new combi box or tv with saorview & sat tuners?

gooner99

Hi. My combi box seems to be packing in, so time to replace. I read before about tv's that have saorview and sat tuners built in. What is the current state of play, are these tv's any good now or am I best just to get another decent combi box. pro's and con's?

Gerry Wicklow

Only a very limited few TVs have Freesat built in. Others with satellite and terrestrial tuners are FTA only. This means now/next EPG only. None that I know of are easy to switch from satellite to terrestrial, you cant have all in one favourites list. If you do get a FreeSat TV it must be set to UK to function which messes up Saorview.
My advice would be to get a good quality full HD terrestrial TV and combo box. Don't get fooled into a 'Smart' tv either. The combo will offer more services for less money and will be (more) future proofed.

gooner99

Thanks for the reply.sounds like these tvs are still not that great.i guess the hd ready lcd i have will do for another while.its not a bad tv. Which combo receivers are to be recommended these days . got a ferguson 153 for my brother before xmas.seemed pretty decent for the money.

lertsnim

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

None that I know of are easy to switch from satellite to terrestrial

The Sony Bravia's (kdl42w829 at least) switch between terrestrial and satellite with one push of a button on the remote control.

galljga1

There are pros and cons.
My main tv dates from 2010 and switches between terrestrial and satelite seamlessly. I went for a 'smart' tv, would not do it again, not so smart. There has been progress in the last 5 years but services in Ireland are limited, not sure it is worth the extra cash.

There are a range of tvs from most manufacturers which Freesat and Saorview built in. They may only have now and next programs on the Freesat side. Are there combi boxes that provide a full epg for freesat? Two years ago when I bought a replacement combi box for the bedroom, I could not source one with epg for freesat that worked in Ireland. If you have a reasonable tv, the combi box would be the way to go unless you have an aversion to cables like I have.

Combi box is cheaper to replace than a tv. Got caught out when they were trialing saorview in my area. I bought a tv for the bedroom which was picking up all channels but they changed from MPEG - 2 to MPEG - 4 when they went live which meant my tv could not pick up the channels. Was I happy?

Gerry Wicklow

galljga1 wrote: »

...

There are a range of tvs from most manufacturers which Freesat and Saorview built in. They may only have now and next programs on the Freesat side. Are there combi boxes that provide a full epg for freesat? Two years ago when I bought a replacement combi box for the bedroom, I could not source one with epg for freesat that worked in Ireland.....

Be careful with the terminology. FreeSat is branded software that only some TVs and boxes have. The whole idea of FreeSat is that it gives 7day EPG and auto-retuning if needed. Tvs that have ordinary FTA satellite only show now/next EPG.
Linux based combo boxes will show 7day EPG with series linking etc.

The Cush

lertsnim wrote: »

The Sony Bravia's (kdl42w829 at least) switch between terrestrial and satellite with one push of a button on the remote control.

Sony are the only combi TVs that I know of that only require a single button push to change between satellite and Saorview, I own a W5810 since 2010.

Simi

I own a Samsung H6700. You can save the terrestrial channels as well as freesat as shortcuts on the smart bar for easy switching.

Limitations of this are that selecting freesat as your tv provider breaks series link in Saorview and tunes a dozen junk channels in addition to the actual channels, which need to be deleted and arranged manually. But it's probably as good as you'll get until someone designs a proper freesat/saorview combo box.

galljga1

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Be careful with the terminology. FreeSat is branded software that only some TVs and boxes have. The whole idea of FreeSat is that it gives 7day EPG and auto-retuning if needed. Tvs that have ordinary FTA satellite only show now/next EPG.
Linux based combo boxes will show 7day EPG with series linking etc.

Any recommended boxes Gerry?

Gerry Wicklow

The most popular at the moment would seem to be the Amiko Alien 2. Another box which is gathering momentum is the Edision Optimuss OS3 which is more powerful but ~€100 more.

BionicRasher

I have a 5 year old PanasonicTX-L42D25L which has now and next FTA satellite and switches to 7 day Saorview with one button push. Its smartish as well but I could do without that as a Chromecast will do all the smart stuff you need for 40 quid
Was looking at some of the Samsung's today in a shop and they have aerial and 2 sat inputs. Not sure if they are Freesat but worth looking at.

enniscrone

Here is a list of SAORVIEW Approved Combi Box:

TSC114 Triax
WP645 Walker
SV600 4ife
DI-TS1124 Digihome
NM7100M4 Nordmende
VST7100 Vision

I like the features on the Triax TSC114 like PVR and integrated Media Player. Found it on freetv . ie for €118

Does anyone have any experience with any of these models?

The Cush

BionicRasher wrote: »

Was looking at some of the Samsung's today in a shop and they have aerial and 2 sat inputs. Not sure if they are Freesat but worth looking at.

You can see the list of Freesat TVs here - http://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/recommended/freesat-hd-tvs

Gerry Wicklow

enniscrone wrote: »

Here is a list of SAORVIEW Approved Combi Box:

TSC114 Triax
WP645 Walker
SV600 4ife
DI-TS1124 Digihome
NM7100M4 Nordmende
VST7100 Vision

I like the features on the Triax TSC114 like PVR and integrated Media Player. Found it on freetv . ie for €118

Does anyone have any experience with any of these models?

There's a thread over here

2012paddy2012

enniscrone wrote: »

Here is a list of SAORVIEW Approved Combi Box:

TSC114 Triax
WP645 Walker
SV600 4ife
DI-TS1124 Digihome
NM7100M4 Nordmende
VST7100 Vision

I like the features on the Triax TSC114 like PVR and integrated Media Player. Found it on freetv . ie for €118

Does anyone have any experience with any of these models?

Humax set top box Argos North fab bit of kit. Add smart TV with saorview ....
Same as sky TV functionality - humax add pvr to smart TV ..... I got Samsung recently has full series record etc

Irreverent

My Sony TV (KDL40W706b) also switches between sat and saorview with one button press. It also has a 7 day epg on both when connected to the internet (wifi or ethernet). The epg information is provided by Gracenote. It works very well if a little bit slow compared to a Sky box. It also has a Sideview app which allows you to record remotely etc.