British freesat channels

Hyperbollix

Hi,

Just looking for a bit of advice. Have an elderly neighbour who has an old dish on the house which she was using for Sky years ago. She had a Freesat box that packed in and I since hooked up an old (mid 2000s) Skybox of mine for her which got all the free channels. It's an SD box so she's now getting messages from some channels telling her they are moving to HD soon and she needs to upgrade.

What's the handiest, cheapest solution here to get freesat HD? She has a nearly 20 year old flatscreen as well that will probably get replaced soon too. I believe my own TV has a freesat tuner which I dont use as I have Sky. If she's possibly changing tv too, would a modern LED with a FV tuner do the job? I think she has a saorview box separate. Or can you get Saorview and FS on the one set now?

**edit - Meant freesat not freeview

Thanks

Hoagy

Secondhand Sky HD box from Adverts for €30, job done.

swoofer

My advice would be get a walker tv and it has saorview and sat on the one epg.

here's what i mean

https://powercity.ie/product/WPT3220

cheap as chips but good, bigger screen will cost more.

GhostyMcGhost

Brutal idea for an elderly person

the EPG will remain from the previous region, RTE 101 etc and could lead to confusion. That’s before you even get into ITV and other channels and the fact there is no record pause or rewind functionality available

if you want something that “just works” this ain’t it. Sky do their best to bork those boxes just to make life harder

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121203037#Comment_121203037

I would second that, using Walker/ Vestel tv's for about 5 years,no problems. Maybe not the most high tech or flash but in my experience value for money. Walker, Nordmende, Toshiba, Telefunken, all Vestel, one remote, one list and a 2 year guarantee with Walker.

lgs 4

Still selling 720 HD ReadyTVs . 🤔🤔🤔

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121204061#Comment_121204061

Many 24 and 32inch tv from many brands are still 720, at that size does it make much difference.

byte

Yeah, only a few 1080p 32" TV's I can think of, LG being one. Walker did have a 1080p 32" TV but not sure if it's still available.

Just with regards Telefunken mentioned above, there's a new range of Telefunken TV's on the Irish market at the moment but they're not Vestel TV's! They have webOS Hub installed and work like an LG (LG remotes work them too) with the shortcut presets, etc.

andy1249

Latest and greatest walker with Combined Saorview and FTA satellite EPG

https://powercity.ie/product/730001

There is a 40 inch 1080p model , but its not much cheaper. (299)

At 329 quid , thats about as good as it gets price wise , quality of the TV is OK , not great , don't expect miracles , and a few key apps are missing, like disney + , but if those are essential then add in a firestick.

The only thing going for this TV its its ease of use once it is setup , EPG wise.

It is otherwise a very average to poor TV , just so you know , but hey , its cheap considering ..... !

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208364#Comment_121208364

Whatever about the Disney app, it is a pity that all tv's sold in the state don't have RTE, VM, TG4, players, I use a Now stick for VMplayer, we have RTE and TG4 players on LG. As for VM HD on Saorview.

andy1249

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208622#Comment_121208622

The State is far too small to dictate the major features of any product off a manufacturing line. At best , you get geo blocked software , thats about it , its too small a market for anything else.

Hyperbollix

Thanks all,

Talked it thru with her and agreed the best idea would be to go with a Walker or similar with Saorview and Sat. She can then get rid of these boxes and the spagetti junction behind the corner unit. A big sell was having all the channels on one EPG as at the moment it's real hassle requiring two remotes.

MenloPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121218148#Comment_121218148

Just be aware that this will require some setup and maintenance. Sat channels will need to be sorted into some order and retuning will be required occasionally as channels move.

RockOrBog

Sky plus HD box and an expired UK card. Auto channel updates, similar to old box that was being used, will work with any TV, new or old.

St Senan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121207543#Comment_121207543

byte have you installed any of the Telefunken tvs yet?. do you know if have they the Freesat option for tuning the UK Channels or is it just basic FTA channels

cjt156

Are the Walker TVs mentioned above Freesat or just FTA. I'm looking to replace an old SD Sat4Free box. I'll probably go with the LG option, as it has the Freesat EPG. If the Walker is proper FreeSat its another option.

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121223519#Comment_121223519

No, Walker and the other Vestel brands are free to air rather than Freesat, so no 7 day epg or auto updates. LG have Freesat models but it means switching between sources rather than all on one list.

freddiek

need some help folks.

A couple of days ago RTE 1 + 2, Virgin Media, TG4 etc all disappeared from my available channels.

channel 101 on my SD box is now BBC One (previously RTE One was 101), but can't watch any BBC programmes as a big Red message about HD upgrades is always on screen.

UK Channels 4 + 5 are now available to watch but i have no particular interest in those! Does anyone know how I can get the Irish channels back if possible?

How did this happen???

I'm in Dundalk btw.

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121224612#Comment_121224612

I would check your sub card, if the box has switched 101 to BBC1, then it may not recognise the Irish card. Unlikely but could it be related to the BBC SD switch off, early next year, contact Sky they may replace the box with a HD box.

byte

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121223116#Comment_121223116

I've tried a 43" model and yeah, Freesat is there, which surprised me!

One thing I noticed was that there's no RTE Player, if that's important.

freddiek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121224957#Comment_121224957

and now they're back to normal after almost a week. Bizarre.

lewisdhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121202758#Comment_121202758

Had an old Sky SD box. Lost some channels. Hooked up a Sky HD box but now can’t get Channel 4, E4, Film 4, More 4 etc. Any reason for this??

just lost all channels now. I had BBC, ITV etc.

Rexell1

We have also lost all our British free to air channels, I have tried re-tuning to the usual astra 28.2E but it's saying no signal. Checked all connections etc nothing has changed. I previously had all of them in HD etc I just had to autotune & up they popped. & manually inputted those that were missing.

I have an LG TV with internal tuner & old sky dish. Irish Free to air are perfect.

I wonder if anyone could help shed some light?

Gerry Wicklow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121741834#Comment_121741834

If you lost ALL satellite channels check the connections are tight. Also see if your dish has moved.

Rexell1

It's sods law, the signal came back 5mins after asking for help! As you said, I must have reconnected something while double checking. Thanks for taking the time to help.