advice for cheapest and easiest tv (basic channels) and broadband at home

dineena1 · 06-02-2022 04:43PM #1

Hi want advice of what's best low maintenance and cost option for tv (basic ireland-uk channels) and broadband (upto 500mb) for home. Currently have vodaphone for tv and broadband who have increased price to 90 a month. we want the basic Irish and uk channels, we have subscriptions for nowtv, Netflix, Disney plus. Thinking the best is probably saorview/freetv installed at a once off cost and then the cheapest broadband only we can find which looks like pure telecom, don't want to change provider every year they go up to 40 or 50 euros a month after 1 year which doesn't seem too bad compared to others. Any suggestions are we missing some other options that would be easier and cheaper? tia

MENACE2010 · 06-02-2022 06:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058231638/advice-for-cheapest-and-easiest-tv-basic-channels-and-broadband-at-home

Hi , okay .. the cheapest way will mean some work , Soarview antenna outside covers your Irish telly, through Freesat you can get BBC 1,2,4. ITV and Channel 4 channels and a ton more free rubbish. It will require an upfront investment but you save in the long run ..( DM for details of suppliers) all is free to receive .. ( for satellite either get satellite receiver or Telly than can work with Satellite ) ... so that leaves you to down grade the BB to BB only ..

babelfish1990 · 06-02-2022 08:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058231638/advice-for-cheapest-and-easiest-tv-basic-channels-and-broadband-at-home

If you don't want the cost of installing Saorview & Satellite boxes and antennas, I would recommend eir TV. I'm currently getting eir TV for €9.99pm for 12 months in a bundle with Broadband and mobile (but I think I got an extra discount for upgrading from former eir-vision). It looks like it is €14.99pm for eir TV if you sign up for a new bundle, total price €50pm. They ship an Apple TV 4k+ box, which is quite nice, and runs all the other apps, such as Netflix, Disney Plus as well as the eir TV app for the regular broadcast channels. It works over WiFi, so no wiring issues. You also get a subscription to Amazon Prime video thrown in for 12 months. Eir don't advertise this - but you can also do Multiroom without paying any extra monthly fee, if you buy your own additional Apple TV boxes. (Eir actually sell very good reconditioned units on their website for €80 each). You can also add unlimited 5G mobile plans for €9.99, which is very good value. I find that Eir seem to be able to renew the full discounts on TV and mobile at the end of each contract year if you ring them up (However, they won't give you quite as good a discount on basic broadband compared to a new customer).

Poulgorm · 07-02-2022 10:55PM

The OP says that he just wants the basic Irish & UK channels, as cheaply as possible. Then Saorview & FreeSat are the answer. I bought a smart TV last year, which has a FreeSat tuner built in. This simplifies matters - no separate box (or remote) required for controlling Freesat.

You still have to have (of course) an aerial for Saorview & a dish for FreeSat. But no monthly payments.

Don't confuse FreeSat with Free-to-Air. Had one of those boxes before and they would drive you daft. Constantly losing channels and the channels are not organised in any order.

By the way, the TV is LG. Not all LGs have a FreeSat tuner. I don't know if other brands have Freesat tuners or not.

Capt'n Midnight · 13-02-2022 05:44PM

Freesat box is the idiot proof solution.

Linux boxes are a bit more hands on. But with autobouquetsmaker and epgimporter you can get the Freesat functionality and you can stream live TV and recordings to tablets. more on satellite forum

JTMan · 13-02-2022 06:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058231638/advice-for-cheapest-and-easiest-tv-basic-channels-and-broadband-at-home

For TV --> As the other posters have said, Freesat and Saorview is the cheapest option.

For broadband --> Consider 4G broadband via getting a Three PAYG sim and paying 20 EUR per month and putting the sim into a modem. Will only work if you have good 4G coverage in your house. Worth a try anyway.

Capt'n Midnight · 13-02-2022 06:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625632#Comment_118625632

€10 Gomo when throttled after the 120GB limit was OK for Netflix but not for NowTV. Was the cheapest option.

4G might work for one or two people, but a family means a lot more downloads in peak time. And all of the operators have 'fair use' clauses. OP - check your data useage on your providers page.

advice for cheapest and easiest tv (basic channels) and broadband at home

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