Recommend me a Saorview Box

dos30

Hi,

I'm looking for a saorview box for the folks, got them the Bush one in argos a few months back and they want another one for the kitchen tv.
No sign of the Bush box in argos anymore, so what's the best value Saorview approved box around at the moment?
They've no interest in a combi because there's no sat cable going to the room.

Kristopherus

If you are in no great hurry, Aldi and/or Lidl will have boxes on offer over the coming weeks/months. They are sure to be keenly priced.

glineli

I got this box last week in powercity, €55.

http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-VST8010&pages=1&prod=VST8010&brands=UNIVERSAL&image=

Very impressed with it.

dos30

Unfortunately I am, I setup a bird box camera for them and the RF Modulator needed to send the signal down the coax cable has made the RTE analog signal snowy.

So I'm hoping digital will give a perfect picture all around.

Peter Rhea

You'd be better off trying to get the CCTV setup working as well as possible, rather than attempting to use Saorview to hide any problems.

How are you combining the modulated signal with the aerial feed? What channel is the modulator using & which channels are in use at the transmitter you receive tv from?

dos30

Peter Rhea wrote: »

You'd be better off trying to get the CCTV setup working as well as possible, rather than attempting to use Saorview to hide any problems.

How are you combining the modulated signal with the aerial feed? What channel is the modulator using & which channels are in use at the transmitter you receive tv from?

I'm using a labgear Mod111 box to combine the composite signal from the CCTV with the aerial feed.
The aerial feed is from a labgear distribution amplifier which distributes the signal from an RF output on a sky box.

The sky channel and the cctv channel work perfectly, the RTE channels are snowy. I've tried changing the channel on the RF Mod from 21 up to 69, think I settled on 38.

With the box switched off RTE works perfectly.

Peter Rhea

Are your RTE analogue channels in the VHF band?

dos30

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Are your RTE analogue channels in the VHF band?

Sorry when I say RTE channels I mean RTE1, RTE2, TV3 and TG4. So I think they're all UHF and are all snowy.

Peter Rhea

From Woodcock Hill? Certainly, the Saorview power level from there is well above the analogue.

Do all tvs have the CCTV feed? If so, presumably the existing Saorview box gives trouble-free reception?

dos30

Peter Rhea wrote: »

From Woodcock Hill? Certainly, the Saorview power level from there is well above the analogue.

Do all tvs have the CCTV feed? If so, presumably the existing Saorview box gives trouble-free reception?

Ya I think it's from Woodcock Hill, I tried to get the CCTV feed to all TVs by putting the modulator before the distribution amplifier but the picture on other channels was awful. Then moved it to after the distribution amplifier onto the feed for the kitchen tv and the picture wasn't that bad, should be fine with Saorview. Only really need it in the kitchen anyway.

Ya they have an existing Saorview box in the sitting room and it works perfectly.

Peter Rhea

dos30 wrote: »

Ya they have an existing Saorview box in the sitting room and it works perfectly.

It doesn't have the CCTV modulator polluting its feed, though.

Peter Rhea

Does the interference really take the form of 'snow' ie white spots/dashes or is it more like white lines on the screen?

With the CCTV modulator switched on & the Skybox switched off, is there any change?

dos30

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Does the interference really take the form of 'snow' ie white spots/dashes or is it more like white lines on the screen?

With the CCTV modulator switched on & the Skybox switched off, is there any change?

It's white spots, didn't try it with the Skybox switched off, I'll give it a go this evening.

The adjustable settings on the modulator are

00/01 picture/sound carrier ratio 16 12
10/11/12/13 sound subcarrier oscillator 4.5 5.5 6.0 6.5 MHz.
20/21 test signal off and on
30/31 sound subcarrier oscillator on and off

You can also adjust the output level from 65 to 85 dBuV

I haven't got a clue what any of that means though. Tried playing around with different combinations but no joy.

Peter Rhea

If sound is not required, switch it off (use 6.0 mHz if needed) & turn the overall output down to 65 dBµV.

dos30

Got the alba box saorview in argos and it's all working fine now, so thankfully won't have to do anymore messing around with the modulator