Replacing sky+ with saorview box

corner back 2

Apologies if this has been asked before but here I go:
I have cancelled my sky sub and am currently using the box to watch uk fta channels. I would like to know if there is any box I can buy and use with existing dish to receive bothh saorview and uk fta channels. I doth want to do anything except plug out sky box and replace with new one if possible. Thanks in advance and apologies for being technically challenged in this area.

watty

you need an aerial and box or compatible TV for Saorview.

There are combo boxes, but they are a pain compared to Sky box or Freesat HD box and still need an Aerial.

No Current combo is properly compatible with Freesat or Saorview. They are all for the mainland Europe market.

Tony

watty wrote: »

yThey are all for the mainland Europe market.

They are for any market that wants to buy them Watty. Many people are happy to forsake the advantages like 7 day epg on satellite in order to have all their chanels on one list with one remote and one set top box.

rlogue

Not to mention that many offer recording facilities and networking capabilities.

watty

Tony wrote: »

They are for any market that wants to buy them Watty. Many people are happy to forsake the advantages like 7 day epg on satellite in order to have all their chanels on one list with one remote and one set top box.

They are however designed and built for a different market or they would not exist at all. I guess we are lucky they put English as a language option.

They offer a crippled version of what RTE and BBC intend to supply and on Satellite especially very problematic for many people*.

Most people don't know the difference between Generic FTA satellite boxes and Freesat / Sky boxes.

Certainly there are excellent Subscription free PVRs for "Freesat HD". The equivalent "Combo" boxes are as expensive and less user friendly for the sake of basically 5 channels.

That's why for ordinary usage we have ex-contract Sky and SkyHD boxes on Terrestrial TVs and Quad tuner PVR based on PC via HMDI on main TV.

It's a pity there is not even one decent combo that has 2x DVB-S2 tuners, 2 x DTT tuners and MHEG5 with internal HDD at a competitive price.

Of course people are welcome to buy cheap single tuner each Sat + DTT generic combos, but I can't recommend them. I think in medium term a waste of money. The recording on most of them is also error prone.

[*where has my Cbbc/Cbeebies gone.]

rlogue

A Freesat HD box is good but will not supply the Irish channels.

Tony

watty wrote: »

They are however designed and built for a different market or they would not exist at all.

They are designed to fulfill a perceived demand, if no one wanted them no one would make them. I agree they are not the ideal box for Ireland but neither is a freesat box since it does not provide RTE on the same channel list. I think we should be pointing out the advantages/disadvntages to each box and let people decide for themselves what suits them best.

If saorview approved boxes were the only option available imagine what price would be charged for them, as it is they are overpriced in the current absence of any price competition.

Lets not delude ourselves into thinking that Ireland is such an important market for box makers that they are going to grant our every wish.

corner back 2

Thanks for help so far. I think my best option would be new tv with DTT and my old sky box for uk channels. Wolud like to hear your opinions on this thanks.

randombar

Hi Lads, just wondering what channels you get on an ex-contract Sky box? By this do you mean no card in it or a card whose contract has expired?

watty

Regarding IRISH expired card you can get a few more channels without it.
With UK expired card there are a few extra channels compared to no card.

new tv with DTT and my old sky box for uk channels.

That works well (50 favorites on Favorite EPG for Sky box). No recording other than via SCART and VHS/DVD.

We use PC with 2 x Sat cards and one dual tuner USB stick for DTT for recordings.

PeterDuggan

rlogue wrote: »

Many offer networking capabilities.

Really? Do you mean recordings can be copied across a local network? Now that’d be handy.

watty wrote: »

They offer a crippled version of what RTE and BBC intend to supply.

How are they crippled? And what do RTE and BBC plan to supply that won’t work?

Tony wrote: »

I think we should be pointing out the advantages/disadvntages to each box and let people decide for themselves what suits them best.

Yes absolutely. A sticky listing the pros and cons of different boxes would be invaluable.

watty

Some of the better Combo boxes are great hobbyist solutions. But so is a PC with HDMI GFX, 2x PCI DVBS2 card and Dual DVB-T USB stick.

If someone wants an entry level combo for a 2nd TV and is used to cheap FTA sat boxes, they may be appropriate, but so far no working combo meets minimum mandatory features of Saorview, so none are fully Irish Digital Compatible

How are they crippled? And what do RTE and BBC plan to supply that won’t work?

virtually every platform feature beyond the bare basic. BBC Interactive Video stuff sourced from Mosaic streams only works with real "Freesat"/"Freesat HD" or Sky boxes.
MHEG5 so far is lacking on any combo that works reliably. http://www.saortv.info/about/mheg5/ If there was MHEG5 the BBC Text works and all RTE features, but without Auto EPG/Tuning on Freesat and without any MHEG5 on Freesat that uses video streams. (RTE Mosaic video in MHEG5 should work on any combo with MHEG5).

Originally Posted by Tony
I think we should be pointing out the advantages/disadvntages to each box and let people decide for themselves what suits them best.

Absolutely But in a complete balanced fashion.

Some people with money and that don't mind remotes might even prefer a real "Freesat+ HD" PVR and "Freeview+ HD" PVR

RTE's cult of secrecy, choice of Teracom for testing (probably x3 more expensive, but likely because of Boxer), and the Secret non-open nature of UK D-Book(should be open like Nordig) makes all worse.

Also a pity Triax has messed up on 537 and that the Triax boxes are overpriced at Trade level. Nor do I accept it's just the added cost of Certification.

PeterDuggan

watty wrote: »

If someone wants an entry level combo for a 2nd TV and is used to cheap FTA sat boxes, they may be appropriate, but so far no working combo meets minimum mandatory features of Saorview, so none are fully Irish Digital Compatible

virtually every platform feature beyond the bare basic. BBC Interactive Video stuff sourced from Mosaic streams only works with real "Freesat"/"Freesat HD" or Sky boxes.
MHEG5 so far is lacking on any combo that works reliably. http://www.saortv.info/about/mheg5/ If there was MHEG5 the BBC Text works and all RTE features, but without Auto EPG/Tuning on Freesat and without any MHEG5 on Freesat that uses video streams. (RTE Mosaic video in MHEG5 should work on any combo with MHEG5).

Are you saying that a box with MHEG5 will allow BBC Text and all RTE features to work properly?

What do you mean by..... "but without Auto EPG/Tuning on Freesat and without any MHEG5 on Freesat that uses video streams."?

rlogue

The big selling point for Freesat boxes is that they are mostly plug and play so provided you have a dish already in place all that is needed is to enter a UK postcode and the box will auto tune itself. The box will also find channel updates and part time channels like CBBC etc. Sky and Real Digital boxes will also auto tune and auto update.

Most combo and FTA boxes don't auto tune or update. This is fine if like many of us you are an enthusiast and know how to scan a box (not difficult) but think about how easy would that be for your Mam to do!

MHEG 5 will decode RTE text on Saorview and Freesat interactive. This is important if you want easy access to the BBC red button streams. You can manually tune in red button streams on any box but MHEG 5 allows your Mam to use it easily.

PeterDuggan

rlogue wrote: »

The big selling point for Freesat boxes is that they are mostly plug and play so provided you have a dish already in place all that is needed is to enter a UK postcode and the box will auto tune itself. The box will also find channel updates and part time channels like CBBC etc. Sky and Real Digital boxes will also auto tune and auto update.

Most combo and FTA boxes don't auto tune or update. This is fine if like many of us you are an enthusiast and know how to scan a box (not difficult) but think about how easy would that be for your Mam to do!

MHEG 5 will decode RTE text on Saorview and Freesat interactive. This is important if you want easy access to the BBC red button streams. You can manually tune in red button streams on any box but MHEG 5 allows your Mam to use it easily.

Thanks. How about a sticky comparing different combo and FTA boxes - or is that available somewhere already?

watty

rlogue wrote: »

MHEG 5 will decode RTE text on Saorview and Freesat interactive. This is important if you want easy access to the BBC red button streams. You can manually tune in red button streams on any box but MHEG 5 allows your Mam to use it easily.

The BBC stuff needs Freesat. MHEG5 on it's own won't work the Interactive Streams. That's been proven. But MHEG5 will be more than text on Saorview/Saorsat.

Unless the RealDigital boxes take a Freesat HD licence/Certification they will not work with BBC Streams. MHEG5 isn't enough, will RealDigital boxes have MHEG5?

Will the RealDigital Boxes be any use for anything than generic FTA if RealDigital goes bust? I wouldn't do their trade in offer.

rlogue

Well you wouldn't trade in since you have a pathological hatred of Real Digital anyway.

rlogue

Following the breadcrumb trail is what I like doing and I note that the Technical Director of Real Digital is one Gero Kuehn who is also a developer of an MHEG 5 engine - so on that basis there's a good chance Real Digital are developing MHEG for their boxes. That's not confirmed information but I would suspect it is the case.

Tony

Could be interesting if they provide a box that does what people want.

rlogue wrote: »

Following the breadcrumb trail is what I like doing and I note that the Technical Director of Real Digital is one Gero Kuehn who is also a developer of an MHEG 5 engine - so on that basis there's a good chance Real Digital are developing MHEG for their boxes. That's not confirmed information but I would suspect it is the case.

watty

rlogue wrote: »

Well you wouldn't trade in since you have a pathological hatred of Real Digital anyway.

That's uncalled for and unfair.

Having costed a PayTV system I'm just trying to look at it rationally.

I would love to see better pay TV competition, and most of all less pay TV.