Soarview/Freeview PVR box border counties

skinnylove85

I live in donegal and currently have a cheap soarview box that also receives uk freeview channels. im looking to upgrade to a fully intergrated PVR box. I saw the Humax freeview HD box and it it seems to look the part and also the new walker soarview pvr box. im looking for advice on which box to get. the following are important in my decision making;

1. Ease of use
2. Speed and layout of EPG
3. Soarview/Freeview channel listing (i heard that soarview can sometimes be in 800's, can this be reorganised or a favourtie epg listing be created?)
4. Remote control - I hate cheap remote controls. i would like a box with nice feeling remote/buttons that is responsive.
5. Ive read about new Mux's, dont know anything about them. but i want a box that is future proof.

can anyone give me recomendations based on the above criteria??

thanks

Mr Cumulonimbus

skinnylove85 wrote: »

5. Ive read about new Mux's, dont know anything about them. but i want a box that is future proof.

The Humax box (HDR Fox T2) will pick up the Freeview HD mux (BBC1/2 HD, UTV HD, CH4 HD) while the Walker Saorview box will not. If reception of these channels is important to you (is your Freeview reception good?), I'd go for this box. I have one myself.

Saorview channels are stored in the 800's. I'm happy enough with the EPG. Provides series link etc.

One thing to note is I've added padding to the recordings (i.e. adding a few minutes on to the start and end of a scheduled programme) as I got a failed recording message once from a Saorview channel. Could have been related to the broadcaster not providing flags for the box to pick up on to initiate recording.

Ease of use. I found it fairly quick to get used to (setting up recordings and so on.).

Remote: ok. Some of the buttons a tad small, especially ones for playing back recorded material (play, pause stop etc). Felt they could have been more prominent/larger.

Manual here. Layout of remote on page 7. Manual in Adobe PDF format, downloadable file.

The Cush

Mr Cumulonimbus wrote: »

One thing to note is I've added padding to the recordings (i.e. adding a few minutes on to the start and end of a scheduled programme) as I got a failed recording message once from a Saorview channel. Could have been related to the broadcaster not providing flags for the box to pick up on to initiate recording.

I think this post answers that question - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=83430899&postcount=248, no system in place to update the Saorview epg if the schedule changes unlike the Irish channels carried on the NImux it appears - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056913821

bridster007

Panasonic will have a full new range of a Blu Ray/DVD/Hard Disk recorder, 2 PVRs and 2 PVRs with Blu Ray/DVD Player out in May if you want to wait. All with smart tv features. No information yet if they will be Saorview approved.

May solve some issues with existing Panasonic model DMR BWT 120/220 whereby EPG for Saorview does not give detail program description information and does not do Saorview teletext. Other than that, the existing Panasonic range works very well for both Freeview HD and Saorview and can be got for a good price at www.richersounds.com

haymur

I have the Humax HDR T2 as well and I am happy with it . It was on offer recently in Maplins.ie for 250 euro which is cheaper than most UK prices

skinnylove85

hi all,

Thanks for the replies. For those that have the Humax box, would you mind posting some pics of the EPG, in particular the screen showing recordings as i cant seem to find anything online showing that. I want a box that is similar in appearance to sky+ ie shows Channel name, programme name, date recordered etc. Id really appreciate this. Also is it possible to create a favourite channel listing to allow have the soarview channels listed first?

Thanks

Mr Cumulonimbus

Two shots of the EPG. Note when a Freeview channel is selected, the info for the Saorview blanks out and vice versa. It occurs with this model for whatever reason.





Series link indicator.



Recorded programme screen and info on recorded programme.

Digifriendly

"Two shots of the EPG. Note when a Freeview channel is selected, the info for the Saorview blanks out and vice versa. It occurs with this model for whatever reason."

Does this mean you can't properly timer record from both Saorview/Freeview simultaneously? I can't on my Sony so have to use manual record instead.

TAFKAlawhec

Mr Cumulonimbus wrote: »

Two shots of the EPG. Note when a Freeview channel is selected, the info for the Saorview blanks out and vice versa. It occurs with this model for whatever reason.

Probably the case that the receiver does not store the EPG data into memory and just displays the relevant data that is carried on the multiplex of the channel being viewed. All seven current NI multiplexes carry 7 day EPG data of its own multiplex and the other six (including the NI mini mux). Saorview only carries 7 day EPG data for it's own services. Presumably should/when a second Saorview multiplex start broadcasting, then the EPG data on a Saorview multiplex will include data for its own and the the other multiplex in a similar fashion to Freeview's implementation. So when a channel change is made - presumably to another multiplex - the present EPG data is dumped and rebuilt using the data in the Event Information Table of the new multiplex that has been tuned into.

If you are using the receiver to receive only one network of stations (e.g. Freeview in NI) then you're unlikely to notice this "problem" - only when you receive more than one network, for example here regarding Freeview & Saorview or over in Britain both the NW England and Wales networks.

It's not likely to cause problems with timer recordings because these will normally read the present EPG data when a timer is set into long-term memory as when to start and end a recording of a certain LCN number. However if it is tuned to a different "network" to one that the channel is being recorded on it might miss a signal for the start and end of programmes to account for overruns etc. that can be sent out on Freeview even allowing for twin tuners being available, given that only the first tuner seems to populate the EPG. But there's only one way to find that out for certain.

whitebriar

Yeah,the saorview/UK freeview disappearing EPG data I've experienced for a few years now when combining wales freeview here in Arklow with saorview. Its been commented on a few times here.
Once you select a saorview channel on the EPG,followed by a freeview channel, the EPG gets fully populated by both ie that fixes the problem(on Sony's,sagemcom's,triax combo boxes and Samsung that I've seen down here connected to Irish/UK receiving aerials anyhow)

Mr Cumulonimbus

Digifriendly wrote: »

"Two shots of the EPG. Note when a Freeview channel is selected, the info for the Saorview blanks out and vice versa. It occurs with this model for whatever reason."

Does this mean you can't properly timer record from both Saorview/Freeview simultaneously? I can't on my Sony so have to use manual record instead.

Haven't actually done a simultaneous recording yet, but I did schedule some programmes to be recorded on both Saorview and Freeview when I first noticed this issue. Switching between the two did not cause these to be lost despite the loss of info in the EPG. The timer symbol indicating a scheduled recording remained when returning to either Saorview or Freeview.

Rick_

On my Samsung Smart TV once you turn it on and call up the EPG, it will display the Freeview listings but the Irish channels are blank. Once you tune to RTÉ ONE and then go to the guide all channels have EPG data and it stays that way until the TV is switched off again. It does keep the EPG info stored though and will display all listings for UK and Irish channels simultaneously, unlike the Humax. The channels can also be reordered and the EPG is nice to look at, well laid out etc. The only problem is, it's not a recorder, BUT some Samsung TV's will let you do this if you enter the service menu and activate the PVR functions, so you can plug in a USB pen drive and use the TV as a PVR. Apparently mine is one of the models this can be done on, so just need to investigate further and then get the guts to try it!