Which is the best reasonably priced box to get at the moment...

Andy454

Question,

Is there a reasonably priced box that will give me 7 day freesat epg and 7 day saorview epg on the one guide?

If not, is there one that will give two seperate 7 day guides?

If there isn't, would it not be better to drop tv3 & 3e and get a dual tuner freesat pvr (Humax hdr-1) with disque command for the second input to add rte to the planner, even though there's no program listings, the aertel text works fine on rte and achieves the best of both worlds...

NIMAN

Simple answer, no.

To get both satellite and Saorview on the one box, the combo boxes that do it are not Freesat branded and as such only have a now-and-next satellite guide, not the full 7 day guide.

Andy454

I find it hard to believe that people would put up with one of these.

Why would you buy a combo box with a 7 day epg for 4 channels and now and next epg for 200? Seems crazy to me...

I presently have a humax hdr-1 Foxsat 500GB pvr

I have input 1 on UK freesat and input 2 connected to a disque switch, one disque switch inputs connects to a second port on the 28.2 dish and the the other connects to KA Sat antenna for RTE.

Using the custom firmware, I have RTE, TG4 on the freesat mode guide and can access rte teletext.

I have the full epg for all the freesat stations and now and next data when I select one of the four Irish stations...

Surely this is the best way to go?

Alright, I don't have tv3 / 3e but ITV hd and ITV player more than make up for their loss....

NIMAN

You seem to know your stuff Andy!
And have the best solution at present.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of Freesat being a UK only thing, we will probably never see a box that can handle Saorview + provide a Freesat type EPG in a convenient manner (without going down a Linux type box, which many would not find convenient).

But there really is a market for it for sure.

Andy454

ah ha - so there is a legitimate use for these boxes!

Which one of these would work "the best" for Saorview and Freesat?

and by "the best" I mean, have an easy to navigate epg, simple interface and the ability to record one thing and watch another?

With support for digital teletext and interactive (red button) services...

Apogee

"Best" is subjective because it depends on what you want, your budget, and whether you're willing to tinker or not.

Cheapest currently is the Alien Amiko DVB-S2/DVB-T boxes, around €160-€200. Firmware is not quite mature yet, but getting there. Photos and thread here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402&page=13



Vu+ range are dearer (around €280), but firmware is more mature. Usually 2x DVB-S2 and you add DVB-T with a USB dongle - have one myself, and quite happy with it.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055816677





Gigablue quad, with 2xDVB-S2 and 2xDVB-T, runs firmware similar to Vu+, about €370
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056761135

JHet

Andy, if you're able to mess around with custom firmware on your humax you'll be well able for a enigma2 (linux) reciever.

Andy454

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the responses!

Apogee, the guide pictured looks perfect - is this the Vu+ epg?

While I love to tinker! my folks and elderly grandparents don't!

They like it very simple and easy to use!

I know they won't / will forget how to switch between guides and simply like to scroll through to find the channels they want.

The guide below looks exactly what I'm looking for - its not enough just to have now and next data for one selection of channels as they like to scroll across and see whats on later in the evening...... gives them something to do....

When you think about it - it's worth spending an extra 100 or so to get a box that can "do all" given tv is such an integral part of life these days...

Apogee

Andy454 wrote: »

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the responses!

Apogee, the guide pictured looks perfect - is this the Vu+ epg?

Yes, it's the default Cool EPG on the Vix firmware. It's available for other Linux boxes too.

Fresh Pots

Apogee wrote: »

Any of the Linux boxes (e.g. Vu+, Gigablue Quad, Amiko Alien, Dreambox) will provide full 7-day EPGs for Freesat/Saorview or Freesat/Saorsat.

Will the Amiko 8820 provide a full 7 day epg for sat and saorview?

PogMoThoin

TheTechGuy wrote: »

Will the Amiko 8820 provide a full 7 day epg for sat and saorview?

No, just for Saorview, now and next for Satellite. For full EPG you're going to need a full linux box like the Amiko Alien 2 and use the CrossEPG plugin, it's twice the price of the 8820 though (triple tuner). Big thread about it here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402

Fresh Pots

PogMoThoin wrote: »

No, just for Saorview, now and next for Satellite. For full EPG you're going to need a full linux like the Amiko Alien 2 and use the CrossEPG plugin, it's twice the price of the 8820 though (triple tuner). Big thread about it here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402

Thanks for the info, was considering buying a Linux box for all the extra features but I don't think my budget will stretch to the amiko alien 2 at the moment. My ariva 120 will have to do for now!

Dr. Nick

Does bbc/itv players work on freesat+ boxes in IRL?

PogMoThoin

Dr. Nick wrote: »

Does bbc/itv players work on freesat+ boxes in IRL?

The iPlayer is geo-blocked by your Irish IP address, you'll need to use a VPN or smart DNS service to appear to be in the UK (not free)
https://www.overplay.net/blog/overplay-smartdns

MiCr0

removing all illegal references