsat launch.

I hope I can as i'm not picking up the new DTT.
Thanks

Apogee

rlogue wrote: »

Indeed a Linux box or a HTPC can already do that with the existing Saorview trial and the Freesat EPG.

As long as you have the tuners, yes. The advantage of a Saorsat/Freesat combo is that 1x DVB-S2 tuner is sufficent for viewing, or 2x DVB-S2 is sufficient for full PVR capabilities.

Whereas a Saorview/Freesat combo requires DVB-T and DVB-S2 for viewing, and requires DVB-T and 2x DVB-S2 for full PVR.

FRIENDO wrote: »

Hi Apogee, I have a Freesat Humax HDR and a sat4free box.
Will I be able to recieve Saorsat with 7 day EPG in non-Freesat mode by adding the relevant software for the Saorsat launch.

I hope I can as i'm not picking up the new DTT.
Thanks

Sat4Free is no good if it's not HD and I'm not aware that it has Diseqc switching. The Humax HDR should work as it supports Diseqc in non-Freesat mode.

http://foxsat-hdr.wikispaces.com/DiSEqC

watty

You *might* get Saorsat with 7 day EPG on non-Freesat mode without any software change. There are two ways, one is that Saorview (and thus Saorsat eventually) simultaneously uses DVB EPG and MHEG5 EPG. Note that current Other Channels on Freesat only have Now & Next. The Sky box uses OpenTV and UK free channels don't have extended DVB guide info. Some German channels have extended info, Anyone using Foxsat HDR on 28.2E + 19E?

The other idea is as Apogee suggests. RTE pay for "dummy" entries in Freeview EPG that are only active on N.I. Postcodes (as N.I. can likely get Saorsat and rest of UK can't). RTE & Irish Government sort of committed to Irish TV in N.I. So Apogee's idea has substantial legs on it. That probably doesn't require any software update.


There is no "relevant" software unless Humax write/integrate/release it. They may never do so. There may be no need either.


In any case we won't know for 4 to 5 months yet at least.

If the Sat4free is not HD, it won't work at all. It won't even "see" the signal. You need DVB-S2, which all current HD satellite boxes have.

denis1501

icdg wrote: »

If RTÉ were to be available free-to-air on Astra, the rights holders would insist on them purchasing UK rights, against the UK rights holders, for foreign programming and sporting events. It would mean that RTÉ's costs of acquiring these rights would go through the route. Would you like to see RTÉ lose most of its foreign programming rights and non-Irish sporting rights? That would be the effect of RTÉ being free-to-air on Astra.

I totally get the point you're making here, I'm just wondering why ITV, BBC, Channel 4 and Five can broadcast free to air from the same satellite. Why aren't they being forced by rights holders to purchase Irish rights??

FRIENDO

Thanks Lads,

So would this mean,

(1) that I could run one cable from the 28.2 sat to tuner one and a second cable from the new saorsat dish/lnb to tuner two, but recording quality would be affected.

(2) Alternatively RTE could pay Freesat to launch Saorsat on the NI post code.

The second would be the best result

excollier

denis1501 wrote: »

I totally get the point you're making here, I'm just wondering why ITV, BBC, Channel 4 and Five can broadcast free to air from the same satellite. Why aren't they being forced by rights holders to purchase Irish rights??

Because they pay for British rights, which cost a hell of a lot more than Irish rights due to the massive audiences compared to Ireland.
Ireland only gets the overspill from British broadcasts from Astra 2D, and the Irish audience is only the same as adding half of London in terms of viewer numbers,(less actually, not everyone has FTA satellite) the rights owners hardly consider it as significant.
Just a numbers game

Apogee

FRIENDO wrote: »

(1) that I could run one cable from the 28.2 sat to tuner one and a second cable from the new saorsat dish/lnb to tuner two, but recording quality would be affected.

If you run separate cables to tuners 1 and 2 then you will limit the range of recordings you can run simultaneously. Recording "quality" is unaffected. Ideally you would use a 2x diseqc switch setup to each tuner for full PVR.

FRIENDO wrote: »

(2) Alternatively RTE could pay Freesat to launch Saorsat on the NI post code.

The second would be the best result

You would still need a 2x Diseqc setup, but you'd have a full EPG with series links etc.

Sam Russell

That would be a great solution for those with Freesat, a combined EPG for both UK and Irish TV, with the box switching LNB depending on the channel selected. At 50K per channel it would be cheap for RTE in comparison to the €1.5m for Saorsat. I hope the bright sparks in RTE are paying attention.

Apogee

Sam Russell wrote: »

That would be a great solution for those with Freesat, a combined EPG for both UK and Irish TV, with the box switching LNB depending on the channel selected. At 50K per channel it would be cheap for RTE in comparison to the €1.5m for Saorsat. I hope the bright sparks in RTE are paying attention.

It would be 50K per channel in addition to €1.5M for Saorsat.

FRIENDO

"Quality" Bad choice of wording on my part.

2 x Diseqc set up, Ye I can try that on the launch,

Thanks

Sam Russell

Apogee wrote: »

It would be 50K per channel in addition to €1.5M for Saorsat.

Yes, and for the 3 or up to 7 channels, all HD, it would not add much to the total bill, and could get some assistance from our friends in the North. TV3 might not wish to be included.

watty

Apogee wrote: »

If you run separate cables to tuners 1 and 2 then you will limit the range of recordings you can run simultaneously. Recording "quality" is unaffected. Ideally you would use a 2x diseqc switch setup to each tuner for full PVR.



You would still need a 2x Diseqc setup, but you'd have a full EPG with series links etc.

You only need a dual or quad for 28E. A €5 Sat IF splitter will feed port 2 on both Diseqc switches from the Ka-Sat Ka band single output LNBF. Still only the original pair of coax into house.

Gagh... After 15 years of telling people you can't split an LNB signal

FRIENDO

It would be great if Saorsat could go on the NI Freesat EPG.
I could never get TV3 on my aerial in Wexford, I won't miss them on the Freesat/Sarsat EPG.

IsThisTaken

Well excuse me watty and co... I just watch TV.

I did call RTE when I got a satellite system from Lidl and I asked them why I could not get RTE TV when I could get RTE radio. I remember them saying that when RTE goes digital, I would have to get a new box because the signal would be in a different format/a better format then the signal I get from my current satellite system.

I also seem to recall that they also said RTE TV could already be seen through SKY.

Doesn't the license money go to RTE???

Stinicker

IsThisTaken wrote: »

Well excuse me watty and co... I just watch TV.

I did call RTE when I got a satellite system from Lidl and I asked them why I could not get RTE TV when I could get RTE radio. I remember them saying that when RTE goes digital, I would have to get a new box because the signal would be in a different format/a better format then the signal I get from my current satellite system.

I also seem to recall that they also said RTE TV could already be seen through SKY.

Doesn't the license money go to RTE???

Licence payers money goes to RTE and is used to fund a wide range of things from Programming, broadcasting and infrastructure.

At the moment in Ireland if a person wants to view our traditional 4 terrestrial channels you have several options.

1. Analogue TV - This is due to be turned off in 2012 and replaced with Digital Terrestrial TV, a service called Saorview.

2. Saorview - is the name for Ireland's new Digital Terrestrial TV service and is in trial mode between now and next year, it is received through an Aerial just like Analogue TV, a UHF Aerial is required, if you are currently receiving TV3 or TG4 then chances are you have a UHF aerial already and you will be able to receive Saorview with no changes to your antennas.

If you have a recently purchased new TV then it may already be capable of Saorview if it is mpeg4 compatible, if not you will need to purchase a Saorview Set-top box which will allow you to receive the same channels as before except in a higher quality Digital picture and with High-Definition later on. Extra Channels such as RTÉ News now are available on Saorview so you get better picture quality and more selection all for free.

3. Pay-TV you can view our 4 terrestrial channels via Pay-TV such as Sky or UPC. RTÉ does not pay Sky for to have its channels on their service and Sky carries them at no fee to RTÉ, however they are very valuable to Sky in their efforts to sell their Service in Ireland and this is why they carry them at no cost to RTÉ. UPC (formerly Chorus and NTL) are actually obliged by legislation to carry the four terrestrial channels so have no choice in the matter, although it is in both companies best interest to have the terrestrial channels available anyway.

4. Saorsat will be a new Digital satellite service from RTÉ called Saorsat expected to launch in 2011. This will be Free to air on digital satellite and will carry the exact same content as Saorview and is primarily designed as both a backup service and to fill in the gaps for the roughly 5% of population who will not be able to avail of Saorview. It will be available nationwide in Ireland only and unlike conventional satellites will not be available to view in foreign countries like Sky satellite and Freesat which can be viewed anywhere from the Canary Islands to Cyprus and as far North as Iceland.

The open footprint of conventional satellite systems has for years prevented RTE from ever being able to go free to air on satellite as the rights issues for imported programming and films would be very expensive as RTÉ would have to buy the rights for eg. Desperate Housewives not only for Ireland but essentially the entire European Continent.

With Saorsat once it launches it will only be available in Ireland on a new satellite system known as Ka-Sat and this will mean that customers of Saorsat will need either a new satellite dish or a multi-lnb setup where they can receive astra 28 Sky/Freesat on one LNB and Saorsat on a different LNB as they will be at two different orbital positions of 28 degrees East for Sky/Freesat and 9 degrees East for Saorsat. They will also need a Digital Satellite Receiver set-top box supporting the DVB-S2 and MPEG4 High-def ready specs.

However in due time both Saorview and Saorsat boxes will come to the market and it will be as simple as buying one in either Tesco or Dunnes Stores once the information campaign starts and some of the myths and false information is corrected.

One Saorview approved receiver is already on the Market from Walker and soon there will be many with PVR's and timeshift etc.

snaps

Apogee wrote: »

As pointed out already, you don't need another box and it's not some 'other format'.

So a normal sky box would pick it up then, I was under the impression a different lnb would be needed and a DVBS2 receiver?

I dont fully understand all this KA band stuff, I can see why RTE want to do it, but im sure a FTV card would have been the easiest and cheapest way of providing RTE on satellite.

I suppose its the same as most people have an mpeg 2 TV, but wont be able to watch the DTT with it, unless they get a new TV or another box and then its the same for getting RTE on satellite as most people have a sky box or FTA box pointed at 28.2east, so could easily get RTE there.

I can fully understand peoples frustration, I know when i go round to customers, install an aerial and then a few days later i get a call to say that they can only get sound and no picture on RTE etc, you try explaining the difference of mpeg 4 and mpeg 2 to a old farmer in the back of beyond here in Mayo, Its not easy, I tell you.

watty

snaps wrote: »

So a normal sky box would pick it up then, I was under the impression a different lnb would be needed and a DVBS2 receiver?

I dont fully understand all this KA band stuff, I can see why RTE want to do it, but im sure a FTV card would have been the easiest and cheapest way of providing RTE on satellite.

If a FTV card was easy and cheap we would have had one ten years ago and BBC, ITV, C4 and Five would not have left FTV card.

NO a Sky box won't work at all. Any non-Sky box with DVB-S2 and HD will work. If you want Freesat and Saorsat then you need a box that supports Diseqc switching, though years ago people did use remote manual LNB switches.

In theory a Sky HD box might work if Symbol Rate is compatible, but only via "other channels" and no automatic switching between Sky and Saorsat LNBs as Sky has not enabled Diseqc Software (the box technically can do it).

A FTA card system on 28.2E is about x10 the cost if not more.
There may not even be the space on 28.E for full copy of Saorview
A FTA card system has been proven to be nearly useless at limiting Geographic coverage. Rights holders want lots of assurance or more money.

All broadcasters will eventually be using Ka Band as it's easier and cheaper to have smaller beams which saves carriage cost, saves spectrum by frequency reuse, allows x20 more capacity per satellite at least and limits coverage to where it's supposed to be.

The Ka-Sat is actually for Internet access. But it could not have come at a better time for RTE NL. This is what you would have if you designed a system specially for us.

Also since it's free to air it's easy for Media Centres, Community re-broadcast, Apartment and Hotel distribution. It's very cheaply convertible to DVB-T with off the shelf equipment and no cards to manage.

Just the call centre and card management for FTV card would cost nearly what Ka-Sat will cost. Add on encryption charges, extra cost of embedded CAM and licence for it on an HD receiver and much higher carriage cost of 28.2E...

watty

snaps wrote: »

I can fully understand peoples frustration, I know when i go round to customers, install an aerial and then a few days later i get a call to say that they can only get sound and no picture on RTE etc, you try explaining the difference of mpeg 4 and mpeg 2 to a old farmer in the back of beyond here in Mayo, Its not easy, I tell you.

I remember 405 to 625 and also B&W to Colour.
Not dis-similar.

Some could not understand why BBC2 couldn't be tuned or adapted to TV as was case with BBC only TVs in 1950s when ITV started. (original Set top boxes added Band III to band 1 only TVs!)

Then when people did have BBC2, they couldn't understand why there was no colour conversion kit for their TV when colour came later.

corkonion

If the reason given that rte cannot go free to air via astra because in effect they would need to buy the uk and european rights to sporting events and hit us shows such as desperate housewives etc.......does this mean that ch 4 and bbc and many other free to air channels have the irish rights to these shows too?

STB

Terrestrial rights for Ireland = RTE

Ch4 Rights for UK. BBC Rights for UK. In some cases they may have rights for Ireland too. Regardless we cant compete, we buy them for Ireland, smaller money. We cannot stick them up on 28.2 unenecrypted. Its pan european for a start, not just UK and Ireland.

Its also the reason that Ch4HD isnt FTA on 28.2. Rights held, no narrow transponder space.

watty

Hopefully C4 HD is moving to Astra 2D...

bittihuduga

watty,
i have a FTA HD box and dish pointed at 9E now.
does this mean that I can get RTE channels on saorsat?

Tony

bittihuduga wrote: »

watty,
i have a FTA HD box and dish pointed at 9E now.
does this mean that I can get RTE channels on saorsat?

No the satellite has not launched yet and it will most likely be KA band which will need a different lnb.

Johnmb

bittihuduga wrote: »

watty,
i have a FTA HD box and dish pointed at 9E now.
does this mean that I can get RTE channels on saorsat?

Considering Saorsat doesn't exist yet, that would have to be a big "no".

bittihuduga

Johnmb wrote: »

Considering Saorsat doesn't exist yet, that would have to be a big "no".

sorry what i meant was in 2011 when it is launched, can i get without any new equipment?

may be answer is NO as i may need new LNB which may not work with other 9E channels

watty

There are no dual Ka/Ku LNBs
if you want Ka & Ku on same dish, it has to be different satellite positions.
If you need Ka and Ku from same satellite slot, you need two dish.

simlar to C band and Ku band, though you can make a dual C band & Ku Band LNBF, but it really badly damages C band gain and the Ku "dish illumination" angle is poor.

A dedicated Ka dish & feed is very compact.

44cm cassegrain Dish
No arm is used. LNBF is inside from rear.

Johnmb

bittihuduga wrote: »

sorry what i meant was in 2011 when it is launched, can i get without any new equipment?

may be answer is NO as i may need new LNB which may not work with other 9E channels

Apart from the LNB, you'll have to make sure the receiver you have can decode the signal. A HD receiver will be required. A Freesat HD box should do the trick. Closer to the time there'll be Saorsat boxes available I'm sure, but you won't need to change to them for picture/sound if your current box is HD. However, I'm not sure about extras such as EPG etc., and I doubt those in charge know either.

Stinicker

watty wrote: »

There are no dual Ka/Ku LNBs
if you want Ka & Ku on same dish, it has to be different satellite positions.
If you need Ka and Ku from same satellite slot, you need two dish.

simlar to C band and Ku band, though you can make a dual C band & Ku Band LNBF, but it really badly damages C band gain and the Ku "dish illumination" angle is poor.

A dedicated Ka dish & feed is very compact.

44cm cassegrain Dish
No arm is used. LNBF is inside from rear.

Those dishes will be no real inconvenience for people whi use Saorsat and are no different looks wise to some of the antennas used by Wireless broadband companies around the country. It is possible to use something even smaller and neater for Sky Digital but Sky themselves never went for it due to costs.

watty

No. The 65cm Sky dish is minimum size for Ireland, and too small for some channels in West, North West and Southwest. They do use 45cm in most of UK

The perforations is to allow cheaper pressing and lower transport cost. Solid is better.

Trevord

watty wrote: »

A dedicated Ka dish & feed is very compact.

44cm cassegrain Dish
No arm is used. LNBF is inside from rear.

Watty

I presume that some people with dishes pointed at 28E will have issues with line of sight for 9E due to orientation of house, neighbours, tree etc. Also I imagine in some of these situations it won't be possible to resolve this by repositioning the dish.

So on this basis do you think that the ka dish would be small enough for safe chimney mounting ? Is it much bigger than the wireless internet dishes used by digiweb etc ?

watty

perfectly safe for chimney and possibly maybe even front of house as it doesn't look like a dish. The elevation is better so can see over a fence or building more easily.

snaps

STB wrote: »

Its also the reason that Ch4HD isnt FTA on 28.2. Rights held, no narrow transponder space.

That cant be right can it as their SD service is the same as their HD service, I thought it was purely contractral between themselves and SKY, same as Five HD is now only available via FTV/Subscription.

HD is a big seller now, SKY will be doing their best to be a sole provider of the greatest number of HD channels. Even ITV have been sucked in again with their HD versions of 2,3,4!

Its a breath of fresh air here though to finally nearly have a DTT service, Ive been surprised by the reach of the signal around my area, Ive yet to find anywhere (Apart from deepest darkest Connemmara) where DTT cant be picked up from either by Castlebar, Truskmore or Maghera.

Edit, I see where your coming from no space on Astra 2D for CH4 HD