RTE by Dish

monseiur

Hi folk,

I get all free to air Sky Channels by dish, but I get RTE 1, 2, TG4 & Virgin 1 & 2 by standard aerial. I have serious interference issues with RTE1 especially just wondering is it possible to get all the terrestrial channels RTE1, 2 etc. thru' the dish instead of aerial ? TV is smart LG with satellite tuner etc. built in.

Thanks.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058273232/rte-by-dish

If you have an RoI sky subscription, RTÉ, VMTV, OTV and TG4 are not FTA on satellite.

What's your aerial set up like?

monseiur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119916865#Comment_119916865

Hi RoTelly, I have a standard TV aerial and a dish for free to air satellite channels. I don't have a Sky subscription. RTE 2 & TG4 are OK, the interference issue is with RTE 1 and one of the Virgin channels. With internet / broadband getting more prevalent now I guess it may be a factor ? Just wondering would an aerial with a built in signal booster help, they cost €90 to €120

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119919299#Comment_119919299

Booster depends on your area, I know my aunt has perfect reception with a booster I bought in Woodies, she in Kildare out in the sticks, on the other hand it didn't work for me in Athlone. (Suppose that is the sticks). But I get absolutely no Soarview reception from Rabbits Ears alone.

monseiur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119919833#Comment_119919833

I got my previous reply a bit garbled, what I meant to say was - with internet, broadband, 5 G signals etc. more prevalent now it may be causing the interference - perhaps an aerial filter unit might help. I think Carin Hill transmitter in Longford is your nearest so point your aerial in that general direction for best reception, but you may need a bigger aerial than rabbits ears.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119920305#Comment_119920305

Middle of doing up a house was just hoping I'd have TV, but have since got sky but will sort it out when my sky subscription is up.

Apogee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058273232/rte-by-dish

You're probably better spending your money on improved DTT/aerial setup rather than satellite, especially as you already have some reception. Where approx are you located? Is your aerial indoor or outdoor? Do you know what type of aerial is installed currently?

dam099

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119919299#Comment_119919299

RTE2 + TG4 along with Virgin 1/2 channels are on one mux.

RTE1 and Virgin 3/4 are on another one so if your Virgin channel causing problems is one of them then you probably have a marginal signal, each mux is a different frequency so one might be just good enough to work OK whilst the other is just bad enough to cause interference.

As suggested a better aerial, perhaps boosted but possibly even just screened or targeted at a particular frequency range for your transmitter or better placed might improve enough to solve the issue, given one mux looks just about OK.

dxhound2005

And check your signal readings on the two frequencies. There should be a menu on the TV. Especially important if you are doing any DIY adjustments, to see the before and after. You cannot tell just by looking at the picture, whether the signal is e.g. 95% or 55%, if 55% is just above the threshold where it disappears.

roadmaster

Slightly of topic and it was probably asked before so sorry if it has. When the digital switch over happened did they ever consider just going with Saorsat and not having an aerial system?

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120279297#Comment_120279297

No, terrestrial was only going to be it's primary method of transmission.

Saorsat only became an option for infill/backup because tight beam Ka transmission became available around 2010. Digital terrestrial had been in planning for more than a decade before that.

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120279433#Comment_120279433

Woukd there be much of a cost difference if they went just soarsat over saorview

Gerry Wicklow

I would imagine the cost of Saorsat would be far less than the cost of running and maintaining the terrestrial network. Those transmitters use a lot of power. However it would also mean that every viewer would need a new satellite dish and suitable box. No doubt many would say "stuff that" and the resulting loss of audience would be catastrophic for RTÉ.

The Cush

A lot cheaper to go with satellite transmission over terrestrial but more inconvenient and costly for the end user.

At the consumer end every property would require a satellite dish and Ka band lnb with dish pointing at a different satellite location to the existing Sky/Freesat location. Almost every TV would require a satellite receiver.

Ireland is the only country to use the Ka band for domestic TV reception from this satellite or any other over Europe that I know of.

There is only 1 Ka satellite at this location and if there was a satellite failure there is no backup satellite. The satellite is more than halfway through its life with no replacement planned

dxhound2005

In case people get the impression that KA-SAT 9A is up there just to deliver TV to Ireland, it has 82 other spot beams. But as Cush says we are the only one using it for broadcasting.

https://www.satbeams.com/footprints

I have noticed that KU band broadcasters to other parts of the world occasionally change their stations from one satellite to another. Maybe people abroad are used to the idea of having to move their dishes, but it wouldn't work in Ireland or the UK.

AllForIt

If you are sure it's 'interference' and not just a badly aligned aerial - can you tell us if it's an old aerial because the new one's have 'digital filters' that block out 4G mobile frequencies that cause interference.

For example :https://www.freetv.ie/black-wide-band-uhf-aerial/

Note: This Aerial Excludes Channels 60-68 (Now used for LTE 4G Broadband)

You could try a portable one say from Tesco that all have the blocking filters these days to see if that solves it before replacing your roof top aerial.

Gerry Wicklow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120283654#Comment_120283654

There was a time when we got our satellite TV from 19E. (showing my age again 😊)

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120283237#Comment_120283237

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120283654#Comment_120283654

This discussion on Ka-Sat earlier set the brain cells twitching, what happens Saorsat when the satellite reaches end of life?

Expected lifetime was 15 years, satellites can exceed this. Launched around Christmas 2010, operational about mid 2011. Expected end of operational life 2026-27.

Ka-Sat was originally a Eutelsat project, satellite and 9°E orbital slot, with a Viasat payload and CPE.

A planned JV between the two satellite organisations to build a next-generation HT satellite between them fell through a few years ago with each going their own way. Their JV end in 2020 with Viasat purchasing the remaining stake in Ka-Sat but not the orbital slot. So when Ka-Sat reaches end of life the slot reverts to Eutelsat with no replacement sat in place.

Since the JV ended Eutelsat has launched Konnect and Konnect-VHTS. Konnect is operational at 7°E and Konnect-VHTS testing at 3°E and will probably go operational at 7°E

Viasat-3 EMEA is due to launch, after much delay this September, with a final orbital position at 13.8°E

So no planned replacement for Ka-Sat at 9°E, which carries Saorsat. A 2° move to Eutelsat's Konnect would require a Saorsat dish to be realigned.

Maybe by then a Saorview IP service could be available replacing Saorsat?