Saorview Connect

chuck eastwood

Allan Itchy Hoagie wrote: »

Which external hard drive are people using with the connect box and how is it working for them.

Soarview reccomend USB 3.0 if if you have one for less chance of skipping or issues recording. Also avoid SSD, not sure why they would be an issues. Maybe the software isn't campatable. I have a 320gb western digital hard drive laying about so I'll see what that a like when I set it up this weekend. Not going to buy a new hd just for the sake of it

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

chuck eastwood wrote:

Soarview reccomend USB 3.0 if if you have one for less chance of skipping or issues recording. Also avoid SSD, not sure why they would be an issues. Maybe the software isn't campatable. I have a 320gb western digital hard drive laying about so I'll see what that a like when I set it up this weekend. Not going to buy a new hd just for the sake of it

Thanks so USB 3.0 and HDD are the criteria, the make shouldn't matter.

The high horse brigade

chuck eastwood wrote: »

Soarview reccomend USB 3.0 if if you have one for less chance of skipping or issues recording. Also avoid SSD, not sure why they would be an issues. Maybe the software isn't campatable. I have a 320gb western digital hard drive laying about so I'll see what that a like when I set it up this weekend. Not going to buy a new hd just for the sake of it

No SSD as they have limited writes and are never used for continuous recordings

Tigerandahalf

Have saorview connect launched remote recording via the app yet?

chuck eastwood

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Have saorview connect launched remote recording via the app yet?

They have but it was crap, eventually became in usable. Wint even open for anyine now so it seems they have either lost interest or funding to get it working

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

The new RTE player is to be launched on the connect box shortly.

AngryLips

Allan Itchy Hoagie wrote: »

The new RTE player is to be launched on the connect box shortly.

Finally. How does that get pushed out? Does an app update require a software update?

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

You will shortly see a new software download version 20.19 this is in preparation for the new player release.

lsjmhar

Allan Itchy Hoagie wrote:

You will shortly see a new software download version 20.19 this is in preparation for the new player release.

Hopefully they will add 7 day epg and series link to UK sat side. They will probably add nowtv and eir sport app also. Really looking forward to this!!!

Capt'n Midnight

lsjmhar wrote: »

Hopefully they will add 7 day epg and series link to UK sat side. They will probably add nowtv and eir sport app also. Really looking forward to this!!!

And TG4 will be in HD, and Saorsat won't block repeats and sports events, and the RTE player won't have issues with ads, and ... and ...



If the BBC and ITV were happy enough to allow the full EPG they could have been selling truck loads of Freesat boxes here for the last 11 years.

I've had Saorsat on a Freesat box, grand for watching, but recording was hit and miss because it swapped in and out of non-Freesat mode.

JDxtra

lsjmhar wrote: »

Hopefully they will add 7 day epg and series link to UK sat side. They will probably add nowtv and eir sport app also. Really looking forward to this!!!

None of those things are ever going to happen.

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

lsjmhar wrote:

Hopefully they will add 7 day epg and series link to UK sat side. They will probably add nowtv and eir sport app also. Really looking forward to this!!!

Any chance of some of the stuff you're on :-)

chuck eastwood

Sure they can't even get the app to work. Not a hope in hell of half of the above being added

Tigerandahalf

The app is useless on android. You can't even download series to watch offline. They're too broke to pay for the rights.

JDxtra

lsjmhar wrote: »

Hopefully they will add 7 day epg and series link to UK sat side. They will probably add nowtv and eir sport app also. Really looking forward to this!!!

This is your reality...

"You will not notice any immediate change in the operation of your Saorview Connect box following this update. The new software version will be titled 20.19."

chuck eastwood

Yup. We are upgrading your software to do absolutely nothing yet. It will be the most exciting nothing we have installed to date and maybe someday nothing eill be something but for now please do enjoy our nothing update.
Saorview is a joke and I've only had it a week

lsjmhar

JDxtra wrote: »

This is your reality...

"You will not notice any immediate change in the operation of your Saorview Connect box following this update. The new software version will be titled 20.19."

Lol!!

Capt'n Midnight

Just in case anyone still expects a fully functional UK EPG.

ITV and BBC are rolling out their US streaming service to the UK

It wouldn't take much to add live streaming and launch it on the Irish market. Just rights issues for third party content.

https://www.britbox.com/home

Tigerandahalf

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Just in case anyone still expects a fully functional UK EPG.

ITV and BBC are rolling out their US streaming service to the UK

It wouldn't take much to add live streaming and launch it on the Irish market. Just rights issues for third party content.

https://www.britbox.com/home

That is a very different offering. It is for old bbc and itv shows. It won't have anything live. The iplayer is due to be allowed to have content on the player for 12 months after first broadcast. So anything on britbox from the bbc will be > 12 months.

Itv seem to be pushing it as it will be 90% owned by them. Possible we will see it added to freesat boxes but it is only being launched in the uk for a start (so geoblocked here).

Netflix is meant to be stalling on growth in the USA and losing subscribers after the recent price increase. With increasing competition streaming players from broadcasters have a chance to catch up.

ChristopherGK

nmb2010 wrote: »

Has anyone had any issues with connect box seeing external drive capacity. Bought a new 4TB usb 3.0 drive. Formatted it when asked.

Just connected a USB 3.0 drive, but am not seeing anything about formatting. Did a message appear when you first connected the drive?

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

ChristopherGK wrote:

Just connected a USB 3.0 drive, but am not seeing anything about formatting. Did a message appear when you first connected the drive?

What version firmware is on the box. You need 0.20.18 I only have a USB stick connected at the moment. I got a message to formatt when I inserted it.

lsjmhar

ChristopherGK wrote: »

Just connected a USB 3.0 drive, but am not seeing anything about formatting. Did a message appear when you first connected the drive?

Turn it off and on and reconnect the hdd.

lanod2407

Does the HDD need to have its own power source or can you use one that gets power from the USB?

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

lanod2407 wrote:

Does the HDD need to have its own power source or can you use one that gets power from the USB?

Power from usb is fine far as I know

ChristopherGK

lsjmhar wrote: »

Turn it off and on and reconnect the hdd.

I'll need some more help. Box powered off. Powered on. Booting. Fully on. Plugged HD in. No message about formatting.

Where did you see formatting message?

Drive is a Seagate 5T with USB3.0 and 12v power adapter.

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

The hdd must be plugged in before you power on the box. The formatting message appears on tv screen.

ChristopherGK

Allan Itchy Hoagie wrote: »

The hdd must be plugged in before you power on the box. The formatting message appears on tv screen.

It took a few reboots, but I finally got the format message and it works. Thanks.

Also got the .20 software upgrade. Now functional.

g6fdyotp5nj2l7

ChristopherGK wrote:

It took a few reboots, but I finally got the format message and it works. Thanks.

Great delighted you're sorted

lsjmhar

My update is going well. At 112% now!!!

Gerry Wicklow

lsjmhar wrote: »

My update is going well. At 112% now!!!

To be sure to be sure

STB.

Whats the changelog on the software update anyway ?


How many OTA software upgrades have been deployed since this box went on the market what 2 years ago ?

lsjmhar

STB. wrote: »

Whats the changelog on the software update anyway ?


How many OTA software upgrades have been deployed since this box went on the market what 2 years ago ?

I think this is the 4th update. The others were alpha and beta recording updates. This one is supposed to support new RTE player

wheres me jumpa

So disappointed with this box but will continue to use in the short term.

Any issues with HDMI cec? I have connected via an AV Receiver and then to the TV. Skybox was previously able to turn tv on but not SV Connect box.

I do not see any settings that may be impacting this.

Any help?

kits2004

I just upgraded my Dads Ariva box to the Powerpoint Saorview Connect box. Set-up was easy and the interface is much improved if quite buggy, my problem is I used to be able to add shows/images to a usb drive for him to view but it looks like this is not supported on this box. I've played around with it a fair bit and tried updating the firmware, etc but no joy whatsoever. Am i missing something or is this just not supported?

kardeen

Hi folks, I have just joined this group and not quite sure how it works. My question is, I am considering changing my Walker Combi set top box to the new Powerpoint Saorview Connect Combi Box as I want something that can reliably record one channel Irish or English channel while I can look at another, is this box good enough to do that?

lsjmhar

kardeen wrote: »

Hi folks, I have just joined this group and not quite sure how it works. My question is, I am considering changing my Walker Combi set top box to the new Powerpoint Saorview Connect Combi Box as I want something that can reliably record one channel Irish or English channel while I can look at another, is this box good enough to do that?

The box can record one channel while watching another. It can only do one channel at a time, however, so you can't record two channels and watch a third. If you want to record UKFTA channels you have to input time,channel,length, as their is no series link on UKFTA. You also need two satellite feeds from your dish to do this and watch a second UK channel. There is series link on Irish saorview channels.

Sellphone

Hi, new to this thread, I am considering getting the Saorview Connect box (Powerpoint Appliance). I dumped Sky a year ago, and still have the satellite dish (it is only about three years old), can I use it to get the UKFTA channels?

chuck eastwood

Sellphone wrote: »

Hi, new to this thread, I am considering getting the Saorview Connect box (Powerpoint Appliance). I dumped Sky a year ago, and still have the satellite dish (it is only about three years old), can I use it to get the UKFTA channels?

Yup. I did exactly that with the PowerPoint box two weeks ago. Well i actually have sky and UKFTA running off the same dish. Saorview running off a small Antenna mounted beside it. All working perfectly

Capt'n Midnight

Sellphone wrote: »

Hi, new to this thread, I am considering getting the Saorview Connect box (Powerpoint Appliance). I dumped Sky a year ago, and still have the satellite dish (it is only about three years old), can I use it to get the UKFTA channels?

Yes.

For the UK channels the EPG is Now and Next only.

The high horse brigade

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Yes.

For the UK channels the EPG is Now and Next only.

Which basically means no setting timers for future recordings on UK channels unless you want to so it manually

Sellphone

Thanks everyone for the useful tips.

Charles Slane

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but the thread is very long now - does the channel list for satellite channels automatically update when channels change transponders etc, or do you need to re-scan for the new frequencies?

I ask because it seems that would be at least an advantage over regular terrestrial/satellite FTA boxes. I'm perfectly happy to keep an eye on transponder changes and re-scan, but I know people for whom that would be an obstacle.

Sam Russell

No it does not automatically update.

Charles Slane

Sam Russell wrote: »

No it does not automatically update.

Thanks Sam!

Yeah, it's hard to see any great benefit to getting Connect at the moment, especially given the reports of the software being glitchy. The curiousty in me still wants to give it a spin though, haha.

Sam Russell

Charles Slane wrote: »

Thanks Sam!

Yeah, it's hard to see any great benefit to getting Connect at the moment, especially given the reports of the software being glitchy. The curiousty in me still wants to give it a spin though, haha.

Basically, it has two receivers (tuners) that each can receive satellite or Saorview. The first is for viewing, the second for recording. They are independent of each other so you can watch or record anything. You get series link on Saorview but not on satellite, just now and next, but you can set timed recordings.

galtee boy

Charles Slane wrote: »

Sam Russell wrote: »

No it does not automatically update.

Thanks Sam!

Yeah, it's hard to see any great benefit to getting Connect at the moment, especially given the reports of the software being glitchy. The curiousty in me still wants to give it a spin though, haha.

Another big disadvantage that the Connect box has, in comparison to a bog standard fta combo box, is that you cant combine the Saorview and satellite channels on one list/epg.

Capt'n Midnight

Charles Slane wrote: »

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but the thread is very long now - does the channel list for satellite channels automatically update when channels change transponders etc, or do you need to re-scan for the new frequencies?

I ask because it seems that would be at least an advantage over regular terrestrial/satellite FTA boxes. I'm perfectly happy to keep an eye on transponder changes and re-scan, but I know people for whom that would be an obstacle.

Genuine FreeSat boxes and SKY boxes update automatically.

A well configured Linux FTA box will too.
And any half decent one will also support a USB TV tuner.

Only generic boxes don't retune automatically. And even then if it's a half way decent brand you could download a channel list instead of manual scanning.

lsjmhar

They could add automatic update to this box. Maybe if it is suggests to keribillen he will be able to add it to a future update!

Tony

They would need permission from Freesat to do this. There is no 7 day guide on Freesat for the same reason.

lsjmhar wrote: »

They could add automatic update to this box. Maybe if it is suggests to keribillen he will be able to add it to a future update!

STB.

lsjmhar wrote: »

They could add automatic update to this box. Maybe if it is suggests to keribillen he will be able to add it to a future update!

They are not going to do this. Its too late and no doubt outside the terms of the original manufacturing agreement.

Auto update already exists for DVB-T. Its called LCN. This is the logical channel number order that exists for the Saorview platform in accordance with Code of Practice for the Placement of Television Services agreed with the BAI.

On Linux boxes, some clever coder developed a plugin many years ago that automates the process of building and updating a bouquet or channel list. It was done by providers and is xml based. It would be simple to copy, but its not going to happen as RTE have no interest in creating a FTA viewing box.

I gather what RTE are currently doing with the connect box is hard coding/maintaining a basic predetermined channel list for satellite that is only updated on software update. Completely different. And in a different access module to the Saorview Channels.

Finally this 7 day epg that people have confused as copyrighted. The Freesat logo and menu system is copyrighted. The epg just like the channels is unencrypted and is not. Free to Air and free use.

There are hundreds of thousands E2 boxes out in the public domain. EPG scraping and grabbing from various providers over the air is built in by default. The OE alliance of developers would have been sued years ago if there were any obvious copyright issues.