Cancelling Sky, what Linux box?

JoeA3

Hi guys,
I think I'm about to cancel Sky. It's just way too costly for what I'm getting from it. I typically watch the channels that are free about 80% of the time! i.e. RTE or BBC. I'd miss Sky the odd time for sport but nothing much else.

Anyway, one of the things that kept me with Sky for all these years is convenience, ease of use, the recording, etc. However, I'm hearing that the latest "Linux" based combo boxes are great devices and once up and going are a very adequate replacement for Sky.

I'm a bit confused though as to what box would suit me. There seems to be lots of them out there. I was looking on "freeTv.ie" at the likes of the Amiko Alien 2 triple tuner or the Edision OS MEGA Combo. Are these the obvious "Can't go wrong" choices?

I'm pretty tech savvy so I don't mind a bit of effort getting it set up! But once setup I'd like if it were relatively easy to use, that I don't have to explain in great detail to others in the house how to use it, etc. Really I'll be happy if I have a box that has the irish channels and the freesat UK channels on one 7-day EPG that allows me to record/series link. If all that works relatively seamlessly - bingo. Other stuff like Kodi I can play with later once I get familiar with the basics...

Also, can a Sky "magic eye" be used with these boxes? It would be handy as thats how I pipe the signal to the bedroom today. I've read that I need a "Triax" (?) device to do this?

Any advice welcome...

how.gareth

JoeA3 wrote: »

Hi guys,
I think I'm about to cancel Sky. It's just way too costly for what I'm getting from it. I typically watch the channels that are free about 80% of the time! i.e. RTE or BBC. I'd miss Sky the odd time for sport but nothing much else.

Anyway, one of the things that kept me with Sky for all these years is convenience, ease of use, the recording, etc. However, I'm hearing that the latest "Linux" based combo boxes are great devices and once up and going are a very adequate replacement for Sky.

I'm a bit confused though as to what box would suit me. There seems to be lots of them out there. I was looking on "freeTv.ie" at the likes of the Amiko Alien 2 triple tuner or the Edision OS MEGA Combo. Are these the obvious "Can't go wrong" choices?

I'm pretty tech savvy so I don't mind a bit of effort getting it set up! But once setup I'd like if it were relatively easy to use, that I don't have to explain in great detail to others in the house how to use it, etc. Really I'll be happy if I have a box that has the irish channels and the freesat UK channels on one 7-day EPG that allows me to record/series link. If all that works relatively seamlessly - bingo. Other stuff like Kodi I can play with later once I get familiar with the basics...

Also, can a Sky "magic eye" be used with these boxes? It would be handy as thats how I pipe the signal to the bedroom today. I've read that I need a "Triax" (?) device to do this?

Any advice welcome...

Yep go for the amiko alien triple tuner and you are sorted for 7 day TV guide and recording a channel while watching another, just plug in your 2 satellite cables and saorview ariel for full enjoyment. You won't get any kind of Kodi on it though as that's android. These boxes run mainly on enigma 2. I can't comment on magic eye options as I've never used it

0ph0rce0

Amiko Alien 2 is a terrible box. Slow and sluggish. Spark UI is very basic, And the Enigma 2 images that don't cause problems are limited.

I'd take the Edision Mega over it any day.

All depends on how much you want to spend.


Have a look over at world of sat, Much better selection of boxes available.


http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/satellite-and-terrestrial/digital-receivers


Kodi on these boxes is also terrible, And i think the support has stopped for it. It was just a basic set up and nothing like what you'd see on the PC/Android Box.

As for the Magic eye its not needed. If you have a smart tv or an android box in another room you can stream from the TV to that device over the network. If you have multiple tuners on sat for example then you can watch one thing downstairs on one tuner while watching different channels on the other tuner streaming to your device.

JoeA3

Thanks a lot guys.

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

As for the Magic eye its not needed. If you have a smart tv or an android box in another room you can stream from the TV to that device over the network. If you have multiple tuners on sat for example then you can watch one thing downstairs on one tuner while watching different channels on the other tuner streaming to your device.

Cool. The TV in the bedroom isn't Smart unfortunately, but I imagine I can get myself a cheap-ish android box...

I took a look at the link you posted there - there's a mind boggling number of choices... difficult to know "the one" to go for!

dav32cs

I'd stay away from the Amiko for ease of use in regards to performance aspects.

Go for the OS Mini combo ( one sat and one terrestrial) to record one sat channel and swap to a terrestrial or the OS Mega ( two sat and terrestrial, also internal HD) if you need to be able to record two sat channels at once.

You can stream for free through apps but if you want to keep the current sky eye set up get the Triax RF modulator and then an RCA to Scart cable.

Hook all up,change channel number on triax to match what one you are using for it in the bedroom and away you go.

There are cheaper modulators like revez but they can be quite particular, Triax always rock solid.

dxhound2005

You don't mention budget but as you will be saving a bit of money by getting rid of Sky you could think about a 4K box. No free 4K channels and you will also need a 4K TV but it might be a worthwhile bit of future proofing. This one is getting good reviews.

http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=sf4008

This thread has answers for most of your questions. Combo means combined satellite and terrestrial and I'm sure you know you will need an aerial for terrestrial as well as the dish for satellite. There are other threads on the subject if you do a search as well.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057639037

You could just use the Sky box for a while for Free to Air satellite to see how you get on, before deciding if you want to go the Linux route. If you haven't got an aerial already a simple indoor or attic one might do to get RTE etc, as your TV will have a built in terrestrial tuner.

JoeA3

Thanks for that.
Yeah I'm all set up re saorview and 4K. I have 3 coax coming into the tv point (2 for Sky+ and one from an aerial for Saorview). Plus a 4th coax then that goes back up to a bedroom (aforementioned magic eye).

I don't use the saorview feed very much at the moment as obviously I've got all those channels on Sky. I have a 4K tv too but there isn't much 4K tv out there yet - is there? Does 4K content require any change to the dish / lnb, like Sky Q does?

Oh - budget isn't overly tight. I mean I'm already paying Sky 60+ a month so I'd be happy to spend €250 ish on a relatively future proofed alternative.

dxhound2005

These are the only 4K (UHD) channels on 28 East. I can see the free ones on a USB type receiver on my computer, but I have not got a 4K screen. They just scan as radio channels with music background on my ordinary satellite box. No special LNB needed. You might be able to tune them in on your Sky box?

https://www.lyngsat.com/uhd/Astra-2E-2F-2G.html

JoeA3

Another question..
Free tv.ie quote the prices of the Edison and other boxes without a HDD. Ticking the HDD option costs 50-80 more, depending on size. I assume a HDD is pretty important for recording and the likes - Is spec'ing it whrn purchasing the best way to do it? I've seen people mention using simple USB sticks for recording...

dxhound2005

I'm not certain but I think you will lose access to any recordings you made from non Free to Air channels when you cancel Sky, in case you weren't aware.

You will know yourself how much recording you are likely to do. Bigger capacity HDD's are better value, but all of them are likely to fail in the longer term, so you would need to back up anything you want to keep permanently. Solid State Drives (SSD) are a new alternative which I read can be fitted to satellite boxes for recordings. An expensive item at present but likely to come down a lot in price, and probably less prone to failure than the current technology.

You can record to USB as well but would probably be most useful for stuff you can delete and record over.

Johnboy1951

JoeA3 wrote: »

Another question..
Free tv.ie quote the prices of the Edison and other boxes without a HDD. Ticking the HDD option costs 50-80 more, depending on size. I assume a HDD is pretty important for recording and the likes - Is spec'ing it whrn purchasing the best way to do it? I've seen people mention using simple USB sticks for recording...

USB sticks are not suitable media for timeshift.
They are somewhat suitable for recording, but are not optimum.

HDDs are designed for constant access and long life so are the preferred device.

Johnboy1951

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

USB sticks are not suitable media for timeshift.
They are somewhat suitable for recording, but are not optimum.

HDDs are designed for constant access and long life so are the preferred device.

How so?

I use a usb stick for live pause, EPG etc and a HDD for recording that way my HDD is not constantly spinning thus reducing it life time and instead only has to spin for the few hours a day you are watching or recording.

decor58

JoeA3 wrote:

I've seen people mention using simple USB sticks for recording...

Usb sticks are ok with some boxes but if you want to keep recordings you can run out of space very quickly. A humax hb1000s requires a min of 64gb and a fair deal of that is taken up by software. A good quality 64gb costs 25 euro approx, almost 8 times the space can be had for about double the price.

Gerry Wicklow

USB sticks are not intended for continuous use and have a limited number of rewrites. Possibly as low as 5000-10000 times depending on quality.

Gerry Wicklow

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

USB sticks are not intended for continuous use and have a limited number of rewrites. Possibly as low as 5000-10000 times depending on quality.

They are dirt cheap/free though. I'm using one I got from free somewhere, if it fails bin and get another. HDDs are a lot more expensive and are holding much more data so if they fail you lose maybe year of recordings or have to try recover in the hope of getting them back (again at cost).

Just to clarify I don't mean to use one for recording but rather for EPG, time shift etc.

JoeA3

I wouldn't be too bothered about losing old recordings personally... I don't tend to keep many on the Sky box.

Gerry Wicklow

Angelique Careful Goalkeeper wrote: »

....

Just to clarify I don't mean to use one for recording but rather for EPG, time shift etc.

Recording is 1 or 2 writes a day on average. Timeshift is continuous writing/rewriting.

Gerry Wicklow

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Recording is 1 or 2 writes a day on average. Timeshift is continuous writing/rewriting.

Hence why I'd rather do it on a USB key rather than a HDD.

JoeA3

Well I finally bit the bullet this morning and cancelled Sky. They fairly put you through the hoops trying to get you you to change your mind (bull sales / scaremongering tactics tbh) but now its done. I've 30 days now to get myself one of these boxes

I was also reading about the new Sky "Now TV" service which sounds ideal for one-off purchases for the odd Sky Sports event I might be interested in... Strangely, the guys on the phone never mentioned this service to me when I was cancelling...

muffler

JoeA3 wrote: »

Strangely, the guys on the phone never mentioned this service to me when I was cancelling...

While the dogs in the street know about it apparently it will only be officially announced today from what I'm reading.

necstandards

Hi JoeA3 - im in the exact same position, would be grateful if you could let us know what box you went for and how its going for you?