SaorView/Freeview

jogdish

Hi,
(hopefully the right forum)
Currently am a Virgin media basic TV person. Thinking about switching to Free to air. Here is my shopping list:


RTE's TG4, BBC's (1,2,4 and news), ITV or whoever shows their soaps in Ireland.


Channel 4/ ITV 3/4 similar would be nice, HD's



I know wanting both Irish and UK free to air is not as simply as just wanting Irish. Can someone tell me how messy it gets, dishes, how many remotes etc etc.

Gerry Wicklow

For the Irish stations you will need an aerial as they are not free on the UK satellite. For the Uk stations you will need a dish. Combo boxes are available to combine the Irish and Uk channels into one unit, one remote with full EPG, recording, series linking, etc etc. See here for an example of what is possible

jogdish

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

For the Irish stations you will need an aerial as they are not free on the UK satellite. For the Uk stations you will need a dish. Combo boxes are available to combine the Irish and Uk channels into one unit, one remote with full EPG, recording, series linking, etc etc. See here for an example of what is possible

I think my TV has some tuner built in, would that do both UK and IRE? (sony ag8 )

Gerry Wicklow

The Tv will probably do for Saorview Irish channels. It may have a satellite tuner too if it has a screw on connector at the rear. Either way you will still need an aerial and a dish unless you are within range of the Northern Irish or Welsh masts. Usually you are restricted in what you can do with the built in tuners, such as having to watch the same channel you are recording or it gets messy switching between Irish and UK channels. Im not familiar with your specific TV so others might be better able to guide you.

decor58

jogdish wrote: »

I think my TV has some tuner built in, would that do both UK and IRE? (sony ag8 )

The spec on the ag8 (nice TV) says it has 2 terrestrial tuners and 2 sat tuners, perfect for recording if you add a HDD. As has been said you will need to connect to an aerial for Saorview and a dish for satellite.

Johnboy1951

decor58 wrote: »

The spec on the ag8 (nice TV) says it has 2 terrestrial tuners and 2 sat tuners, perfect for recording if you add a HDD. As has been said you will need to connect to an aerial for Saorview and a dish for satellite.

The tuner numbers depend on exact model it appears.
This one seems to have one DVB-T tuner for instance ...

Sony Bravia KD55AG8 (2019) OLED HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart Android TV, 55" with Freeview HD, Youview, & Acoustic Surface Audio, Black

https://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kd55ag8-2019-oled-hdr-4k-ultra-hd-smart-android-tv-55-with-freeview-hd-youview-acoustic-surface-audio-black/p4123133

DLNA     YES
[B]Digital tuner    Freeview HD/Youview[/B]
Dimensions    H71 x W122.9 x D5.1cm
Dimensions With Stand    H73 x W122.9 x D29cm
Energy Rating    B
[B]Freesat built in    NO[/B]
HDR    YES

B.A._Baracus

One of the best things you can get is Freesat / Soarview installed. Once you do it you will question why you it took you so long.

Up until a few years ago you had to have a Soarview box and satellite box hooked up to the TV. Then TVs started to go Soarview compatible. Then as time went by newer TVs also had built in satellite tuners.

I bought a TV a couple of months ago and both aerial and satellite cable go into the TV. One remote handles everything. Downside is because I don't have a Freesat box channels do not get updated automatically. But you can easily rescan or manually tune.

jogdish

I know this will come across very stupid on my half but I am still confused about the whole thing. I know what Overview is, small 14inch LCD in kitchen gets rte/tg4 hd's fine via attic aerial.
Freesat/Freeview - im less sure about, more so when asking for EPG's/recordings/etc...My TV seems to be okay for tuners (but in fairness I have zero idea what DVB-T/C etc mean ).

So from what im reading, I could hook up a dish and aerial and have two cables into back of the TV and that would get me UK and Irish channels ? - would the TV's remote work across both ? I guess so.

I know there are 'box's that handle this for just one TV input but honestly was hoping to move away from the box and just use the remote the TV came with (easier for doing smart TV stuff / settings / audio via Virgin box is a nightmare to get right )

Ideally hoping to get a subscription free set up that 'just works' as it will be used by parents.

Johnboy1951

This might help a little ...

DVB-S - Satellite broadcasts
FTA - Free to Air Satellite channels
Freeesat - Proprietary Software/Firmware that provides 7 Day EPG of a selection of FTA channels

DVB-T - Terrestrial broadcasts requiring an aerial
Saorview - Irish DVB-T channels
Freeview - UK DVB-T channels

DVB-C - Cable channels

dubrov

Hook the aerial feed up to your TV and you will get all the Saorview channels.
Hook a satellite feed up to your TV to get the UK free channels (BBC, ITV etc.).

You will get the full channel guide for Saorview.
For the UK channels, you will only get the full channel guide if your TV supports Freesat.

If you want to be able to record, you'll need something to record to, e.g. USB stick.
A tuner gets locked when recording so if you want to be able to record and watch a different channel simultaneously your TV would need two tuners (it sounds like your TV probably has this).

Also be aware that most TVs require 5+ button presses to switch between Saorview and UK channels.

touts

Hi Guys,
I'm in the process of cancelling sky and moving to Saorview and Freesat. Have bought a humax Freesat box and my TV is Saorview compatible and I have an aerial in the attic that works because I use it for Irish channels in other rooms

So happy days. Or so I thought. The problem now is I have two lines coming into the TV point. At the moment both of these are satellite feed. With sky this wasn't a problem as RTE also came in on satellite for them. However now I need three lines two satellite and one aerial.

I have seen devices on Amazon that combine the aerial and satellite signals into one line and then split them again just before the TV. The problem is some of them have awful reviews with people saying they don't work.

Can anyone recommend how I can do this and what combiner/splitter to buy?

Thanks

dubrov

They do work and there is nothing complicated. You shouldn't pay more than a fiver for each combiner/splitter.
I see loads available on Amazon with positive reviews like this one.

The Cush

https://www.freetv.ie/tv-aerial-and-satellite-combiner/

This will also split the terrestrial signal at the TV end when using 2 sat feed cables - https://vision-products.co.uk/slim-n-fast-outlet-plate-sat1-terr-sat2/

Ten Pin

Is it clear whether or not sat/terr splitters work with Sky Q LNBs (non hybrid)?

The Cush

Ten Pin wrote: »

Is it clear whether or not sat/terr splitters work with Sky Q LNBs (non hybrid)?

Terrestrial and wideband LNB feeds cannot share the same cable because the I.F. range of the wideband LNB completely overlaps the terrestrial frequency range, 290-2340 MHz vs. 470-694 MHz