Eir TV

You can use any mesh devices (eg TP-Link Deco). You will need to colocate the first one beside your eir router and switch off the WiFi on the eir router. You will need N+1 devices vs N if you use the eir mesh devices. If your walls are that much of an obstruction, you should try to wire at least one of the mesh nodes back to your router. Changing to a different make of router is unlikely to solve your coverage without adding additional APs.

There is generally either a record or catch-up option for all channels - but you need to use different procedures depending on the channel. BBC do not licence iPlayer for use in Ireland, but they do allow recording - so you can do a series record to catch BBC programmes. The Irish channels do not allow recording, but quite a lot of their programmes are available on the Eir Catch-up service, which means you can start them from the programme guide if you missed them. Since the RTE Player, VM & TG4 players are also available on the Eir box, you can also use those for catch-up. The Channel 4 suite of channels tend to both allow recording and they also have an excellent player All4. The players are very convenient, and I only tend to use record for BBC because their player is not available. W appears to allow recording, but is not available on catch-up - so it is similar to BBC. (I don't know if they have a player?).

Most of these restrictions are not technical in nature, but result from the copyright rules for different content. They seem to become an issue when TV service providers move to next-gen cloud-based platforms such as Apple TV or Sky Glass. The other providers who are still using legacy boxes are likely to face the same restrictions when they upgrade to cloud-based platforms.

I think you will find Eir TV works very well for your requirements. The cloud recording has a number of advantages such as playback is possible on multi-room TV boxes or via the app on a phone/tablet. The cloud player always remembers when you stopped watching a recording and picks up where you left off. You can also do multi-room without paying any additional monthly fee if you "buy" additional Apple TV boxes. Eir don't advertise this feature as they probably make more revenue if you add them to your bundle. However, Eir sell as-new refurbed Apple TV boxes for €79.99 on the eir store website. These are very good value if you want to add extra rooms without increasing your bundle cost.

Just give yourself a little time to adjust to the user interface on the Apple TV. If your household is used to legacy TV boxes and remotes, Apple TV is more like a computer desktop experience.

I have the same query, as eirTV suits my needs well. My information, which is generally accurate, is that the IT systems need to be modified, to allow this.

I"ll post here if I get any further info.

I’ve noticed this happens at times also. I go to the Apple TV Home Screen , settings and restart …saves unplugging etc.

You are not tied into Eir after your contract period is up. I renegotiate each year, and I find that Eir are always willing to renew the TV & mobile discounts if you sign for another contract period. However, I haven't been able to get the full discount on the basic broadband at renewal - but their TV & mobile deals are so competitive that I have found it is not worth considering changing. Their mobile(€9.99pm) and TV(€9.99pm) services are also considerably more innovative than the competition. The Apple 4K TV boxes are proper IPTV streaming boxes that will run all your other apps (Netflix, Amazon Prime, RTE Player etc), and they work very well over WiFi, so no need for wiring. Another very nice feature that Eir don't advertise is that you can do multi-room without paying any additional monthly fee if you buy your own additional boxes. You can buy Apple TV boxes new, or second-hand. Eir actually sell refurbished units for €79.99, which are very competitive.

Regarding recording - it is getting a little complicated. However, all the other operators are likely to experience the same issues if they migrate to next-gen boxes with cloud recording, similar to Eir TV or Sky Glass. The TV providers are seeking to control the advertising delivered to customers. The old legacy boxes with mechanical disks are being phased out in favour of cloud recording and players, which means you can't skip adverts.

RTE don't allow cloud-recording. As you say, this isn't a big issue because you can use the player. Eir also offer "Catch-up" playback directly from their programme guide, and this works for most RTE home produced content. The same applies to Virgin Media, who also have their own player.

UTV is not officially available in ROI, because the rights to much of the programme content is owned by Virgin Media. You can only get UTV with recording by installing your own free-to-air dish with a disk-drive on the TV box.

BBC do allow recording - this is important because their i-Player is not officially available in ROI. Their recording works very well on Eir TV. Channel 4 and their suite of channels are available on their own player, and they also support recording.

Eir TV works really well over WiFi - but you need strong WiFi to support good quality TV - best to use 5GHz, and have a mesh system with several access points, so that you always have an Access Point near each TV.

You can change the DNS settings in the Eir TV configuration - it's easy.

Thanks will try that - I was using the EIR remote, not sure if it has the option of closing an app ;-)

Got Eir TV set up a week ago, and have to say so far so good (switched from Virgin).

Picture is very good and no lag time moving from channel to channel. The absence of channel numbers and thus needing to scroll all the time is a bit annoying, but not the end of the world. I did have to fiddle with settings to stop it randomly switching my TV on, but once that was done, no problems. And the absence of any cables is great.

It might help someone to know that the magic remote on the latest LG TVs work really well with the AppleTV box. Means we're not bothering with the smart tv functionality...

I just got the Apple TV box with the Eir TV app installed on it. It's connected via HDMI to a Blaupunkt TV. Trouble is that the volume doesn't work on the remote. When you go to press up or down on the volume, a message appears on the screen that says 'not available'. I've tried to follow the pairing instructions on the Eir site, but nothing is happening.

The remote control is one of these:

The instructions don't even make it clear if you're pairing it to the TV or not, like you would with the SKY remotes. It seems a bit ridiculous that the remote has voice search technology but cannot easily change the volume. Any solutions to this problem?

They still sending out the old model?

Keep an eye on your final Eir bills. I was identical to you and next thing I got a big bill for the old equipment!!!!

Spent the day on/off the phone with Eir support and they can't get my EirTV app to work.

They weren't that keen that I was using my router, so setup theirs, still didn't work, factory reset it, factory reset the AppleTV and still same error.

i was hoping this app improved. I found it really easy to get lost in the guide. like i was travellig thru time and days, instead of defaulting to current time. anyone have it think its improved??

I'm told that eirTV is now available with eir on NBI Broadband. I cannot confirm with certainty, as it was via a third party. If true the online ordering system has yet to be updated.

Yes - the refurbished Apple TV boxes are still working perfectly. I also recommended that site to several friends, and their boxes are working perfectly also. There is nothing to break down in the Apple boxes because they are solid-state and do not have hard disks like the legacy eir vision boxes or the boxes used by other TV providers.

€59.99 is a brilliant price for the additional boxes, and allows you to have multiroom eir TV for €9.99pm for the whole house. Each year when I renew my contract with Eir, they have renewed the TV and mobile discounts so TV & mobile stay at €9.99pm each.

Note that the refurbed boxes come with the original Apple remote, whereas eir now ship their free contract box with a more conventional eir branded remote. I suspect that a lot of their customers didnt like the Apple remote. You can also buy the eir branded remotes. It's not a big deal, and you can also programme the Apple box to accept any old remote that you have (such as the eir Vision remote), if you dont like the Apple remote.

Recording on Apple TV box is in the cloud rather than on a hard disk like in the eir Vision box. The UK channels allow cloud recording , which is important, as BBC iPlayer is not licenced in Ireland. However, RTE & VM don't allow cloud recording in Ireland, forcing you to use their player apps on the Apple box (and watch their ads!). I think Sky Glass has the same experience, and other TV providers will probably face the same issue if they upgrade to cloud boxes.