Clampdown on TV 'Dodgy Boxes'

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121625008#Comment_121625008

Yeah picture quality I find is very good remember getting HD on Sky is €120 per year extra so iptv for €70 seems like a bargain.

Norrie Rugger Head

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624636#Comment_121624636

Then came 500kbs broadband. Shur we would never need more that that, yeah?

Greengrass53

Those prem guys are on obscene wages. No way could I support that.

Gusser09

Watermarks my bollix.

Iptv providers are rebroadcasting a legit package.

As ive said a few times Sky cannot see who is rebroadcasting and who is watching via iptv.

If it were possible they would do it.

Vpns on the users side and providers side also complicate matters for Sky.

Cheap alternatives arent going anywhere for a long time yet. Iptv providers are the modern day robinhoods.

Schorpio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624499#Comment_121624499

Slightly off topic, but keeping a basic Sky sub for occasional TV watching is a waste of money. Most of the channels are legitimately free, and the non-Sky equipment to receive them would cost you less than Sky is costing you per year. Just my 2 cents.

Butson

One way where Sky are really not helping themselves is charging poeple extra to watch TV in HD.

It's 2024.

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628019#Comment_121628019

Very true. I know a lot here like fire sticks but if IPTV is your main viewing source I find cabled connection with a good spec box more stable and responsive for the stream / OS speed / menus / apps. If you have a good android TV even better. Cable the TV direct to your router. No need for a box.

Starter kit:

- good spec ethernet box with air mouse remote 70 euro

- pack of 2 x tp-link power line pass through plugs 40 euro

- good IPTV sub 60 to 80 euro

Maybe 200 euro to get set up for first year.

EDIT: just realised you mean Freeview / Saorview 🤪

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628019#Comment_121628019

Well it is and it isn't.

For someone switching away from Sky to totally FTA and wanting to keep some of the same functionality of Sky like recording one station while watching another, pause and rewind, etc etc then there is a bit of work in it.

Firstly you need some sort of an antenna for the Irish channels.

This could be as simple as a set of rabbit ears or as complex as an external roof mounted antenna that has to be cabled etc.

Then you need a set top box, again a simple combo one with single DTTV and Sat tuners are less than €100.

If you want to record add another €50 to that for a HDD, and then you can only watch the DTTV stations while recording on the Sat stations etc.

If you want the functionality to record one Sat station while watching another Sat station you'll need a triple tuner and a good one of them plus a HDD will set you back close to €200.

If you are moving away from Sky Q you may have to replace the satellite LNB also.

Then you have the stations you only get on Sky like Sky Atlantic, Comedy Central ,TLC, kids channels etc.

I got rid of Sky+ three years ago.

I already had a cable from where the TV goes terminated in the attic so I stuck an antenna in the attic and that got me the Irish channels.

I got a triple tuner STB from a work colleague for a decent price, and I already had a HDD.

I love working with that sort of stuff so I had no problem configuring it etc.

My wife however was not as impressed with lack of channels she liked plus the buggy Linux STB.

About a year after we left Sky rang back (not the first time) and offered up basic Sky Q for €20 a month.

Last year we renewed for €25, if they keep the price close to that again we will renew, if not we will buy a new triple tuner and go back to FTA.

The thing about it is most people are not that technical and don't like messing with different things just to get lesser functionality as they had with Sky.

They just want to watch TV, pause, rewind, series link, catch up etc

And that's what Sky gives them, and they are used to it.

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624211#Comment_121624211

IPTV Netflix is better than real Netflix for me.

tiegan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628316#Comment_121628316

"The thing about it is most people are not that technical and don't like messing with different things just to get lesser functionality as they had with Sky. They just want to watch TV, pause, rewind, series link, catch up etc. And that's what Sky gives them, and they are used to it"

This is me!! Looking at sky alternatives, technically challenged, like the functionality of sky but not the price and want eurosport and discovery. Guess I am staying with sky for now until I can understand the alternatives!!

JDxtra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628316#Comment_121628316

This is correct. For anyone not technical (or access to someone technical), an FTA setup using a combo box for UK and Irish channels is not recommended. It’ll be fine on day #1, but 6 months down the road when channels move frequency it’ll be a problem. The menu options can also be confusing.

For me, I’ve used a setup like this for at least 7 years and as I don’t mind the challenges - it has worked extremely well. I’ve had no pay TV from Sky or Virgin since I set it up.

JDxtra

Interesting chat with someone today in the office regarding IPTV (this is how mainstream it is now!).

Anyways, even though they can use Saorview and have an antenna and cable setup – they choose to use their IPTV subscription as their main method of watching the Irish channels. This is because of convenience.

I know RTE/Saorview are about to trial their own official IPTV service, but they really need to fast forward that. The world is moving very fast in this space. 

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628446#Comment_121628446

Yip. So handy for all channels. Only time we even bother with the outside aerial is if the broadband goes down so very rarely.

Schorpio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628316#Comment_121628316

Just to be clear - my post wasn't meant as a criticism. I've met loads of people who pay for the basic Sky sub, and they don't realise that most of the channels included are FTA. If someone wants to pay for Sky anyway, that's absolutely fair enough.

The basic Sky sub will set you back €30 per month (looking at the website right now - I know others may be on 'bespoke' offers). That's €360 a year. That would cover you for FTA equipment, easily.

The beauty of FTA is that you have options. I run a Linux (enigma2) box which has all of the Irish and UK channels in one list, 7 day guide, series link, and keeps all of the channels up to date (channels moving, closing etc.) The enigma2 boxes can do IPTV, streaming TV to other devices, downloading your recordings and more. There's a community of users on here who help anyone to get started with this.

You can also go the 'official' Freesat route, which will work with the hybrid Sky LNB (if coming from Sky Q). Saorview can then be received using the TV directly, and then you have another setup which is easier day 1, and will require zero maintenance - albeit you will have two remotes to deal with.

Each to their own - but awareness of what's out there in terms of options never hurts.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628019#Comment_121628019

It probably is but Im a bit of a geek so I can watch (download, stream) anything I want to watch but the kids , my wife wouldnt have a clue how to stream or even torrent so I keep the basic Sky sub for them as its just easy to use. It was hard enough getting them used to Netflix!!!!

Sconsey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628446#Comment_121628446

What really bugs me is the fact that RTE are not on the Astra satellite. I had a satellite/Saorview setup for a few years but the saorview reception was terrible. I am in kind of a coverage black-spot. If they put RTE on Astra we could eliminate the need for the aerial altogether for satellite users. But no, that would be a bit too progressive for our state broadcaster.

Schorpio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628772#Comment_121628772

It is annoying, but RTE can't go FTA on Astra, as they would be technically boradcasting into the UK, and that would leave them in a tricky situation regarding programming rights for a different region and much larger audience.

The 'problem' isn't a big in reverse, as we are very small in comparison to the UK and a certain amount of broadcast overspill is always inevitable. Even so, some stations (like Channel 4) specifically license their programming for Ireland.

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628316#Comment_121628316

I've got a formuler z11 pro max, not cheap at about €170/180.

I can pause and rewind live TV and also record. I've only got one subscription so can only record the channel that's playing so I can't set something on say, itv to record and then an hour later have BBC record without manually changing the channel. If I pay for a second subscription I can do the 2 channels tho. With catch up TV I don't really have a need for it tho.

We watch very little live TV, the wife watches Emmerdale (which we either record or use the catch up) and I generally watch all Liverpool games. That's not an option even if I bought sky and tnt sports as not every game is televised in the UK.

irishgeo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628772#Comment_121628772

It is but it's encrypted for Sky.

They can't put it up on Astra unencrypted because the footprint covers the UK and for all sorts of TV rights reasons.

RTÉ pays for TV rights based on population/viewship so if it was available FTA on Astra the price of everything they would shoot up as its also available to the UK.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628857#Comment_121628857

That's a big part of it.

RTE can't or never could afford the distribution rights to broadcast to 100m people.

Here is a thread about it from 2017

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057734764/why-are-irish-channels-not-fta-on-satellite

championc

From what I remember, RTE pay absolutely buttons for the likes of the World Cup and Olympics and other world events, and do so on the basis of such a small potential audience

thereiver

Buy a saorview box to watch rte or tv with inbuilt saorview app ,

buy the way saorview has maybe 10 tv channels,

freesat has dozens of free channels ,itv,bbc, c4, etc avaidable on any old sky tv box , connected to a satellite dish

to use saorview you,ll need an aerial, freesat uses a satellite dish

thereiver

see saorview ie or freesat ie

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628766#Comment_121628766

My parents (both in their 70s) are bashing away at the IPTV now on their Philips android TV. Mother got Priscilla going herself recently. Said the film itself was crap but she likes the IPTV app and can use it herself which is good as I was torrenting onto a usb stick and plugging it into their TV beforehand. They wouldn't be technically savvy at all by todays standards but they're glad of the IPTV now that they have it. They also watched Napoleon the other night.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121631855#Comment_121631855

Fair play. Great to hear.

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121631855#Comment_121631855

Could you imagine if illegal IPTV were to disappear tomorrow? There would be MAJOR withdrawal issues 😭

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121631889#Comment_121631889

For sure!

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121632005#Comment_121632005

And you've just gotten your parents hooked!

I hope you are proud of yourself 😄

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121631855#Comment_121631855

My dad is similar, struggles when he gets a new phone.

I got him a box and a 1 month sub about 3 years ago, set it all up and set every channel he watches to the favourites and he loves it.

The only time he moves out of the favourites is to find a match that's not on sky or tnt. He surprised me at how quick he picked it up.

He'd never watch a series or a movie.

Gloomtastic!

l’ve been advised to get a firewall for our dodgy box. Any recommendations?