Saorview Connect

kooga · 27-01-2020 4:24pm

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/lg-24tl510s-24-smart-hd-ready-led-tv-10195142-pdt.html

although according to the currys website it has an s2 tuner and freesat

just to answer the rest of your post

if you set the country to ireland you wont get the freesat epg but the irish channels will be in order

if you select uk you will get the freesat epg but the irish channels will be in the 800s

Sneachta · 29-01-2020 9:27pm

It's a year since I visited this thread and people weren't very happy with Saorview Connect box. Just wondering now that they have added recording feature etc are people happier or do you recommend the box at all?

greasepalm · 29-01-2020 10:16pm

NO.

icdg · 29-01-2020 10:21pm

For various reasons I’m coming late to this but this is a thread to discuss Saorview Connect. It’s not a general “What’s the best combo box” thread. If you want to ask about alternatives to Saorview Connect, feel free to start a new thread.

lsjmhar · 15-03-2020 3:45pm

Any chance of Netflix and disney+ coming to on-demand for the connectbox?

patsryan · 19-03-2020 10:53pm

lsjmhar wrote: »

Any chance of Netflix and disney+ coming to on-demand for the connectbox?

Netflix is a no no on the current hardware. Disney+ unlikely too.

I’m still hopeful that the relationship between RTÉ and Freesat is still alive and that there is new hardware coming based on the same Arris hardware from the U.K.

That’s also highly unlikely but....

lsjmhar · 20-03-2020 9:25pm

patsryan wrote:

Netflix is a no no on the current hardware. Disney+ unlikely too.

why is the hardware not good enough for netflix. if it can strean rteplayer(???) surely it can stream netflix

patsryan · 23-03-2020 8:59pm

lsjmhar wrote: »

why is the hardware not good enough for netflix. if it can strean rteplayer(???) surely it can stream netflix

Netflix validates all hardware / chipsets that the official Netflix app runs on.

They (Netflix) deemed Ireland and the SVC box as having too small a market to warrant the validation of the chipset in the current SVC hardware.

The developers of the box / the reseller / other users mentioned this here previously.

The only way of having Netflix on the SVC box is with different, pre validated hardware unfortunately.

Developers advised me before that they looked at getting Google Cast onto the device but that wasn't an option either

Qrt · 02-04-2020 8:40pm

This box really is a piece of crap. Paused RTÉ, hit fast forward by mistake and it just...wouldn’t stop. Now I’ve to wait 45 minutes to see what I missed because I had to turn it off and on again. So disappointing, considering the UI is very appealing to me.

yesnow · 19-04-2020 1:49pm

Wondering if I should get the box.

What is recording like? Does it work well? Our telly has a record feature but it's impossible to use.

Which players are available? All I've heard of is RTÉ and TG4. I read the Virgin Player wasn't available but that was from 2019 so I wonder if it has been added since?

How is the connection to Freeview channels? Are there any channels that aren't on similar set-top boxes?

Are there any other alternative boxes (not Sky etc) you would recommend with recording and on-demand?

patsryan · 19-04-2020 4:55pm

yesnow wrote: »

Wondering if I should get the box.

What is recording like? Does it work well? Our telly has a record feature but it's impossible to use.

Which players are available? All I've heard of is RTÉ and TG4. I read the Virgin Player wasn't available but that was from 2019 so I wonder if it has been added since?

How is the connection to Freeview channels? Are there any channels that aren't on similar set-top boxes?

Are there any other alternative boxes (not Sky etc) you would recommend with recording and on-demand?

The Saorview Connect box isn’t horrible, but while it is based on Freesat software it’s no Freesat box.

The recording works (relatively) well and haven’t had any major issues.

You only get RTÉ player and TG4 on the box, blame VM for this - they seem to be very anti opening their player up on smart tv platforms.

Netflix and YouTube also don’t exist on the box due to both parties not willing to test the chipset for such a small market.

As for Freeview channels, can’t confirm if the DVB-T channels will appear on the Saorview side of the box but it would make the experience significantly better if they did.

The same channels are available FTA over Sat but with Now / Next guide data only.

The Now / Next guide data also only gets populated if there are two Sat inputs.

Hibrasil · 20-04-2020 10:53am

patsryan wrote: »

The Now / Next guide data also only gets populated if there are two Sat inputs.

Am I correct that you need a "twin LNB" with two separate cables in order to service the two Sat Inputs (i.e. a single cable cannot in any way be split to do the job)!
I know stupid question - but best to clarify anyway from someone who knows.

patsryan · 20-04-2020 11:55am

Hibrasil wrote: »

Am I correct that you need a "twin LNB" with two separate cables in order to service the two Sat Inputs (i.e. a single cable cannot in any way be split to do the job)!
I know stupid question - but best to clarify anyway from someone who knows.

A twin LNB is required, there is no way to split Sat inputs like you can do with a terrestrial input.

Qrt · 21-04-2020 2:09pm

The RTÉ Player doesn’t work for me any more, prompts me that a new version is available and to update the firmware...but there’s none available.

lsjmhar · 21-04-2020 5:45pm

paddy19 wrote:

7 EU countries have passed local laws which are in contravention of the EU261 requirement for cash refunds.

Qrt wrote:

The RTÃ‰ Player doesnâ€™t work for me any more, prompts me that a new version is available and to update the firmware...but thereâ€™s none available.

I've had the same issue. i have two boxes and both are doing this. i contacted the main dev who was on this channel months ago. He contacted Saorview and RTE and they stated it was a backend issue.with their servers. This has been an issue for over two weeks so hopefully they will.sort it out soon.

patsryan · 21-04-2020 7:17pm

lsjmhar wrote: »

I've had the same issue. i have two boxes and both are doing this. i contacted the main dev who was on this channel months ago. He contacted Saorview and RTE and they stated it was a backend issue.with their servers. This has been an issue for over two weeks so hopefully they will.sort it out soon.

They had resolved the issue but appears to be occuring again today :rolleyes:

lsjmhar · 22-04-2020 5:22pm

Looks like it is working again so hopefully it is fully resolved.

lsjmhar · 26-04-2020 2:08pm

Player gone down again for me. They really are making a bo....x of this box and it's functions.

Maybe they should talk to the people in TG4 to get their player working. WTF!!

chuck eastwood · 26-04-2020 2:15pm

It's embarresing and such an unprofessional set up from top to bottom. My brother in law works for the company supplying software updates for sky boxes and when I told him I had a connect box he laughed. After spending countless hours setting it up and way to much money on the box itself I can safely say it's the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on any tech product. Be cause it's pretty much state backed they can make a total balls of it every other update and have no real pressure to sort it or improve it to an acceptable standard. To be honest I only switch it on every few weeks now to see if any updates are available that might make it usable.

lsjmhar · 26-04-2020 5:18pm

chuck eastwood wrote:

It's embarresing and such an unprofessional set up from top to bottom. My brother in law works for the company supplying software updates for sky boxes and when I told him I had a connect box he laughed. After spending countless hours setting it up and way to much money on the box itself I can safely say it's the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on any tech product. Be cause it's pretty much state backed they can make a total balls of it every other update and have no real pressure to sort it or improve it to an acceptable standard. To be honest I only switch it on every few weeks now to see if any updates are available that might make it usable.

At least the TV channels and recording work. TG4 player works as well. I just cannot understand how they haven't resolved these issues. In an era of online streaming, I would have thought they would make the player a priority. I tried the Android player and got five ads in a row and then the player stopped. I couldn't believe it wasn't working as well.

galtee boy · 26-04-2020 5:28pm

chuck eastwood wrote: »

It's embarresing and such an unprofessional set up from top to bottom. My brother in law works for the company supplying software updates for sky boxes and when I told him I had a connect box he laughed. After spending countless hours setting it up and way to much money on the box itself I can safely say it's the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on any tech product. Be cause it's pretty much state backed they can make a total balls of it every other update and have no real pressure to sort it or improve it to an acceptable standard. To be honest I only switch it on every few weeks now to see if any updates are available that might make it usable.

There's a reason why people pay for Sky, you get what you pay for. Top class service and top class box. And before anyone says you're paying for free to air channels etc, it's about more than just the channels, it's about the user friendly box, app, huge amount of HD, All4, Virgin, RTE players, plus players from loads of other channels etc etc. The Saorview Connect box isn't cheap to buy and yet it's nothing more than a doorstop. Having to even add an external hdd in this day and age, to record? I'll say no more.

lsjmhar · 27-04-2020 9:45am

I tried the RTE Player on my laptop after the connect box wouldn't work. It refused to work in an Opera browser. I then opened Chrome and tried that. It gave me ads again and would not show the programme. There was a banner to say use the android app. Fair enough.

I have an ANDROID Kindle Fire. Installed the app through Aptoide store as there is no Google Play store. Well what do you know. The app installed but would not load! So the Player does not work on three different platforms. How is thtlat possible!

Quackster · 27-04-2020 11:29am

galtee boy wrote: »

There's a reason why people pay for Sky, you get what you pay for. Top class service and top class box. And before anyone says you're paying for free to air channels etc, it's about more than just the channels, it's about the user friendly box, app, huge amount of HD, All4, Virgin, RTE players, plus players from loads of other channels etc etc. The Saorview Connect box isn't cheap to buy and yet it's nothing more than a doorstop. Having to even add an external hdd in this day and age, to record? I'll say no more.

People presumably pay through the nose for Sky for the content. Personally, Irish & UK FTA plus Netflix more than caters for my needs so I wouldn't touch Sky.

In the UK, there are various products that effortlessly incorporate Freeview/Freesat with various channels' players and other interactive features so it's not expecting too much.

Johnboy1951 · 27-04-2020 12:45pm

galtee boy wrote: »

There's a reason why people pay for Sky, you get what you pay for. Top class service and top class box. And before anyone says you're paying for free to air channels etc, it's about more than just the channels, it's about the user friendly box, app, huge amount of HD, All4, Virgin, RTE players, plus players from loads of other channels etc etc. The Saorview Connect box isn't cheap to buy and yet it's nothing more than a doorstop. Having to even add an external hdd in this day and age, to record? I'll say no more.

Yes there are several reasons why people pay for Sky. Some are

They know no different and likely have been Sky customers for years.
They are unwilling to change out of fear of the 'unknown'.
They want Sky exclusive content, such as Sports Channels.
They do not want an aerial in addition to their Sat Dish.

Sky for Sports is not as attractive as it was once, with so many providers in the game.
Sky movies now has huge competition from many providers, and probably cheaper too.
The vast majority of the rest of the channels are FTA, so no benefit from paying Sky for those.

As for the Sky GUI interface ..... there are many such interfaces available, some of which ape the Sky one.
Personally I dislike that interface so it is not something I would put any value on at all.
The very fact that I could not change it on a Sky box to suit my own needs/preferences is a huge negative.

I do not see any value in the Sky TV offerings to warrant the amount of money they charge.

Neither, of course, would I buy the Saorview Connect box.

Gerry Wicklow · 27-04-2020 1:14pm

I got Sky Q basic package for a year as part of a broadband deal. I packed up the box and reverted to my FTA box instead after a week. My FTA box far outstripped the Sky Q one in terms of functions, ease of use and the absence of nag screens. Options I took for granted on my FTA box were optional paid for extras on Sky Q.

galtee boy · 27-04-2020 7:30pm

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

I got Sky Q basic package for a year as part of a broadband deal. I packed up the box and reverted to my FTA box instead after a week. My FTA box far outstripped the Sky Q one in terms of functions, ease of use and the absence of nag screens. Options I took for granted on my FTA box were optional paid for extras on Sky Q.

We're back to the issue of the holy grail here I suspect again. What fta box has Irish and UK channels on one 7 day epg with series link, catch up players for umpteen channels , remote record from an app, built in apps like Netflix, Disney + etc, I presume you're talking about some kind of linux based system. These don't come plug and play and are not easy to set up for the average Joe. Of course Sky isn't cheap, but with haggling, you can get basic pack with HD for €35 per month. If the Saorview Connect box even had Irish and UK on one epg, even with only now and next for UK channels, players for all Irish channels, apps like Netflix, Disney etc and a bloody internal hdd, it would tempt people away from Sky, but that Saorview box as it stands is a complete waste of money.

alta stare · 27-04-2020 7:36pm

lsjmhar wrote: »

I tried the RTE Player on my laptop after the connect box wouldn't work. It refused to work in an Opera browser. I then opened Chrome and tried that. It gave me ads again and would not show the programme. There was a banner to say use the android app. Fair enough.

I have an ANDROID Kindle Fire. Installed the app through Aptoide store as there is no Google Play store. Well what do you know. The app installed but would not load! So the Player does not work on three different platforms. How is thtlat possible!

You can get the Google Play Store for the Fire. My daughter has a Fire and i put the play store on it for her. Amazon's version of it is terrible.

The link below explains how to do. It is pretty straightforward.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.howtogeek.com/232726/how-to-install-the-google-play-store-on-your-amazon-fire-tablet/amp/

lsjmhar · 27-04-2020 9:51pm

alta stare wrote:

The link below explains how to do. It is pretty straightforward.

alta stare wrote:

You can get the Google Play Store for the Fire. My daughter has a Fire and i put the play store on it for her. Amazon's version of it is terrible.

Cheers. I already had it on the fire but had issues that resulted in needing to reset the thing. Just never bothered installing Google again. The connect is back working again!!! Lol!! Glutton for punishment

valeoilspill · 28-04-2020 9:12am

galtee boy wrote: »

We're back to the issue of the holy grail here I suspect again. What fta box has Irish and UK channels on one 7 day epg with series link, catch up players for umpteen channels , remote record from an app, built in apps like Netflix, Disney + etc, I presume you're talking about some kind of linux based system. These don't come plug and play and are not easy to set up for the average Joe. Of course Sky isn't cheap, but with haggling, you can get basic pack with HD for €35 per month. If the Saorview Connect box even had Irish and UK on one epg, even with only now and next for UK channels, players for all Irish channels, apps like Netflix, Disney etc and a bloody internal hdd, it would tempt people away from Sky, but that Saorview box as it stands is a complete waste of money.

Anyone link or guide to setting one up close as poss to sky like setup

mollymac57 · 02-05-2020 4:25pm

Is there any satisfactory alternative to the Powerpoint box to get Saorview Connect. Preferably one that works consistently and comes with a HDD for record, has pause, EPG, and the players come installed.Would any of the Freeview or other UK boxes work (DVBT/T2 compatible). I’m not interested in signing up with Sky.

lsjmhar · 02-05-2020 4:49pm

valeoilspill wrote:

Anyone link or guide to setting one up close as poss to sky like setup

You need to look up enigma2 threads on boards.ie . There are many boxes with different versions of the os available for install

lsjmhar · 02-05-2020 5:09pm

mollymac57 wrote:

Is there any satisfactory alternative to the Powerpoint box to get Saorview Connect. Preferably one that works consistently and comes with a HDD for record, has pause, EPG, and the players come installed.Would any of the Freeview or other UK boxes work (DVBT/T2 compatible). Iâ€™m not interested in signing up with Sky.

Not at the moment!

Johnboy1951 · 02-05-2020 6:11pm

mollymac57 wrote: »

Is there any satisfactory alternative to the Powerpoint box to get Saorview Connect. Preferably one that works consistently and comes with a HDD for record, has pause, EPG, and the players come installed.Would any of the Freeview or other UK boxes work (DVBT/T2 compatible). I’m not interested in signing up with Sky.

Not 'off the shelf'.
It is achievable with a little work.

lsjmhar · 03-05-2020 3:05pm

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Not 'off the shelf'.
It is achievable with a little work.

I don't think there is any box with the rte player facility on it, only the powerpoint box

lsjmhar · 03-05-2020 3:06pm

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Not 'off the shelf'.
It is achievable with a little work.

I don't think there is any box with the rte player facility on it, only the powerpoint box

threeball · 20-05-2020 6:43pm

Is anyone having problems with these boxes randomnly dropping channels. Our box was working for months then one day the aerial channels disappeared. Couldn't get a signal at all, indoor aerial. I wasnt too pushed as i still had the satellite side. Then one day the aerial channels returned.

Last week i lost both. No signal on either side. Got by on netflix for a few days then tried to retune both sides. Got no satellite option at all but got about half the aerial channels with very good picture. Im thinking it has to be the box. Is there any fix if you've had this issue

Shomar Ltd. · 21-05-2020 8:28am

To help you correct your problem please call the Saorview Help Line on 1890 222 012.

Capt'n Midnight · 21-05-2020 8:12pm

threeball wrote: »

Is anyone having problems with these boxes randomnly dropping channels. Our box was working for months then one day the aerial channels disappeared. Couldn't get a signal at all, indoor aerial. I wasnt too pushed as i still had the satellite side. Then one day the aerial channels returned.

Last week i lost both. No signal on either side. Got by on netflix for a few days then tried to retune both sides. Got no satellite option at all but got about half the aerial channels with very good picture. Im thinking it has to be the box. Is there any fix if you've had this issue

There have been Saorview changes recently. so you may need to retune.

Good weather now may allow you to pickup a signal from further away or the box may have retuned. My old Freesat boxes autmatically checks for for channel changes at 3am.

icdg · 22-05-2020 7:47am

Shomar Limited

I take you are proporting to post here in an official capacity. You need to contact the Admins to set up a Verified Rep account. I cannot help you with this, you need to approach Boards.ie. You are permanently banned, I have no discretion in this, the Admins will be able to let you post once your Verified Rep account is set up

peking97 · 23-05-2020 11:07am

Are there two different versions of the RTE Player does anybody know?
When I look at the player on Saorview Connect I see that the whole series of Normal People is available but when I look at the RTE player on my Sky HD system I have a lot less episodes available. Somewhat puzzling!

galtee boy · 23-05-2020 11:19am

peking97 wrote: »

Are there two different versions of the RTE Player does anybody know?
When I look at the player on Saorview Connect I see that the whole series of Normal People is available but when I look at the RTE player on my Sky HD system I have a lot less episodes available. Somewhat puzzling!

The RTE Player on Sky is a cut down version as is the All4 player.

peking97 · 23-05-2020 12:49pm

galtee boy wrote: »

The RTE Player on Sky is a cut down version as is the All4 player.

And is that a Sky decision or RTE's do you know?

lsjmhar · 23-05-2020 1:12pm

peking97 wrote: »

And is that a Sky decision or RTE's do you know?

These would be copyright and licencing issues I would imagine.

galtee boy · 23-05-2020 3:24pm

peking97 wrote: »

And is that a Sky decision or RTE's do you know?

As said already, probably copyright. Though on the mobile phone app version of All4, you get the full version in ROI, example being CH4 news bulletin, which are not on Sky. Another anomaly is HD and Samsung tvs.I recently bought a new Samsung TV, which has the All4 player , full version, but it only plays everything in SD, whereas on Sky, on the cut down version, everything is in HD. I wonder have Sky the HD rights for All4 in ROI ?

tubbs26 · 24-05-2020 7:08am

Hi, I have a sky q box with a basic sub subscription. As much as I like the gui, I’m not using it enough to to warrant the cost.

I got a nowtv dongle for my kitchen tv (no sky on this tv just saorview) it’s satisfies all of my catch up tv, Netflix and youtube needs. It also allows me watch sky content if I want to pay for it.

Therefore for my sitting room tv I want to get a combi box that allows me,
1- view saorview and uk free to air channels on one box
2- pause, rewind and record the above channels

1) Would the saorview connect box do this? It’s getting a pasting here, is there a better alternative?

2) would someone recommend an installer? I need to get the saorview aerial into my sitting room? I wouldn’t be comfortable to do it my self

Danno · 06-07-2020 10:24pm

Have the Saorview Connect box for the last few weeks now. Occasionally the box fails to receive remote control instructions meaning that I have to pull out the power cord. Tonight, when playing back a recording it restarted six times in fifteen minutes. I have a 500gb SDD external drive connected for recordings. After investing almost €300 for box, SDD and aerial this is less than satisfactory.

kooga · 06-07-2020 10:30pm

Danno wrote: »

Have the Saorview Connect box for the last few weeks now. Occasionally the box fails to receive remote control instructions meaning that I have to pull out the power cord. Tonight, when playing back a recording it restarted six times in fifteen minutes. I have a 500gb SDD external drive connected for recordings. After investing almost €300 for box, SDD and aerial this is less than satisfactory.

Disaster

Danno · 06-07-2020 10:35pm

kooga wrote: »

Disaster

Seems the rebooting happens when only playing back recordings.

AngryLips · 07-07-2020 8:36am

Danno wrote: »

Seems the rebooting happens when only playing back recordings.

Does the SSD have its own power source?

Danno · 07-07-2020 9:51am

AngryLips wrote: »

Does the SSD have its own power source?

It doesn't. With no moving parts I'd thought this would be the best option.

There was no problem with it for the last few weeks of recording, so why now?

Saorview Connect

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