Saorview Connect

lsjmhar

STB. wrote:

The reason why the satellite will not tune in Quest HD is because the transponder frequency is not defined in the software which is basically a line in an xml that says

That's what I was saying. The PowerPoint programmers have to add it to the software.

Just wondering if sky/virgin media provide software to edit their boxes?

doney84

STB. wrote: »

The question about whether the channel list is locked down on DVB-T, I doubt it. How are these configured on setup ? Does it ask for a location for Saorview or is it autotune. Its likely that the out of network channels are just appended to the bottom unless the software is asked to ignore any service that doesn't have the RTE NL descriptor. Unlikely.

I played around a little with a Sony TV that had youview. It's a very slick UI and well layed out with great implementation of the catch up services, iPlayer, ITV Hub etc but due to geo blocking they won't work here. What I did notice was that when I scanned in the terrestrial services it completely ignored the Saorview channels and didn't populate them in the youview EPG. I wonder if the Saorview connect box would treat the Freeview channels the same and ignore them?

STB.

lsjmhar wrote: »

That's what I was saying. The PowerPoint programmers have to add it to the software.

Just wondering if sky/virgin media provide software to edit their boxes?

Powerpoint is just a brand name owned by Shomar a distributor in Dublin. I gather the software uses DTVKit and was compiled by Ocean Blue.

Such a simple fix when you have access to the software development kit to add TPs. It should be automated OR at least give people access via USB to update their own channel lists. This box will never be plug and play with new TP's popping up with moves to higher S/R's, meaning you are dependant on those who have access to what is a closed OS.

Sky, Freesat and Virgin etc don't need to give people access as they are maintained either centrally or within the software.

STB.

doney84 wrote: »

I played around a little with a Sony TV that had youview. It's a very slick UI and well layed out with great implementation of the catch up services, iPlayer, ITV Hub etc but due to geo blocking they won't work here. What I did notice was that when I scanned in the terrestrial services it completely ignored the Saorview channels and didn't populate them in the youview EPG. I wonder if the Saorview connect box would treat the Freeview channels the same and ignore them?

I don't have a Saorview connect box to check. You will need someone to test it who lives near the east coast or someone on the border who has an aerial setup that receives both services.

In the absence of a response here ask a local installer how the "connect" box treats them.

https://www.saorview.ie/en/get/retailers

Otherwise buy a enigma2 dvb-t2 box where you don't have the headaches and you can configure it to your own liking in whatever order you wish.

doney84

STB. wrote: »

Otherwise buy a enigma2 dvb-t2 box where you don't have the headaches and you can configure it to your own liking in whatever order you wish.

Can you recommend a decent enigma2 receiver? I did buy a technomate 3t a few years back and although it worked great, 7day EPG on both terrestrial and sat, recording, series link work around, I always felt navigating the menu's & EPG etc were slow and clunky.

greasepalm

I have got a zgemma H7s triple tuner 2 x sat and 1 cable/terrestrial which is a more modern box.

STB.

doney84 wrote: »

Can you recommend a decent enigma2 receiver? I did buy a technomate 3t a few years back and although it worked great, 7day EPG on both terrestrial and sat, recording, series link work around, I always felt navigating the menu's & EPG etc were slow and clunky.

E2 receivers have become faster and more affordable. You can easily buy a triple tuner config with a 1.7 Meg processor which has 1 gig of ram (the important things to watch for as they make the box run smoother).

If you are confined to dvb-t you will need an Enigma2 receiver that has two terrestrial inputs or a twin input so you can record one terrestrial channel whilst watching another on a different frequency. The box I linked below also comes in a 2 x dvb-t2 and 1 dvb-s2 config so you might want to check if WOS have it in stock.

Otherwise if you also have a satellite dish then you can buy a semi decent 2 x dvb-s2 and 1 dvb-t2 combo enigma receiver for about STG 112. Please note that your watch and record on terrestrial will be limited to watching satellite (if recording on dvb-t) if you get this config.

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/satellite-and-terrestrial/digital-receivers/zgemma/zgemma-h7s

If you just want a box to watch TV and record the occasional programme without the need to watch another programme at the same time, then the Octagon SF8008 is highly recommended.

greasepalm

If members have a combo tv wired up for sat and saorview,maybe a combo for recording might do.?

Gerry Wicklow

doney84 wrote: »

I played around a little with a Sony TV ..... What I did notice was that when I scanned in the terrestrial services it completely ignored the Saorview channels and didn't populate them in the youview EPG. I wonder if the Saorview connect box would treat the Freeview channels the same and ignore them?

That's what I found with FreeView boxes. It scanned them but didn't save them.

Hibrasil

STB. wrote: »

If you just want a box to watch TV and record the occasional programme without the need to watch another programme at the same time, then the Octagon SF8008 is highly recommended.

What Enigma Firmware / Image Options do you recommend with the OctgonSTB. T.I.A.

greasepalm

Openvix and Openatv are possibly the main ones.

STB.

Hibrasil wrote: »

What Enigma Firmware / Image Options do you recommend with the OctgonSTB. T.I.A.

OpenATV as they have Netflix working on it via Chrome.

ericzeking

My father got one of these boxes with a view to ditching Eir, seems like it will do for how they watch TV if it's working properly but the thing is the now/next display on the satellite side is inconsistent at best, alot of the time it will just say 'no data available' even though if you select the channel it will work...it means you are surfing channels blind which is irritating af. Is this a common issue, or is there an easy fix? Only thing different from optimal set up is he only has one satellite feed....but I wouldn't have thought this is the reason for this quirk....

greasepalm

Now and then sucks as you need to upscale to a better working box like e2 to know whats on tv.

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

ericzeking wrote:

Only thing different from optimal set up is he only has one satellite feed....but I wouldn't have thought this is the reason for this quirk....

Set one up for a relative had same problem with now and next on satellite side. Was in touch with saorview and was advised second feed is required for epg.
Ran second cable from the dish and all seems to have been good since. At least I haven't had any complaints.

STB.

There is no technical reason why any box should require a second satellite feed to download the epg data.


On the Saorview connect boxes and any non e2 boxes the epg data (Now/Next) is only displayed by going into the channel itself, then it remembers that data for that channel for a limited period. By going into every channel the epg data will be displayed for the course of the now/next programming window.

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

STB. wrote:

There is no technical reason why any box should require a second satellite feed to download the epg data.

I can't dispute that because I wouldn't have a clue about the technical side. All I'm saying is that's what they told me, I did it and it works.

Sam Russell

STB. wrote: »

There is no technical reason why any box should require a second satellite feed to download the epg data.


On the Saorview connect boxes and any non e2 boxes the epg data (Now/Next) is only displayed by going into the channel itself, then it remembers that data for that channel for a limited period. By going into every channel the epg data will be displayed for the course of the now/next programming window.

There could be a technical reason.

The Connect box has two separate tuners that each can tune sat or terrestrial channels, one is for watching, the other is for recording. I am not sure how that would affect Now & Next, but it could have a bearing.

STB.

Sam Russell wrote: »

The Connect box has two separate tuners that each can tune sat or terrestrial channels, one is for watching, the other is for recording. I am not sure how that would affect Now & Next, but it could have a bearing.

Put it this way, if the box was downloading the 7 day epg data on a single tuner box off the openepg or freesat transponder, you'd notice it as it hops to that tune frequency and takes about 30 seconds.

But the connect box doesn't do 7 day epg. It doesn't attempt to read off any centralised IEPG source. It just takes the now next data from the EIT which is broadcast per transponder(TP) for each channel. It only populates the now/next data when you enter the first channel on that TP.

It doesn't require a second tuner to do this. Just one and does it on the fly.

lanod2407

Bought a saorview connect box and I have to admit that, as much as I wanted it to be a good buy, it has received the award for my worst technology purchase of the decade.
It would have been so easy (I'm guessing) to develop a box with a good build quality, an internal hard drive, 7 day epg, and ability to move more easily between Irish and satellite channels. But evidently that was not possible ..... when you start with Powerpoint as your chosen manufacturer you're off to a poor start.

However, I can report a silver lining as we move into a new decade ..... a lightning strike a couple of weeks ago took out the Saorview box, as well as another 2 grand's worth of electronics

Waiting for the insurance company to tell me how much they're going to pay out.

greasepalm

Bloody hell shocking news:eek: Curious if you used protection on your gear?

lanod2407

greasepalm wrote: »

Bloody hell shocking news:eek: Curious if you used protection on your gear?

Had an electrical assessor out and he said that protection wouldn't have worked. Anything connected to the phone line or sky dish got fried - TV, hdmi splitter, playstation, surround sound, routers, etc.
Oh, and I did have an item where my laziness saved me. Bought a beautiful Yamaha amp a while back and when I got to the part where you connect it to the internet I couldn't be arsed reading the manual to see how you work it with internet feed, so I didn't bother plugging it in

Assessor recommended that I put in a surge protector in the fuse board, and also for the electronic devices. That'll be done as they get replaced.

patsryan

STB. wrote: »

There is no technical reason why any box should require a second satellite feed to download the epg data.


On the Saorview connect boxes and any non e2 boxes the epg data (Now/Next) is only displayed by going into the channel itself, then it remembers that data for that channel for a limited period. By going into every channel the epg data will be displayed for the course of the now/next programming window.

The box polls all tuned in sat frequencies every 15 mins and stores the now next data so that the guide is populated. It uses the second feed to do this so that you can watch a channel while this refresh is going on

bfa1509

I was just about to buy the powerpoint box but thank god I checked trusty boards before pulling the trigger.

My old saorview box threw in the towel. I only have an aerial connection and the next box must be elderly friendly (in use, not especially for set up)

I would also like it to have the following (I don't really care about other things like series-link, 7 day epg, on demand etc):

-Can record one channel while viewing another (and preferably the recordings can be transferred to and viewed on a PC)
-A swift user-friendly interface
-A nice clear picture (4k would be a nice future proof feature)
-I have a budget of €150

From reading through some of the pages and other threads, the Tiviar seems to be a popular choice and also Zgemma.

I'm tending towards a Zgemma as it has the linux-based Enigma2 interface and I can buy it under the protection of Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZGEMMA-DVB-S2X-Satellite-Receiver-Support/dp/B07YFFPKBN/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=zgemma&qid=1578439734&sr=8-14

Would this box be overkill? I'm not sure if it is satellite only. Any help would be very much appreciated!!

greasepalm

2 sat tuners and cable/saorview tuner + you will need an internal hdd for recording.Just got one but not set it up yet

WOS have theirs priced at 111.99 sterling.

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/air-digital-zgemma

bfa1509

greasepalm wrote: »

2 sat tuners and cable/saorview tuner + you will need an internal hdd for recording.Just got one but not set it up yet

WOS have theirs priced at 111.99 sterling.

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/air-digital-zgemma

Great! Let us know how you get on. It looks like a very nice box.

greasepalm

At the moment i have no spare cables for tuners as saorview is on my et8000.
zgemma may be used for internet viewing.

ericzeking

greasepalm wrote: »

2 sat tuners and cable/saorview tuner + you will need an internal hdd for recording.Just got one but not set it up yet

WOS have theirs priced at 111.99 sterling.

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/air-digital-zgemma

What options did you select?

Gerry Wicklow

Make sure the Zgemma is the H7S model, there is another with a similar number that is not suitable. Enigma boxes allow you to stream both live and recordings to other devices on your home network. FTA recordings can also be copied to other devices for remote viewing or archiving as they are not encrypted. (unlike some Freesat boxes)

bfa1509

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Make sure the Zgemma is the H7S model, there is another with a similar number that is not suitable. Enigma boxes allow you to stream both live and recordings to other devices on your home network. FTA recordings can also be copied to other devices for remote viewing or archiving as they are not encrypted. (unlike some Freesat boxes)

Good to know, thanks!

I'm a bit puzzled with the selection of the Zgemma boxes. It looks like the more features the box has, the cheaper it gets. For example the H7S (£130) box is more expensive than the newer H9S variant (£69), even though the H9S has WIFI. I need to look a bit closer at the specs, there may be differences I can't see.

H7S:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZGEMMA-DVB-S2X-Satellite-Receiver-Support/dp/B07YFFPKBN/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=zgemma+h7s&qid=1578494622&sr=8-3

H9S:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genuine-ZGEMMA-Multistream-Satellite-Receiver-Black/dp/B07L9KSHM5/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=zgemma+h7s&qid=1578494622&sr=8-4


Edit: Correction - I see the H9S is an older variant.