4k Arris Freesat Recordable Box Feedback & Opinions?

Movie Maestro

Hey all,

I'm looking for feedback and opinions on the current Arris 4k Freesat recordable box please.  Is anyone here currently using this box and if so how has your experience been?

https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/set-top-boxes/recordable-4k-tv-box

There seems to be a mix of good and bad reviews online.  I want to get one to replace my old Freesat Humax 1100s box which has finally died.  I only want to use the series linking for recording and will not be using any of the built in apps so don't care if they don't work well.  Is the current firmware stable for use? I don't expect it to be perfect but is it fine for day to day use?

I understand it also requires a wideband LNB. Is this something I could install myself on my current dish or would I be better off getting an installer to do it. Would this do the job if I buy myself or should I get the installer to supply it? What kind of cost is reasonable to supply and fit something like this?

https://www.freetv.ie/sky-q-wideband-lnb/

Any feedback welcome thanks!

icdg

It’s what I have.

It doesn’t require a wideband LNB but if you have one you can record more programmes simultaneously. One disadvantage of a wideband LNB is that you won’t be able to do multiroom - youll need a hybrid (or a quad for that matter) LNB to do that. The wideband LNB support makes it ideal for Sky Q leavers though.

It’s probably as good a Sky-like interface as you’ll get and there’s very little maintenance you’ll have to do. No retuning required.

The bad points:

When you switch it out of standby (every time) you’ll have to wait for about 30 seconds while a black screen with a little picture of a satellite dish appears saying “We are setting up your dish”. You can reduce this by turning off eco mode at the cost of a higher electricity bill.

Non-Freesat mode is a pain. You might never need it though depending on what channels you watch.

No Irish TV channels on the EPG. (RTE radio stations are there though). You’ll need a separate solution for your Irish viewing needs.

Some of the on demand stuff won’t work in Ireland.

I had trouble when I first installed it getting it to find any channels. It worked after a bit of perseverance.

NIMAN

I have it too, and I have got an ongoing error on boot up. Think it's a known issue going by what I read online.

Tried changing hard drive, still no good. So I use it simply as a receiver, not the recording part of it.

My Humax Foxsat worked flawlessly for about 12yrs before it.

swoofer

not appropriate

Sultan of Bling

My hard drive went after 2 years.

As another poster said above, it appears to be a widespread problem.

When it worked I found it fine to use.

Not quite as good as sky but it did the job.

Movie Maestro

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Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121367809#Comment_121367809

Thanks for the feedback! I'm a bit confused about what LNB I need. I think I have a quad LNB at the moment as I have two satellite feeds coming from the dish to upstairs and two downstairs. I'd like to be able to keep the two feeds for upstairs so are you saying if I changed to a wideband LNB that I would lose them? Is the wideband LNB only required to be able to record up to 4 channels. Had been using a Humax which was able to record 2 and playback a recorded program at the same time which was fine.  In the Freesat link in the OP, under specifications the Wideband LNB is a requirement but I see now that this is only to record up to 4 channels.  If I had a Hybrid LNB would I able able to record up to 4 channels on the box downstairs and still have access to the two feeds upstairs which could be plugged into another one of these boxes in future but would be limited to 2 channel recording?  Hope this makes sense.  

The standby problem sounds like a pain but something I could live with. I never used the non-freesat channels so that doesn't bother me. I already have a built in Saorview tuner which works perfectly fine on the tv. I don't have any requirement to use the 'on demand' services either.

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121367966#Comment_121367966

That sounds like a PITA alright. Can you tell me what the 'known issue' is that you've been having please?  

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121369415#Comment_121369415

Were you able to change the hard disk after it died and then continue to use the device?

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121367809#Comment_121367809

Non-Freesat mode seems to be completely broken on my box. When I go in, it doesn’t accept any frequency as input, but up/down and the like works. I end up having to power cycle the box to get it back to a usable state. But even when it does work, it’s so tedious that it might as well not even be there as an option. I know it’s just there as a legal requirement but still.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371218#Comment_121371218

I tried 3 different hard drives, and still get same issue with them all, so it must be an issue with the box.

I'll see if I can find a link to the issue.

NIMAN

Been discussed before on Boards

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058265382/freesat-arris-box-hardrive-error

NIMAN

This is the screen I get every single time I boot it up from standby

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371213#Comment_121371213

In a Sky Q setup, there’s two feeds coming from the wideband LNB, which both go to the one location. So you can’t have multiroom that way (Sky Q accomplishes multiroom by streaming to Sky Q mini boxes).

If you’ve never had Sky Q and want multiroom there is no sense in getting a wideband LNB. What you want is really a hybrid LNB, which has the two wideband outputs but also four regular outputs, like a quad LNB. Basically it gives you a wideband and quad on the same dish

But the Arris Freesat 4K will actually work with a quad LNB like the one you have already. You will be limited to watching one channel and recording another or recording two channels whereas with a hybrid or wideband you can record three and watch a fourth.

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371213#Comment_121371213

The existing quad lnb will continue to work with the Freesat box but if you want the option to use the 4 tuners in the Freesat box a hybrid lnb is the way to go. Two wideband outputs and four legacy outputs for standard satellite receivers.

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371501#Comment_121371501

Thanks for letting me know Niman, I've looked that up and the hard disk failure seems widespread😲

NIMAN

I suspect it isn't a hard drive failure. More a software issue or a hardware issue with the receiver somehow.

If it was just a hdd error, then replacing it would sort it out. But it doesn't. I have tried 3.

And because people see the error message I posted above, they just take it as gospel that their hdd failed. Easy to blame the hdd.

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371565#Comment_121371565

Cheers icdg, great info, thanks for explaining that, so would this do the job? I think the Hybrid would be the best option for me.

https://www.freetv.ie/sky-q-hybrid-lnb/

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371584#Comment_121371584

Cheers for confirming that The Cush😁

Sultan of Bling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371218#Comment_121371218

I didn't bother trying as I knew it wouldn't work.

I would stay away from it if I were you.

It's an expensive piece of kit.

Movie Maestro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121372533#Comment_121372533

Thanks for the warning, I'll have to consider the thought of this happening😨