Saorview/Freeview

worlds goodest teecher

Is there any way to get both Saorview and Freeview on a Samsung smart tv?

greasepalm

No as its area related and usually only get one or other.

Elvis Hammond

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

Is there any way to get both Saorview and Freeview on a Samsung smart tv?

You're aware actual Freeview is terrestrial, not satellite?

It's not a problem if you can get decent signals for both. Freeview is only worth bothering with in very limited parts of ROI.

I have good reception for both myself, but it depends where you are.

lawred2

Freeview or Freesat?

worlds goodest teecher

I set the tv to Ireland when I bought it. We moved house a few weeks back and am probably able to receive Freeview with small aerial. I also have an old Sky box. If I can get a uk Sky card I think I can get Freeview.

worlds goodest teecher

lawred2 wrote: »

Freeview or Freesat?

Freeview

Elvis Hammond

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

I set the tv to Ireland when I bought it. We moved house a few weeks back and am probably able to receive Freeview with small aerial. I also have an old Sky box. If I can get a uk Sky card I think I can get Freeview.

Yeah, you'll need the right aerial, nothing to do with cards, Sky or otherwise.

Where are you, roughly?

worlds goodest teecher

North sligo, about 15 mile from border.

worlds goodest teecher

Elvis Hammond wrote: »

Yeah, you'll need the right aerial, nothing to do with cards, Sky or otherwise.

There is a dish on the house. I found an old sky box. It picks up the Freeview Irish channels but I was told that if I had a uk sky card I could view uk Freeview channels.

Elvis Hammond

I wouldn't bother with Freeview in Sligo. I'm not sure you understand what it actually is anyway.

A dish for Sky will get free-to-air UK TV, but it won't get you Irish channels without a sub.: you should have no trouble getting those from your TV's terrestrial tuner, with a suitable aerial installed & connected.

Johnboy1951

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

There is a dish on the house. I found an old sky box. It picks up the Freeview Irish channels but I was told that if I had a uk sky card I could view uk Freeview channels.

The Sky box is capable of receiving Satellite signals, not Freeview signals so the above cannot be correct.

Furthermore a Sky box without a subscription will not receive and display Saorview channels from Satellite as they are encrypted.

For best use it seems to me that you should use the Satellite dish with either a Free to Air or a Freesat satellite receiver, in combination with a terrestrial aerial to receive the Saorview channels.

TAFKAlawhec

Freeview = Brand name for UK DVB-T(2) terrestrial network broadcast over UHF frequencies (470 to 694 MHz**), requires a "traditional" UHF TV aerial to help receive.

Saorview = Brand name for Irish DVB-T terrestrial network broadcast over UHF frequencies (470 to 694 MHz), requires a "traditional" UHF TV aerial to help receive.

Free-to-air satellite = General term used for any receiver (stand alone or built into a TV) that is designed to receive DVB-S(2) broadcasts Ku Band frequencies (10700 to 12750 MHz***) from geostationary satellites at different positions in the sky. Some receivers may either have facilities built in or custom made to be able to decode encrypted content e.g. Sky. In Ireland, most regular satellite TV and radio reception is concentrated at a constellation of satellites at approx 28 degrees east of the Greenwich meridian over the equator - these satellites carry Sky's services as well as numerous free-to-air based broadcasts.

Freesat = Brand name for free-to-air DVB-S(2) receivers that are customised for receiving a special Electronic Programme Guide for notable broadcasts at 28 degrees east inc. services from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and other channels that are broadcast FTA. Targeted at UK based residents, but reception is easy in Ireland (Rep. of) and "official" Freesat receivers are not hard to obtain.

Freesat from Sky = Brand name used by Sky for a service they provide using Sky branded DVB-S(2) receivers in a similar fashion to Freesat that also uses a Sky subscription card that is either expired (i.e. no longer used for general monthly subscription services) or sold to a customer specifically for the service that allows a few extra channels that are not available on Freesat. There are pros & cons when comparing "Freesat" and "Freesat from Sky".

** Higher frequencies up to 786 MHz are still in use in a few parts of the UK, including the multiplex COM7 on 746 MHz, but all such transmissions bar COM7 will be switched to 694MHz or below by September - COM7 is a temporary multiplex that can be shut down at short notice.
*** Such receivers can also receive geostationary satellite broadcasts at other frequencies, most notably "C Band" frequencies ranging normally from 3700 to 4200 MHz but potentially as wide as 3400 to 4800 MHz - however in Ireland, activity in C Band reception is extremely limited. Alternatively, they can also be used to pick up Ka Band broadcasts which is what Saorsat uses.

---

You cannot pick up "Freeview" via satellite transmissions as it is a terrestrial service using land-based transmitters to broadcast.

Your Samsung smart TV may be able to access satellite transmissions if it has a built-in satellite receiver - this might include functionality for "Freesat" otherwise it'll stick with being a generic free-to-air satellite receiver. If you can list your model number here, someone can check to see if it's possible that it has a satellite receiver built-in. The big tell-tale sign will be if there is a socket on the rear of the TV that's designed to be screwed on to by a cable with the appropriate plug (F connector).

To receive any Freeview broadcasts from your given location, your only possible hope IMO is from the Brougher Mountain transmitting station (lies between Enniskillen & Omagh). Has anyone else in your locality got Freeview reception? If not your chances are not good. Have you an FM radio receiver e.g. a car radio? If so, use it to try and pick up BBC Radio 2 on 89.4MHz - if you can't get decent reception of BBC R2 on that frequency then forget the "Freeview" route and concentrate on satellite instead. Even if you can, Freeview reception isn't guaranteed - trying for satellite reception will likely give less headaches.

One possible headache concerning satellite reception is that if the previous receiver hooked up to the dish was a "Sky Q" box, then the LNB (the bit sticking out on an arm in front of the satellite dish, usually with a white cap on it) will likely need changing unless it is a "hybrid" version, where one or two cables may need to be connected to a different output on it. This does not appear to be a problem in your scenario.

Hopefully this isn't too much info overload, but it is the basic knowledge needed to understand the differences between the platforms involved.

mollymac57

Am looking to buy a combo TV box to combine my Satellite connection (for FTA channels) and Saorview connection (for RTE etc.). Will a DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 MPEG 4 do the trick?
Edit: link removed.

swoofer

are you advertising??? that link asks for a sign in. that box is rubbish

greasepalm

Buying a box with no support is not the way to go as you have no control over it at all.
I would be going for an enigma type box but not sure on what combo model
Triple tuner 2 x sat + 1 saorview like a zgemma h7s 4 k ?

@swoofer sometimes people see a great price but dont see what lies ahead and members who have bought from wish can see it as were logged in.

Gerry Wicklow

swoofer wrote: »

are you advertising??? that link asks for a sign in. that box is rubbish

I'm not a wish member but could see enough that they once thought €340 was a reasonable price for a no-name and it's not even 4K

mollymac57

swoofer wrote: »

are you advertising??? that link asks for a sign in. that box is rubbish

Didn’t know that. Link now removed.

mollymac57

greasepalm wrote: »

Buying a box with no support is not the way to go as you have no control over it at all.
I would be going for an enigma type box but not sure on what combo model
Triple tuner 2 x sat + 1 saorview like a zgemma h7s 4 k ?

@swoofer sometimes people see a great price but dont see what lies ahead and members who have bought from wish can see it as were logged in.

Thanks, advice taken.

greasepalm

I did not think you were advertising but asking a question on a product you were thinking of buying which is better than buying first and regretting later on wrong one bought.

decor58

mollymac57 wrote: »

Am looking to buy a combo TV box to combine my Satellite connection (for FTA channels) and Saorview connection (for RTE etc.). Will a DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 MPEG 4 do the trick?
Edit: link removed.

Yes for Saorview & FTA sat T2 and S2 will get you the main channels. Try Freetv. ie or Sat world, Powercity, DID.

mollymac57

decor58 wrote: »

Yes for Saorview & FTA sat T2 and S2 will get you the main channels. Try Freetv. ie or Sat world, Powercity, DID.

Thanks Decor58

sligojoek

OP, I know from posts in other forums roughly where you are. I don't think you've a hope in hell of getting Freeview terrestrial from there. There's the small matter of Truskmore, the Horseshoe and Ben Whisken being bang smack in the way. You'll have no problem getting Saorview from there. You'll need a satellite system to get UK channels

worlds goodest teecher

sligojoek wrote: »

OP, I know from posts in other forums roughly where you are. I don't think you've a hope in hell of getting Freeview terrestrial from there. There's the small matter of Truskmore, the Horseshoe and Ben Whisken being bang smack in the way. You'll have no problem getting Saorview from there. You'll need a satellite system to get UK channels

So you are basically saying that I have not 1 but 3 mountains to climb. About 10 years ago when I was living about 3 miles from where I am now I bought a widescreen TV in Makro Belfast and was able to get a number of uk channels, most crap, by connecting to terrestrial aerial.

sligojoek

Maybe you were further north towards Bundoran. As you go back towards Grange your in a "shadow" from Ben Whiskin to Ben Bulben. Even Truskmore was near impossible along there till they built the newer higher mast for Saorview.

dxhound2005

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

So you are basically saying that I have not 1 but 3 mountains to climb. About 10 years ago when I was living about 3 miles from where I am now I bought a widescreen TV in Makro Belfast and was able to get a number of uk channels, most crap, by connecting to terrestrial aerial.

There are small areas of Co Sligo which get overspill on the Brougher footprint. Do you know if any nearby houses can get reception?

https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Brougher_Mountain

10 years ago you were receiving analogue signals, but I would think it must have been a good aerial installation, and unlikely to have been indoors? This thread from around that time mentions a few localities which were getting reception.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=58579335

worlds goodest teecher

Is the easiest thing for me to do use smart tv for Saorview and use the old Sky box to receive the free to air uk channels (adding available channels to ‘favorites’ rather than scrolling through the whole lot)?

Capt'n Midnight

worlds goodest teecher wrote: »

Is the easiest thing for me to do use smart tv for Saorview and use the old Sky box to receive the free to air uk channels (adding available channels to ‘favorites’ rather than scrolling through the whole lot)?

SKY , VirginMedia and the TV over Internet providers in this country make a bloody fortune by offering an easy way to watch Free To Air channels on one box using one remote.



IF you can get Freeview from UK by aerial then set UK as your country and you may be able to add the Irish channels in the 800's again YMMV


Some TV's have a satellite connection. YMMV

If the TV supports Freesat then part of the branding is usually to make sure it doesn't merge Freesat and non-Freesat EPG's

A genuine Freesat box will record and series link, way better than an out of contract Sky box.

Or you could go for a combo box.

Or a Linux box they take a little configuring but you can see Irish and UK channels on one box.

lowbatt07

TAFKAlawhec wrote: »

Freeview = Brand name for UK DVB-T(2) terrestrial network broadcast over UHF frequencies (470 to 694 MHz**), requires a "traditional" UHF TV aerial to help receive.

Saorview = Brand name for Irish DVB-T terrestrial network broadcast over UHF frequencies (470 to 694 MHz), requires a "traditional" UHF TV aerial to help receive.

Free-to-air satellite = General term used for any receiver (stand alone or built into a TV) that is designed to receive DVB-S(2) broadcasts Ku Band frequencies (10700 to 12750 MHz***) from geostationary satellites at different positions in the sky. Some receivers may either have facilities built in or custom made to be able to decode encrypted content e.g. Sky. In Ireland, most regular satellite TV and radio reception is concentrated at a constellation of satellites at approx 28 degrees east of the Greenwich meridian over the equator - these satellites carry Sky's services as well as numerous free-to-air based broadcasts.

Freesat = Brand name for free-to-air DVB-S(2) receivers that are customised for receiving a special Electronic Programme Guide for notable broadcasts at 28 degrees east inc. services from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and other channels that are broadcast FTA. Targeted at UK based residents, but reception is easy in Ireland (Rep. of) and "official" Freesat receivers are not hard to obtain.

Freesat from Sky = Brand name used by Sky for a service they provide using Sky branded DVB-S(2) receivers in a similar fashion to Freesat that also uses a Sky subscription card that is either expired (i.e. no longer used for general monthly subscription services) or sold to a customer specifically for the service that allows a few extra channels that are not available on Freesat. There are pros & cons when comparing "Freesat" and "Freesat from Sky".

** Higher frequencies up to 786 MHz are still in use in a few parts of the UK, including the multiplex COM7 on 746 MHz, but all such transmissions bar COM7 will be switched to 694MHz or below by September - COM7 is a temporary multiplex that can be shut down at short notice.
*** Such receivers can also receive geostationary satellite broadcasts at other frequencies, most notably "C Band" frequencies ranging normally from 3700 to 4200 MHz but potentially as wide as 3400 to 4800 MHz - however in Ireland, activity in C Band reception is extremely limited. Alternatively, they can also be used to pick up Ka Band broadcasts which is what Saorsat uses.

---

You cannot pick up "Freeview" via satellite transmissions as it is a terrestrial service using land-based transmitters to broadcast.

Your Samsung smart TV may be able to access satellite transmissions if it has a built-in satellite receiver - this might include functionality for "Freesat" otherwise it'll stick with being a generic free-to-air satellite receiver. If you can list your model number here, someone can check to see if it's possible that it has a satellite receiver built-in. The big tell-tale sign will be if there is a socket on the rear of the TV that's designed to be screwed on to by a cable with the appropriate plug (F connector).

To receive any Freeview broadcasts from your given location, your only possible hope IMO is from the Brougher Mountain transmitting station (lies between Enniskillen & Omagh). Has anyone else in your locality got Freeview reception? If not your chances are not good. Have you an FM radio receiver e.g. a car radio? If so, use it to try and pick up BBC Radio 2 on 89.4MHz - if you can't get decent reception of BBC R2 on that frequency then forget the "Freeview" route and concentrate on satellite instead. Even if you can, Freeview reception isn't guaranteed - trying for satellite reception will likely give less headaches.

One possible headache concerning satellite reception is that if the previous receiver hooked up to the dish was a "Sky Q" box, then the LNB (the bit sticking out on an arm in front of the satellite dish, usually with a white cap on it) will likely need changing unless it is a "hybrid" version, where one or two cables may need to be connected to a different output on it. This does not appear to be a problem in your scenario.

Hopefully this isn't too much info overload, but it is the basic knowledge needed to understand the differences between the platforms involved.

Long post

I’m pretty familiar with all of the above but in the real world is there any difference to the end used between FTA (s) / FREESAT & freesat from sky

With respect to freesat from sky are you merely referring to the thousands of UK registered Sky cards that can receive UK Channels (eg bbc 1 on 101)

Freesat - Astra sat

What are you on about with FTA

Long winded post really

muffler

lowbatt07 wrote: »

Long post

I’m pretty familiar with all of the above but in the real world is there any difference to the end used between FTA (s) / FREESAT & freesat from sky

With respect to freesat from sky are you merely referring to the thousands of UK registered Sky cards that can receive UK Channels (eg bbc 1 on 101)

Freesat - Astra sat

What are you on about with FTA

Long winded post really

The post was extremely informative and helpful. You aren't contributing anything positive by being unnecessarily critical a month later

lowbatt07

muffler wrote: »

The post was extremely informative and helpful. You aren't contributing anything positive by being unnecessarily critical a month later

Apologies if the post came across that way

Re a month later I just saw post

My question still stands - difference between FTA/ Freesat & freesat from sky

dulpit

FTA = generic. It's fine, but you either end up with a cheap box or built in tuner with now/next and no auto-EPG population, or you need to do a little bit of work with an Enigma2 box.
Freesat = will work out of the box. No messing with setups or installing apps/etc. You'll get a proper EPG, you can sort of use apps (I think) in Ireland. You don't have the flexibility of an E2 box (e.g. you'll only get Channel 4 in SD), but it just works. You can get proper recorder boxes to series link/etc.
Freesat from Sky = a sky box with a card. AFAIK it will show you lots of channels you can't get, as well as services you can't get. You don't get sky plus functionality either unless you pay them, which isn't supported in Ireland.

If I was to rank the options:

1. Freesat
2. Enigma2 box (unless you are someone who enjoys tinkering with things, in which case this is number 1)
3. Freesat from Sky