Saorview\Saorsat\Freesat - choices

rampantbunny

Hi folks. People probably saw the title and thought "oh no, not the same questions again", but I've searched and there are so many posts about these subjects its hard to get the right one...so apologies if this has already been asked (or is posted in the wrong place).

Here goes..
I'm in a new house in rural Galway (temporary home). There's no aerial installed, but have worked out I need to get a UHF green tip aerial to pick up Saorview. No problem, was just going to install one in the attic and see if it worked. If not, I'd test it outside etc.

The people that own the house will soon move back from the UK, and are used to getting BBC and the likes. So, I could also get a dish and try to pick up FreeSat (I've seen posts indicating Freesat is available that side of the country).
But, if getting a dish, I was thinking why not use it for Saorsat (not Saorview) and also use it for Freesat? Therefore no need for a UHF aerial, right??
I mean I know it is strongly recommended to use Saorview not saorsat but it kind of limits the options doesn't it? Maybe this is the recommendation for people that already have UHF aerials perhaps.

Any pointers greatly appreciated, and sorry again if this is repetition.

MarkK

Getting a single dish to pick up both Saorsat and Freesat is likely to be a bigger hassle that a separate aeriel and dish.
A dual Saorsat and Freesat dish would needs a larger dish and two LNBs all correctly aligned.

rampantbunny wrote: »

I mean I know it is strongly recommended to use Saorview not saorsat but it kind of limits the options doesn't it?

I don't know what you mean.
It's Saorsat which is limited, it does not have TV3 or 3E.

The Cush

rampantbunny wrote: »

But, if getting a dish, I was thinking why not use it for Saorsat (not Saorview) and also use it for Freesat? Therefore no need for a UHF aerial, right??
I mean I know it is strongly recommended to use Saorview not saorsat but it kind of limits the options doesn't it? Maybe this is the recommendation for people that already have UHF aerials perhaps.

Any pointers greatly appreciated, and sorry again if this is repetition.

Go with Saorview and Freesat.

A single aerial will feed all Saorview TVs/STBs/PVRs in the house with all Saorview channels, TV3/3e aren't carried on Saorsat. Saorsat will require an addition receiver and remote control at each TV even if the TV has a Saorview tuner. Saorview via the aerial gives you greater flexibility.

RTÉ recommend Saorview over Saorsat if it can be received thru an aerial

If you can receive SAORVIEW there is no advantage in getting SAORSAT over SAORVIEW.

RTÉNL recommends that each home should exhaust all options for receiving SAORVIEW before reverting to SAORSAT. Even if you were previously unable to receive traditional analogue terrestrial television it is recommended that you investigate getting SAORVIEW first, as its level of coverage exceeds traditional analogue terrestrial television coverage in many areas.

http://www.saorview.ie/about-saorview/saorsat/

rampantbunny

MarkK wrote: »

Getting a single dish to pick up both Saorsat and Freesat is likely to be a bigger hassle that a separate aeriel and dish.
A dual Saorsat and Freesat dish would needs a larger dish and two LNBs all correctly aligned.


I don't know what you mean.
It's Saorsat which is limited, it does not have TV3 or 3E.

Cheers for the response Mark.

So an aerial and dish combo means a smaller dish can be used?
And if combining both services into one, I'd need a larger dish...what size difference are we talking here?

What I mean by limiting the options I suppose depends on your perspective.
With a UHF aerial you get Saorview only - no option of Freeview (at least I don't think that's possible in the West). That's the limit from my perspective when I consider that I'd need to get an additional dish installed to get UK channels. Not my house, so I'm reluctant to hang too much on the wall (hence my aerial in the attic comment), plus probably more expensive to install a dish and aerial combo I would think.

With dish only, the limit as you rightly point out is the lack of TV3 and TV3e. But for folks that have lived most of their lives in the UK with BBC and the rest, and don't know what TV3 is, I think they wouldn't miss TV3 as they never had it.

Combining the 2 sat signals seems straight forward enough using a diseqc...can the same be done for sat and aerial or is it done at the receiver end?

The Cush

rampantbunny wrote: »

Combining the 2 sat signals seems straight forward enough using a diseqc...can the same be done for sat and aerial or is it done at the receiver end?

TV Aerial & Satellite Combiner at each end.

rampantbunny

The Cush wrote: »

Go with Saorview and Freesat.

A single aerial will feed all Saorview TVs/STBs/PVRs in the house with all Saorview channels, TV3/3e aren't carried on Saorsat. Saorsat will require an addition receiver and remote control at each TV even if the TV has a Saorview tuner. Saorview via the aerial gives you greater flexibility.

RTÉ recommend Saorview over Saorsat if it can be received thru an aerial

Hi The Cush, appreciate the reply.
I did see the recommendation, but thought it was geared towards the population that already had aerials that picked up UHF signals. But, ok, its a recommendation for the population as a whole.

If the house were mine, I'd be looking at flexibility so would choose the aerial and sat combo. But I feel limited in what I can do (not because of the tech, but because I'd be making changes to someones property even if they are relatives) and limited in what I want to do.
Currently there's only one TV. Its a UK import and does not have a DVB-T2 tuner so will need a set-top box anyway. TV3 won't be missed either. There are no plans to furnish other rooms with TVs, but plans change of course. I do see that scalability will be issue if additional TVs require additional tuners for the sat decoding at each TV...hmm, foiled again./

All good stuff gentlemen (not sexist I hope), might go back to the aerial in the attic plan and take it from there. :rolleyes:

The Cush

rampantbunny wrote: »

Currently there's only one TV. Its a UK import and does not have a DVB-T2 tuner so will need a set-top box anyway.

Saorview use the DVB-T standard, DVB-T2 is the UK terrestrial HD standard.

Saorview uses MPEG-4 video decoding (as does the UK FreeviewHD channels with DVB-T2), the UK SD channels use MPEG-2 (DVB-T). Some UK imported TV have MPEG-4 decoding - other don't. Check the specs in the manual for something like MPEG-4, H.264/AVC.

rampantbunny

The Cush wrote: »

Saorview use the DVB-T standard, DVB-T2 is the UK terrestrial HD standard.

Saorview uses MPEG-4 video decoding (as does the UK FreeviewHD channels with DVB-T2), the UK SD channels use MPEG-2 (DVB-T). Some UK imported TV have MPEG-4 decoding - other don't. Check the specs in the manual for something like MPEG-4, H.264/AVC.

So, if spec. says:
DTV Reception : DVB-T/C, MPEG4
HD Tuner Built-in : Yes
..no mention of h.264/AVC, what does it mean?

The Cush

rampantbunny wrote: »

So, if spec. says:
DTV Reception : DVB-T/C, MPEG4
HD Tuner Built-in : Yes
..no mention of h.264/AVC, what does it mean?

It means the TV should have no problem decoding the Saorview channels if you can receive the Saorview signal with an aerial.

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC on wikipedia

rampantbunny

The Cush wrote: »

It means the TV should have no problem decoding the Saorview channels if you can receive the Saorview signal with an aerial.

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC on wikipedia

Nice one The Cush.
I might leave reading the Wiki link to a day when I'm fresher...

...jeez, the first look is enough to remind me of a college class years ago that I thought I'd compartmentalised and put behind me :eek:

tmull

When I enquired about two years ago about Saorsat I was told it would be be on a satellite in position 9E but would be broadcast on a different systen than ordenary satellite signals (9Ku-band C-band ?) and that it would be a very narrow footprint. The beam would only cover Ireland. Apparently to prevent our Uk neigbours from looking in.They would be really hard up if they wanted the Rte channels. Has anything changed in the meantime? Is Saorsat up and running? The seperation from 28E to 9E would in my opinion be too great for a single dish to pick up both signals.TMULL

MarkK

tmull wrote: »

Has anything changed in the meantime?

Nope, that's a reasonable summary of the situation.

tmull wrote: »

Is Saorsat up and running?

Yes, and has been for a while, see the Satellite section of this board for more info.

tmull wrote: »

The seperation from 28E to 9E would in my opinion be too great for a single dish to pick up both signals.

It is possible and has been done.

tmull

Thank you.TMULL

foley_b

sorry for butting in,I have free to air via a silvercrest sat reciever from aldi,is it possible to tune in saorview from a digital arial through this?

rampantbunny

foley_b wrote: »

sorry for butting in,I have free to air via a silvercrest sat reciever from aldi,is it possible to tune in saorview from a digital arial through this?

Hi foley_b...your keeping the aerial and satellite, and want to combine the channels from both?

I'm no expert, but what I've gathered is that you'll need a "combi " box to do this.
A combi box will take the input from your aerial, and the input from the dish separately and combine them. Depending on the box you get, you can have both sets of channels on one integrated menu.
Try googling "saorview combi box" and there should be a link to an Irish website near the top (don't want to directly post the name here).
You'll need a combi box for each TV set though...see earlier posts in this thread from The Cush.

Peter Rhea

foley_b wrote: »

I have free to air via a silvercrest sat reciever from aldi,is it possible to tune in saorview from a digital arial through this?

You can't get Saorview with this receiver. If your tv is a fairly recent model with a digital tuner, it may be capable of decoding the Saorview signal: post the make & model no. if you want to look into it.

rampantbunny

rampantbunny wrote: »

....
All good stuff gentlemen (not sexist I hope), might go back to the aerial in the attic plan and take it from there. :rolleyes:

Well, just in case anyone is interested, I tried the lazy approach of placing my UHF aerial in the attic. First thing I noticed is that none of the cables in the attic have been labelled and they're all covered with flooring, so there was some decent prep work to be done.
Anyway, it matters not, for there is no signal at all in my attic (using a signal meter).
The house next door should have provided a clue. It's a two storey house (mine is bungalow), and even the next door aerial is on a pole extended above the roof. Plus they've a dish.
Up a ladder I must go.

Peter Rhea

This site has a lot of info. on all things aerial related, including positioning for outdoor aerials & a section about loft installations.

foley_b

Peter Rhea wrote: »

You can't get Saorview with this receiver. If your tv is a fairly recent model with a digital tuner, it may be capable of decoding the Saorview signal: post the make & model no. if you want to look into it.

Its a Samsung plasma model no PS42B451B2 HD ready as far as I know

Ronnie Raygun

Looks like a fairly old model that would get the standard definition Freeview (UK terrestrial) channels, at best. One way to find out is just to connect it to the appropriate aerial.

Finne1993

foley_b wrote: »

Peter Rhea wrote: »

You can't get Saorview with this receiver. If your tv is a fairly recent model with a digital tuner, it may be capable of decoding the Saorview signal: post the make & model no. if you want to look into it.

Its a Samsung plasma model no PS42B451B2 HD ready as far as I know

It's mpeg4, saorview will work fine on it. A sister of mine has the exact same model.
http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBEQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fitek.ee%2Fm5960%2Fvi-idoc_edit%2Bi730441&ei=ckJJULmiKeHM0QWMhYCoDQ&usg=AFQjCNGmuzTe8v-8p6cFl3_xQLjfwzAHWA

STB

Finne1993 wrote: »

It's mpeg4, saorview will work fine on it. A sister of mine has the exact same model.
http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBEQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fitek.ee%2Fm5960%2Fvi-idoc_edit%2Bi730441&ei=ckJJULmiKeHM0QWMhYCoDQ&usg=AFQjCNGmuzTe8v-8p6cFl3_xQLjfwzAHWA

I agree.

The B after the 42 stand for the year which is 2009 which is when Samsung started shipping the TVs with MPEG4. As disctinct from the A (42A****) range which doesnt.

foley_b

thanks all,pluged arial in and tuned in no problem