Quick question re Saorat/saorview

muffler

Sorry guys if this has been asked previously.

My sister is thinking of buying a TV from Argos as they have a couple of good deals going at the moment. A lot of the TVs are freeview (as part of the spec). Is there any way of knowing from the spec if it would be capable of picking up the Saorview channels or what should she be watching out for?

Something like this she is thinking about

Thanks in advance.

Roadend

Argos usually specifiy where a TV is only able to pick UK freeview.

Kristopherus

Argos usually now indicate in the product descriptions if a tv is not compatible in ROI. However if the set has Freeview HD, then it will receive Saorview. May not have all the bells & whistles, but should satisfy most people's expectations.

muffler

Thanks guys. Just looking at the spec for the model I linked to above it just says "Freeview digital tuner." Im just wondering if that will receive Saorview.

No point in asking the staff in Argos as they probably wouldnt know.

lucernarian

It's buried in the manual, but MPEG-4 HD profile support is mentioned for the digital TV tuner.

It also does the MHEG5 "digital teletext" if you install it under UK settings. The channel numbers will be in the 800s but usually you can move them to 1,2,3 etc.

Mr. Rabbit

Just looking at the spec for the model I linked to above it just says "Freeview digital tuner." Im just wondering if that will receive Saorview.

It needs to be "Freeview HD" at the very least, not "Freeview", or "HD ready".

I would imagine most (if not all) UK spec Digital (Freeview) TVs above 32" are Freeview HD now, so it should , in theory, probably, be OK for Saorview. Not sure about the smaller sets.

Just wondering about the sets with built in Freesat ? Will the Panasonic Freesat TVs receive Saorsat ?

lucernarian

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

It needs to be "Freeview HD" at the very least, not "Freeview", or "HD ready".

I would imagine most (if not all) UK spec Digital (Freeview) TVs above 32" are Freeview HD now, so it should , in theory, probably, be OK for Saorview. Not sure about the smaller sets.

Just wondering about the sets with built in Freesat ? Will the Panasonic Freesat TVs receive Saorsat ?

Unless I misunderstood you, that's not quite true. There are ordinary Freeview-capable TVs which have MPEG4 video capability like the TV above if the manual I saw is accurate.

Kristopherus

Just a note re the Argos website descriptions of their TV Range. On quite a lot of their models they insert the phrase "This TV will not work with digital signals in the Republic of Ireland, you will require a digital set top box or satellite source"

The description then goes on to say that the set has a Freeview HD tuner, which will confuse people even more, unfortunately.:(

Equally they have stated that sets will work in ROI, and in the description there is only a freeview digital tuner. Bad karma all round:rolleyes:

Mr. Rabbit

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

Unless I misunderstood you, that's not quite true. There are ordinary Freeview-capable TVs which have MPEG4 video capability like the TV above if the manual I saw is accurate.

Yep, you are quite correct TBC. Some Philips Freeview sets (models from a couple of years ago) for example, received MPeG 4 broadcasts while not being Freeview HD.

These days however, most (if not all) Freeview TVs are Freeview HD so they should be fine with Saorview (EPG issues aside). At least they are in Currys and Harvey Norman.

As I say, I haven't looked at sets below 32"

You can find most TV manuals online now so it should be easy enough to check if they're MPeG 4 capable or not.

STB

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

These days however, most (if not all) Freeview TVs are Freeview HD so they should be fine with Saorview (EPG issues aside). At least they are in Currys and Harvey Norman.

That should not be a rule of thumb though. Currys and particularly Harvey Normans still stock some Mpeg2 products that shouldnt be sold here, last time I checked, particular attention should be paid to no name brands and old stock being sold.

Also there are Saorview compatible products that fulfill a lot of the criteria including the middleware, MHEG5.