Saorview PVR Box has arrived.

danjo-xx

The first box has been approved today. Anyone have any details.

Found this: WP6500TTR Walker SAORVIEW Approved set-top-box with built-in PVR (recorder)

The Cush

danjo-xx wrote: »

The first box has been approved today. Anyone have any details.

Probably approved a few weeks ago, Doney84 posted the link to the Saorview website yesterday and Saorview's Brian Geraghty mentioned it last week on a Cork local radio programme.

Mary Curtis, RTÉ's Digital Switchover Manager said on Drivetime this evening that it would be in the shops next week.

No technical details yet.

excollier

Hope it has a T2 tuner.

STB

The 212 ?

Haven't heard it was, but it is the most likely candidate.

Atlantic Dawn

Do Walker make decent premium products with nice onscreen displays and well layed out remotes? I have experience of non premium brands like Bush, Alba etc which are just woeful and not worth purchasing due to their headwrecking cheap setups.

The Cush

excollier wrote: »

Hope it has a T2 tuner.

As it's a Walker product I doubt it.

paultf

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Do Walker make decent premium products with nice onscreen displays and well layed out remotes? I have experience of non premium brands like Bush, Alba etc which are just woeful and not worth purchasing due to their headwrecking cheap setups.

I have a Triax 112 saorview box. More features than the Walker but very slow/unresponsive. The remote is OK but buttons are small. Awkward getting around the different screens. Triax are supposed to be good.

Got a Walker saorview box for my Dad after checking the videos on tvtrade. Much more responsive. The remote is better for him with the bigger buttons. Also easier getting around the different screens - one is the channel list (which they don't have on the triax) where you can preview a channel in a small screen befoe selecting. For someone like my Dad the Walker is alright. I'd nearly prefer to my triax.

STB

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Do Walker make decent premium products with nice onscreen displays and well layed out remotes? I have experience of non premium brands like Bush, Alba etc which are just woeful and not worth purchasing due to their headwrecking cheap setups.

Yes Walker products are made by OEM Vestel like the brand name rebadges you mentioned above.

If the Walker is the first PVR then its likely to be built on the same basis of the Vestel T7300 or more likely T7650 chassis used in the UK (as it includes Nordic profile) with some tweaks.



More photos here

Lets see.......

The Cush wrote: »

As it's a Walker product I doubt it.

I wouldn't be so sure... (note the top line labelling of T7650 boxes). If not this specific box that Walker are introducing, you can be damn sure future ones will be very like the one above.

Pangea

paultf wrote: »

I have a Triax 112 saorview box. More features than the Walker but very slow/unresponsive. The remote is OK but buttons are small. Awkward getting around the different screens. Triax are supposed to be good.

Got a Walker saorview box for my Dad after checking the videos on tvtrade. Much more responsive. The remote is better for him with the bigger buttons. Also easier getting around the different screens - one is the channel list (which they don't have on the triax) where you can preview a channel in a small screen befoe selecting. For someone like my Dad the Walker is alright. I'd nearly prefer to my triax.

Thanks for that, I was just watching videos comparing the Triax 112 to the Walker WP12DTB-R. Advising someone on which to get tomorrow.
By the looks of things the EPG as you said is much nicer on the Walker, but the Triax has more support for usb codecs. What other features does it have that the walker doesn't? Decisions..

paultf

Pangea wrote: »

What other features does it have that the walker doesn't? Decisions..

Someone else might have more info on that.

One thing I picked up from the videos on tvtrade was that at the moment the triax 112 can record one programme and while watching another.

The walker can only record the same programme you are watching.

In the videos they mentioned about something 'when the MUX changes', the 112 and other saorview boxes will lose this feature.

I see the newer Triax 212 handles this feature.

I find having to use a USB or external hard drive only suitable for occasional recordings.

Sure series link isn't even available at all yet.

Willby

danjo-xx wrote: »

The first box has been approved today. Anyone have any details.

Found this: WP6500TTR Walker SAORVIEW Approved set-top-box with built-in PVR (recorder)

Emailed Walker to enquire when would above be available to purchase and was advised middle of next month. Radio reports had suggested next week.

bridster007

Willby wrote: »

Emailed Walker to enquire when would above be available to purchase and was advised middle of next month. Radio reports had suggested next week.

I rang them last month, was put through to the MD I think. He said close to Xmas for the PVR. Pretty short and ignorant with me on the phone.
Was not a very helpful guy, didn't seem to understand what a customer is.

Hotblack Desiato

Some people are reporting test series link signals on RTE1+1 but my TR112 isn't seeing them.

It doesn't like you trying to do chase play on a timer recording - when you start playing it stops recording, really dumb feature, would be better not to allow chase play at all and keep the recording going. This is one of those things you find out the hard way :rolleyes:

It should have a dedicated light for recording, instead of flashing between red (stby) and blue (on)

It seems to support plenty of codecs for playback all right, but playback of its own recordings is terrible - skipping, sync going way out, goto time function not going to the time you select, jumping to a random point in the recording if you use reverse or more than 4x forward. Very annoying when watching sport.

The UI in general is poor but the media player is terrible, sometimes you press Recall to go back, sometimes you press left. Sometimes you press select to go forward, sometimes down. No consistency. Bizarre split between Movies, Record Manager and Disk Manager which should all be one screen.

The EPG is annoying, you get no preview of the channel selected and not even the first line of the programme description although there's room on the screen - you have to press i all the time. A red circle on a programme means Reminder and a green circle means Record - how stupid is that?

I couldn't recommend the TR112 really. It's a pity as a bit of attention to detail in the software would have prevented all of these issues.

Hotblack Desiato

bridster007 wrote: »

I rang them last month, was put through to the MD I think. He said close to Xmas for the PVR. Pretty short and ignorant with me on the phone.
Was not a very helpful guy, didn't seem to understand what a customer is.

That might just be because randomers are ringing him up all the time instead of asking their retailers. You're not his customer.

bridster007

ninja900 wrote: »

That might just be because randomers are ringing him up all the time instead of asking their retailers. You're not his customer.

I did ask his retailer - Powercity. They said they would be last to know.

I am his customer as his retailer does not have any customers without people like me. If his retailer has no customers then he has none.

If he gets so many calls then he should have given his receptionist a statement to convey to people rather than treating her like a mushroom. And he should be glad of so many calls. Calls = potential business

Then, his website says it all, looks like it was put together by a 16 yr old on a Saturday morning.

But wait ... he doesn't need a website as he has no customers....only retailers

Anyway, I decided not to wait for his PVR anyway and I'm happily sorted.

JonathonS

I heard this morning that the Walker PVR will arrive in the shops in 3 weeks time - week of 12th Nov.

Pangea

What price range can we guess these will be at, double the normal saorview box or around the same?

The Cush

Pangea wrote: »

What price range can we guess these will be at, double the normal saorview box or around the same?

In the region of €250 according to Saorview's Brian Geraghty, we'll know for sure in about 3 weeks.

JonathonS

Pangea wrote: »

What price range can we guess these will be at, double the normal saorview box or around the same?

€249 to €269, but apparently not officially published yet by WAlker.

Pangea

paultf wrote: »

I see the newer Triax 212 handles this feature.

Thanks, I see the Triax 212 isnt saorview approved yet though, but it works out the same price as the Triax 112.

JonathonS

The 212 has two tuners so as long as all Saorview channels are on the same MUX you can record 2 while watching a 3rd.

Tony

The Cush wrote: »

As it's a Walker product I doubt it.

Re: T2

I think you may be pleasantly surprised

The Cush

Tony wrote: »

Re: T2

I think you may be pleasantly surprised

Thanks for the update Tony, so T2 as as STB speculated back in post #8.

Tony

The Cush wrote: »

Thanks for the update Tony, so T2 as as STB speculated back in post #8.

Yes I believe so . Edit: just read back and post 8 is pretty much on the money although i'd imagine that the BBC web content would be IP blocked assuming the box is web enabled in the firmware.

Hotblack Desiato

Red 7-segment LEDs, really?? Reminiscent of an 80s clock radio and who wants to be looking at that under their TV all the time.

watty

Great for Radio channels on HiFi. Put a bit of tape over them if you don't like them.

OO7FITZY

Any update on when we will see the new Saorview approved Walker PVR in the shops?
http://www.saorview.ie/product/walker/

The Cush

See the first post on this page.

OO7FITZY

thx, but that is one of many notions of when it will be available - will keep an eye on Boards.ie to see when it is released

Volcane

Sony, Samsung (+others) and just this year Panasonic all have televisions which seem to be dual purpose ie freeviewHD and Saorview. Should this also apply to their PVRs, I'm interested in the Panasonic DMR-PWT520EB. I would have already purchased if I was sure that it could handle saorview correctly. I now have to watch the adds when homeland is on!!!

zg3409

Powercity now have the specs for the new Walker box online. No stock but they have the ability to take pre-orders.

I would urge people not to pre-order or buy until people here have done proper reviews. Once the boxes are available series link can be tested on lots of makes of boxes. Then we should be able to answer the question of which box is best to buy for recording. Other boxes may work better and may be approved in the future.

Anyway here are the specs:

Price 230 Euro

WALKER SAORVIEW 500GB TWIN TUNER BOX
Model : WP6500TTR

Specifications

- Saorview Approved Recorder
- Record Up To 320hrs Of Tv
- Simple And Quick Installation
- 8 Day Saorview Tv Guide
- Twin Tuner - Watch One Channel While Recording Another Or Record 2 Programs At Same Time
- High Definition Picture
- Hdmi Digital Av Connection
- Live Pause And Series Record
- 500gb Recorder
- Aertel Mheg5 Teletext
- Rte Dab Radio Stations (x10) (Personally I would not call them DAB as DAB is different)
- Scart Connection.remote Control
- Digital Audio Output
- Fully Tested For Future Saorview Developments
- Aerial Required

http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-23-WP6500&pages=1&prod=WP6500&brands=WALKER&image=

Can anyone see from the images which model box it is? Would it have DVB-T2?

zg3409

Good Afternoon,

Thanks for the email, stock is due in around the second week in December.

Regards,

Powercity

I remain to be convinced.

mackersdublin

zg3409 wrote: »

Powercity now have the specs for the new Walker box online. No stock but they have the ability to take pre-orders.

Price 230 Euro

WALKER SAORVIEW 500GB TWIN TUNER BOX
Model : WP6500TTR

€230 seems very expensive for just a Saorview+ box, u can get PVR box for €60. God knows how much they'll charge for a Combo+ box!!

watty

You can't get a real PVR for €60
A real PVR has internal HDD as well as twin Tuners. €60 only gets a single tuner Saorview box with a recording feature, it's not a PVR.

zg3409

A 500GB Drive is worth 80 euro on it's own.

The nearest twin tuner box is 80 Euro:
http://www.tvtrade.ie/saorview-set-top-box-receiver.html

So that's 160 for a twin tuner plus drive. The above linked to box may become approved but may never have series link.

For anyone serious about recording series link is essential in these days. Yes it's a premium, yes lots of people will consider it way too expensive. But compared to a VCR in the old days and what it offers I think it is a reasonable launch price. Saorview approval normally added a 20 to 50 Euro premium to boxes.

Powercity can also be slightly more expensive than some online shops.

The actual quality and performace of this box is yet to be tested.

There may never be a proper combo + box with series link on UK and ROI channels for reasons discussed before.

When you consider people pay 160 Every year for just the content, a once of cost to be able to record it properly is not real good value, especially if you value the time you spend watching ads instead of fast forwarding them.

zg3409

Most 500GB UK Freeview + HD boxes are £200 - £240 (€250 -€310)

http://www.freeview.co.uk/Freeview-Plus/Freeview-Plus-Products/Freeview-HD

and that's long after most of the country has switched over from analogue.

Also single tuner boxes will struggle once the second multiplex is launched. While before on most boxes you could watch one Saorview channel while recording another, single tuner boxes will then only allow watching of a limited number of Saorview channels while recording and not all.

mackersdublin

watty wrote: »

You can't get a real PVR for €60
A real PVR has internal HDD as well as twin Tuners. €60 only gets a single tuner Saorview box with a recording feature, it's not a PVR.

Sorry I meant PVR Ready, Argos has one for €60. That's a huge hike in price to €230

Tony

mackersdublin wrote: »

Sorry I meant PVR Ready, Argos has one for €60. That's a huge hike in price to €230

Its not really a fair comparison though as they are very different types of products

Capt'n Midnight

mackersdublin wrote: »

Sorry I meant PVR Ready, Argos has one for €60. That's a huge hike in price to €230

"PVR Ready" is marketingspeak for "Not really a PVR" in exactly the same way that "HD Ready" meant "No HD picture"

Most old Analog TV's were "VCR ready" in the sense that you could record directly off the SCART socket without having to tune the VCR into what ever station you were watching at the time.

watty

Most so called "HD Ready" advertised sets had only analogue tuners, 1366 x 768 pixels (ALL HD formats have to be resampled) and some not even HDMI, only VGA or DVI. Many didn't support HDCP on DVI, so wouldn't even display ANY picture from a BD player... Even if they had Digital Tuners, it was for ordinary Freeview and none work with Freeview HD on the Digital Tuner.

"PVR Ready" is just as meaningless. "Has a recording feature" is more honest.

"HD Ready" means nearly CRT quality for an SD picture. For various reasons to do with sampling an SD LCD is terrible except with a soft noise free video source.

STB

Do walker not realise the number of stations we have here ?

I have never seen such a badly priced product!

This price range for a combo Quad version might be a runner, but not a Saorview only.

Madness. They will stuck with them.

galtee boy

STB wrote: »

Do walker not realise the number of stations we have here ?

I have never seen such a badly priced product!

This price range for a combo Quad version might be a runner, but not a Saorview only.

Madness. They will stuck with them.

It's not Walkers fault that we have so few channels on Saorview, ok it's a bit pricey, but at least we finally have a proper twin tuner Saorview Pvr with Series Link. In time, the price will drop and if Saorviews series link is compatible with Freeview Pvr's, then we will have more options.

watty

A combo quad that isn't Freesat compatible/Certified is brain dead, even just with generic Sat the price would be €300 to €350 for a true Combo PVR. Unfortunately the price is related to what is in the box, not how many stations we have

STB

watty wrote: »

Unfortunately the price is related to what is in the box, not how many stations we have

There is not a lot in that box that justifies the price. Especially the edited software. Trust me, I am a STB.

Willby

zg3409 wrote: »

I remain to be convinced.

So do I. Still no mention of the box on Walker's own site.

JonathonS

zg3409 wrote: »

I remain to be convinced.

+1. I have been told "end of next week" every week since early Nov.....maybe Santa has cornered them all?:rolleyes:

slicedpanman

Is there any sign of these boxes hitting the shelves before the holidays? I was hoping to sit down with the double-issue RTE guide, pick out a load of likely recordings and put one of these through its paces - doesn't look like its going to happen now

LordSutch

They're not coming from/via the USA by any chance, are they

Tony

LordSutch wrote: »

They're not coming from/via the USA by any chance, are they

Nah via the Red Cow

LordSutch

It was slicedpanman's reference to "the holidays" which threw me

Hotblack Desiato

The Triax twin tuner box is listed as approved now on the Saorview website.