Saorview

Dr.Silly

Has anyone got this installed yet, with the free to air satellite option.

seems good, 299 install with loads of channels and no monthly bill, wonder if the quality is any good ?

Charlie-Bravo

Dr.Silly wrote: »

Has anyone got this installed yet, with the free to air satellite option.

seems good, 299 install with loads of channels and no monthly bill, wonder if the quality is any good ?

Satellite option? Is that included in the 299? I'd wondering if you are just getting a combo box that isn't Soarview compliant. Or is the Sat Box a HD box or perhaps a cheap SD version which is almost obsolete at this stage?

So the real question is what goods you'll get for the money. It will work today but channels on both satellite and Soarview change frequencies from time to time - will you end up with having to keep changing settings yourself to keep channels. Soarview compliant boxes and Freesat HD branded boxes shouldn't have update issues such as these.

Dr.Silly

Hey Astro,

this is the link, look at the second option.
http://www.saorview.ie/equipment/saorview-options/

pain in the ass if you'd have to retune it every so often though,
don't really have a clue about these things to be honest, but it seems a no brainer if there is no monthly fee.

loyatemu

one disadvantage (compared to Sky & UPC) is there is no 7-day guide for the satellite channels unless you buy a seperate "Freesat" box - the combi-boxes only have the full guide for the Saorview channels.

Charlie-Bravo

Dr.Silly wrote: »

Hey Astro,

this is the link, look at the second option.
http://www.saorview.ie/equipment/saorview-options/

pain in the ass if you'd have to retune it every so often though,
don't really have a clue about these things to be honest, but it seems a no brainer if there is no monthly fee.

interestingly it says a 'Saorview' combi-box. The box being able to receive Free-to-Air Sat channels (not limited to UK channels on Astra 28.2E, but anything not encrypted coming from satellites in range but depenind on which way you point the dish).

If it is Soarview approved, then the 7-day EPG and MHEG5(Aertel) will work a treat along with automatic updates for when new channels are added.

I'm not aware of any cost effective combi boxes which are Saorview and Freesat HD compliant at the moment (UK spec'd Humax boxes might do a 'Freeview HD' and Freesat HD and may work here but they're expensive!). This TV is something to consider if you had the spare cash: http://www.currys.ie/Product/SAMSUNG-Series-6-UE40ES6300-Full-HD-40andquot-LED-3D-TV/312904/339.0

Dr.Silly

hmm.interesting.

would be interesting to see if anyone in charlesland has decided to go for it.
I don't want to be the guinea pig

Charlie-Bravo

Coverage is no issue generally for Charlesland. I have tested a HD combi box and it works well! Positioning a sat dish and dropping cables from a sat dish and attic aerial might be unsightly unless you can hide cables in walls.

swedex

I would avoid any combo box if I were you. Apart from having to retune every so often, they seem to have a high failure rate and are cheaply made.

Best to do is buy Saorview approved products for the Irish channels and Freesat HD products for the free UK satellite channels. If you're looking for something that will record programmes, do live pause etc. Humax is generally the most recommended. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Humax-500GB-Recorder-Requires-Satellite/dp/B0039J42LM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349272965&sr=8-2

There's no Saorview PVR yet but hopefully something will appear in a couple months.

Also if you're getting work done, there seems to be a large amount of chancers putting up aerials and dishes badly all over the country. I would strongly recommend you get somebody from here. http://www.isaa.tv/

They should all use proper cabling, equipment and give you sound advice about what you need, without you paying for something you don't.

Blandpebbles

swedex wrote: »

I would avoid any combo box if I were you. Apart from having to retune every so often, they seem to have a high failure rate and are cheaply made.

Best to do is buy Saorview approved products for the Irish channels and Freesat HD products for the free UK satellite channels. If you're looking for something that will record programmes, do live pause etc. Humax is generally the most recommended. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Humax-500GB-Recorder-Requires-Satellite/dp/B0039J42LM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349272965&sr=8-2

There's no Saorview PVR yet but hopefully something will appear in a couple months.

Also if you're getting work done, there seems to be a large amount of chancers putting up aerials and dishes badly all over the country. I would strongly recommend you get somebody from here. http://www.isaa.tv/

They should all use proper cabling, equipment and give you sound advice about what you need, without you paying for something you don't.

Triax do a combi box that provides a 7 day EPG for both Saorview and Sat. It also enables PVR functionality via a usb plug in drive.

Works exceptionally well.

swedex

Blandpebbles wrote: »

Triax do a combi box that provides a 7 day EPG for both Saorview and Sat. It also enables PVR functionality via a usb plug in drive.

Works exceptionally well.

No they don't, the Triax TSC114 is Saorview approved and will provide a 7 day EPG for the Irish channels via an aerial. The EPG is only now and next for any satellite channel and it will need to be retuned if a satellite channel changes frequency.

A proper PVR has an internal hard drive, even RTE have said they won't use series link until there is a Saorview approved PVR on the market.

Triax have a poor reputation for combo boxes, perhaps the TSC114 is good but I'm not going to pay any money to find out.

Blandpebbles

swedex wrote: »

No they don't, the Triax TSC114 is Saorview approved and will provide a 7 day EPG for the Irish channels via an aerial. The EPG is only now and next for any satellite channel and it will need to be retuned if a satellite channel changes frequency.

A proper PVR has an internal hard drive, even RTE have said they won't use series link until there is a Saorview approved PVR on the market.

Triax have a poor reputation for combo boxes, perhaps the TSC114 is good but I'm not going to pay any money to find out.

In your opinion which is not based on experience apparently.

swedex

Blandpebbles wrote: »

In your opinion which is not based on experience apparently.

What's my opinion, that Triax don't make good combo boxes???? I'm probably not alone in that: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056168690

Murter

Hi Folks,

Can I pick your brains for a minute?

Up until a few months ago I had a decent enough Sky package, but had to tighten the belt so had to cancel my Sky subscription. That left me with just the free channels coming through the Sky dish (No Irish channels as I don't have an aerial).
I would like to be able to watch RTE 1/2, TV3 and 3e again, would you have any suggestions how I can get them through my existing dish without having to invest in an aerial and a saorview box?
Thanks!

Charlie-Bravo

Saorsat is on a different satellite (EUTELSAT KA-SAT 9A) and received with a different type of LNB. A typical sky dish would only pick up satellites in a short angle. Sky dishes point to 28 degrees E so to cover both 28 and 9 degrees you'll need two LNBs and a bigger dish. Then additional cabling/switches to serve another DVB-S2 box. See Saorsat tech info

IMO a set-top aerial and saorview digital box would be the better option and less hassle.

Cerco

Murter wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Can I pick your brains for a minute?

Up until a few months ago I had a decent enough Sky package, but had to tighten the belt so had to cancel my Sky subscription. That left me with just the free channels coming through the Sky dish (No Irish channels as I don't have an aerial).
I would like to be able to watch RTE 1/2, TV3 and 3e again, would you have any suggestions how I can get them through my existing dish without having to invest in an aerial and a saorview box?
Thanks!

As the previous poster has said you cannot get the RTE channels for free with your existing dish setup. However depending on the age of your tv you maybe able to receive the Irish channels with a cheap internal aerial. You need to check if your tv is Saorview compatible i.e. does it support MPEG4 and MHEG 5. Check on the terrestrial forum and see if your tv is listed. If not then you will have to invest in a set top box.

Oldlegs

swedex wrote: »

What's my opinion, that Triax don't make good combo boxes???? I'm probably not alone in that: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056168690

Just asking, Swedex have you had your own bad experience with Triax box, or are you just relating other people's experiences ?

My personal experience is that it worked 1st time. Auto tuning was perfect.

Stick an external disk or USB stick in the back and I can record any movie etc. Fair enough, series link does not work, but for a one off price of €130-150 I can certainly live without that.

As there was already a sat dish on the roof, there was NO installation required.

So, for me, based on MY personal experience. No problem whatsoever with the Triax box, and for me, no reason to pay €299 rather than something much cheaper. Such as (http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-WP645TS&pages=1&prod=WP645TS&brands=WALKER&image=) or the slightly more expensive (http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-TSC114&pages=1&prod=TSC114&brands=TRIAX&image=)

swedex

Oldlegs wrote: »

Just asking, Swedex have you had your own bad experience with Triax box, or are you just relating other people's experiences ?

My personal experience is that it worked 1st time. Auto tuning was perfect.

Stick an external disk or USB stick in the back and I can record any movie etc. Fair enough, series link does not work, but for a one off price of €130-150 I can certainly live without that.

As there was already a sat dish on the roof, there was NO installation required.

So, for me, based on MY personal experience. No problem whatsoever with the Triax box, and for me, no reason to pay €299 rather than something much cheaper. Such as (http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-WP645TS&pages=1&prod=WP645TS&brands=WALKER&image=) or the slightly more expensive (http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-TSC114&pages=1&prod=TSC114&brands=TRIAX&image=)

There's huge threads in the terrestrial forum listing various bugs and faults in the Triax and other combo boxes and the specifications clearly state that it doesn't have a 7 day EPG for satellite unlike what another poster who had 'personal experience' of it said. Is it irrational to form an opinion that there are other more suitable products available?

Last time I checked hard drives weren't free, so add another €80 - €100 or so to the price of these PVR ready products, then make sure it's formatted correctly and cross your fingers it's compatible.

If you're happy with what you have, good for you. My opinion still hasn't changed; Saorview approved products for Irish channels through an aerial and Freesat HD products for the free UK channels through a satellite dish.

I'm sure the terrestrial or satellite forums would be a better place to discuss the pros or cons of a particular receiver than the Greystones and Charlseland forum.

realdanbreen

I see the standard Saorview box in Argos for €59.99, is that the best price around?

Michael Sheridan

Cerco wrote: »

As the previous poster has said you cannot get the RTE channels for free with your existing dish setup. However depending on the age of your tv you maybe able to receive the Irish channels with a cheap internal aerial. You need to check if your tv is Saorview compatible i.e. does it support MPEG4 and MHEG 5. Check on the terrestrial forum and see if your tv is listed. If not then you will have to invest in a set top box.

This is good advice - a good quality indoor aerial and a saorview box will give you Irish channels free after initial investment while retaining your esixting dish set up. Remember UK channels are also going digital 24/10 so retaining the satellite option is essential

Michael Sheridan

BTW there are people going door to dor offering Digital boxes

be careful - better off getting a saorview approved box from a reputable dealer - now around €60

realdanbreen

Will they come down from €60 in the next few weeks?

swedex

Michael Sheridan wrote: »

This is good advice - a good quality indoor aerial and a saorview box will give you Irish channels free after initial investment while retaining your esixting dish set up. Remember UK channels are also going digital 24/10 so retaining the satellite option is essential

Not entirely true, it all depends on where you live in terms of the transmitters. Some people may need a large channelised aerial on top of a 20 foot pole over their roof, others might just use a coat hanger in the back of their tvs to receive Saorview.

As for price, I can't see them coming down in price until a few weeks after ASO (analogue switch off) as there will probably be a bigish demand for them. When a proper Saorview PVR comes on the market the receivers available now should fall in price then.

Michael Sheridan

swedex wrote: »

Not entirely true, it all depends on where you live in terms of the transmitters. Some people may need a large channelised aerial on top of a 20 foot pole over their roof, others might just use a coat hanger in the back of their tvs to receive Saorview.

As for price, I can't see them coming down in price until a few weeks after ASO (analogue switch off) as there will probably be a bigish demand for them. When a proper Saorview PVR comes on the market the receivers available now should fall in price then.

Saorview approved box already sub €60 at Argos - Power city and Harvey Norman to follow this weekend



MS

toexpress

anyone got any recommendations for an installer in the Kildare/Laois area?

veidhleadoir

So I bought the saorview approved digital set-top box. The sales person in the shop I bought it said that I didn't need to buy an indoor aerial because if the aerial I was using on my analogue tv was receiving tv3 and tg4 ok then I didn't need to purchase one. I installed the box and it said that it couldn't find any channels because of the aerial. I bought an aerial in Argos today, went through the installation process again and the same message appeared about the aerial. Pure head wrecking stuff. This is the tv in my bedroom. Sky on the main tv so it's a satellite. Head is melted. Feel like it would just be easier to buy a saorview approved tv but the analogue tv I have has sentimental value to me. It was a 21st birthday present from my mam and it's still in perfect working order. Wondering if this saorview craic is just a money racket!??

Annasopra

Moved to Television forum

areyawell

veidhleadoir wrote: »

So I bought the saorview approved digital set-top box. The sales person in the shop I bought it said that I didn't need to buy an indoor aerial because if the aerial I was using on my analogue tv was receiving tv3 and tg4 ok then I didn't need to purchase one. I installed the box and it said that it couldn't find any channels because of the aerial. I bought an aerial in Argos today, went through the installation process again and the same message appeared about the aerial. Pure head wrecking stuff. This is the tv in my bedroom. Sky on the main tv so it's a satellite. Head is melted. Feel like it would just be easier to buy a saorview approved tv but the analogue tv I have has sentimental value to me. It was a 21st birthday present from my mam and it's still in perfect working order. Wondering if this saorview craic is just a money racket!??

Not a money racket no. The picture is 100 times better than analogue. If you have a HD TV you get RTE 2 HD which is excellent for sport and other programmes. Have you the new aerial set up correctly?

Cerco

veidhleadoir wrote: »

So I bought the saorview approved digital set-top box. The sales person in the shop I bought it said that I didn't need to buy an indoor aerial because if the aerial I was using on my analogue tv was receiving tv3 and tg4 ok then I didn't need to purchase one. I installed the box and it said that it couldn't find any channels because of the aerial. I bought an aerial in Argos today, went through the installation process again and the same message appeared about the aerial. Pure head wrecking stuff. This is the tv in my bedroom. Sky on the main tv so it's a satellite. Head is melted. Feel like it would just be easier to buy a saorview approved tv but the analogue tv I have has sentimental value to me. It was a 21st birthday present from my mam and it's still in perfect working order. Wondering if this saorview craic is just a money racket!??

The person in the shop was correct. If your aerial is receiving TG4 and TV3 in analogue then you should not require another aerial.

You have either a faulty box or more likely, you have not installed it correctly. Buying a new TV will not resolve this issue.

Capt'n Midnight

realdanbreen wrote: »

I see the standard Saorview box in Argos for €59.99, is that the best price around?

Tesco apparantly have a Technika T8030 €50 - if it's in stock

dmcdream

Have any folks in or around the Belfast area been checking their Saorview reception from Clermont Carn today?

My family live in what has historically been a "marginal" reception area of south Belfast. Analogue reception of RTÉ 1 and 2 was clear, albeit a little hazy on occasion. TV3 was extremely ghostly, and prone to “dropping out” in bad weather. TG4 reception has always been fair, thanks to the existing "mini Mux" arrangement at Divis Mountain.

This afternoon I connected up a Humax HD-FOX T2 receiver, provided to us by the Switchover Help Scheme, and the picture quality has never been so good! Saorviews' 8 TV channels (excluding RTÉ Aertel here) are blasting in! :eek:

Of course, the real test will be in bad/wintery weather! As I said, TV3 was extremely ghostly, and prone to “dropping out” when we had bad weather. Any heavy downpour of rain, and the picture would just disappear. :rolleyes:

I'm keen to hear where else is enjoying this great picture quality today, so keep those posts coming!

**I should hopefully have a Soarsat reception report from the same location, to share with you all tomorrow!**

lertsnim

There is someone on the Terrestrial board saying he gets it in Belfast