Given Opticum HD XS65 by mistake, keep or replace with Ariva 153?

cormie

I ordered an Ariva 153 combo box and satellite installation for my mam. The installers put in a Opticum HD XS65 Combo box instead and I've to wait until Tuesday before the Ariva is back in stock so they can replace it.

Am I better off just going through with the replacement or is there any chance the Opticum HD XS65 Combo is better?

From what I can see the Ariva 153 is far more popular and appears to be more expensive so guessing this is the better one. Also, if it's more popular, there's probably better community support online etc.

I also see some boxes are Android powered but I don't think the Ariva 153 is.

It's for my mam and she would just like to watch the basic channels but I want to connect it to the internet so she can watch youtube through it too.

Any feedback would be appreciated

cormie

Bump?

Tony

If the opticum is cheaper then you should get the box you paid for in my view.

cormie

Thanks for the reply, that's my thinking too, but if they were much the same performance wise, maybe it would have been ok just to leave it but I think I'd prefer the Ariva for the reasons above.

It was between the Revez Q12, Amica, Opticum and Ariva.

STB.

cormie wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, that's my thinking too, but if they were much the same performance wise, maybe it would have been ok just to leave it but I think I'd prefer the Ariva for the reasons above.

It was between the Revez Q12, Amica, Opticum and Ariva.

Stay away from that Revez crap.

There is a good support forum for the Ariva 153 in the terrestrial forum. They are a very hard box to kill, and you can combine saorview and satellite into one channel list. They also play MKV/MP4/Divx/AVI's from a usb key/hdd.

As regards youtube...... its hardcoded on the Ariva's cormie. You do know that youporn is also hardcoded into it.

cormie

Thanks for that, will definitely go for the ariva in that case. And this is for my mam, would it be easy for her to stumble upon youporn? :pac:

Tony

Some of the cheaper ones are terrible but the q11 and Q12 are pretty good and reliable . We are working on an option to store channel lists on a server for easier adding and updating of channels. Having said that its hard to beat the 153 as STB says they are really hard to break.

STB. wrote: »

Stay away from that Revez crap.

Tony

Only if it has a network connection and you can password protect it anyway.

cormie wrote: »

would it be easy for her to stumble upon youporn? :pac:

cormie

Would that app work with the Ariva too? I think the installer said to update the channel list, I'd need to bring it in and it would be €10 or it would be €30 call out to do it.

Tony

Its not an app its something developed specifically for the Q12. Its probably possible for the 153 but they (ferguson) have not been much help to us developing it.

cormie wrote: »

Would that app work with the Ariva too? I think the installer said to update the channel list, I'd need to bring it in and it would be €10 or it would be €30 call out to do it.

cormie

I saw the Q12 is Android, from what I can see anyway, which lead me to think that it would be far more open to something like that. Is it being designed through general android app means to work on the Q12?

Actually if the Q12 and Ariva are much of a muchness and the Q12 could update itself when the Ariva couldn't, this would sway me towards the Q12..

Would this only be available for your customers or to anyone with a Q12? Will you charge for the App or each download etc?

STB.

The Q12 is not android. Its an ALI 3616 chipset. The Q11 is a Sunplus chipset which tells you who makes them. They work with android devices in that you can use an application to make your android device work as a phone, or play stuff from an android device to them. The same is true of the Ariva 153. They are both closed source boxes albeit based on the ALI chipset.

If anything goes wrong with the Revez boxes there is no serial port on the back of them for recovery....unlike the Ariva.

Neither of these boxes are walk away boxes. They will from time to time require retuning on the satellite channels if channels are moved around by the broadcaster. With the Ariva that is a little simpler as there is a community of users and you could use someone elses channel list who has the same model box.

The plug n play walk away boxes are the more expensive linux boxes and even they need attention from time to time. There will be a box out next year from Saorview that combines both and will require little attention from the end user, especially for those who have limited technical interest.

cormie

Thanks a lot for that, will definitely insist on the Ariva in that case. What actually happens when a broadcaster changes channel position? Do you just lose that one station, or do all stations go? I mean if RTE, TG4, TV3, BBC1, Network 2 and all the main terrestrial ones didn't change but some motorsportzTV and chessnetwork station did, my mam wouldn't be any wiser, or do they all reshuffle at the same time if one changes? Do the Irish/UK broadcasters generally change their channel position a lot? Sorry for all the questions, just anticipating the "What happened the tv??" phone call

Tony

Its available to any supplier that wants to implement the feature. Again its not an app and of course we would not charge, its impossible to know who is downloading from our server in any case.

cormie wrote: »

Would this only be available for your customers or to anyone with a Q12? Will you charge for the App or each download etc?

cormie

So the guys finally got around to swapping the box last night and it all seems to be working fine.

I went out today but didn't have long to look at it at all but there's two main questions so far:

We lost the remote that came with the TV but the UPC remote can put it in standby etc no problem, when she had the upc box connected, she only ever needed the UPC remote to control the box and put tv into standby etc. I'm not sure if this was also the case with the Opticum, but now with the Ariva, it only seems to control the box itself and can't get the tv out, or back into standby. It's a bush TV bought in tesco in 2008 I wonder is there any way to get the Ariva 153 remote to be able to switch the tv on/off so she can just use the one remote and not have to hold onto the UPC remote when not using the box?

2nd question is about youtube, when I ordered the box I specifically asked if it's capable of connecting to youtube. Someone had recommended me an edison optimus 3 in 1 combo box but the crowd I rang only had the ariva but they said it's pretty much identical.

I assumed it would just be a case of connecting it to the wifi and then my mam would be easily able to use youtube on it but I quickly had a look at the menu and network options and it said something about needing a usb dongle

I also didn't see anything about youtube in the menu..

If anyone knows anything on the above I'd appreciate any help

Tony

You need a USB dongle or network cable for internet connectivity. The remote is not universal so will not control the tv.

cormie

Aha, I just had a look at the connections on the back online and I see the LAN port, so it's just a case of running a cable from the modem to the box and it should be grand?

Pity about the remote, I wonder is it possible to get a remote that controls the tv and ariva?

Tony

Yes the ariva 252 remote will do this

cormie wrote: »

Pity about the remote, I wonder is it possible to get a remote that controls the tv and ariva?

cormie

Is this the one? http://www.satellite.ie/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=252%20ariva&PN=Ferguson_replacement_remote_control.html#SID=45

It looks exactly the same as the one for the 153 so maybe the 252 one is different? Is the 252 a newer, more advanced model?

Tony

Sure is , just make sure you enter 252 is the receiver model box We use that page for all ariva remote types so don't worry about that particular photo

cormie wrote: »

Is this the one? http://www.satellite.ie/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=252%20ariva&PN=Ferguson_replacement_remote_control.html#SID=45

It looks exactly the same as the one for the 153 so maybe the 252 one is different? Is the 252 a newer, more advanced model?

Tony

Heres one with the actual photo of the 252 remote http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/remote-control-for--Ariva-252-and-250-.html#SID=45

cormie

Thanks for the link

Got a call off my mam this evening to say she turned on the TV and is getting a "no signal" notification

I haven't a clue how this box works so can't do anything to help her, but if this is what happens when the channel list changes I'm not sure if this is going to work for her if it's going to be happening every few weeks and with no warning or lead time to update.

Is there any box out there that will just auto update itself as long as it's connected to the net?

If it happened in a few months after she got used to it and was happy with it, it'd be fine, but after she got the wrong box and after that one also giving a no signal problem and a few other issues, now she's pissed off and saying she wants to go back to upc :mad:

Thurston?

cormie wrote: »

... Got a call off my mam this evening to say she turned on the TV and is getting a "no signal" notification

Is it particular channels showing the 'no signal' message?

cormie

I don't think so, I think it just says it when it's turned on regardless of channel?

Thurston?

And the box is turned on, & the right input selected on the TV? Have to eliminate the silly things first ...

cormie

Thanks again for the input, I'd say so, I'm not 100% sure though as I haven't had a look at it yet and just going by what my mam says, but she's turned it on plenty of times with no problems already so I'm guessing everything else is in check.

Thurston?

Well, if the box is getting no signal from the dish &/or aerial, it's nothing to do with updates or changes to the channel list.

Hopefully if there is a fault, it's not caused by poor workmanship, & the installer rectifies it without quibble.

cormie

Thanks again, so if every channel is saying no signal, is it likely to be a fault with the dish/aerial? Do all channels usually go at once or would only a few channels go at a time and all the others would usually be available and not saying "no signal"?

Thurston?

If reception has been compromised say by the dish or aerial becoming misaligned, or water getting into a cable, then it's possible that some channels might still be viewable without problem, with others being glitchy or missing altogether.

cormie

Cool thanks, and in the case where all channels are unavailable, does it mean the box needs the updated channel list? So the whole listing changes at once rendering all channels unavailable typically, or is it usually one channel falling off radar at a time?

Thurston?

cormie wrote: »

... in the case where all channels are unavailable, does it mean the box needs the updated channel list? So the whole listing changes at once rendering all channels unavailable typically, or is it usually one channel falling off radar at a time?

All that happens is that frequencies on which services are broadcast are occasionally changed, to make best use of satellite capacity. Happens more regularly on lesser services (& sometimes they might simply cease to exist), more rarely with the likes of BBC, ITV, & Ch.4.

I'm not aware of any changes having occurred recently, apart from a few formerly encrypted services going free-to-air, but that won't be causing you problems.

Thurston?

If you do have a load of channels showing 'no signal', then it's a fault with the installation, maybe something that couldn't have been foreseen or prevented, but more likely, & sadly, due to poor work, either through lack of knowledge of the installer, or couldn't-care-less attitude.

Of course I'm assuming by what's been posted already in the thread, that this is a professional job, & you didn't end up doing some of the work yourself?

Kristopherus

cormie wrote: »

Cool thanks, and in the case where all channels are unavailable, does it mean the box needs the updated channel list? So the whole listing changes at once rendering all channels unavailable typically, or is it usually one channel falling off radar at a time?

Check that the connections at the back of the box are tight. I have the Ariva 120 which is a great-grandfather of the 153. If the box says No Signal, does that apply to both terrestial & satellite channels or just 1 satellite channel. Generally its unlikely that a terrestial channel will say No Signal, unless there's an issue with a Saorview mast.

Thurston?

Kristopherus wrote: »

... Generally its unlikely that a terrestial channel will say No Signal, unless there's an issue with a Saorview mast.

What?! There are no shortage of ways a fault can arise at the receiver end, & far more likely than a transmitter problem. Must be the daftest thing I've seen posted here in a while ...

Kristopherus

Thurston? wrote: »

What?! There are no shortage of ways a fault can arise at the receiver end, & far more likely than a transmitter problem. Must be the daftest thing I've seen posted here in a while ...

No need to be sarcy. I have the 120 version and know it inside out. Like you my post was intended to eliminate exterior issues. Eliminate those & then you can look at the box. But looking at the box may entail opening it up. The OP may not fancy that. The most obvious interior issue to me would be the connection of the satellite and terrestial inputs to the tuner.

Thurston?

Kristopherus wrote: »

... looking at the box ma entail opening it up. The OP may not fancy that.

Read the rest of the thread, it's a new install, nobody should be opening anything up, or even mentioning it.

Kristopherus

Thurston? wrote: »

Read the rest of the thread, it's a new install, nobody should be opening anything up, or even mentioning it.

I sure did. New install. Installers back on Tuesday. Tomorrow is a Public Holiday.