Saorview set top box €49 at Tesco

Oracle

Looks the same as the Argos one but with a Technika badge, also made in Turkey:

Capt'n Midnight

Technika T8030? https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056753877
so still not sure exactly which model it is

Oracle

I have the Argos one and this looks identical to it. Also comes with an HDMI cable. Plus the Saorview logo is printed on the front, so it is Saorview approved.

TheDriver

good value

jsn.peters

excellent value

screamer

Have seen them for 39 in a shop recently, must try and remember where and I'll post it up.

Oracle

Listed on Saorview.ie as an approved set top box: http://www.saorview.ie/product/technika/

Capt'n Midnight

TheDriver wrote: »

good value

jsn.peters wrote: »

excellent value

It's a good price for a saorview box

it's not a great price because that's in or around what they go for
Aldi did one for €55 but you get 3 year cover. Power city are doing saorview boxes for €55. DID are taking the piss as usual. Argos have done them for €50 too.

Be interesting to see what way prices go as we get nearer the changeover. Or even just after it.

Capt'n Midnight

screamer wrote: »

Have seen them for 39 in a shop recently, must try and remember where and I'll post it up.

just make sure it isn't one of those TVstar boxes or UK freeview

as a general rule if it doesn't say Saorview it's not worth saving a few quid.

utyh2ikcq9z76b

Yeah Im holding out till a few months after the launch, the boxes in the uk went down to around £15-20, wonder how many won't bother at all?

Oracle

Pierce Warm Zirconium wrote: »

Yeah Im holding out till a few months after the launch, the boxes in the uk went down to around £15-20, wonder how many won't bother at all?

Do you think they'll go down that much? :eek: There's an RTE/TV3 addict in my house so compulsory purchase.

dodzy

Oracle wrote: »

Do you think they'll go down that much? :eek: There's an RTE/TV3 addict in my house so compulsory purchase.

Don't think you'll see that much of a drop TBH. Can't really compare to the UK market.

Capt'n Midnight

Pierce Warm Zirconium wrote: »

Yeah Im holding out till a few months after the launch, the boxes in the uk went down to around £15-20, wonder how many won't bother at all?

How much are HD boxes in the UK ?

That would give a better indication of how low the price can go. There are licenses for codecs and stuff so there is a minimum price even if they could provide the hardware for free.

Digital Satellite TV

dodzy wrote: »

Don't think you'll see that much of a drop TBH. Can't really compare to the UK market.

+1

RTE's predictions show that there will be barely/ if enough approved boxes in Ireland cover demand with the generic versions filling in the extra around the switchover. They did the rounds with all major retailers/wholesalers a while ago getting the figures

ted1

Pierce Warm Zirconium wrote: »

Yeah Im holding out till a few months after the launch, the boxes in the uk went down to around £15-20, wonder how many won't bother at all?

There boxes used mpeg2 which is a poorer technology. Also they have 60 million people with more channels available so a greater take up. Don't expect things here to go the same way.

muincav

Pierce Warm Zirconium wrote: »

Yeah Im holding out till a few months after the launch, the boxes in the uk went down to around £15-20, wonder how many won't bother at all?

It took a very long time after the Freeview launch before any box was £15-£20!!!
And yes, the Technika box in Tesco is Saorview approved plus if you live in the right area you may be able to pick up Freeview which in my opinion is a lot lot better than Saorview with a lot more channels (even at their launch)

utyh2ikcq9z76b

Some good points, might just get one now

theoneeyedman

Picked up one of these today. Looks good thus far came with a HDMI cable included grand sharp pic on a 32" CRT tv ......good value all around IMO.

PopTarts

These easy to set up?

Is it just a matter of plugging it in?

ted1

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Picked up one of these today. Looks good thus far came with a HDMI cable included grand sharp pic on a 32" CRT tv ......good value all around IMO.

just to avoid confusion the hdmi is useless on a CRT.

digitaldr

Do you get the freeview epg on these boxes? Do they have scart/composite out too?

Zardoz

Not sure I'd buy another Technika product .
Bought a Technika branded dvd player and wireless keyboard in Tesco before and they were both faulty .Cheaply made.

Capt'n Midnight

digitaldr wrote: »

Do you get the freeview epg on these boxes? Do they have scart/composite out too?

pretty sure it's part of the Saorview standard

generic boxes might only have now/next

Thargor

Can this record to a USB key does anyone know?

muincav

Thargor wrote: »

Can this record to a USB key does anyone know?

No afraid not-the USB connection is only for viewing other media eg...pics

greened

Was recommended the €45 box that supervalu are selling by a friend that works with UPC. Bought it. RF out and HDMI, USB reader that you can record onto. My aeriel was moved about 90 degrees in wind the week before I bought. One of the arms also broke off and the reception was like a winter in the North Pole. Pluged in the box and I have crystal clear picture. all other usual features EPG etc.
Would recomend.

Thargor

greened wrote: »

Was recommended the €45 box that supervalu are selling by a friend that works with UPC. Bought it. RF out and HDMI, USB reader that you can record onto. My aeriel was moved about 90 degrees in wind the week before I bought. One of the arms also broke off and the reception was like a winter in the North Pole. Pluged in the box and I have crystal clear picture. all other usual features EPG etc.
Would recomend.

Is that offer still going?

byte

I'm pretty sure the box that Supervalu were selling is a generic MPEG4 box, more than likely branded TVStar?

If so, it's not Saorview approved, won't have digital Aertel or "red button" interactivity, and that's only the basics.

Can you confirm what box you bought.

ted1

All saorview boxes have hdmi and scary, freeview is a not in Ireland. It's the British version if saorview. Most the boxes are OEM equipment and made by Vestel in Turkey. So no difference other than firmware and label.

Capt'n Midnight

greened wrote: »

Was recommended the €45 box that supervalu are selling by a friend that works with UPC. Bought it. RF out and HDMI, USB reader that you can record onto.

does it do RTE 2 ?

does it have a 7 day EPG ?

Cantona's Collars

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

does it do RTE 2 ?

does it have a 7 day EPG ?

A lot of talk on the terrestrial forum about these boxes sold in Supervalu,Dunnes,Xtravision etc. They are not certified,no Mheg5 etc. Better to pay an extra few quid & have something that is futureproof.I'd be sickened if I forked out for one & then a future firmware update by Saorview rendered it useless.

TheDriver

and ask any of us with Panasonic z81 TVs, saorview spec needs to be purchased....

Oracle

muincav wrote: »

No afraid not-the USB connection is only for viewing other media eg...pics

Are you sure about that? The Argos one can record, to USB drive (not supplied), I'd say this one is similar.

Lucky luke

Got this box today in Tesco Omni. It looks well and works perfectly with my old indoor aerial. There's a HDMI cable included but it will work with SCART too (cable not included). Works with 4:3 and widescreens 576p 720p and 1080p. It doesn't record, only plays AVI JPEG and MP3. Good Value

RUCKING FETARD

Is their not Saorview/freeview HD/freesat combo boxes out now?

Capt'n Midnight

RUCKING FETARD wrote: »

Is their not Saorview/freeview HD/freesat combo boxes out now?

Since this is bargain alerts I'd have to say that most of those boxes are more expensive than cheap FTA box and saorview box.


B&Q do the cheapest UK satellite solution no EPG just now/next

but it supports diseq so it should be possible to add a diseq switch (power city €10) and ka lnb. However, cheapest ka lnb I've found is €37 so not really saving much over saorview box by the time you figure out if you need a second dish or some sort of bracket on the first one.


Looks like power city have sold out of their €55 boxes since last night
ignore the TV star one.
http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=10-23&cat=TV,%20DVD,%20Camera,%20Laptop,iPad&action=brandstory


€129 - combo box - irish EPG only , and you need a dish and lnb
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-TS1124&pages=&prod=TS1124&brands=DIGIHOME&image=

mathepac

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

... €129 - combo box - irish EPG only , and you need a dish and lnb
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-TS1124&pages=&prod=TS1124&brands=DIGIHOME&image=

I currently receive UK FTA on my old Sky box & Satellite set-up. No Irish TV channels, but I do get radio. If I buy a combo-box will I also need an aerial? "... and lnb ..."?

Thanks.

gazzaman22

Can Anyone link me to a box that will do a simple kob of watching the irish channels(do the english channels come through on this box also?), and will allow me the odd record(if possible), I have an aerial and a free to air satilete...Cheap and chearful please

My head hurts reading all this stuff...Many many thanks

Capt'n Midnight

mathepac wrote: »

I currently receive UK FTA on my old Sky box & Satellite set-up.

No change on that side.
This is bargain alerts - if you have tonnes of money get a subscription.

For now if you have a SKY box keep using it, if you don't have a subscription use the upside down card trick to the all the UK channels.

about 60 quid + a TV aerial will give you all the Irish channels

You will then have 7 day program guide on both boxes.

If you have run out of SCART sockets then plug your DVD or VCR into the SKY box. When DVD is turned on the SKY box will pass it through.

No Irish TV channels, but I do get radio. If I buy a combo-box will I also need an aerial? "... and lnb ..."?

Thanks.

Yes you will get RTE radio on SKY or Free To Air.


A satellite / terresterial box can use your existing SKY dish.
BUT it will cost twice the price of a basic saorview box, it will also need a TV aerial
and it will NOT have the 7 day Guide for the UK channels.

(If you get a FreeSat + Freeview HD box box then you will have the UK 7 day guide and a box that is NOT saorview approved and will not have the 7 day EPG and may have problems with Irish HD channels)



I'm looking into using a Ka LNB to get a simple one box solution. BUT it will NOT have any program guide. It will NOT have TV3 or 3E until they dip into their pockets to pay for the satellite costs.
And the costs of the Diseq switch and Ka LNB are more than the TV star box, so no real advantage except that you only have one remote control





As an aside
If your "digital TV" only gets radio then you have an MPEG2 TV - the old UK standard. If bought in the last year or two in the Republic as television then you can try going back to the supplier and point out calmly that it is not fit for it's intended purpose as a TV receiver.





Synopsis

If you get your Irish channels from SKY or UPC you need to do nothing.

If you get your Irish channels from an aerial then you should spend about sixty quid on a saorview box. You can spend more but be sure you need the features. The savings on getting a non saorview approved box aren't worth it.


If you want to switch from UPC or SKY it may be better to wait until the dust settles to see which options worked out best. If someone releases a Saroview + Freesat approved box at a decent price then happy days.

If you are getting only basic analog TV from UPC because you've only signed up for internet then you need to do nothing for now.

mathepac

mathepac wrote: »

... If I buy a combo-box will I also need an aerial? ...

OK I figured it out - terrestrial channels need an indoor or outdoor aerial, blindingly obvious really. DOH.

Any recommendations for indoor aerial bargains. PowerCity €23.00 is the only price I have so far.

Capt'n Midnight

a

mathepac wrote: »

OK I figured it out - terrestrial channels need an indoor or outdoor aerial, blindingly obvious really. DOH.

Any recommendations for indoor aerial bargains. PowerCity €23.00 is the only price I have so far.

Powercity ? TBH if there is any at all of using it I'd probably try this one if you are in a good signal area
PHILEX DTT AERIAL FOR SAOR VIEW Model : 27880D €16.95
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=30-72-27880D&pages=&prod=27880D&brands=PHILEX&image=
if you need to save space try it without the reflector ( bits that go in at the back) - or try it with one of the reflector bars attached. Unless I'm missing something it's as good as the other un-amplified antennas which are twice the price.

it might not be good enough to use inside an attic though,
http://philex.com/catalogue/product/?id=664&cat=1058

[edit] - the antenna is in two sections so if the signal is strong enough you don't need the front half. [/edit]



TBH at this stage we should have narrow band colour coded antennas on sale for Saorview. :mad:

http://www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/coverage-map/

Aerial Group	Channel Range	Colour Code
A 	21 - 37 	Red        THREE ROCK - Ch. 30 
B 	35 - 53 	Yellow
C/D 	48 - 68 	Green     KIPPURE - Ch. 54 
K 	21 - 48 	Grey
E 	35 - 68 	Brown
Wideband 	21 - 68 	Black - this is what is sold here

[edit]B&Q have overpriced antennas

also they have increased the price of the satellite box [/edit]



also check out the Terresterial TV forum
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=56

moodrater

Since this is bargain alerts I should mention that ours works perfectly in some parts of the house with a 3ft piece of wire shoved into the center pin on the aerial socket ala ye olde coat hanger might be worth a try if your in a good signal area.

IRCA

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Since this is bargain alerts I'd have to say that most of those boxes are more expensive than cheap FTA box and saorview box.


B&Q do the cheapest UK satellite solution no EPG just now/next

but it supports diseq so it should be possible to add a diseq switch (power city €10) and ka lnb. However, cheapest ka lnb I've found is €37 so not really saving much over saorview box by the time you figure out if you need a second dish or some sort of bracket on the first one.


Looks like power city have sold out of their €55 boxes since last night
ignore the TV star one.
http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=10-23&cat=TV,%20DVD,%20Camera,%20Laptop,iPad&action=brandstory


€129 - combo box - irish EPG only , and you need a dish and lnb
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-TS1124&pages=&prod=TS1124&brands=DIGIHOME&image=

Agreed - Went to Harvey Norman looking for the basic Filux Box @ €69 - all sold out, however the very nice man did try to sell me the €169 satellite combo box even though I explained I didn't have a satellite dish ...

Ended up buying a Nordmende box from the local Co-Op for €75 (bit expensive but actually quite a nice bit of kit - up and running in 5 mins - sorted!)

Oracle

mathepac wrote: »

OK I figured it out - terrestrial channels need an indoor or outdoor aerial, blindingly obvious really. DOH.

Any recommendations for indoor aerial bargains. PowerCity €23.00 is the only price I have so far.

Any old bunnys ear should do like this one for €7 in Argos. I use a similar one, all the channels are perfect: http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5342859/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/3|cat_19780832|Television+aerials+and+boosters|14419536.htm

PowerCity: http://powercity.ie/?par=30-72-004932&pages=1&prod=004932&brands=FLEMMING&image=

P.S. What I'd do is buy a cheap antenna first and try it, then if it doesn’t work return it and buy the better one. Just hold on to the receipt.

Corholio

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

No change on that side.
This is bargain alerts - if you have tonnes of money get a subscription.

For now if you have a SKY box keep using it, if you don't have a subscription use the upside down card trick to the all the UK channels.

about 60 quid + a TV aerial will give you all the Irish channels

Great post, thanks for all the info.

What is the upside down card trick if I may ask? What channels would this trick get?

byte

Corholio wrote: »

Great post, thanks for all the info.

What is the upside down card trick if I may ask? What channels would this trick get?

I don't think that trick does much anymore. At a time, you had to stick your card in upside down and reboot to make the box "forget" to have the Irish channels at the start of EPG and have many UK ones missing (notably ITV, C4 and C5 and their extras).

Now though, with basic Sky boxes anyway, all you need to do is reboot with no card and it defaults to basic London EPG, so you get all the Beebs, ITV, C5, etc. listed.

If it's a Sky+HD box then things get a bit more complex.

el diablo

Anyone seen these boxes in Tesco this week? Or are they only available in the larger stores? (Tesco Extra).

uck51js9zml2yt

byte wrote: »

Corholio wrote: »

Great post, thanks for all the info.

What is the upside down card trick if I may ask? What channels would this trick get?

I don't think that trick does much anymore. At a time, you had to stick your card in upside down and reboot to make the box "forget" to have the Irish channels at the start of EPG and have many UK ones missing (notably ITV, C4 and C5 and their extras).

Now though, with basic Sky boxes anyway, all you need to do is reboot with no card and it defaults to basic London EPG, so you get all the Beebs, ITV, C5, etc. listed.

If it's a Sky+HD box then things get a bit more complex.

Get a free sky card from setanta under the bai sound and vision scheme.
Gives u all the free satellite channels.

el diablo

el diablo wrote: »

Anyone seen these boxes in Tesco this week? Or are they only available in the larger stores? (Tesco Extra).

Nobody knows?

ShaunC

Mullingar Tesco has them and it's not an "Extra"

paddyp

Arturo Gifted Account wrote: »

Get a free sky card from setanta under the bai sound and vision scheme.
Gives u all the free satellite channels.

Sounds interesting is it free or 'free' with a subscription to setanta. How do you go about getting one. Does it change the epg to put the freeview channels in order so you dont have to scan through loads of scrambled channels if not don't see the point.