Saorview/Saorsat and Freesat all in one!

Stinicker

Hi Guys,

I am planning to make the switch-over to digital this weekend. I have a unique situation which is different from most other people.

There is three rooms in the house and I need to ensure everything remains working in all three.

I currently receive Analogue from a local transmitter which was put in place in 2006 after the construction of a Windfarm obliterated the old Analogue signal from Mullaghanish. This local transmitter is due to go offline on Oct 24. I currently receive Saorview from Mullaghanish on two of the three Televisions, however the Saorview signal like the old analogue is totally disrupted and only works when the wind-turbines are switched off so you have no degree of stability at all with it. This has been experienced by my neighbors locally also so there is nothing wrong with my own setup.

As you can see from my schematic, I have Sky in the living room and this is the only source of TV there. My house was rewired in 2009 and as part of the process I bought TX-100 and ran a cable to each room as I was receiving the old Saorview tests then and I thought it would work and that they'd boost up transmission power which would solve the turbine problems but it hasn't

My big problem lays in the kitchen where there is only one cable running in the conduit and I can't run extra cable, I need to combine Saorsat, Freesat and Saorview into the one cable.

I plan to install a digital set-top box in the kitchen as the TV there is an old CRT. I plan to use it for to have the Saorsat channels and Freesat channels and I also want to incorporate TV3 & 3e into the lineup even though Saorview dosen't work properly, so that at least you could watch them when the Saorview was working. I will be doing the exact same thing in the third room but have all the cables ran there and all I will need is a diseqc switch there.

I also need to know what sort of satellite splitter do I need to split the Saorsat signal to serve the kitchen and bedroom? I know the channels on Saorsat are all on the same transponder so splittting a saorsat feed is possible unlike splittling Sky which has dozens of different transponders. The living room has Sky so I won't be doing anything about that.

I also need a receiver recommendation, preferably not a Ferguson as they are very unreliable. The final thing I need is a simple universal remote for my mother who is technically illeterate and cannot even work Sky. I want an easy remote with - / + for the channels and the same for the sound that I can programme to control the set-top box and the same for the tv.

Peter Rhea

Stinicker wrote: »

My big problem lays in the kitchen where there is only one cable running in the conduit and I can't run extra cable, I need to combine Saorsat, Freesat and Saorview into the one cable.

I plan to install a digital set-top box in the kitchen as the TV there is an old CRT. I plan to use it for to have the Saorsat channels and Freesat channels and I also want to incorporate TV3 & 3e into the lineup even though Saorview dosen't work properly, so that at least you could watch them when the Saorview was working. I will be doing the exact same thing in the third room but have all the cables ran there and all I will need is a diseqc switch there.

Combine both satellite feeds with a DiSEqC switch for each receiver & in the case of the kitchen, a satellite/terrestrial diplexer to include the Saorview signal. DiSEqC switches are generally fitted as close to the dish(es) as possible, to save on cable if nothing else.

I presume the graphic of the Labgear distribution unit is just to represent terrestrial distribution amps in general?

Stinicker

Peter Rhea wrote: »

I presume the graphic of the Labgear distribution unit is just to represent terrestrial distribution amps in general?

No, I actually have a Labgear HDU681 which I installed in 2009 to feed saorview to the living room, kitchen and bedroom, plus two other bedrooms. However plans for tv in these two bedrooms have been shelved however.

FreshCoffee

Stinicker wrote: »

I also need a receiver recommendation, preferably not a Ferguson as they are very unreliable. The final thing I need is a simple universal remote for my mother who is technically illeterate and cannot even work Sky. I want an easy remote with - / + for the channels and the same for the sound that I can programme to control the set-top box and the same for the tv.

I don't know why you feel Ferguson are 'very unreliable". I have installed four Ferguson Combo Ariva 120's, all rock solid and friends/relatives have another 6+, all rock solid. (However I must admit I will not re-purchase as the latest models seem to list a porno site on one menu which is a no-no for my family/elderly).

On the remote, I have used the Doro Handleeasy 321 with elderly relatives and can highly recommend it. All 7 buttons are 'Learning' so I typically program them to operate the channel up/down on the set-top box and the Volume & On/Off on the TV. I usually program the small gray button for RTE1 so they can easily 'reset' to RTE1 if they get lost on high channel numbers.
www.doro.ie/our-products/other-products/doro-handleeasy-321rc/#Manuals-and-downloads

Pixmania have it here:
www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/766714/art/doro/handleeasy-321rc-universa.html

STB

FreshCoffee wrote: »

I don't know why you feel Ferguson are 'very unreliable". I have installed four Ferguson Combo Ariva 120's, all rock solid and friends/relatives have another 6+, all rock solid. (However I must admit I will not re-purchase as the latest models seem to list a porno site on one menu which is a no-no for my family/elderly).

On the remote, I have used the Doro Handleeasy 321 with elderly relatives and can highly recommend it. All 7 buttons are 'Learning' so I typically program them to operate the channel up/down on the set-top box and the Volume & On/Off on the TV. I usually program the small gray button for RTE1 so they can easily 'reset' to RTE1 if they get lost on high channel numbers.

The youporn link doesnt work in all firmware up to and including v1.18, so there is no fear of anything being displayed on screen. It also requires a hard wired ethernet cable connected to a router or a wifi connection enabled with a USB wifi card in order to work anyhow on firmware after v1.18.

If you are using a simple remote control, then you will probably restrict the menus showing up anyhow.

Peter Rhea

Stinicker wrote: »

No, I actually have a Labgear HDU681 which I installed in 2009 to feed saorview to the living room, kitchen and bedroom, plus two other bedrooms.

The Labgear HDU seems to be capable of combining satellite & terrestrial feeds in sat. mode (gives a 'LNB rejection in UHF' figure in the tech specs) presumably with 'downlink' used as the outgoing connection, but I think you would then lose the ability to use it as a straightforward distribution amp., as you wouldn't have an 'uplink' from the kitchen.

You would use this type of splitter on the Saorsat feed or if you're using the Inverto ka lnb, you can make use of both outputs on the lnb.

FreshCoffee

STB wrote: »

The youporn link doesnt work in all firmware up to and including v1.18, so there is no fear of anything being displayed on screen. It also requires a hard wired ethernet cable connected to a router or a wifi connection enabled with a USB wifi card in order to work anyhow on firmware after v1.18.

If you are using a simple remote control, then you will probably restrict the menus showing up anyhow.

Yes, other posts have emphasised your point and some people will have no problem with a porn link possibly appearing on screen in front of young/old eyes but for me it's a major no-no to install for family/relatives. Even where one elderly person in the household uses a simple remote control, others in the household will probably come across it at some stage with the regular remote.

I am disappointed that I cannot purchase the Ariva 120 (new) any longer as I would have continued installing them for family/friends. (Secondhand is not an option for me as I would also need the full warranty).

zg3409

For the kitchen as already said fit a 2 port DiSEqC switch to switch between 28.2 and 9 East. Then feed that into a TV/Sat Diplexer. Then in the kitchen use a second diplexer to split the feed again and feed it into a combo box that has DiSEqC capability.

You may also need a remote power supply for the Sky eye as the diplexer may/should block power on the Terrestrial(non sat) side. So you would need to supply power at the Kitchen TV to power up the Sky eye. You can buy these items online.

As also said use both feeds from the 9East LNB or a satellite splitter. The seperate feed will give a slightly stronger signal. It's perfectly do-able but setting it all up may be a bit much for a beginner. It's easy to get confused with cables, switches and dishes. The 9E dishes also seem to be hard for beginners or even "professionals" to setup correctly.