Saorview Box - Which One?

Sonee

Havn't a clue which of these boxes is best?

Were not with sky or upc

Don't understand why some are €50 and others €150

Theres one in argos (triax) and its around €160,I prefer to buy the better one but don't know if theres a need to spend that much,I would like to get all the decent channels

Thanks

Avns1s

I'm guessing that the Triax you mention is a Combi box for Satellite and Saorview.

Describe your current situation as regards your aerial, whether you have a sat dish, your current TV., etc. and you'll have a better chance of getting a good recommendation to suit your needs.

Sonee

Hi

Yes the argos one was a combi box

At the minute we have cable so get all the irish channels plus bbc1,bbc2 utv,channel 4,sky one,discovery etc.

Don't use an aerial or sat dish at present.Can't remember the tv model/name but its not saorview compatible.

Anything else?

Avns1s

You say you have all the channels on cable. Why do you think the cable is changing?

If you are receiving your service on cable, it's not likely to be affected by the Analogue Switch off so you shouldn't need to do anything.

Has someone told you your service is being switched off?

Sonee

Hi

Sorry,were thinking of changing over to saorview as otherwise it costs about €300 a year.

Avns1s

In that case you will need a Combi box like the triax you mentioned, as well as an aerial and a satellite dish which will probably need to be professionally installed.

As an alternative to a combi box, you could consider a new TV (saorview approved) and a HD sat box. You will still need the dish and aerial.

While you will get a great range of free channels, you wont receive the likes of sky one and discovery that you mentioned in your earlier post.

Sonee

Ok,making progress now lol

Are the combi boxes all much the same? Does the argos one seem like good value?

A bit pissed off about losing sky & discovery as I watch them fairly often.I've heard most of the new channels are just rubbish?

The tv is only a few years old so will be keeping that more than likely

Avns1s

Not all boxes are the same. There are good NON saorview approved boxes but you wont have MHEG5 digital teletext or interactive. They are cheaper than approved boxes.

If the Sky One and Discovery channels are important to you, perhaps you should consider a basic sky sub or continue with your cable.

emaherx

Where do you live?
combi may not be necessary!

Freeview overspill may be far enough reaching.
Is analogue BBC/UTV currently available in your area?

Sonee

I live in west Dublin.

Not sure if analogue bbc/utv is available?

Still confussed

The Pontiac

Sonee wrote: »

Hi

Sorry,were thinking of changing over to saorview as otherwise it costs about €300 a year.

CO-OP Superstores are doing a deal:

Ferguson Ariva 150 Combo Box
Outdoor Aerial
Satellite Dish
+ Installation

for €259

That price is pretty unbeatable IMO. But you'd have to be in munster region I'd say, as most of their stores are in munster.

emaherx

Sonee wrote: »

I live in west Dublin.

Not sure if analogue bbc/utv is available?

Still confussed

Basicly a combo box requires connection to sat dish and aerial. Box costs more plus cost of dish and aerial.
(Uk channels availabe nationwide)


Saorview/Freeview HD box is cheaper and only require aerial connection. But must be able to receive signal from northern ireland or other uk transmitter.
(Uk channels availabe in freeview overspill areas, including possibbly north dublin but with big aerial)

Sonee

Ok,so probably best to get the combi box?

Seen an aerial here online,seems cheap - http://tvsatstore.com/index.php/triax-dg8-digital-aerial.html

Combi box - http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5323263/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+entertainment+and+sat+nav%7C14419512/c_2/3%7Ccat_19780832%7CDigital+boxes+and+services%7C14419633.htm

Then just need dish - Best place to buy one? Presume pick up in dublin as shipping would be too much!

Avns1s

You might be as well to get someone to supply and install the dish and perhaps the aerial too.

The dish takes a certain expertise and equipment to install.

The Pontiac

Sonee wrote: »

Then just need dish - Best place to buy one? Presume pick up in dublin as shipping would be too much!

Why not get the Ferguson 150 for €99? Long thread here about it.

It does all the Triax does and also acts as a media player.

EDIT: Maybe the Triax a '7 day electronic programme guide (EPG)' and the Ferguson doesn't, but that will only work for Irish channels anyway?

Avns1s

<Ollie> wrote: »

Why not get the Ferguson 150 for €99? Long thread here about it.

It does all the Triax does and also acts as a media player.

Thats not absolutely correct. The Ferguson Ariva 150 is a very good box and does many things very well but it's not saorview approved and will not do the interctive and digital teletext that is part of saorview.

Sonee

I will probably just go with the saorview approved one to avoid any problems,not 100% yet.

I was going to install it all myself as it doesn't seem too difficult?

Im just not sure what type of cable I need for the dish to box or any little extra bits and pieces I might need

Sonee

Thanks for your advice,am a bit clearer on the situation now

swoofer

you need satellite coax cable for the sat connection and 2 f connectors. The aerial bit is just use the old aerial connection.

Tony Soprano.

Would this box pick up saorview channels?

byte

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Would this box pick up saorview channels?

No, that's a Freesat box. Not designed for digital terrestrial channels (ie. Saorview)

Tony Soprano.

byte wrote: »

No, that's a Freesat box. Not designed for digital terrestrial channels (ie. Saorview)

Cheers. We seem to be fairly limited in choice then.

The Ferguson 150 does look good value, as I was looking on amazon for a similarly priced box.

So a combo box must also have a digital TV tuner?

Capt'n Midnight

Tony Soprano. wrote: »

Cheers. We seem to be fairly limited in choice then.

The Ferguson 150 does look good value, as I was looking on amazon for a similarly priced box.

So a combo box must also have a digital TV tuner?

If you use the discount coupon Boards.ie it's €93.57 from satellite.ie

if getting another box then check that support given, especially if they provide firmware updates / forums in case there are niggles later

If you have broadband then you can get teletext / program guides from the interweb, with the 150 you can even do very limited internet viewing of some popular video web sites.

The Triax combo receiver TSC114 only has Irish EPG - it doesn't have UK satellite EPG. It's also a Saorview approved box more expensive than the '150.
http://www.saorview.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/A4_TSC114.pdf

Tony Soprano.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

If you use the discount coupon Boards.ie it's €93.57 from satellite.ie

if getting another box then check that support given, especially if they provide firmware updates / forums in case there are niggles later

If you have broadband then you can get teletext / program guides from the interweb, with the 150 you can even do very limited internet viewing of some popular video web sites.

The Triax combo receiver TSC114 only has Irish EPG - it doesn't have UK satellite EPG. It's also a Saorview approved box more expensive than the '150.
http://www.saorview.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/A4_TSC114.pdf

Thanks a lot Capt'n.

Having been with Sky for nearly 10 years, there's certain things you do miss. The EPG on Sky is good, but all I do now is view the listings on the freesat website. Series link is handy, but I really can do without it. Everything is on RTE Player anyway and the rest of the stuff can be 'sourced' if I forget to pre-record it.

I think I'll get another Ferguson 150 box as it really has everything I need. I'm now using the media player on it, and plays every sort of file (mkv, mpeg, avi). For the price I think it's unbeatable. I think I'll go with satellite.ie this time. Thanks for that.