Can I use my Sky dish to receive Saorsat if just get a new box?

oxygen

Hey

When I got my house wired a couple of years ago I hardwired two cables running from a dish to the skybox for sky+. Bad decision in hindsight, did not realise RTE were going in this direction with the SaorView, I had assumed I would be able to the Irish Channels free to air with a sky box.

On the website below, it says
"
Unlike Freesat, Saorsat doesn’t share satellites with the very popular Sky pay-TV service at the Astra 2 location.
Instead, it’s on Ka-Sat at 9°E, about 19 degrees to the West of the Astra 2 satellites, although an experienced installer can get both on the same dish. There’s a coverage checker at http://coverage.rtenl.ie/.
It also uses the new Ka-band frequencies, which need a more expensive dish system than Sky or Freesat. You’ll also need one of the official Saorsat set-top boxes listed at Saorsat.ie.
"

http://recombu.com/digital/news/saorsat-irelands-freesat-launches-to-reach-the-two-per-cent-without-a-tv-aerial_M10415.html

Does anyone know how much one of these dishes with installation would cost me. Can I install the one dish, use the existing sky cables and receive all the British and Irish free to air channels. I would rather this than running a cable from my attic through the house to the TV. My current analogue reception of the Irish channels is fairly poor.

Peter Rhea

This is the terrestrial forum.

You should be able to reuse the existing cables if they worked ok for Sky.

Saorsat only has RTE & TG4 atm, no TV3/3e. I would be getting terrestrial reception checked out properly 1st before I'd bother with Saorsat.

t c

As Peter says, for satellite forum but, imo easiest way out is to buy a Saorview receiver and mount a small aerial beside dish and use a combiner/splitter system for signal. |Works fine for me and no extra cables.

Something like this: http://satworld.ie/product-info.php?Indoor_Terrestrial___Satellite_Combiner-pid336.html

Hope this helps.

Peter Rhea

OP, can you give your location & a description or photo of the aerial you currently use?

Do you know which transmitter you receive from?

zg3409

What are you currently using to receive RTE? Is the aerial in the attic or outside?

At the moment what channels do you get 2, 3, 4 via the aerial?

Peter Rhea

So good we asked it twice . . . :rolleyes:

oxygen

Thanks for the replies guys. Regarding my current setup and location. I’m in the centre of Carlow town. I don’t have a picture of what I currently use to receive analogue, but it’s pretty basic aerial I have attached to a second TV. My main tv runs off the official sky+ dish and sky+ box. In terms of channels, I can just get TV3 and 3E with the aerial. I just use the sky box to receive the Irish channels.

My thinking is I was going to cancel my subscription to sky, and use the equipment (which is mine now since I have been with them a couple of years) and only watch the free to view stuff. But ideally I would like to be able to watch the Irish free to view stuff as well.

That splitter above looks promising.

zg3409

but it’s pretty basic aerial

Is it inside or outside the house

I have attached to a second TV........In terms of channels, I can just get TV3 and 3E with the aerial. .....

It seems as if this TV is Saorview compatable. Is the main TV Saorview compatable? Can you post the exact model number if unsure?

My main tv runs off the official sky+ dish and sky+ box. I just use the sky box to receive the Irish channels.

If you quit Sky the box will no longer record. You will lose any recordings from pay channels even if saved on the box. You may own the box, but sky stop it remotely from working properly.

In Carlow town you should get Saorview from an outside aerial. According to here:
http://www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/coverage-map/

Carlow town has good coverage. SaorSAT is only for places that cannot get Saorview. The aerial needs to point South Easterly, and be horizontally polarised.

Near the end of October you may need to retune your TV as the channels are changing. If your TV/box is fully Saorview compliant it should re-tune itself. From November onwards you should not need to re-tune.