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Hi all, please see this major site announcement: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058427594/boards-ie-2026

Saorview PVR Box has arrived.

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Comments

  • #152
    In the old days
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 120 ✭✭In the old days


    newleaf wrote: »
    Also I don't think this Panasonic PVR and the rest of its 2012 range has any scart connection, so feeding signal into a DVD recorder or DVD/HDD Recorder won't be possible if one wanted to archive to DVD.

    That's correct. Just a hdmi connection. Not really an issue for day to day viewing. It would make sense if RTENL made saorview as compatible with Freeview HD as far as possible within their spec. Especially if RTE/TG4 are trying to pull NI viewers.


  • #153
    STB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭STB


    ninja900 wrote: »
    Ridiculous argument.

    TVs weren't 1/3rd of the price here when we had 1 channel and the UK had 3.

    A twin tuner 500GB PVR is never going to be cheap as chips. It's good value for what it is. Whether you think the content available is worth the investment or not is up to you.

    I dont think it is a ridiculous argument. Your TV analogy is poor and belongs in the 60s. We have moved on and have had exposure to free UK satellite channels for some time.

    It is only good value if there is a need for its use. Telling people that they will be able to and record programs from 8 sources (2 of which are time share channels) for €215 will be a hard sale.

    The top 10 channels that people watch across all platforms include the BBCs ITVs and C4s. Thats the channels people want on one box, for those that want the ability to record the answer is the same.

    Most importantly what people want is Value For Money, not a PVR for a terrestrial platform with little content. Ridiculous that you didnt grasp that.

    Cheap as chips ? In Australia, another DVB-T MPEG4 country, a similar spec'd box is $129 (thats €100).

    We have so little content and little HD stations that cheap single tuner boxes will actually do this job anyhow as all the channels presently are on the one mux.


  • #154
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 40,036 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    I did say that it's up to you whether you think it's good value or not given the content available.

    Content will (eventually) improve, but to compare the number of channels available here with the much larger advertising market/licence income available in the UK is pointless. The number of Irish channels is always going to be a fraction of the number of UK channels. There are a lot of rubbish / shopping channels on freeview though which most people don't watch.

    Totally unrealistic to expect it to sell for 100 euro when the drive alone is worth most of that. Freeview PVRs don't sell for that even though the market is far larger. I gave you an example of the Humax box which sells for more than the Walker.

    That Aussie piece of junk isn't a proper PVR, can't record two channels at once. That price is a dumping / end of line price.

    I'm partial to your abracadabra
    I'm raptured by the joy of it all



  • #155
    STB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭STB


    ninja900 wrote: »
    :rolleyes: Getting a bit personal STB. I did say that it's up to you whether you think it's good value or not given the content available.

    Never. Certainly didnt mean to come across that way, so please dont read it as such. I was just answering your statement that what I said was making ridiculous arguments.
    Content will (eventually) improve, but to compare the number of channels available here with the much larger advertising market/licence income available in the UK is pointless. The number of Irish channels is always going to be a fraction of the number of UK channels. There are a lot of rubbish / shopping channels on freeview though which most people don't watch.

    I still think you are missing the point. PVR facilities are only useful if the content is there to record in the first instance. I wasn't comparing licence fee incomes or the advertising markets (where did you get that from?). What I was bringing to your attention was Irish viewing habits which haven't changed over the last 10 years. Those viewing habits the desirability for a mixture of Irish and UK channels. Therefore an Irish terrestrial only PVR that doesn't provide those channels is a major negative selling point. The ability to record among 6 main terrestrial channels is a major negative.

    There therefore has to be an incentive for people for such limited options. To buy one of these in preference to a combo box with a built in HDD? Come on.

    Content will not increase in any great numbers in the medium term. There would have be a major incentive for any commercial station to want to join the mux. Irish advertising universe would not justify it and RTE wont be encouraging it either!
    Totally unrealistic to expect it to sell for 100 euro when the drive alone is worth most of that. Freeview PVRs don't sell for that even though the market is far larger. I gave you an example of the Humax box which sells for more than the Walker.

    That Aussie piece of junk isn't a proper PVR, can't record two channels at once. That price is a dumping / end of line price.

    My point exactly is that the hardware does not cost that. An internal 500g hard drive does not cost €100. Hence the Aussie comparison. Infact I linked to the wrong one. Not that it matters as there are 3 boxes with twin tuners for a lot less than the Walker (Vestel) box with 500g.

    Finally knowing where your "junk" is from.

    In Europe the Thomson name is now licensed to Strong. Infact Thomson sold a lot of its brand names to Vestel (Telefunken, Nordmende). In Australia they are still a major DVB brand.

    Walker like many rebadges (Bush, Digihome,Toshiba, Sharp, JVC, Hitachi, Technika) are all made by Vestel in Turkey.

    Humax are an OEM. And a very good one. In the DVB world Humax quality is streets ahead of Vestel products. Also the UK choice content justifies that expenditure.
    ninja900 wrote: »
    Totally unrealistic to expect it to sell for 100 euro when the drive alone is worth most of that. Freeview PVRs don't sell for that even though the market is far larger. I gave you an example of the Humax box which sells for more than the Walker.

    Freeview HD (Twin Tuners - built in Hard Drive)

    TVonics DTR-Z500HD £114 (€136)


  • #156
    watty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,461 ✭✭✭✭watty


    There are ZERO real PVRs that are suitable for Freesat and Saorview.

    When I moved to Ireland my VHS that used to record 4 channels could only get 1 and half.


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  • #157
    deejer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 712 ✭✭✭deejer


    I know that most of the content I am going to be recording can be done so from the Freesat channels and thats fine.

    One thing I know I am going to want to record thats only on saorview is the hurling. Cant really justify spending over €200 then really.


  • #158
    FREETV
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,673 ✭✭✭FREETV


    The PVR is overpriced by at least fifty euro. :(


  • #159
    hju6
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,432 ✭✭✭hju6


    Saorviews content is dire, the only reason one would want to record Saorviews content would be the ability to fast forward during the endless adverts,


  • #160
    FREETV
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,673 ✭✭✭FREETV


    hju6 wrote: »
    Saorviews content is dire, the only reason one would want to record Saorviews content would be the ability to fast forward during the endless adverts,

    True, most of it is very poor or rubbish at best. :(


  • #161
    JonathonS
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 702 ✭✭✭JonathonS


    hju6 wrote: »
    Saorviews content is dire

    Compared to what, exactly?:)


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  • #162
    FREETV
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,673 ✭✭✭FREETV


    JonathonS wrote: »
    Compared to what, exactly?:)

    Freeview and Freesat are much better platforms, even the MBC channels at 26E on satellite are much better. :rolleyes:


  • #163
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    FREETV wrote: »
    . . . even the MBC channels at 26E on satellite are much better. :rolleyes:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East_Broadcasting_Center

    Believed to have the financial backing of the Saudi royal family? Now that is a fair comparison with Saorview . . .


  • #164
    newleaf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 61 ✭✭newleaf


    B]Freeview HD (Twin Tuners - built in Hard Drive)[/B]

    TVonics DTR-Z500HD £114 (€136)[/QUOTE]

    Will the Tvonics PVR receive and Saorview?


  • #165
    JonathonS
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 702 ✭✭✭JonathonS


    FREETV wrote: »
    Freeview and Freesat are much better platforms,

    Strange then that even where 80%+ of Irish homes have access to most of the channels on those platforms, 90%+ of the top 100 most watched programmes in any given period are on channels that are on Saorview.

    Maybe we just love dire TV?
    Like Love/Hate?
    Or the Late Late? (Ok Ok I know that's pushing it....):)


  • #166
    In the old days
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 120 ✭✭In the old days


    JonathonS wrote: »
    Strange then that even where 80%+ of Irish homes have access to most of the channels on those platforms, 90%+ of the top 100 most watched programmes in any given period are on channels that are on Saorview.

    Also peoples viewing habits are changing and more and more people are watching timeshifted tv. Saorview would of course be better with popular UK main channels (but would not be saor!). Nevertheless Irish channels are popular in there own right. I'm amazed at the Irish channel bashing that goes on at this Forum (surely such views are more appropriate to the broadcasting forum). Saorview PVRs will be popular in my opinion, especially when they get a bit cheaper. Good luck to whoever owns 'Walker' getting the ball rolling with their PVR.


  • #167
    galtee boy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,553 ✭✭✭galtee boy


    Also, don't forget about those who might want to ditch Sky. Now we have a proper pvr with series link to record the Irish channels, up to this you had to go cat farting about with USB sticks etc. Now get one of these Saorview Pvr's, add a Freesat pvr and after the initial outlay, wave goodbye to subscriptions for ever.


  • #168
    zg3409
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 7,319 ✭✭✭zg3409


    WP6500TTR Saorview approved PVR User Manual. See attached.

    I could not see any mention of T2 in the manual. Is there anything in the manual to indicate this?

    Initial review. Menus are available "as Gaeilge" or in Irish. There is a small list of countries to chose from:
    UK (only scans UHF)
    ROI
    and some Nordic.

    If you select UK the ROI channels go to the 800s (as expected). They seem to arrive in the 800s in a weird order with TV and Radio mixed and all over the place. It may be possible to fix this by manual scans of just TV then radio. You can rename channels but I could not find an option to renumber under the UK installation.

    Series link does work on RTE1+1 and RTEjnr

    You can record radio shows unlike some PVRs.

    The network connection does something. When not connected it says you will not be able to use interactive services. There is some basic media player, presumably like other walker products.

    Have a look at the manual and ask any questions and I will try answer.


  • #169
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 40,036 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    Can it archive recordings to USB storage?
    Is the box quick to change channel?
    Is the digital text quick to initialise, and change page?
    If recording two channels at once, can you watch a third, or watch recordings?

    I'm partial to your abracadabra
    I'm raptured by the joy of it all



  • #170
    The Cush
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 16,389 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    zg3409 wrote: »
    I could not see any mention of T2 in the manual. Is there anything in the manual to indicate this?

    No direct mention that I can see in the manual either but newleaf did post (#148) that in an email from Walker it is DVB-T2 compatible.

    A few of the graphics in the manual show channels such as BBC R&D HD3 and HD4, five HD Trial, ITV HD Trial, from the DVB-T2 testing back in 2009 probably (not a direct indication I know).


  • #171
    O'Prez
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 676 ✭✭✭O'Prez


    I'm interested to know if you can archive recordings to USB too and can you post up some images of the PVR box itself?


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  • #172
    STB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭STB


    zg3409 wrote: »
    I could not see any mention of T2 in the manual. Is there anything in the manual to indicate this?

    Initial review. Menus are available "as Gaeilge" or in Irish. There is a small list of countries to chose from:
    UK (only scans UHF)
    ROI
    and some Nordic.

    Then the box is in line with the plan implemented on the T7650 chassis used with Freeview HD in UK and Nordic profiles. They are now making a generic box which depending on country selected installs the necessary software for your country's certification requirements. I had raised it as a possible scenario earlier in the thread.

    So it does have dvb-t2 tuner modules on board. How it behaves after that is up to what profile you select. What would prove this is if the UK was chosen instead of Ireland. You may see the BBC Iplayer facility in the software.

    Clever if they have. And if they have, do not select UK as they have DRM requirements in the Freeview Spec which means that a form of HDCP is enabled when UK is selected which disables the archiving of HD content off the box.


  • #173
    zg3409
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 7,319 ✭✭✭zg3409


    ninja900 wrote: »
    Can it archive recordings to USB storage?
    No. It has an option to copy a file over from a USB key or move it FROM the key to the hard drive, but not vice versa. Possibly a copy protection mechanism. I suspect the files on the hard drive might be a special format. It mentions in the manual "HDD recording is done using the variable bit rate format (VBR) for more efficient recording." and it seems to record the subtitles and info, basically everything.
    Is the box quick to change channel?
    Yes and no. Like all DVB-T it needs a little while to decode a full image. Possibly 1-2 seconds per change. The guide is fast, the screen stays blank for maybe a second.
    Is the digital text quick to initialise, and change page?
    Compared to some older Walker TVs it's very fast. About 3 seconds per page, and to load up initially. Has onboard teletext for TG4 and TV3 and new text for RTE.
    If recording two channels at once, can you watch a third, or watch recordings?
    Yes and yes. However it only has two tuners. With just the current Saorview lineup it should be possible to record ANY two channels and watch ANY other channel. If in the future there are three muxes and you are recording from two you probably won't be able to watch any channels from the third mux. I am going to try this on the NI channels.

    Regarding photos I have a digital camera. I will probably only upload photos when it is fully reviewed and include screenshots of interesting menus.


  • #174
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 40,036 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    zg3409 wrote: »
    Yes and no. Like all DVB-T it needs a little while to decode a full image. Possibly 1-2 seconds per change. The guide is fast, the screen stays blank for maybe a second.

    OK. Some TVs/boxes have an irritating too-long pause while waiting to see if you're going to press a second digit before they actually start to change channel.
    Yes and yes. However it only has two tuners. With just the current Saorview lineup it should be possible to record ANY two channels and watch ANY other channel. If in the future there are three muxes and you are recording from two you probably won't be able to watch any channels from the third mux.

    Grand - can live with that on Freesat (if recording two things, are limited to viewing channels on the same TPs as the channels being recorded.)

    I'm partial to your abracadabra
    I'm raptured by the joy of it all



  • #175
    O'Prez
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 676 ✭✭✭O'Prez


    zg3409 wrote: »
    No. It has an option to copy a file over from a USB key or move it FROM the key to the hard drive, but not nice versa. Possibly a copy protection mechanism. I suspect the files on the hard drive might be a special format. It mentions in the manual "HDD recording is done using the variable bit rate format (VBR) for more efficient recording." and it seems to record the subtitles and info, basically everything.
    Oh well. I was waiting to see if it was possible before buying it. Looks like I'll opt for the Humax (with custom firmware) then.


  • #176
    newleaf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 61 ✭✭newleaf


    "If you select UK the ROI channels go to the 800s (as expected). They seem to arrive in the 800s in a weird order with TV and Radio mixed and all over the place. It may be possible to fix this by manual scans of just TV then radio. You can rename channels but I could not find an option to renumber under the UK installation"

    But if you select ROI do all the Freeview and Freeview HD channels tune in, and what numbers are assigned? Can you re-order?


  • #177
    zg3409
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 7,319 ✭✭✭zg3409


    newleaf wrote: »
    But if you select ROI do all the Freeview and Freeview HD channels tune in, and what numbers are assigned? Can you re-order?

    Not tested yet. I found no option to re-order any channels. You can delete channels and rename them. You can also set up favourites.

    Regarding the humax etc there is a time setting with auto, manual, GMT, GMT-1 etc and it says in the manual it can handle summer winter time adjustments. This may or may not be useful with the expected time display problems of any combined UK and ROI recording receiver. Other receivers have shown the wrong time in the past. It may not be possible to fully test all the time issues until summertime.


  • #178
    OO7FITZY
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 237 ✭✭OO7FITZY


    Picekd up the box at the weekend and very happy with it. My old Triax combo box (ST-HD537) was dog of a unit and kept dropping the saorview channels. This one works no problem even though I have a weak signal.
    Only issue I have seen so far is the EPG on Sun for TG4 was not correct and did not show the Heineken Cup highlights as advertised but showed another program in the timeslot. Don't know if that was an oversight by TG4 or an issue with the box?


  • #179
    Tony
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,369 ✭✭✭✭Tony


    It was an oversight, if the box has a problem it will show no info . Same thing showed on my VU+

    OO7FITZY wrote: »
    Only issue I have seen so far is the EPG on Sun for TG4 was not correct and did not show the Heineken Cup highlights as advertised but showed another program in the timeslot. Don't know if that was an oversight by TG4 or an issue with the box?

    Owner: satellite.ie



  • #180
    newleaf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 61 ✭✭newleaf


    OO7FITZY wrote: »
    Picekd up the box at the weekend and very happy with it. My old Triax combo box (ST-HD537) was dog of a unit and kept dropping the saorview channels. This one works no problem even though I have a weak signal.
    Only issue I have seen so far is the EPG on Sun for TG4 was not correct and did not show the Heineken Cup highlights as advertised but showed another program in the timeslot. Don't know if that was an oversight by TG4 or an issue with the box?

    Are you just receiving Saorview on this box, or are you getting Freeview from aerial as well if near border or on east coast? And more important are you getting Freeview HD? If so did you choose Irl as country at setup time? This is still the big unanswered question here about this Walker PVR.

    Re wrong info I've often seen this on my TV and current box, I've always found it happened when programming schedule changed near broadcast time.


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  • #181
    mackersdublin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,511 ✭✭✭mackersdublin


    OO7FITZY wrote: »
    Picekd up the box at the weekend and very happy with it. My old Triax combo box (ST-HD537) was dog of a unit and kept dropping the saorview channels. This one works no problem even though I have a weak signal.
    Only issue I have seen so far is the EPG on Sun for TG4 was not correct and did not show the Heineken Cup highlights as advertised but showed another program in the timeslot. Don't know if that was an oversight by TG4 or an issue with the box?

    I called into Power City last week, but unfortunately it was not being showcased in store. Just on a shelf with the other Saorview boxes. It's very neat & small, smaller than the other boxes


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