Thinking of dumping UPC/cable basic help

jogdish

Hi,
Perhaps this is the wrong place, but I currently have UPC with two televisions, and the basic pack. I have the ability to record programs and series at the "touch of a button" and the usual.

I would like to switch to something that will not have me paying a bill each month, but does the same as I get now - What do I want ? I am not handy and would need a person to set this up for me. How much am I looking at ?

Chanel wise I would need BBC news, C4, UTV ireland or ITV or UTV, HD on the bbc's and rte would be nice. Need to be able to record stuff and for the EPG to work with essentially zero fiddling.

What / Who do I ask ( for ) ?

Technofobe

jogdish wrote: »

Hi,
Perhaps this is the wrong place, but I currently have UPC with two televisions, and the basic pack. I have the ability to record programs and series at the "touch of a button" and the usual.

I would like to switch to something that will not have me paying a bill each month, but does the same as I get now - What do I want ? I am not handy and would need a person to set this up for me. How much am I looking at ?

Chanel wise I would need BBC news, C4, UTV ireland or ITV or UTV, HD on the bbc's and rte would be nice. Need to be able to record stuff and for the EPG to work with essentially zero fiddling.

What / Who do I ask ( for ) ?

What your looking for is a freesat pvr combo box

I have one set up in my house
We had sky so the change was simple enough as the dish was already there all I had to do was buy a new combo box and put up a terrestial aerial

obviously to avail of any of this you need to have a dish and aerial installed and this may not be possible if you live in an apartment

I picked up a triple tuner which means that I can watch say bbc1 record bbc2 and rte at the same time
or watch rte 1 and record channel 4 and utv HD at same time


The advantage of the combo box is that both terrestial ( Sourview ) and satellite in the same box with 1 remote
The version I have has a usb hard drive connected by a cable and is the type you would use say on your pc
there are some great boxes out there now
But be warned that there will be some minding on these boxes freesat often change channels around and move stations which will require a rescan every now and again ( once every 2 months or so ) something to be aware of takes about 1 hour
some stations are in HD but not all
BBC 1 HD
ITV HD
UTV HD
RTE HD to name a few at no charge

So to sum up yes you can have what you want but it involves a initial outlay
I paid €140 for the box and €20 for the terrestial aerial
I put it up myself
I bought the box from what was tvtrade
http://www.freetv.ie/ no connection just an irish seller and the provide some good instruction videos on their site
Google is your friend
obviously to avail of any of this you need to have a dish and aerial installed and this may not be possible if you live in an apartment
Hope it helps

Edit
No series link but autotimer which is like the old vcr days as in the auto timer will allow you to record every week or every day at same time but if the programme time changes the recording will not compensate for this
Also there is no RF out on these boxes so you may need 2 boxes for your 2 tellys
what I did to get around this was to get an odroid box ( like raspberry pie ) android box which has a HD output and I stream tv from the pvr

All of this is perfectly legit and above board
freesat is just that
free to view once you buy you equipment no strings no bills

satelliteman20

hi i would recommend u get a humax hdr 1010s freesat pvr this will only get u free to air from astra 28.2 east but u would get bbc itv ch4 ch5 sky news cnn true movies all together about 30 decent channels it has a pvr setup similar to sky u can record 2 channels and watch a third at the same time.the user interface is better layed out compared to the upc dvrs.


For rte tv3 tg4 you would need to get a saorview approved box but most of these have just a basic pvr so no proper series link recording .

I have a technomate nano 3t enigma 2 pvr which has satellite and saorview combined it has a 7 day detailed epg it takes a while to set up and is a bit of work to get going but it works well although u need to manually retune any channels that change frequency unless u use whats known as auto bouquets Which puts them in a specific order like sky.
i prefer this type of setup as there is much less limitations compared to a freesat pvr and u only need one box.


I have saorview and freesat combined on one channel list this allows me to record multiple channels at once at least 5 reliably

You should take a look at the optimus os3 which has the same hardware specs as the technomate nano 3t but is a bit cheaper you might have noticed the big thread on it here

Thurston?

Technofobe wrote: »

What your looking for is a freesat pvr combo box

They'll be looking a long time for a Freesat combo box, as none exist. Freesat is a branded service, with satellite-only STBs currently only made by Humax, Manhattan, Bush, Goodmans & Sagemcom, & TVs made by Samsung & Panasonic.

The Humax boxes & Panasonic TVs also include the 'Freetime' catch up service, & of course the TVs also have terrestrial tuners, though I'm not sure if any of the current models are multi-tuner PVR models.

Technofobe wrote: »

But be warned that there will be some minding on these boxes freesat often change channels around and move stations which will require a rescan every now and again

Actual Freesat boxes automatically update when channels change frequency, no need for rescans.

satelliteman20 wrote: »

For rte tv3 tg4 you would need to get a saorview approved box

It needn't be approved. The Technomate & Edision boxes you mention aren't approved.

Technofobe

Thurston? wrote: »

They'll be looking a long time for a Freesat combo box, as none exist. Freesat is a branded service, with satellite-only STBs currently only made by Humax, Manhattan, Bush, Goodmans & Sagemcom, & TVs made by Samsung & Panasonic.

The Humax boxes & Panasonic TVs also include the 'Freetime' catch up service, & of course the TVs also have terrestrial tuners, though I'm not sure if any of the current models are multi-tuner PVR models.



Actual Freesat boxes automatically update when channels change frequency, no need for rescans.



It needn't be approved. The Technomate & Edision boxes you mention aren't approved.

Come back winston all is forgiven

Im ofski

obezyana

jogdish wrote: »

Hi,
Perhaps this is the wrong place, but I currently have UPC with two televisions, and the basic pack. I have the ability to record programs and series at the "touch of a button" and the usual.

I would like to switch to something that will not have me paying a bill each month, but does the same as I get now - What do I want ? I am not handy and would need a person to set this up for me. How much am I looking at ?

Chanel wise I would need BBC news, C4, UTV ireland or ITV or UTV, HD on the bbc's and rte would be nice. Need to be able to record stuff and for the EPG to work with essentially zero fiddling.

What / Who do I ask ( for ) ?

As mentioned a Humax Freesat plus box is a very good investment for the UK channels. For the Irish channels there is a few branded approved boxes ie; Walker, Triax, Finlux etc and there are also non approved but to be honest it boils down to your own preference as to what you would prefer to have and spend.

Again as mentioned go to freetv.ie and have a look as they have a great range of products that will give you an idea of what you will need.

After you know what you want give your local installer a shout and he will sort it out for you.

To get setup you will need; A Satellite receiver (unless your tv has a Satellite tuner) Saorview receiver (unless your tv has a terrestrial tuner) Satellite dish, Cabling and connectors, Aerial.

Depending on your location and your setup other equipment may be needed but your installer will tell you exactly what you need. The initial cost might seem a lot (depending on pricing) but in a few months it will pay for itself.

jogdish

Hi OP here again, thanks for all the advice but must admit I am still very confused.

My TV has a digital tuner built in - Panasonic 39 inch. Will I need two boxs in order to get UK and Irish channels ?

I looked at the humax box and it says it can do series link and EPG.

obezyana

jogdish wrote: »

Hi OP here again, thanks for all the advice but must admit I am still very confused.

My TV has a digital tuner built in - Panasonic 39 inch. Will I need two boxs in order to get UK and Irish channels ?

I looked at the humax box and it says it can do series link and EPG.

Post up the model number and it can be checked what tuner you have.


Humax boxes are the best on the market for Freesat. They are pricey but they are well worth it.

jogdish

Panasonic TX L39EM5B

So I need two separate boxes ( and two remotes ) to get freeview + irish channels ?

obezyana

jogdish wrote: »

Panasonic TX L39EM5B

So I need two separate boxes ( and two remotes ) to get freeview + irish channels ?

That TV will do you for Saorview. You will need an Aerial in order to receive the signal. For the UK channels you will need a Satellite receiver and dish.

jogdish

OP here again,
So the TV will get saorview and I need a box +dish to get freeview. The piece I am confused about is this:

I use my TV remote to select saorview channels from the aerial input, then I need to change inputs to the hdmi and use the box remote to view freesat ? Tbh that sounds like a nightmare.

obezyana

jogdish wrote: »

OP here again,
So the TV will get saorview and I need a box +dish to get freeview. The piece I am confused about is this:

I use my TV remote to select saorview channels from the aerial input, then I need to change inputs to the hdmi and use the box remote to view freesat ? Tbh that sounds like a nightmare.

Yes the TV will receive Saorview. It will receive the signal from the nearest/best transmitter within your location and this is done via an aerial.

For the UK channels you will need a Satellite receiver and a dish.

Just to note so you dont confuse yourself as many seem to do, Freesat is different to Freeview the latter being the UK equivalent to Saorview. Only a small percentage of Ireland (border areas&east coast) can receive the Freeview signal so when you are enquiring about the UK channels via Satellite the Freesat option is what you are looking for. It can be very confusing at first

The remote issue is not as bad it would seem. You would be surprised at how quickly you will get used to the switching of sources its an easy process and a small compromise for having bill free tv.

With the HDMI if you mean do you swap these out each time? the answer is no. You will use a HDMI cable for the receiver and switch source via the remote.

Thurston?

jogdish wrote: »

Panasonic TX L39EM5B

So I need two separate boxes ( and two remotes ) to get freeview + irish channels ?

As mentioned already, that TV should be fine for viewing Saorview. However, it doesn't seem to offer recording via USB, so if you go with a Freesat box, the only way to record Saorview would be with say a DVD recorder making standard definition recordings via the SCART connection, & this wouldn't generally be 'one touch', or offer the option of viewing another Saorview channel while recording.

WRT the catch up services I mentioned in a previous post, I should probably also mention the issue of geo restrictions, though I think these can be swatted aside fairly easily ... (Topic not allowed here.)

jogdish

OP here again,
Thanks for all the replies, but no one has actually answered the questions in a form i understand - sorry, i just dont get all the terms. So here is what I am stuck on:

Q: Is there a set up with ONE box and ONE remote that will allow me to watch both Saorview and Freesat without need to switch inputs on my TV ( i was looking at this : http://www.freetv.ie/saorview-combo-walker.html )

Q: Would the above set up have series record ?

Q: Installation + stuff = roughly how much ?

Thurston?

jogdish wrote: »

Q: Is there a set up with ONE box and ONE remote that will allow me to watch both Saorview and Freesat without need to switch inputs on my TV ( i was looking at this : http://www.freetv.ie/saorview-combo-walker.html )

Q: Would the above set up have series record ?

There are plenty of satellite/terrestrial combo boxes, yes. None of them are actual Freesat receivers, but they'll still work with free-to-air channels. However a 'zero fiddling' box won't even give you a proper EPG on UK satellite channels, let alone series recording. (Only now-&-next programme info.)

No series recording on Saorview either, unless you go for the terrestrial-only Walker PVR, the only such machine with Saorview approval.

obezyana

jogdish wrote: »

OP here again,
Thanks for all the replies, but no one has actually answered the questions in a form i understand - sorry, i just dont get all the terms. So here is what I am stuck on:

Q: Is there a set up with ONE box and ONE remote that will allow me to watch both Saorview and Freesat without need to switch inputs on my TV ( i was looking at this : http://www.freetv.ie/saorview-combo-walker.html )

Q: Would the above set up have series record ?

Q: Installation + stuff = roughly how much ?

Freesat and Saorview are not on one box. FTA and Saorview are via a combo. Im in my phone so i cant click the link.

Installation cost. Well that depends it could be anywhere up to 450euro maybe more depending on your wants and needs.