Cheap Saorview Boxes Limerick

Mucker2020

Hey all just wondering where would be the cheapest place to get these in the above area...any help would be appreciated

watty

Tesco own brand. They did have some about €45 in Four Seasons Crescent Doradoyle.
Avoid anything not Saorview certified.
Avoid Maplin, full of stuff that won't even work here.

Mucker2020

watty wrote: »

Tesco own brand. They did have some about €45 in Four Seasons Crescent Doradoyle.
Avoid anything not Saorview certified.
Avoid Maplin, full of stuff that won't even work here.

Cheers Watty,

Are the Tesco ones ok ya ?Just be afraid that some of them wouldn't work either....

Galway

Mucker2020 wrote: »

Cheers Watty,

Are the Tesco ones ok ya ?Just be afraid that some of them wouldn't work either....

No, they are awful. I installed an aerial for someone who had two of them bought already.... lots of 'pinging & chirping' on rte one in particular... nothing wrong with aerial or installation... before someone chips in here to suggest that... basically poor quality boxes... I would not use them... the one I got in Argos (ALBA) is ok.

Mucker2020

Galway wrote: »

No, they are awful. I installed an aerial for someone who had two of them bought already.... lots of 'pinging & chirping' on rte one in particular... nothing wrong with aerial or installation... before someone chips in here to suggest that... basically poor quality boxes... I would not use them... the one I got in Argos (ALBA) is ok.

Ya I saw the Alba one for €60...think I might just chance them then,they are Saorview certified are they?

Zardoz

The Tesco ones cant record either so are pretty useless.

Kristopherus

Zardoz wrote: »

The Tesco ones cant record either so are pretty useless.

Is there a scart and/or usb port on that Tesco box?

Lindenblad

A Saorview approved STB has to have a scart output.

The Cush

Mucker2020 wrote: »

Ya I saw the Alba one for €60...think I might just chance them then,they are Saorview certified are they?

They were selling them for €50 for ages, if you're not in a hurry they'll probably drop back to that in due course. Saorview approved - http://www.saorview.ie/product/alba/

Installed 2 of them for family, OK basic box.

Lindenblad

Galway wrote: »

No, they are awful. I installed an aerial for someone who had two of them bought already.... lots of 'pinging & chirping' on rte one in particular...

I've noticed that on a box bought in Tesco too, Technika something-or-other, reminded me of audio glitches on youtube. In this case the signal arriving at the box wouldn't be great, but I don't recall any accompanying picture disturbances.

Aren't all these Technika, Alba etc. own-brand stuff just rebadged Vestel? Maybe not all same model though.

Galway

Lindenblad wrote: »

I've noticed that on a box bought in Tesco too, Technika something-or-other, reminded me of audio glitches on youtube. In this case the signal arriving at the box wouldn't be great, but I don't recall any accompanying picture disturbances.

Aren't all these Technika, Alba etc. own-brand stuff just rebadged Vestel? Maybe not all same model though.

If you want to avoid those 'glitches' and 'popping' while watching certain channels then don't buy a Tesco box. For ten euro more you can get a more reliable box. When I bought my ALBA box they were on offer at Argos for 49.95.

Lindenblad

Galway wrote: »

If you want to avoid those 'glitches' and 'popping' while watching certain channels then don't buy a Tesco box..

Certain channels?

I had put the problems with the Tesco box I saw, down to poor signal, though given your experience, I must try to get a chance to check it out on a known good signal source & see if the glitches persist.

Latest ones I've seen in Tesco have a different look to them, though could still be the same under the skin.

Galway

Lindenblad wrote: »

Certain channels?

I had put the problems with the Tesco box I saw, down to poor signal, though given your experience, I must try to get a chance to check it out on a known good signal source & see if the glitches persist.

Latest ones I've seen in Tesco have a different look to them, though could still be the same under the skin.

Yes it was mainly on RTE 1 SD Maghera channel 48 I don't know if it is any better now that RTE 1 HD is on channel 55 from there. Signal strength and quality was more than sufficient.

Lindenblad

Person that owns the box had no complaints, but they'd be used to watching stuff online & would probably ignore the odd buzz or chirp in the audio. Just that every other weak signal problem I've seen would have picture glitching too.

watty

Mucker2020 wrote: »

Cheers Watty,

Are the Tesco ones ok ya ?Just be afraid that some of them wouldn't work either....

No idea.

If they don't work then they should be withdrawn as that's illegal.

Sale of Goods Act.

Product must match description and be fit for purpose and free of defects or else moneyback/repair/replacement, must have proof of purchase and limit is 2 years or up to 6 for certain damages or situations.

If these don't work properly then the Saorview certification must involve a mistake or fraud.

Also forget "cheap" for decent recording. No box without an internal HDD and dual tuners is certified for recording. A USB port that can be used for recording is actually an unreliable unsupported feature. A €10 USB DTT stick in a laptop is more reliable, though some people manage recordings on USB on setboxes without a problem. But there is no guarantee on that.

watty

Lindenblad wrote: »

Aren't all these Technika, Alba etc. own-brand stuff just rebadged Vestel? Maybe not all same model though.

Most cheap certified boxes are Vestel, inc all Walker inc expensive PVR. Alba, Bush are now just Argos labels (well owned by owner of Argos and Homebase).

Technika stuff though is mostly Chinese. But can be anything. Even the same model & case (some TVs) is different insides.

Oddly their own brand €7 to €14 approx analogue radios are as good as any and better than most inc €149 Roberts Revival. But all of the DAB stuff in Tesco is a total waste of money and even if you have a DAB signal all are poorer Audio on RTE1 & 2FM than a €12 AM/FM analogue radio!

Tesco stuff is variable in quality.

Johnny_191

Hi watty could I ask you a question over PM?

Just have an issue with something that you might be able to help me with.

Thanks

Johnny

watty

I don't do PMs any more.

Loads of experts here.

steveon

Galway wrote: »

If you want to avoid those 'glitches' and 'popping' while watching certain channels then don't buy a Tesco box. For ten euro more you can get a more reliable box. When I bought my ALBA box they were on offer at Argos for 49.95.

The alba box is exactly the same as the technica one sold in tescos..they are all made by vestel and are all cheaply made I personally dont like anything they have brought to market continuous problems..

You should also be aware that if you intend to record then you will not be able to switch channel to anything other than a channel on the same mux as we now use two different frequencies so I would recommend spending a little more and investing in a dual model....only one from top of my head is the Triax Tr212s which is approx €75

watty

I'd only buy dishes and aerials from Triax. They are just rebadging an OEM box. The TR212S isn't a true PVR either. Reliable recording is a whole different can of worms. A Laptop or Notebook with HDMI and USB DTT stick will record and turn the TV into a "smart tv" If the TV only has SCART then cheapest recording solution is two cheap boxes, one for watching and one for recording.

Galway

watty wrote: »

I'd only buy dishes and aerials from Triax. They are just rebadging an OEM box. The TR212S isn't a true PVR either. Reliable recording is a whole different can of worms. A Laptop or Notebook with HDMI and USB DTT stick will record and turn the TV into a "smart tv" If the TV only has SCART then cheapest recording solution is two cheap boxes, one for watching and one for recording.

At least you did not mention Triax STBs - a total nightmare - Saorview & the terrible combo boxes.

Rankov

Galway wrote: »

No, they are awful. I installed an aerial for someone who had two of them bought already.... lots of 'pinging & chirping' on rte one in particular... nothing wrong with aerial or installation...

In my experience, incorrectly fitted co-ax plugs can cause intermittent or seemingly receiver-specific faults. Same goes for any connection, but the plugs are most often unsatisfactory.

Galway

Rankov wrote: »

In my experience, incorrectly fitted co-ax plugs can cause intermittent or seemingly receiver-specific faults. Same goes for any connection, but the plugs are most often unsatisfactory.

I have used only F connectors with screw on male converter barrels and quality satellite grade cable.