Cheap saorview box

multimate

Hi, I have a holiday home in Donegal with a Triax box and satelite for the apartment block and I have RTE on the TV, not on the Triax scart but on normal TV. I don't think the Triax will be able to receive RTE and was looking for a cheap Saorview box.

I need RTE 1 RTE 2 and TV3. I dont need HD, recording, pause/ff/rewind, USB, epg, teletext etc., just those 3 channels.

I was looking to spend about €30 on the box and would prefer to buy it in either Dublin or Donegal, but can alternatively buy it online.

Sponge Bob

Not seen one for less than €50 yet.

Kerry Gooner

Saw a saorview box in Argos at the weekend for €59.

Schorpio

HD is a fundamental requirement of Saorview. Currently RTE Two is broadcast solely in HD with the view to all channels going that way, so even if you don't think you need it you actually do.

You have 2 options. Either you go for Saorview approved equipment (in which case the box in Argos is the cheapest to the best of my knowlegde) or you get cheaper non-approved equipment from somewhere like ebay which should work as long as you know what you're looking for but probably won't have MPEG5 (only needed for digital teletext at the moment, but has potential to be used as a 'red-button' type service).

JRH

ebay.ie

search ... mini mpeg4 hd

Hong kong ... its 27 euro .

Johnboy1951

€55 .... not a lot of approved boxes any cheaper I suspect ..

http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/SID-08F8A9A7-0F7BE151/lidl_ri_ie/hs.xsl/index_23192.htm

Cerco

If you do not require all those features you listed perhaps you should look at a Freeview HD box. I hear they will give you the Saorview channels .

Gerry Wicklow

Cerco wrote: »

If you do not require all those features you listed perhaps you should look at a Freeview HD box. I hear they will give you the Saorview channels .

Not always! Some have issues with time, channels numbers and other erratic behaviour. Check to see it working before you buy.

Sam Russell

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Not always! Some have issues with time, channels numbers and other erratic behaviour. Check to see it working before you buy.

Even then ....

They do not support all features of Saorview. They do not support the Irish time. (Use GMT istead of summertime). They put the channels in the 800's. They do not support VHF (just in case we start using it again). Plus others we have not discovered yet. (Like series link, MHEG5 compatibility, Audio coding, etc. etc.)

However, there was talk about a merging of standards to do with the MOU signed so many years ago now. If you can get UK TV from NI or Wales, then it is a good solution. However, if you cannot get Freeview HD, best get a Saorview Approved box or iDTV.

discombobulate

Wheres the best place to get a cheap box no pause record etc. just to have for the kitchen tv

Charisteas

I haven't seen cheaper than 59.99. This seems to be several high street retailers lowest price.

What really pi$$es me off is that the whole stupid Saorview advertising campaign sounds like they are doing us all a favour. They're branding themselves as Ireland's Free Digital Television Service. Do they not know what the word free means in English? What part of 60 euros for the set-box is free? Why can't they keep the analogue as a free option?

Me and my better half hardly watch any TV anyway and are happy with the 4 basic analogue channels, and now we need to pay 60 Euro when really 3e is the only extra channel worth a mention, and I don't care about all that HD, pause live tv, record or whatever.

It's a total rip-off and yet I never see anyone complain in the same way that a few complained about the household charge and future water charge, not sure why people here like to give their money to other people.

I feel sorry for the unemployed (well, those who are looking for a job) with families where 60 Euro is a huge chunk out of their weekly social welfare payment.

I'm waiting until October 20th before I buy mine, but on second thoughts with supply and demand in effect, prices could sky rocket for the first few weeks or months after the analogue switch-off.

Charisteas

Schorpio wrote: »

HD is a fundamental requirement of Saorview. Currently RTE Two is broadcast solely in HD with the view to all channels going that way, so even if you don't think you need it you actually do.

Are you saying that we need HD TV's to receive RTE Two?

Schorpio

No. That's one common misconception with Saorview. Saorview approved boxes have a HDMI port for high definition output and a SCART port for standard definition output. RTE Two is broadcast only in high definition so if the SCART port is used, the box downscales the picture from high definition to standard definition.

STB

Charisteas wrote: »

I haven't seen cheaper than 59.99. This seems to be several high street retailers lowest price.

What really pi$$es me off is that the whole stupid Saorview advertising campaign sounds like they are doing us all a favour. They're branding themselves as Ireland's Free Digital Television Service. Do they not know what the word free means in English? What part of 60 euros for the set-box is free? Why can't they keep the analogue as a free option?

Me and my better half hardly watch any TV anyway and are happy with the 4 basic analogue channels, and now we need to pay 60 Euro when really 3e is the only extra channel worth a mention, and I don't care about all that HD, pause live tv, record or whatever.

It's a total rip-off and yet I never see anyone complain in the same way that a few complained about the household charge and future water charge, not sure why people here like to give their money to other people.

I feel sorry for the unemployed (well, those who are looking for a job) with families where 60 Euro is a huge chunk out of their weekly social welfare payment.

I'm waiting until October 20th before I buy mine, but on second thoughts with supply and demand in effect, prices could sky rocket for the first few weeks or months after the analogue switch-off.

Saorview/Irish DTT has been on air since August 2008.

If you used the same arguments you wouldn't have bought a television in the first place. Watching television or not is your perogative. If you wish to receive subscription free television then you buy the correct hardware. Most major brand televisions sold since 2009 have the correct hardware on board without needing an additional box.

Analogue television has to be switched off by end 2012 to fulfill a European Directive. This applies across all member states.

A grip.

Charisteas

Thanks for clearing some points up, still frustrating that the boxes are 60 euro for 7 channels. In the UK the boxes are as low as 18 pounds in argos for 50 channels.

Charisteas

Schorpio wrote: »

No. That's one common misconception with Saorview. Saorview approved boxes have a HDMI port for high definition output and a SCART port for standard definition output. RTE Two is broadcast only in high definition so if the SCART port is used, the box downscales the picture from high definition to standard definition.

Yeah I know that, I just dont get why you told the OP that he needs HD when he doesn't need nor want it.

multimate wrote: »

I dont need HD

Schorpio wrote: »

HD is a fundamental requirement of Saorview so even if you don't think you need it you actually do.

Peter Rhea

The video decoder in the receiver needs to be able to handle HD transmissions (MPEG4 HP @ level 4). If not, you will have no RTE 2 now & later on, nothing at all.

It doesn't matter what the picture is then displayed on, if you can get an analogue (scart) output from the receiver, you can watch on practically any old tv.

Schorpio

Charisteas wrote: »

Yeah I know that, I just dont get why you told the OP that he needs HD when he doesn't need nor want it.

Peter Rhea beat me to it. The OP is looking to buy a decoder box, not a TV. I never said they needed a HDTV. As Peter Rhea explained, the box must be able to handle HD or the OP won't get RTE Two now, and will lose more channels in the future.

To quote STB - a grip.

Sam Russell

Charisteas wrote: »

Thanks for clearing some points up, still frustrating that the boxes are 60 euro for 7 channels. In the UK the boxes are as low as 18 pounds in argos for 50 channels.

I can not see any suitable boxes on Argos UK that have any prices for as little as £18. Freeview boxes are of no use to us. Freeview HD boxes are not cheap and they do not have many.

If we had all 6 muxes going, we would have over 50 channels, but we only have one, and even then, there is a reluctance to pay for it.

lawhec

Charisteas wrote: »

Thanks for clearing some points up, still frustrating that the boxes are 60 euro for 7 channels. In the UK the boxes are as low as 18 pounds in argos for 50 channels.

A simple case of economics and demand.

* The very cheap set-top boxes in the likes of Argos, Tesco, Asda etc. do Freeview only (no HD services) for MPEG2 video (the same as that used for DVD). It was quickly learned about eight years ago that most Freeview users just wanted a cheap conversion option and weren't fussed about brand names or bells & whistles too much. Margins for selling such receivers are very low to this day.

* Saorview receivers in Ireland need to undergo certification for approval where clawback costs per head are higher which rings true in most cases for smaller markets e.g. RoI vs. UK. They also have to be able to handle High-Definition profiles and MPEG4 video (as used in Blu-Ray) which makes the technology to do this that little bit more expensive.

* Also because of the different time periods between the effective launch of Freeview and the launch of Saorview along with the first two to three years of each service running, many new TV's sold in shops in the republic since 2009 are Saorview approved (or at least can handle the requirements of viewing & listening TV channels on the platform) at half-reasonable prices meaning set-top boxes are not big sellers; in comparison with the launch of Freeview in the UK in 2002 there were very few televisions sold with integrated digital tuners up until around 2005/06 and those that did have them were generally premium products, so set-top boxes proved popular as an upgrade path with additional channels (even then they weren't exactly world beating, no E4 or Film4, no Dave etc. until later on.) It also helps that in the UK terrestrial TV as a primary means of reception is higher than in Ireland.

* The move to allowing HD reception on Freeview in the UK has needed a new transmission infrastructure put in place, including a new transmission standard and video compression upgrade (MPEG4 from MPEG2) which is incompatible with current SD only broadcasts. Saorview will at least be spared this upheaval at the short-term cost of slightly higher prices for entry-level equipment.

* Network costs - the commercial multiplexes in the UK transmit from 80 sites with a population coverage of around 90%, or close to 55 million people (possibly more with better aerial installations). The Saorview network is planned to have a better than 98% coverage area reaching approx 4.5 million people (excluding Northern Ireland) with 64 eventual sites by the time analogue is turned off. It doesn't take a genius to work out which is more cost-effective to run. I'm not sure how many homes there are in the republic, but as an example the main TV transmitter site serving London, Crystal Palace, serves almost 4.5 million homes.

Why can't they keep the analogue as a free option?

A good number of reasons...

* An EU directive is in place for all analogue terrestrial television to be closed down in members states by the end of this year (though it looks like Poland will miss it).

* Current frequencies used for analogue television in all of Europe are by international agreement with the International Telecommunications Union only protected until June 2015 for UHF Frequencies and 2020 on VHF.

* A portion of the current UHF television band is to be reused for mobile telephony - namely LTE (4G or to be pedantic, 3.9G) in the 800MHz band, a plan which is being adopted across Europe. At present there are a number of high powered analogue TV transmissions and also quite a few lower powered relays in Ireland using this band, which will need to be vacated.

* Much of the current analogue TV infrastructure especially at higher powered sites are approaching near end-of-life; items like transmitters and transmission aerial are renewed about every 25 years so much of what was refurbished in the late 80's and early 90's is now getting old.

* It costs money to keep two parallel networks going. A single Saorview multiplex takes up the same amount of spectrum as one analogue TV channel and is a duplication that RTÉ, TG4 and TV3 want to do without. Transmission costs on Saorview should work out lower for TV3 for example to carry TV3 and 3e across the 64 sites than their rather punitive analogue network carrying TV3 only, as the two channel on Saorview take up only a fraction of space on a multiplex.

The Cush

lawhec wrote: »

* An EU directive is in place for all analogue terrestrial television to be closed down in members states by the end of this year (though it looks like Poland will miss it).

RTÉ/RTÉNL/Saorview etc. have been telling us there is an EU Directive to switchoff analogue in the EU as an easy answer to anyone who asks why we have to switchoff analogue broadcasting but they never say what the Directive is because there isn't one, there was a non-binding recommendation from the Commission to switchoff analogue beoadcasting EU wide by 1st Jan 2012 which slipped to Dec2012 and now by the end of 2013 it appears for Greece, Bulgaria and Poland.

The is of course a legally binding EU Decision to clear the upper UHF Band of broadcasting by the 1st Jan next.

Carawaystick

The decoder boxes seem expensive compared to the cost of saorview approved tvs.
Cheapest tv on powercity.ie is 130 euros
There must be some gouging going on somewhere.

discombobulate

Does anyone know a cheap version of a box I can pick up then. Don't need the HD channels or any additional features just basic RTE 1 and 2

Skull Murphy

The one mentioned in this post is the cheapest I've seen: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=80054288&postcount=42, although shipping will bring it up to around €30. Also bear in mind that this model only has a HDMI output. Afaia, there's a T80 version with scart.

You could also search ebay for something like "mini scart mpeg4".

None of these receivers are Saorview approved & won't have digital text or interactive features & won't benefit from OTA upgrades (maybe any sort of upgrade for that matter).

dvdman1

I got tiny scart/hdmi reciever
24 euro ebay (search.... Mini Digital DVB-T Terrestrial Receiver FULL HD)
(doesnt have teletext) but for people not bothered it was great
has a sd slot usb slot can play divX and record tv
RTE 2 HD works good too

watty

Waste of 24 Euro. Also people are likely to get charged VAT & €6 handling. It does NO-ONE a favour to promote this generic stuff with no assurances of safety, interference and compatibility. Many have PSUs unsafe on Irish electrical systems.

JRH

watty wrote: »

Waste of 24 Euro. Also people are likely to get charged VAT & €6 handling. It does NO-ONE a favour to promote this generic stuff with no assurances of safety, interference and compatibility. Many have PSUs unsafe on Irish electrical systems.

Let people decide for themselves whats a waste of money , he not promoting the item , simply sharing the fact that the device works well for him ...
Any proof or reference of examples where this device has compromised safety yet ? ... no . tesco etc sell an adapter for a euro , what are they selling these for ?
No one gets the 6 euro handling charge , because customs cant tell the difference between it and the identical lower spec versions which are too cheap to tax .
Overwhelming evidence from this board that people consider them well worth the 24 euro ... accept

dvdman1

let me clarify a little
I'm not a promoter/seller, and like our last post, I'm just a satisfied customer, this stb was just for a bedroom where the basics hd stb functions were needed and i didnt want another box taking up so much room..personally i wouldn't recommend it for a living room or somewhere where u/ur family want more. I didn't feel like paying twice as much for a part of my home we only use the TV maybe twice a week
24euro was fine...also if u don't like... your insured by pay-pal
safety: i don't have it constantly plugged in, only when its in use and i've got a smoke alarm right above it..works perfect and I've had it months

watty

Have you SEEN how small some certified gear is?

Any box is less than most people pay for 2 months internet. It's a once off purchase that might last 10 years and you risk and loose features for the sake of saving equivalent of 3 to 10 cups of coffee?

Saving cents to have rubbish solutions and wasting money. How do you even know how compliant it is for electric shock, fire safety and Radio Interference. We already know it's not properly compatible.

People coming on here and promoting this stuff with no lab testing or qualified technical expertise is just daft.

..also if u don't like... your insured by pay-pal

No you are NOT! That is only for non-delivery or broken on arrival. Paypal is (owned by eBay) is NOT the retailer. You will get NO joy for failure inside the MINIMUM two years of SOGA from your ebay seller.

lucernarian

watty wrote: »

Have you SEEN how small some certified gear is?

Any box is less than most people pay for 2 months internet. It's a once off purchase that might last 10 years and you risk and loose features for the sake of saving equivalent of 3 to 10 cups of coffee?

Saving cents to have rubbish solutions and wasting money. How do you even know how compliant it is for electric shock, fire safety and Radio Interference. We already know it's not properly compatible.

People coming on here and promoting this stuff with no lab testing or qualified technical expertise is just daft.


No you are NOT! That is only for non-delivery or broken on arrival. Paypal is (owned by eBay) is NOT the retailer. You will get NO joy for failure inside the MINIMUM two years of SOGA from your ebay seller.

Not up to you to decide what's good for people watty, beyond the realm of legal and safety matters. Also he wasn't exactly "promoting" it, just trying to be helpful. The post in question was not spamming and indeed I'd say it's the post I've just quoted that was more disruptive to the thread. You can't account for why people would pick a certain utility out of certain products. For instance, if I lived in student housing (a building with several bedrooms, a common TV but I desired my own choice for the few months I was there) then I would want to spend the absolute minimum with no real hope or expectation for it to last. I'd know i'd be moving back to family/another house with more TVs etc.

That's just one scenario. You can't decide on anyone's behalf as to what they actually need.

FRIENDO

http://www.saorview.ie/product/technika/

The Technika Saorview approved set top box is priced at Euro 49.95 in Tesco stores.

watty

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

Not up to you to decide what's good for people watty, .

I'm not.

But people with no basis in fact frequently promote enthusiastically what are in effect poor value generic products on these ex ICDG Boards forums. It's not up to you to censor expert opinion either. There are Moderators.

This is not the same as choosing a shirt because you like the colour either.

I was at a retailer today. Stacked high with generic junk and NOT A SINGLE fully compatible or certified box for people to choose.

People are getting foisted near rubbish on them. I'm hardly going to keep quiet when people promote personal import of even worse products.

JRH

watty wrote: »

I'm not.

But people with no basis in fact frequently promote enthusiastically what are in effect poor value generic products on these ex ICDG Boards forums. It's not up to you to censor expert opinion either. There are Moderators.

This is not the same as choosing a shirt because you like the colour either.

I was at a retailer today. Stacked high with generic junk and NOT A SINGLE fully compatible or certified box for people to choose.

People are getting foisted near rubbish on them. I'm hardly going to keep quiet when people promote personal import of even worse products.

but nobody who buys the ' stacked generic junk ' is complaining , so why is it an issue ? :rolleyes:

If someone posts that a mini scart works well on their second tv , why the need to shoot that down by calling his purchase ' junk ' ' rubbish ' poor value , all these things are subjective .

The forum is about ' terrestrial TV ' not specifically 'saorview ' just as the satellite section is about FTA and not just ' SKY '

Whatever vision u had of everyone using saorview compliant equipment is dead

watty

No. It's not subjective.

You have no idea what my "vision" is. What I care about is ordinary people getting no choice and foisted off with substandard products due to people with no expertise stocking it and other people here with ZERO test gear and training or concern of ripped of consumers promoting stuff.

This attitude is why our heating bill for the nation is 30% to 50% more than it should be and we built a huge stock of substandard housing in the last 10 years. We have one of the worst records in Europe for Water, Sewerage, Broadband, Consumer protection, Import and sale of shiny tech junk etc.

There is no point in saving €5 to €20 euro today to have problems or substandard experience for the next 5 to 10 years.

The ONLY terrestrial TV transmitted in Ireland is to the Saorview Spec. Some people can get Freeview too. These boxes are not suitable for Freeview and don't work AT ALL on Freeview HD.

The thread title is "Cheap saorview box". Not Cheapest box. Cheapest is a fools decision anyway with some of the total junk being produced today.

An Amazon "branded" PSU turned up with a FAKE CE mark on it here. It's a shock risk, fire risk and creates massive interference.

People DO NOT have the equipment or training to evaluate electronic equipment. That is why using gear from reputable suppliers, with reputable & real certification is important.

It's a disgrace that Comreg has only FIVE engineers on the road. There are people in Government that should be prosecuted for failure to ensure existing consumer protection is enforced.

Sam Russell

watty wrote: »

Cheapest is a fools decision anyway with some of the total junk being produced today.

That unfortunately is the way the governments makes most of its decisions. Under European rules, it must put out a tender and look for the cheapest. If they do not choose the cheapest, the loser (who had the cheapest) sues for compensation and is given compo.

By the way, the government is broke.

Perhaps this is why.

lucernarian

watty wrote: »

I'm not.

But people with no basis in fact frequently promote enthusiastically what are in effect poor value generic products on these ex ICDG Boards forums. It's not up to you to censor expert opinion either. There are Moderators.

This is not the same as choosing a shirt because you like the colour either.

I was at a retailer today. Stacked high with generic junk and NOT A SINGLE fully compatible or certified box for people to choose.

People are getting foisted near rubbish on them. I'm hardly going to keep quiet when people promote personal import of even worse products.

Just as well that no one here has been throwing around gag orders without being a mod! But I'll happily call out anyone who will mistakenly describe a personal recommendation as a promotion. I don't see what good could come of it. Describing things as "rubbish" implicitly describes the purchase decisions of customers as irrational or naive. You won't be able to anticipate every motive when items are purchased in a given market. If anyone implied that people were being foolish (even over buying non-certified boxex), it would only rile someone or other up.

Having said that... I don't agree with the response JRH just posted and I think it's important that every understand the relevance and rationale behind certification. It's one thing to give alternatives to people who do legitimately need something at the lowest possible cost (as I explained before) but it's another to simply dismiss the idea of certification!!

dvdman1

the rubbish stb is still working fine
lemme choose 24euro and i get tv..or empty screen?
i dont have 50euro sorry

Sam Russell

watty wrote: »

What I care about is ordinary people getting no choice and foisted off with substandard products due to people with no expertise stocking it and other people here with ZERO test gear and training or concern of ripped of consumers promoting stuff.

@Watty

If you are serious, go and source a suitable product and market it here. It is all very well to decry others who do this, but not doing it yourself yet berating those that do is a bit disingenuous.

My experience of these products is that:

1. They work as described. (e.g. no MHEG5, but do get the channels)
2. They are reliable. No returns.
3. They are good value at 50% of the going rate for a certified product.

They are not suitable for the non-savvy punter, but are useful to many. The same applies to DIY satellite installation. These products do offer choice and should not be dismissed out of hand. If you have never seen one, how do you know how they perform?

sligotrain

I think what most punters would want is one PVR box that can handle Saorview and Freesat together, complete with 7 day EPG, MHEG-5 text capability and auto update of channels as and when frequencies change.

Anyone who can produce that for the Irish market has my money.

Johnboy1951

sligotrain wrote: »

I think what most punters would want is one PVR box that can handle Saorview and Freesat together, complete with 7 day EPG, MHEG-5 text capability and auto update of channels as and when frequencies change.

Anyone who can produce that for the Irish market has my money.

I wonder about that statement.

I can safely say that the vast majority of people I know well enough to visit, have no requirement to record DTT channels.

I am not saying that my acquaintances' requirements can be extrapolated to indicate a national trend, but it does cause me to wonder about this 'most' want a STB with all those functions.

A quick calculation here would put the figure at about 4% of those I know.

On the other hand, I would accept that most of those posting in the Terrestrial section of boards would fancy such a STB .... at the right price of course!

winston_1

dvdman1 wrote: »

i dont have 50euro sorry

I just don't believe that. What you mean is that you are not prepared to spend an extra €26 as a one off even though you pay several times that amount every year for your TV licence.

Madness, not wanting the full service over such a small amount of money.

Sam Russell

winston_1 wrote: »

I just don't believe that. What you mean is that you are not prepared to spend an extra €26 as a one off even though you pay several times that amount every year for your TV licence.

Madness, not wanting the full service over such a small amount of money.

The full service is not on offer at any price.

There is no series recording despite it being specified for fours years or more.
There is no HE-AAC audio.
Only one HD service, even though TG4 has launched on payTV.
There is only one mux in operation, instead of the six we could have. [Content is an obvious problem].

RTE do not even list the programmes for RTE News Now or RTE Jr in their own TV listing magazine - The RTE Guide.

When they start the full service, then your argument will have more weight. They have had several launches so far, another one would not be noticed.