Can you have both a Saorview and Freeview box in one TV?

littlerose2

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I'm hoping to buy a new TV next week. Do the Saorview approved TV's come with the Saorview installed already, or do I have to buy a receiver? Also, can you connect both a Saorview and a Freeview (UK) receiver into the one TV? I can't afford Sky or UPC but want to still have UK channels.

Thanks a million for any help/ advice, much appreciated!!

secman

The latest tv's have saorview installed, but you specifically have to get one that does. My tv doesn't , so I have a saorview box and a freesat dish connected to my TV, on the Saoirview I have RTE 1, RTE 2 (which is HD) ,TV 3, TG4, RTE news & radio stations. On the dish I have all the BBC's and ITV's, C4's and too many to mention, a lot of crap comes too !

No subscription... happy days.

Secman

Peter Rhea

littlerose2 wrote: »

Also, can you connect both a Saorview and a Freeview (UK) receiver into the one TV?

Freeview (capital F) is the UK terrestrial service, only available in areas near the border or east coast.

Freesat is (obviously) the satellite equivalent & boxes/tvs branded as such are more user-friendly than generic 'free to air' equipment.

If you can't receive UK terrestrial signals, a Saorview certified tv + Freesat box would be one solution. Tvs with integrated sat. tuners usually have UK spec Freeview HD on the terrestrial side & aren't fully compatible with Saorview.

Marcusm

littlerose2 wrote: »

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I'm hoping to buy a new TV next week. Do the Saorview approved TV's come with the Saorview installed already, or do I have to buy a receiver? Also, can you connect both a Saorview and a Freeview (UK) receiver into the one TV? I can't afford Sky or UPC but want to still have UK channels.

Thanks a million for any help/ advice, much appreciated!!

Freeview is UK TERRESTRIAL. Do you currently receive UK channels through an aerial? Which ones and what quality? Where do you live?

pistolpetes11

littlerose2 wrote: »

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I'm hoping to buy a new TV next week. Do the Saorview approved TV's come with the Saorview installed already, or do I have to buy a receiver? Also, can you connect both a Saorview and a Freeview (UK) receiver into the one TV? I can't afford Sky or UPC but want to still have UK channels.

Thanks a million for any help/ advice, much appreciated!!

To answer your first question :

Most TV's for sale now should be saroview approved , make sure to check the following link:
http://www.saorview.ie/products-retailers/saorview-approved-product-listings/
That way when you go in store you will know if your been sold a TV with a "digital tuner" or an actual saroview approved set.

Most stores that state a "digital tuner" without the saroview approved wording or logo are more than likely selling a UK model IMO.

On you second question :

Yes you can but its more than likely you wont need too,

When you plug your aerial into the TV tuner this will give you your saroview stations (This is presuming you have an aerial set up,)

Your satellite stations will then come in on the receiver which will be plugged into one of the inputs of the TV (HDMI, Scart,Video)

The only issue with this setup is that that Irish stations will be on the TV tuner and the UK free to air stations will be on the Input , this means you will have to change inputs with your remote control from TV to HDMI or Scart or Video to watch the satellite stations.

Another option would be to get a combo receiver which would give you all the saroview and UK free to air stations on the one box rather than have to switch inputs all the time which can be pretty annoying.

Something like this would do the Job for you:

http://www.tvtrade.ie/triax-st-hd-537-satellite-combo-box.html

Its a combo box from triax which will give you the HD free to air as well as the SD stations and saroview stations , the box had a couple of software issues at the beging but its a pretty good box now and has MPEG5, which when launched will give you interactive services and also digital Aertel.

Also if your going down this road , it does not matter if you are buying an english non saroview approved TV set as the box will be looking after all the stations for you.

For your Sarovew setup you will more than likely need an aerial outside your home (location dependent) and for the Free to Air you will need a satellite dish outside your home

If you need help getting everything set up i would suggest contacting the ISAA which could recommend an installer in your area which would be able to get you up and running in no time .

http://www.isaa.tv/index.html

Vince Cable

littlerose2 wrote: »

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I'm hoping to buy a new TV next week. . .

If you only have Irish terrestrial reception, buy Saorview certified. If you have UK coverage, Freeview HD (I stress the HD part) is a good idea & will also display the Saorview channels, although there may be detail incompatibilities.

The major deficiency in the market atm is recorders; there are no integrated HDD twin tuner PVRs with Saorview certification, let alone Saorview + Freesat or even no-name sat. only the combo boxes mentioned above, some of which are not certified, all need external storage & do not offer full recording flexibility.

pistolpetes11

Just on combo box's , I don't think there is any saroview certified combo box's on the market at the moment .

STB

Nope and its likely there wont be any CERTIFIED combos.

On that Triax 537 - I wouldnt recommend it to my worst enemy. There are plenty of cheaper combos that will work perfectly. See the terrestrial forum.

MHEG5

Digifriendly

Vince Cable wrote: »

If you only have Irish terrestrial reception, buy Saorview certified. If you have UK coverage, Freeview HD (I stress the HD part) is a good idea & will also display the Saorview channels, although there may be detail incompatibilities.

The major deficiency in the market atm is recorders; there are no integrated HDD twin tuner PVRs with Saorview certification, let alone Saorview + Freesat or even no-name sat. only the combo boxes mentioned above, some of which are not certified, all need external storage & do not offer full recording flexibility.

Glad you've confirmed what I already thought was the case. There is a Sony HDD Freeview HD Twin Tuner PVR for sale here in NI via Sony shops but I e- mailed Sony and they replied to inform me it was not Saorview compatible. This is a pity as I wanted both Freeview/Saorview on one EPG with ablity to record both with one machine but so far I haven't come across this although there are Sony TVs that will receive both on one EPG.

pistolpetes11

STB wrote: »

Nope and its likely there wont be any CERTIFIED combos.

On that Triax 537 - I wouldnt recommend it to my worst enemy. There are plenty of cheaper combos that will work perfectly. See the terrestrial forum.

MHEG5

I've one in the house and two in the parents never get any hassle with them

tolosenc

Have Saorview operational in mine, and can get analog BBC NI (1 & 2), UTV and Channel 4, but no Freeview. On the assumption that once Freeview begins rolling out in the North I'll be able to pick it up, will my TV (which is Saorview approved) be able to pick up the whole shebang of UK Freeview?

Peter Rhea

tolosenc wrote: »

On the assumption that once Freeview begins rolling out in the North I'll be able to pick it up . . .

Freeview (named as such) 'rolled out' in the north best part of 10 years ago . . .

Souriau

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Freeview (named as such) 'rolled out' in the north best part of 10 years ago . . .

Yes, only three transmitters got Freeview, Divis, Brougher Mountain and Limivady, all others transmitters will be converted and up and running by the end of next year

MACHEAD

When the relays up here (in the north) are converted to digital (Dec 2012) they will for the most part only carry 'Freeview light'. So the 'whole shebang' won't be available from these locations. Not sure if any of the HD channels wil be carried on these either as there is limited spectrum available. It's most unlikely that the RTÉ 'minimux' will be on any of the relays.

Souriau

MACHEAD wrote: »

When the relays up here (in the north) are converted to digital (Dec 2012) they will for the most part only carry 'Freeview light'. So the 'whole shebang' won't be available from these locations. Not sure if any of the HD channels wil be carried on these either as there is limited spectrum available. It's most unlikely that the RTÉ 'minimux' will be on any of the relays.

Yes the HD mux is also available on Freeview lite,
3 Muxs for sure
Mux 1 = BBC
Mux 2 = UTV, C4, C5
Mux HD = 4 HD channels, I think...

Peter Rhea

MACHEAD wrote: »

When the relays up here (in the north) are converted to digital (Dec 2012) they will for the most part only carry 'Freeview light'. So the 'whole shebang' won't be available from these locations.

This is the current version of the switchover plan.

No mention as yet of the RTE 'mini mux'.

lawhec

tolosenc wrote: »

Have Saorview operational in mine, and can get analog BBC NI (1 & 2), UTV and Channel 4, but no Freeview. On the assumption that once Freeview begins rolling out in the North I'll be able to pick it up, will my TV (which is Saorview approved) be able to pick up the whole shebang of UK Freeview?

You would need to ensure you are getting a signal actually from the north rather than from a deflector, and if it is from the north, by doing the Teletext test that you can do on page 284.

Souriau

tolosenc wrote: »

Have Saorview operational in mine, and can get analog BBC NI (1 & 2), UTV and Channel 4, but no Freeview. On the assumption that once Freeview begins rolling out in the North I'll be able to pick it up, will my TV (which is Saorview approved) be able to pick up the whole shebang of UK Freeview?

If you are getting your BBC1, BBC2, UTV and C4 from North then when time come you will get only 2 Muxs, BBC A and Digital 3&4 as the BBC B is T2 system and in HD, Saorvew is T1 system.

The Cush

MACHEAD wrote: »

It's most unlikely that the RTÉ 'minimux' will be on any of the relays.

The transmitters expected to carry the RTÉ mini-mux are Brougher Mountain, Black Mountain and Carnmoney Hill.

Mr. Rabbit

Souriau wrote: »

Yes the HD mux is also available on Freeview lite,
3 Muxs for sure
Mux 1 = BBC
Mux 2 = UTV, C4, C5
Mux HD = 4 HD channels, I think...

Indeed, getting all four Freeview HD channels from Cambrett Hill in southwest Scotland at the momet. Cabrett Hill is Freeview Lite.

Carnmoney Hill will also carry the forthcoming mini RTE mux, even though it will be Freeview Lite.

Mr. Rabbit

MACHEAD wrote: »

When the relays up here (in the north) are converted to digital (Dec 2012) they will for the most part only carry 'Freeview light'. So the 'whole shebang' won't be available from these locations. Not sure if any of the HD channels wil be carried on these either as there is limited spectrum available. It's most unlikely that the RTÉ 'minimux' will be on any of the relays.

The RTE mini mux will be carried on both the Carmoney Hill and Black Mountain relays, as far as I'm aware.

There will also be a substantial power increase on all the main transmitters currently carrying Freeview.

I would imagine Saorview Channels will appear in the 800's on either a Freeview HD STB or TV (|Saorview compatable) , unless you instruct it to do otherwise

Mr. Rabbit

The Cush wrote: »

The transmitters expected to carry the RTÉ mini-mux are Brougher Mountain, Black Mountain and Carnmoney Hill.

What ? No Divis Cush ? Or will the Black Mountain transmitter be at a substantially higher power than the current low powered relay at the site ?

I was led to believe that the old mast at Divis would house the new RTE mini mux transmitter.

The Cush

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

What ? No Divis Cush ? Or will the Black Mountain transmitter be at a substantially higher power than the current low powered relay at the site ?

I was led to believe that the old mast at Divis would house the new RTE mini mux transmitter.

Back in mid Dec before the UK Government announcement on the mini-mux Sam the Aerialman got some answers to questions regarding the RTÉ/TG4 plan to broadcast in Northern Ireland. DigitalUK indicated that Divis was part of initial plan but according to the latest official information Divis is not included.

Mr. Rabbit

The Cush wrote: »

Back in mid Dec before the UK Government announcement on the mini-mux Sam the Aerialman got some answers to questions regarding the RTÉ/TG4 plan to broadcast in Northern Ireland. DigitalUK indicated that Divis was part of initial plan but according to the latest official information Divis is not included.

I would assume either

(1) This is an oversight by digital UK

(2) The Black Mountain transmitter will be at a higher power and cover the greater Belfast area rather than the current relay which is only 25 watts (analogue) and 5 watts (at DSO) and barely covers west Belfast ?

Or am I assuming too much ?

Mexecutioner

Isn't there a 50kW transmitter at Black Mountain for Channel 5 analogue?

Souriau

Mexecutioner wrote: »

Isn't there a 50kW transmitter at Black Mountain for Channel 5 analogue?

Yes, Channel 5 is having 50kw power output while the other 4 channels, BBC1, BBC2, UTV & Ch.4, are having just 25w

ellejay

STB wrote: »

Nope and its likely there wont be any CERTIFIED combos.

On that Triax 537 - I wouldnt recommend it to my worst enemy. There are plenty of cheaper combos that will work perfectly. See the terrestrial forum.

MHEG5

Hi STB
Could you recomend or pm an alternative please?
I see they're €134, if you could recomend a cheaper alternative that's be great.
Tks,
Lj.

littlerose2

Apologies for a verrrrry long delay in response, lost my log-in details :P

Managed to get a Saorview TV and a Freesat box, so I have all the channels I need without monthly bills.

I live in a border area so on the aerial we received BBC1, BBC2, UTV and Channel 4, but reception was getting worse and worse. Plus, the digital switchover in the UK too means we wouldn't have them for much longer.

I would recommend Freesat, has perfect signals and all the English channels, including ITV2, 3 and 4, More4, E4 etc. Some weird ones too though...

Thanks for all the replies

teednab-el

STB wrote: »

Nope and its likely there wont be any CERTIFIED combos.

On that Triax 537 - I wouldnt recommend it to my worst enemy. There are plenty of cheaper combos that will work perfectly. See the terrestrial forum.

MHEG5

Your correct, the biggest waste of money I ever spent on a piece of equipment. Would gladly sell it for free.

Ronnie Raygun

littlerose2 wrote: »

I live in a border area so on the aerial we received BBC1, BBC2, UTV and Channel 4, but reception was getting worse and worse. Plus, the digital switchover in the UK too means we wouldn't have them for much longer.

You would more than likely be able to receive their digital replacements, but if you're near the east coast, satellite is a better option if you don't want to be plagued by weather-related interference.

twinklerunner

teednab-el wrote: »

Would gladly sell it for free.

Oxymoron