Would I be mad to get satellite and Saorview now?

the_amazing_raisin · 13-10-2025 09:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123903203#Comment_123903203

So I have been thinking about getting a 97cm dish and a multi LNB holder to pickup multiple satellites

My reasoning being that it's likely some satellites will keep going longer than others and being able to get European TV might be kind of fun

Do you pickup the German channels for a particular reason (German speakers in the house) or just for the craic? I'm interested to see what the reality of it is

the_amazing_raisin · 13-10-2025 09:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123903019#Comment_123903019

I suppose this is the way to look at it. Even for premium equipment it's a relatively small upfront cost and no monthly subscription so it pays for itself quite easily

The Cush · 13-10-2025 09:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123903366#Comment_123903366

I've had multi-LNB dishes over the years and still have this setup although mostly unused for a few years now except for 28E.

Did it for no other reason other than to see if I could setup a multi LNB dish and a bit of multisat browsing.

the_amazing_raisin · 14-10-2025 08:16AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123903409#Comment_123903409

Yeah I would be the kind of person who would opt for the insane over the top option instead of the smart choice, so I could see myself ending up with a 5 LNB dish watching Hungarian TV for no reason other than I could 😂

It's actually everyone else's fault for letting me manage my own projects

Gerry Wicklow · 14-10-2025 09:17AM

My main use for watching German TV on 19E is the Rockpalast music show which has fantastic concerts both contemporary and archive.

Purely by coincidence 😉

They also have Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello recordings from 1983 and 1978 respectively during November. Note also they have 30 day EPGs

andy1249 · 14-10-2025 10:21AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123903283#Comment_123903283

They hung around longer than I thought they would , ever since youtube and Vuze showed up you could watch whatever video you wanted when you wanted too , and not have to sit around waiting for it to show up on TV.

The concept of a new Band or act needing " Airtime" to break out is now history , as anyone can upload a song or video for a pittance , and you can do your own marketing as it were.

Social media is more important now than radio or television ever were in that respect. You dont so much need a manager , as an " influencer " , someone who knows how to get a buzz going on social media.

Lorddrakul · 17-10-2025 10:24AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123903203#Comment_123903203

Do you mind me asking, what version of OpenVIX have you got on the Duo?

I recently revived mine with a capacitor upgrade and it is back to full capability.

I put OpenATV 7.5.1 on it and it is good, but always open to new ones.

As for the OP: I'm using a generic LNB on an old Sky dish (larger one) with a Vu+ Duo (now 15 years old) to a Samsung Smart TV (8500series) with all the streaming apps on board.

I like having the UK channels for news, current affairs and docs. Plus the family like the Bake Off and the Sewing Bee!

I fully expect this set up to do several more years. So, no I don't think you're mad.

Not on this count anyway! 😁

Schorpio · 17-10-2025 10:49AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123896017#Comment_123896017

Late to the party on this, but the only thing I'd (respectfully) disagree with in this post is the suggestion that you need a VU+ (or similar) box, and a unicable setup.

Whilst there are underpowered enigma2 boxes in the past, I've had a Zgemma H7S running as my main box for over 5 years, and it serves most of the other TVs/devices in the house. I've also used it for remote streaming away from home.

I've considered 'upgrading' to the likes of a VU+ Duo a few times over the past few years, but I've never been able to justify it because the Zgemma just works fine. No issues with remote EPG population or stuttering etc. The only thing the Zgemma does not do is on-the-fly transcoding, which isn't an issue if you are streaming to any modern device over a decent connection.

As for the example cited in the post about the 4 tuners taken to watch two matches on two devices - presumably these were the same two matches, in which case they could have been served fine with two tuners (and possibly one if both services were on the same mux). 1000 clients could watch the same match using one tuner, the box will happily use a single tuner to serve the same mux multiple times. (That's not to say a unicable setup isn't handy - it is. I just find that more often than not a legacy dual (or quad) tuner is sufficient).

andy1249 · 17-10-2025 10:58AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123912627#Comment_123912627

Ive had two Zgemmas , first one had a hard drive internally , i.e. you had to take the lid off to install it , then through envy reading about them on here , bought one with the slot in the back.

Both died with swollen caps, so was never going to buy another , they lasted 3 and 2 years respectively. Also , its possible the stuttering and stalling was due to the bad caps. I dont know.

I bought cheap , I bought twice , I wont do it again.

The reason I went VU+ was build quality , basically Im expecting them to last longer. Originally they were set up with two feeds , simple mode , just like the zgemma , but at only 150 for a new dish and LNB ( my old one was basically a disc of rust at the time ) I had a unicable fitted.

Then the distribution system became too tempting not to try.

I confess , I dont know what you are talking about in the last part of your post.

As Im doing it at the moment , when I share a tuner or someone is using one in kodi or plex , it shows as yellow on the main box and not available to share anywhere else ! They simply dont show as available to other devices. Tuners are ABCDEFGH for Sat and IJ for Saorveiw , if say C is being used , it doesnt show on the list for any further shares ! Plex also specifically states that any tuner used will NOT be available to other devices. Are you saying there is a way around that ?

If so , how do you do it and what gear is needed ?

Im very happy with the VU+ boxes by the way , built like a tank and no trouble at all.

Both running the latest openvix and simple 1080 , German engineering I guess ! The Mercedes of boxes.

andy1249 · 17-10-2025 01:38PM

Just to add to the above , the plex plugin will not install on single tuner boxes , it will not even install on the likes of the H82H as its a single DVB S2X and a single DVD C/T tuner , because as plex " owns" the tuner once its setup , then there will be no tuner left on the box for Watching TV. ( i.e. no satellite or no terrestrial , depending on which one you take.)

Also on a twin tuner box , its a single tuner box if plex or kodi takes one of them , and if you have recordings set on different transponders , then either one or both will fail , as will EPG download if its schedule clashes. Ive seen this happen myself.

So , as I understand it , correct me if Im wrong , when either Kodi with the enigma 2 plugin or Plex with its DVR/TV setup , has a tuner off the main box , that tuner is not available for anything else.

swoofer · 17-10-2025 01:45PM

Korean engineering and its chalk and cheese but one never knows until they try it.

And if everyone's happy be it a duo or h7s etc then job done.

andy1249 · 17-10-2025 03:10PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123913198#Comment_123913198

VU+ site is German , original OS Vti is German , so if its made in Korea its the Same as Apple being made in China , German design , manufacturing farmed out somewhere else.

Either way , its not one of the best boxes ( either 1 or 2 depending on sites ) for nothing.

https://fullcccam.eu/best-enigma2-receivers-in-2025/

Schorpio · 17-10-2025 03:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123912663#Comment_123912663

My post was not a criticism andy, and hope you didn't take it as such!

My Zgemma owes me nothing at this point, and if it kicked the bucket tomorrow, I would be getting VU+ Duo and not looking back! Only point I was making is that the premium boxes come with a premium price tag, when a more basic box can get you 95% of the way there.

As for the tuners being unavailable, I haven't used Plex for TV since they changed the app to all-but remove IPTV functionality. I used to have a few Raspberry Pi's set up running Kodi, but now I use Apple TV's on all of my TV's, with the VUplus app (ironically). You get no info in the app on tuner usage, but you can watch the same mux simultaneously on however many devices you like. I've just tried streaming RTE One, on the TV, a different TV, an iPhone and a PC - works no problem, eventhough I only have a single DTT tuner. I can also watch other channels on the same mux (VM3 etc.).

Flip side is if you try to select a channel and no free tuner is available, you're greeted with a black screen.

andy1249 · 17-10-2025 05:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123913524#Comment_123913524

Wasnt taking it as a criticism at all , rather asking how you did what you did.

Im genuinely curious , as with my current setup , once another device takes that tuner , its essentially unavailable to anything else.

This much I know , Ive tried.

When all 8 tuners were taken during the world cup , I had nothing but a black screen on the TV with a short message saying no tuners available.

My understanding of it is once another device takes the tuner , it takes the tuner , not a share of the transponder , and its not available for anything else.

That is definitely the case with plex , I have 7 tuners available on my main box because plex " owns " one of the tuners.

That multiple recordings from a tuner is possible on the box itself I know , one of the first things I did was set up 56 channels recording at the same time ( every single channel in my favourites list , and it did it with no issues.)

But when Kodi or plex takes a tuner , I cannot schedule a recording on that tuner on the main box. I also cannot watch more than one program at a time using the same tuner in Kodi or Plex. Nor can I schedule more than one recording from that tuner in Kodi or plex even if it is on the same transponder. I need to open another window and grab another tuner to do that !

If you know a way around that , then please share , that would be great.

Maybe its a setup thing , I dont know , if theres a tweak to my setup to allow that , then great.

Edit: Just tried with BBC1 HD , so I opened Kodi , Set BBC1 HD playing , it took a tuner on the box , Tuner B , note BBC1 HD is playing on the main TV using tuner A , so according to what you said , it shouldnt have taken a second tuner right ?

Then opened another window , again BBC1 HD , it took another tuner , C , so Main box and 2 Kodi windows watching the same program , all of them took a tuner !

Is there a setting to work around that , technically they are all the same transponder , if all 3 , main box and two kodi windows , could work off one tuner , that would be great , but it doesnt in my current setup.

Kodi is using the Enigma 2 Plugin. The enigma 2 plugin has a settings screen , but I dont see anything in there that would allow what you said !

By the looks of it , to me at least , the enigma 2 plugin for Kodi does not have the intelligence to determine if a tuner in use will do or not , all it is able to do is spot a free tuner and grab it. If there are no free tuners , it doesnt work , I know that from my Tiviar Alpha Plus and Zgemma days.

Also , Plex , didnt try that as setting up a tuner takes a while , and it currently " owns " Tuner H , and has since initial setup. Plex server feeds everything else running a plex client , so Tuner H can be watched by anyone with a plex client. Must try and see how many different channels can be watched on how many different clients , something I havnt really done. ( others may have , I dont know , never got any complaints about it not working )

Phil.x · 17-10-2025 09:36PM

Can anyone recommend a satellite box with three tuners, i foolishly let my VM contract run out so no more 360 box, and no more bbc, c4 or rte recording, they're pushing full fiber everywhere.

the_amazing_raisin · 20-10-2025 04:06PM

For anyone running a multi LNB setup on a single dish, does it need to be 110cm or larger? Would something like a 90cm dish work in Dublin?

I get the basic idea that you need more dish area since it's split across a couple of satellites

However I'm not sure turning the back of the house into SETI will pass the wife test 😂

Gerry Wicklow · 20-10-2025 05:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123922206#Comment_123922206

I used one in the past for 13, 19 and 28. Try to centre the dish on 19 so its roughly equal spread to the other sats.

the_amazing_raisin · 20-10-2025 06:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123922501#Comment_123922501

Thanks, can you remember what size dish you had?

swoofer · 20-10-2025 07:08PM

You do realise that most of the channels on other sats are encrypted!! Are you doing this for fun. You did say you had a 97cm dish and thats close to 100cm. Setting up a multi lnb is very very tricky. Bigger is always best but 110cm is heavy.

What receiver have you got? Do you know the cost?

If you say a bit more we can tell you more. Are you just a beginner?

Here is a pic, forgot where I got it but it will give you the idea, note size of lnb's. And the holder used.

BILD4281.JPG

swoofer · 20-10-2025 07:30PM

at Phil x, the box most people got was a ZGEMMA H7S but I think they have gone out of production. However zgemma UK say they have a few left but I would email them first. You will have to configure the box yourself.

see here

https://www.zgemma.co.uk/Sat-Cable-Terrestrial

The Cush · 20-10-2025 08:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123922528#Comment_123922528

I have this one at the moment - Maximum E-85 Multifocus Satellite Dish from Sat-World!

Previously had this monster - Wavefrontier Toroidal 90cm Satellite Dish

the_amazing_raisin · 20-10-2025 08:20PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123922653#Comment_123922653

Mostly for fun, I don't have a dish yet and was considering a 97cm one. However I think a 90cm one might be a better option

Don't have a receiver yet, still looking

FunkyDa2 · 20-10-2025 08:34PM

God be with the days when I had 5 dishes. I'm back down to 1 (Astra 28.2) now.

The Cush · 20-10-2025 08:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123922901#Comment_123922901

The fun of finding the satellite you want and then peaking the dish, good times.

the_amazing_raisin · 24-10-2025 12:02PM

Okay, potentially dumb questions here but here goes

If I have a 5 LNB dish connected to an 8 way Diseq switch, so I've got all 5 LNBs down to 1 cable, will that work with the likes of a Zgemma H7 or Vu+ Duo?

Looking at the manuals they seem to allow up to a 4 way switch (A, B, C, D channels) so to have 5 satellites that implies I'd need to use a second tuner for the 5th LNB?

Honestly I'd probably just go for 4 but I just want to know my options before I go ahead

Also, I'm pretty sure I only have 1 cable going from the outdoor patch panel to the TV. So would a Unicable LNB be the best option there?

Or would something like a Vu+ Duo work with just a single conventional LNB in loop through mode?

the_amazing_raisin · 24-10-2025 01:58PM

Another question, anyone have experience of GigaBlue boxes?

ZGemma and Vu+ seem to be out of stock in most places, so the GigaBlue seems like a good alternative. One thing I'm not 100% convinced about is the dual core processor versus the quad core of the Vu+

dam099 · 24-10-2025 02:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123933617#Comment_123933617

I've had a Gigablue UE UHD 4K with dual FBC satellite and dual terrestial tuners for about 5 years now and have been quite happy with it.

It doesnt get the heaviest use as like many families we stream more these days (especially the kids) but on occasion we might be watching one programme, recording another and have a client box streaming and havent noticed any lag.

The UI is snappy enough. I usually update to the latest version of Openvix every few months.

the_amazing_raisin · 24-10-2025 02:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123933753#Comment_123933753

Thanks, I was looking through the manual and it seems pretty comprehensive. I generally take that as a good sign

Some excellent typos though, I'm still wondering what a divece is 😂

andy1249 · 24-10-2025 03:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123933617#Comment_123933617

I had one for a short while , then it refused to come on , rocker switch on the back failed I think , but it was only a few weeks old so I sent it back.

This one …..

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/GigaBlue-UHD-Quad-Pro-Bluetooth-black/dp/B0DKK22PKT/

I think this is the newer model with a quad core processor , also the dual DVBC/T has two inputs , but I dont think they are internally connected , I never checked as I dont bother with Saorview all that much , but assuming they are not internally connected , you will need to split an aerial feed to get both working.

Dual FBC worked fine with my UNICABLE II LNB though , all 8 tuners worked off one feed.

I may have been just unlucky with that faulty rocker switch , it seems to have plenty of good reviews although with amazon you cant really trust reviews anymore.

Anyway , speclist from linuxsat here , says Broadcom dual and ARM Quadcore ……. anyways , dont think it matters that much , when it was working it was a nice box.

Also , the price above includes a 2TB HDD , you can probably knock about 80 quid off that if you adjust the configuration for the same box without HDD assuming you already have one lying around somewhere or are happy enough to buy your own , installing a HDD is easy , goes into a drawer in the back.

Main features

CPU:
Broadcom BCM7252S 12K DMIPS Dual Core ARM Processor
ARM CPU (2x 1,700 MHz) QuadCore processor
OGLES3.1, 4k60 HEVC/VP9

Memory:
RAM: 4GB DDR4
Flash memory: 8GB eMMC

Display:
3" LCD color display

USB ports:
4 x USB 3.0
1 x Front USB A
2 x Rear USB A
1 x Rear USB C Host

Connectivity:
2 x CI (Common Interface)
1 x Smartcard reader
1 x HDMI input 2.0
1 x HDMI output 2.0
1 x optical audio output
1 x Mini USB (service port)
1 x Gigabit LAN (RJ-45/1000Mbps)
1 x SD card slot (SD Card 2.0 up to 25 MByte/s)

Internal features:
Internal HDD compartment for insertion
2 x full-band capture front end
Demodulator: 8 x DVB-S2 FBC (Full Band Capture) ex works
Plug-and-Play (PnP) GigaBlue Tuner v.5 (Optional) Dual DVB-C/T2
Built-in WiFi and Bluetooth module 5.4

Tuner option Plug-and-Play:
PnP Gigablue Single DVB-S2x Tuner v.2 (Optional)
PnP Gigablue Dual DVB-S2x Tuner v.2 (Optional)
PnP Gigablue Dual DVB-C/T2 Tuner v.2 (H.265) (Optional

Remote control:
BT RCU (Bluetooth remote control)

The Cush · 24-10-2025 03:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123933250#Comment_123933250

Satellite receivers should be DiSEqC 1.2 at a minimum now, which allows for switching up to 16 LNBs

Would I be mad to get satellite and Saorview now?

Comments