Saorview Dongle for PC?

Thargor

What Saorview dongles are people using these days? I remember I had one from a bargain alert ages ago but no clue where it is now, it wasnt great anyway, constantly reinstalling the driver and it was a pain to get any software to recognize it.

When it worked it was great though, wouldn't mind a proper one again but all I can see online are these ones you plug into boxes:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=saorview+dongle&_sacat=0

Are they what Im looking for?

Atlantic Dawn

It would be somethign like this you would need...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Full-HD-Freeview-USB-TV-PC-Computer-Stick-Tuner-Dongle-Digital-Receiver-Recorder/132491552157?_trkparms=aid%3D555017%26algo%3DPL.CASSINI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20151005190540%26meid%3D7c1fce40d8b5464284fd241d07b51052%26pid%3D100505%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26%26itm%3D132491552157&_trksid=p2045573.c100505.m3226

bassy

Thargor wrote: »

What Saorview dongles are people using these days? I remember I had one from a bargain alert ages ago but no clue where it is now, it wasnt great anyway, constantly reinstalling the driver and it was a pain to get any software to recognize it.

When it worked it was great though, wouldn't mind a proper one again but all I can see online are these ones you plug into boxes:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=saorview+dongle&_sacat=0

Are they what Im looking for?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-Digital-DVB-T2-T-DVB-C-FM-DAB-SDR-TV-Tuner-Receiver-Stick-Dongle-for-PC/132797175788?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160323102634%26meid%3Dce58d41e1b674e04aa9d032d170a7cd5%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D132491552157%26itm%3D132797175788&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

Johnboy1951

https://www.ebay.ie/sch/sis.html?_nkw=USB%202%200%20DVB%20T%20RTL%20SDR%20Realtek%20RTL2832U%20R820T%20Tuner%20Receiver%20Dongle%20PAL%20IEC%20Input&_itemId=142426790356

Get one with full socket for aerial plug.
RTL2832U is my preferred chip.

The second one listed above would be my choice.
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/DVB-T-RTL-SDR-Realtek-RTL2832U-R820T-Tuner-USB-Receiver-Dongle-PAL-IEC-In-V2A8-/223146047646?hash=item33f48a789e

Thargor

Thanks everybody, Id like to get a black one to match my setup, would you mind confirming that this is the same one just in black?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RTL2832U-R820T-DVB-T-RTL-SDR-DAB-FM-USB-2-0-Digital-TV-Receiver-Stick-Tuner-CD-/281561364981

Johnboy1951

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks everybody, Id like to get a black one to match my setup, would you mind confirming that this is the same one just in black?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RTL2832U-R820T-DVB-T-RTL-SDR-DAB-FM-USB-2-0-Digital-TV-Receiver-Stick-Tuner-CD-/281561364981

Seems so but watch out for

Doesn't post to Ireland

if applicable.

Thargor

Sound thanks, that's ordered, what's the best software?

captain_boycott

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

https://www.ebay.ie/sch/sis.html?_nkw=USB%202%200%20DVB%20T%20RTL%20SDR%20Realtek%20RTL2832U%20R820T%20Tuner%20Receiver%20Dongle%20PAL%20IEC%20Input&_itemId=142426790356

Get one with full socket for aerial plug.
RTL2832U is my preferred chip.

The second one listed above would be my choice.
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/DVB-T-RTL-SDR-Realtek-RTL2832U-R820T-Tuner-USB-Receiver-Dongle-PAL-IEC-In-V2A8-/223146047646?hash=item33f48a789e

Are these dongles single or dual tuners, that is, do I need multiple dongles to watch and record across Muxes at same time?

Johnboy1951

captain_boycott wrote: »

Are these dongles single or dual tuners, that is, do I need multiple dongles to watch and record across Muxes at same time?

They are single tuner so you need two for the two Saorview muxes.

With two tuners you can record the two full muxes (all channels) if you wish and have the hardware to accommodate that.

captain_boycott

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

They are single tuner so you need two for the two Saorview muxes.

With two tuners you can record the two full muxes (all channels) if you wish and have the hardware to accommodate that.

Thanks Johnboy! Last time we chatted, you were using a PCI card tuner (TBS I think). How does the dongle option work by comparison - is it as fast to switch channels as the pci card?

Johnboy1951

captain_boycott wrote: »

Thanks Johnboy! Last time we chatted, you were using a PCI card tuner (TBS I think). How does the dongle option work by comparison - is it as fast to switch channels as the pci card?

The dongle tuners are not as good/robust as the TBS card tuners.
They are also not as sensitive or exact. TBS also produce professional tuner cards so the build quality tends to be good.

But, saying that, it does not appear to matter at all if you have a reasonable Saorview signal from the aerial.

I am unsure about switching channels from one mux to the other when only using a single tuner, but with dual tuners it is as fast as anything else I have used.
I had one tuner for one mux and the other set for the second mux.

BTW, I have since moved on to using a HDHomerun tuner device on my LAN, so the dongles are only used intermittently these days.

captain_boycott

I'm still running with a Blackgold tuner card under windows, but recently replaced my HTPC/kodi client with a Shield (amazing box!!), so though it might be worth trying out a Tvheadend system to work with the shields Live Channels facility (there is no Android TV mediaportal client).

I've got a Linux version of the Blackgold drivers which are reported to work on Ubuntu, but before I commit to that, will try using a dongle tuner as proof of concept, am thinking I'll plug the DVB-T dongle into a Wetek LibreElec box I don't use anymore and use that as the TVheadend server. Should work in theory but I'm sceptical about performance/stability.

Whats been your experience with the Homerun? Is it as good as the PCI tuner?

Johnboy1951

captain_boycott wrote: »

I'm still running with a Blackgold tuner card under windows, but recently replaced my HTPC/kodi client with a Shield (amazing box!!), so though it might be worth trying out a Tvheadend system to work with the shields Live Channels facility (there is no Android TV mediaportal client).

I've got a Linux version of the Blackgold drivers which are reported to work on Ubuntu, but before I commit to that, will try using a dongle tuner as proof of concept, am thinking I'll plug the DVB-T dongle into a Wetek LibreElec box I don't use anymore and use that as the TVheadend server. Should work in theory but I'm sceptical about performance/stability.

Whats been your experience with the Homerun? Is it as good as the PCI tuner?

First off the HDHomerun is great. I plug it into the LAN and tvheadend uses the tuners to serve the clients without any problems. It has a DLNA server built in if that is your preference.
I use LibreELEC on some devices and CoreELEC on some cheap (€40) android devices.
One of the android boxes is used as the tvheadend server. It is stable. You should have no problems with the Wetek ..... do a fresh install and only add the addons needed for the server and no more.
Most instability comes from the addons in my experience.

captain_boycott

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

First off the HDHomerun is great..

Just been looking at the HDHomerun on amazon (is that the best place to get one?).

Seems there are 2 and 4 tuner options. I wonder if 2 tuners is sufficient. We have the 2 Saorview Muxes and on my blackgold card it can record several channels regardless of mux simultaneously. Is that true of the Homerun tuners, or would the 4 tuner model be required for 3 simultaneous recordings?

Also, don't see any mention of storage or interfaces on the amazon page, does it come with any storage or USB connections?

Johnboy1951

captain_boycott wrote: »

Just been looking at the HDHomerun on amazon (is that the best place to get one?).

Seems there are 2 and 4 tuner options. I wonder if 2 tuners is sufficient. We have the 2 Saorview Muxes and on my blackgold card it can record several channels regardless of mux simultaneously. Is that true of the Homerun tuners, or would the 4 tuner model be required for 3 simultaneous recordings?

Also, don't see any mention of storage or interfaces on the amazon page, does it come with any storage or USB connections?

Two tuners are sufficient for two complete muxes.
After that it depends on the software used.
As I recall (not a Win user) some Win software would only do one channel from the mux at a time.
That is not the case with Tvheadend for instance.
You can record the complete mux is you wish and also have the hardware capable of handling such a high data throughput.

I got the four tuner model because I wanted at least three muxes ..... one of which is generated internally.

Short answer .... two tuners for two muxes, and if that does not work properly then look to the software.

No storage or USB ...... it is purely a network (LAN) connected box.

Thargor

Whats the best software for just general tv watching? I wont be recording or anything.

One that you can pin so that it floats over other windows and is always in front would be ideal.