good value Saorview installation

g_dublin

I got a quote of E299 for the installation of a Saorview aerial + satellite dish, and a combi box, which would stream British freeview stations, as well as the Irish Saorview ones. This seems reasonable value to me, considering the initial outlay against a year of sky/upc bills. I would appreciate any feedback anyone else might have regarding installation prices or reputable installers. I am not the most technical person, so would be looking at getting the aerial and box installed. Thanks in advance!

Play To Kill

€299 is a good price if its an approved Saorview box that is being installed. It is about the average price for an install using an unapproved box. You can take your pick of recognised installers from here http://www.isaa.tv/isaamap.htm

Premier

Jesus things are getting bad, :rolleyes:

kbell

Premier wrote: »

Jesus things are getting bad, :rolleyes:

What do you mean ??

Tony

Play To Kill wrote: »

€299 is a good price if its an approved Saorview box that is being installed. It is about the average price for an install using an unapproved box. You can take your pick of recognised installers from here http://www.isaa.tv/isaamap.htm

I'd venture that 299 is unsustainable for an approved set top box set up and on the cheap side for an unapproved set up . Make sure whoever you get is paying vat and has public liability insurance. Also worth checking what quality of cable is being used so you can get many years from your system.

zg3409

Yes ask them what make of box they will use, post the name up here and we can advise.

hju6

Tony wrote: »

I'd venture that 299 is unsustainable for an approved set top box set up and on the cheap side for an unapproved set up . Make sure whoever you get is paying vat and has public liability insurance. Also worth checking what quality of cable is being used so you can get many years from your system.

Vat Is dependant on turn over, see http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vat/registration/index.html#reg2

And use at least RG6 Digital satellite cable,
http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/RG6_Digital_coaxial_cable_CT_100_.html

And ensure you get a Digital tv aerial
http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Attic-and-Outdoor-digital-tv-aerial.html

Get a 'Saorview' approved box, and a receipt with a years guarantee, minimum.

Peter Rhea

hju6 wrote: »

. . . And use at least RG6 Digital satellite cable

. . . And ensure you get a Digital tv aerial

No such thing as digital aerials, digital cables etc., etc. & no excuses . . .

Nothing special about digital signals as regards reception off-air, all wireless transmission is analogue anyway.

Good quality equipment doesn't need the 'digital' tag.

hju6

Peter Rhea wrote: »

No such thing as digital aerials, digital cables etc., etc. & no excuses . . .

Nothing special about digital signals as regards reception off-air, all wireless transmission is analogue anyway.

Good quality equipment doesn't need the 'digital' tag.

I never said it did, just a push to avoid the 'scammers' who have jumped on the Digital this that and the other band wagon,

Play To Kill

So all that stuff that is advertised in the links isn't digital? It's a scam? :eek:

eamonpk

Could anyone please tell me if the quote I am getting is fair from Newtownabbey Aerials to try and get Saorview up near Belfast which he has warned me is unlikely

£45 - To check the signal with the possibility of going ahead
£180 - Only if signal strong enough - to fit the aerial with amplifier

The £180 would be a total and so include the £45 if we were to go ahead with the aerial

Thanks in advance for any comments

flanders1979

We have rabbit ears plugged into saorview box for upstairs, it works grand, the wife set it up.
Is this not the norm?

zg3409

Firstly the initial install question is about a dish and rooftop aerial. An outdoor aerial is generally recommended. In some areas it is not needed. I would not recommend beginners to try install a dish themselves due to difficulty.

Regarding costs it depends on what exactly they are including for the price. The hardware should be charged at cost with labour and callout seperate.

It's hard to know good value, as specifics can vary between installers. At least if they are trained ang regisered and use Saorview approved equipment you should have less trouble in the long term. If they also give a 1 or 2 year guarantee that's a good sign.

Willby

eamonpk wrote: »

Could anyone please tell me if the quote I am getting is fair from Newtownabbey Aerials to try and get Saorview up near Belfast which he has warned me is unlikely

£45 - To check the signal with the possibility of going ahead
£180 - Only if signal strong enough - to fit the aerial with amplifier

The £180 would be a total and so include the £45 if we were to go ahead with the aerial

Thanks in advance for any comments

Hi, I would think £45 to check the signal availability is reasonable. Not sure about the rest but if he had to use high gain aerial and masthead amp then €180 sounds ok to me also.

eamonpk

Willby wrote: »

Hi, I would think £45 to check the signal availability is reasonable. Not sure about the rest but if he had to use high gain aerial and masthead amp then €180 sounds ok to me also.

Thanks Wilby - If he can get a signal and that is doubtful he said that he needs to get a booster for the side of the house. I'm not sure why as I presumed there would be an amplifier/booster only needed in the attic. Apologies for my lack of knowledge but not sure what the high gain aerial and masthead amp are.

The £180 does include the £45 for checking signal but does not include any type of receiver

Thanks again

Willby

eamonpk wrote: »

Thanks Wilby - If he can get a signal and that is doubtful he said that he needs to get a booster for the side of the house. I'm not sure why as I presumed there would be an amplifier/booster only needed in the attic. Apologies for my lack of knowledge but not sure what the high gain aerial and masthead amp are.

The £180 does include the £45 for checking signal but does not include any type of receiver

Thanks again

Hi,
In Areas of low signal strength then a high gain aerial is used e.g people from the ROI trying to get Freeview tv from Northern Ireland also have to use high gain aerials.
In addition to the aerial a masthead amp will also be mounted on the aerial pole to further improve signal.
The masthead amp will receive its power from a power supply unit which will usually be sited inside the house close to the main tv.
If your tv has a tuner capable of receiving Freeview HD then it will also receive Saorview without the need of a separate receiver.
If you then wish to distribute the Saorview signal to more than one tv then a distribution amp will also be required.

eamonpk

Willby wrote: »

Hi,
In Areas of low signal strength then a high gain aerial is used e.g people from the ROI trying to get Freeview tv from Northern Ireland also have to use high gain aerials.
In addition to the aerial a masthead amp will also be mounted on the aerial pole to further improve signal.
The masthead amp will receive its power from a power supply unit which will usually be sited inside the house close to the main tv.
If your tv has a tuner capable of receiving Freeview HD then it will also receive Saorview without the need of a separate receiver.
If you then wish to distribute the Saorview signal to more than one tv then a distribution amp will also be required.

Thanks again and I will make a note of these particularly the high gain aerial and mashead amp as I am working the other way trying to get Saorview from NI and the signal will be poor. Will give an update after Saturday

Cheers

g_dublin

Thanks for the responses to original post, too.

eamonpk

Hi

I have someone out tomorrow morning to look at the possibility of putting up an aerial to get Saorview. I am in Glengormley north of Belfast and close to the Cave Hill so I realise that the odds aren’t great.

Not particularly knowledgeable in this area but with a bit of research and asking a friend I have come up with these questions and would appreciate any corrections or other things I should be asking

• He is charging me £45 to check the signal – Does he need to get up on the roof/chimney to check this properly or should he just check the signal round different parts of the house
• Presuming signal is there does he have to use a High Gain Aerial – if signal is there it will be of low signal strength
• Do I need a masthead amp mounted – if so where aerial pole/chimney/..? And where should the power for this be positioned

If anything missed or have got things wrong will greatly appreciate your comments before tomorrow morning

Cheers
Eamon

Peter Rhea

To check signal properly, the installer will have to climb onto your roof with an aerial & meter. This will enable them to decide what you need, or if the job is worth proceeding with.

In a difficult signal area, a high gain aerial & 'masthead' pre-amp. will be necessary.

eamonpk

Thanks for all the help. They were able to get a signal of 15 to his tester but when he tried it to to see if he could actually get a picture he couldn't get it to tune into any of the Saorview channels – signal was 20% but quality was 0%. I was using a Tehnica(Tescos) HD STB. It probably wouldn't have made a difference but I wished I had used the much better Humax Fox T2 that I own but I didn't have it in the house at the time just to give it every chance to get the Saorview signal.

Willby

eamonpk wrote: »

Thanks for all the help. They were able to get a signal of 15 to his tester but when he tried it to to see if he could actually get a picture he couldn't get it to tune into any of the Saorview channels – signal was 20% but quality was 0%. I was using a Tehnica(Tescos) HD STB. It probably wouldn't have made a difference but I wished I had used the much better Humax Fox T2 that I own but I didn't have it in the house at the time just to give it every chance to get the Saorview signal.

I doubt if the Humax would have improved the signal level sufficiently, you would have needed a minimum of 40 I think.

eamonpk

Willby wrote: »

I doubt if the Humax would have improved the signal level sufficiently, you would have needed a minimum of 40 I think.

I would know nothing about this reading. Newtownabbey aerials said he would hope to have 23 or higher and even then it could be a dodgy picture depending on the weather. I'm sure it wouldn't have made a difference but I have a Humax box but had got it at the house on the day which wasn't too clever - I was tempted to ask him to go on anyway and put the aerial up but I think he would have felt bad if I wasted my money and got nothing for it.

Would recommend Newtownabbey Aerials as they were very good and knew their stuff. He only wanted to charge me £35 although gave him for £40. For 2 guys to spend about 1.5 hours for that money is certainly not over charging