Saorview or other alternatives?

nheav

Hi all,
1st post on boards!

I've been considering getting saorview for some rooms in my house (I already have UPC on MMDS in 2 rooms, but can't justify paying for bedrooms etc.)

I already have a Saorview approved TV so what I want to do 1st is try get it connected to this to try it out before spending money on a box for other rooms.
My 1st question is - can you use the UPC MMDS signal to get saorview? As in if I took out the cable going to the UPC box and plugged it directly into my tele would I then be able to tune to the Saorview channel?

Also, does anyone who has been using it think that its worth doing? Or would I be better served getting a satellite and getting freeview or some other alternative?

Hope that all makes sense!

Thanks very much

Peter Rhea

nheav wrote: »

My 1st question is - can you use the UPC MMDS signal to get saorview?

No, Saorview is in a different frequency band (UHF) & requires a UHF aerial.

As in if I took out the cable going to the UPC box and plugged it directly into my tele would I then be able to tune to the Saorview channel?

Only if someone had already added a UHF aerial to your setup & combined its output with the MMDS.

Also, does anyone who has been using it think that its worth doing? Or would I be better served getting a satellite and getting freeview or some other alternative?

Depends what channels you want, Irish digital channels are only free on Saorview.

BTW, did you even think to look at http://www.saorview.ie for the answers to such basic questions?

nheav

Thanks for your reply,
To me it looks like there is a 2nd aerial beside the UPC dish, It also appears to be pointing towards where the Irish channels transmit from near me. I thought it might be possible that UPC had this 2nd aerial to pick up the Irish channels, in which case I thought I might be able to use this signal. But obviously judging from your reply this is not something UPC do, so it must have another function.

Yes I have thought of looking at the Saorview website, but I can not find anywhere where it says I can/can't use UPC signal - Why would it say this? Surely it's not something they should be encouraging someone to do? Split the signal that some other company currently transmit into your house???

If you can find it anywhere on their site then I apologise, but I have checked it a number of times.

As regards my 2nd question, I am more asking the opinion of people who have used Saorview, and also who have used the alternatives also. I have never used either - I know what Saorview can give in terms of channels but don't know much about the others.

Peter Rhea

nheav wrote: »

If you can find it anywhere on their site then I apologise, but I have checked it a number of times.

Try the 'What is Saorview' section, clearly states that Saorview is 'received through a standard tv aerial' & is 'owned and managed by RTE'.

The 2nd aerial you refer to is probably correct for Saorview reception, though it may or may not be integrated with the MMDS feed. Worth checking out though.

As regards my 2nd question, I am more asking the opinion of people who have used Saorview, and also who have used the alternatives also. I have never used either - I know what Saorview can give in terms of channels but don't know much about the others.

If we're talking in terms of alternative delivery, the only free alternative to Saorview will be Saorsat, when it officially goes live. This is a satellite service primarily intended for people who have poor or non-existent terrestrial reception.
The UK Freesat service can't really be classified as an alternative to Saorview in this sense as it does not carry the Irish channels.

The Cush

nheav wrote: »

To me it looks like there is a 2nd aerial beside the UPC dish, It also appears to be pointing towards where the Irish channels transmit from near me. I thought it might be possible that UPC had this 2nd aerial to pick up the Irish channels, in which case I thought I might be able to use this signal. But obviously judging from your reply this is not something UPC do, so it must have another function.

Can you post a picture of the aerials? Where does the cable from the 2nd aerial go to?

I assume your UPC is digital with all 4 Irish channels, in the old analogue MMDS days when capacity was limited RTÉ1 & 2 and TG4 were not carried, did they install a UHF aerial on the same mast for these channels? If it is combined a splitter would be required at the TV end.

Not all of the analogue transmitters will carry the Saorview service requiring some to realign their terrestrial aerials to a different transmitter.

nheav wrote: »

Yes I have thought of looking at the Saorview website, but I can not find anywhere where it says I can/can't use UPC signal - Why would it say this? Surely it's not something they should be encouraging someone to do? Split the signal that some other company currently transmit into your house???

If you can find it anywhere on their site then I apologise, but I have checked it a number of times.

RTÉ won't advise on combining an MMDS and terrestrial signal, maybe a competent installer might be your best bet.

nheav wrote: »

As regards my 2nd question, I am more asking the opinion of people who have used Saorview, and also who have used the alternatives also. I have never used either - I know what Saorview can give in terms of channels but don't know much about the others.

Saorview is your best option for the Irish channels without a sub and freesat for the UK terrestrial channels

nheav

The Cush wrote: »

Can you post a picture of the aerials? Where does the cable from the 2nd aerial go to?

I assume your UPC is digital with all 4 Irish channels, in the old analogue MMDS days when capacity was limited RTÉ1 & 2 and TG4 were not carried, did they install a UHF aerial on the same mast for these channels? If it is combined a splitter would be required at the TV end.

Not all of the analogue transmitters will carry the Saorview service requiring some to realign their terrestrial aerials to a different transmitter.

Hi, Sorry so slow getting this back up, only got a chance to take a picture yesterday!

The cable from both the dish and the aerial go to a box which has one cable then going into the house. I presume this box combines the signals.



So does anyone know what the output of this box would be? Or to get a UHF signal (Or is this even a UHF aerial) suitable for Saorview would I need to split the signal from the aerial before it goes into the box?

Hopefully someone has seen this set up before and can help!

Thanks

Peter Rhea

It's a UHF aerial alright.

Does the MMDS receiver have an 'aerial out' or loopthrough that could send the signal on to a second receiver?

The Cush

nheav wrote: »

Hi, Sorry so slow getting this back up, only got a chance to take a picture yesterday!

The cable from both the dish and the aerial go to a box which has one cable then going into the house. I presume this box combines the signals.


So does anyone know what the output of this box would be? Or to get a UHF signal (Or is this even a UHF aerial) suitable for Saorview would I need to split the signal from the aerial before it goes into the box?

To check if you are receiving anything from the UHF aerial and if there is no loop through disconnect the co-ax cable (if it has a co-ax plug) from the MMDS receiver and plug it into the TV and do a scan, if the aerial is combined you should then pick up the UHF terrestrial channels.

If the plug is an f-connector type you could use one of these - http://www.tvtrade.ie/coaxial-male-to-f-connector-adaptor-1s.html

To split the signal one of these might work - http://www.tvtrade.ie/power-pass-2-way-tv-splitters.html