Free dish with Sky,keep after 1 year, change to Soarview?

dinneenp

Hi,
Someone called to our door trying to sell Sky to us (living in Lackagh, Galway, out of contract with UPC). She said that they install a satellite dish (not on the roof for insurance) and I get the Sky + recordable box and pay €27 a month for the 'basic' package.So it'd be €324 for 1 year.

She said after 11 months I give 1 months notice to cancel. After the 12 months I'd get to keep the dish and box and could use them for Saorview.

A few questions:
1. Is this a good idea? I'm thinking that I'd get Sky for 1 year and after that it'd be cheaper to changeover to Saorview than if I was doing it today as I'd already have a dish installed.

2. I suppose my other option is just go for Saorview/Freesat now.
Can anyone give me a ballpark figure how much it'd cose to get 'as close to a Sky/UPC set up' installed:

• have Irish & Uk channels
• ability to watch 1 show and record another
• pause, rewind live tv
• have a decent interface/easy to use
• series link
• EPG

I have a Cello tv, have to double check if it's saorview ready.

3. would my reception be worst as the Sky installer won't put it on the roof?

cheers,
Pa.

PogMoThoin

I see that as pointless, all you're getting is 1 years paid TV and a dish, don't include the Sky HD box as all of the PVR features will disappear once you stop subscribing. Also, the Sky box does not do Saorview, satellite only, Saorview requires an aerial and a suitable TV/Set top box

You're better off not having your dish on the roof. It will get less weather and last longer with less chance of wind moving it. The signal will be the same, the dish must physically see the satellite or it will not work.

zg3409

In general terms what they said is true BUT...

you may become addicted to Sky and possibly certain shows on pay only channels, and so end up paying for the service for 10+ years.

As said they send a signal if you leave which stops the box from recording anymore and also stop playback of most recorded shows.

The box is also not much good for the Irish channels. You would also need an aerial for Saorview, so you would probably need to pay an installer after year 1 to visit anyway.

My recommendation for Sky+ free equivalent is a Saorview + box (180 Euro) Freesat+ box (300 Euro), Universal remote (30 Euro), Installation of Dish and aerial (200 Euro). This assumes one room. It would not be as good as Sky setup.

If you go for Sky then leave, you probably end up paying even more overall. Going from Sky to non Sky is like handing your car keys back and getting the bus, it's hard to do once you have a car.

GarIT

dinneenp wrote: »

I'd get to keep the dish and box and could use them for Saorview.

1. Is this a good idea?

2. Can anyone give me a ballpark figure how much it'd cose to get 'as close to a Sky/UPC set up' installed

3. would my reception be worst as the Sky installer won't put it on the roof?

Neither a dish or a sky box can be used to get Saoirview. What you need is a compatible tv or a saoirview box and rabbit ears/an aerial on the roof depending on where you live.

1. No, after 1 year you will need a new box and possibly aerial anyway

2.€200 http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/HD-Free-to-air-satellite-and-RTE-diy-kit.html

3. The signal travels kilometres, possibly 10-100 km, 5ft wont make a massive difference.

PogMoThoin

GarIT wrote: »

3. The signal travels kilometres, possibly 10-100 km, 5ft wont make a massive difference.

Eh, just a tad out there, it's about 23,000 miles

collinshane

Exactly as PogmoThoin said, a Sky+HD box, once out of contract DOES NOT RECEIVE SAORVIEW, and is no longer a PVR(recording box). You won't receive Saorview without a UHF/digital aerial and an Mpeg4hd receiver, or TV with inbuilt Mpeg4hd receiver built in.

Assuming you want Saorview and Free to Air satellite channels, with a level of recording/playback, then all that you have gained through Sky, (after 12 months), is a dish, and a very cheap dish at that.
If I were you I would spend a little time researching what kind of box you want. There are many combi boxes on the market, which give both satellite and terrestrial(saorview) channels, most of whom have some level of recording capability through an external hard drive, (although an internal drive works better). Most will allow you to record on satellite while recording terrestrial and vice versa.However, if you want to watch one satellite channel and record another, you are looking for a triple tuner, ie two satellite and one terrestrial. Bear this in mind when choosing a box. Pick a box you are happy with, then price someone locally to fit the dish and aerial.


have Irish & Uk channels: Any combi box.
ability to watch 1 show and record another. Any combi with recording feature, as mentioned above.
pause, rewind live tv: Any box with recording capability, but don't expect the slickness of the Sky+ experience.
have a decent interface/easy to use: some are better, some worse, depends on the make/model.
series link: only works if there's a 7 day guide
EPG: nothing without subscription, terrestrial channels have 7 day guide and therefore series link function. FTA channels have now and next info only.

Hope some of this helps.

dinneenp

thanks for the replies so far.
I spoke to a person who has an ad in the local paper for installing saorview. Interestingly he said that he has Sky and almost sold me on Sky over Saorview/Freesat.
As he said and others it doesn't compare in the slickness to Sky and for 30 a month/360 a year is it worth it. I suppose that's the question. And I saw another thread about 1/2 price Sky for a year.

Fresh Pots

You could always consider something like the amiko alien 2,it's a great box combo box with series link, Rte player, tv3 player, 4od. A bit pricey and there would be a bit of setting up to do but it's a great piece of kit.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/post/83758104

GarIT

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Eh, just a tad out there, it's about 23,000 miles

Really, I thought it was not too far outside the atmosphere.

The Cush

GarIT wrote: »

Really, I thought it was not too far outside the atmosphere.

Geostationary orbit

winston_1

GarIT wrote: »

Neither a dish or a sky box can be used to get Saoirview. What you need is a compatible tv or a saoirview box and rabbit ears/an aerial on the roof depending on where you live.

1. No, after 1 year you will need a new box and possibly aerial anyway

2.€200 http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/HD-Free-to-air-satellite-and-RTE-diy-kit.html

3. The signal travels kilometres, possibly 10-100 km, 5ft wont make a massive difference.

Not rabbit ears. They are VHF aerials. For Saorview you need a UHF aerial such as the Telecam 2000.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=telecam+tce2000&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=5947995416&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1154133754966417145&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_5xi3fadixw_e

listermint

TheTechGuy wrote: »

You could always consider something like the amiko alien 2,it's a great box combo box with series link, Rte player, tv3 player, 4od. A bit pricey and there would be a bit of setting up to do but it's a great piece of kit.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/post/83758104

For Linux bootable boxes it certainly isnt pricey

Sam Russell

I have a Samsung SmartTV that has both satellite and Saorview tuners. If it is set to UK, you get Freesat and Saorview (but it is a bit fussy on reordering the channels). It works on one remote and if connected to the internet gives lots of extras like RTEplayer, Utube, Netflix, Skype, etc.

Pricey but it is a great TV with a brilliant picture. No retuning of satellite channels to which FTA are prone.