Saorview Connect

liam7831

AngryLips wrote: »

I think it depends on what expectations you bring. It's a massive step up over regular terrestrial TV with many of the features of cable TV, but if you're expecting it to match cable TV then you will find it lacking in some areas. For me, it has been really worth it. Only added recording today and it's worked out really well. I feel like it's the complete package now, it's still missing live rewind but, for a free product, I can live with that.

Great tks, I know it won't be as good as Sky but it's the old folks I'm getting it for and they have no interest in getting sky.

The Cush

liam7831 wrote: »

I know it won't be as good as Sky but it's the old folks I'm getting it for and they have no interest in getting sky.

Would a combi Saorview/satellite TV, with all channels in a single list, be a better option for your parents?

Even this box comes in cheaper than the Connect box - https://powercity.ie/product/WPS818C

liam7831

The Cush wrote: »

Would a combi Saorview/satellite TV, with all channels in a single list, be a better option for your parents?

Even this box comes in cheaper than the Connect box - https://powercity.ie/product/WPS818C

That's interesting thanks cush, not interested in recording so don't need to worry bout hard drive,, Why is this cheaper than the official saorview box ?

The Cush

liam7831 wrote: »

That's interesting thanks cush, not interested in recording so don't need to worry bout hard drive,, Why is this cheaper than the official saorview box ?

The Saorview Connect box has a lot of bells and whistles your parents won't require. You're paying for the development of that box. Also the Connect box doesn't have all channels in a single list, it requires switching between the satellite and Saorview tuners.

The combi box and TVs I mention above are Vestel based and very user friendly for people who only want to watch TV from satellite and Saorview.

There is a thread here on the combi box here - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057898524.

The combi TVs come from Walker and Toshiba and are stocked by Powercity amongst others, I have one of each one of each and would find it difficult to go back to another type of TV, examples below, I would recommend the Toshiba over the Walker

https://powercity.ie/groups/10/11/589
https://powercity.ie/groups/10/12/15110,603
https://powercity.ie/groups/10/12/10801,603
https://powercity.ie/groups/10/13/15104,627
https://powercity.ie/groups/10/13/10822,627

johnnylancer

Has anyone noticed that the current TV advertising campaign for Saorview Connect does not mention the FTA capabilities of this piece of equipment
Very strange

pegasuspub

can i ask any users of the saorview connect box how recordings are working out?
is the guide and series link working ok when used with a hdd for saorview channels only?
thanks

iirishsham40

Sam Russell wrote: »

http://www.satworld.ie/lnbs-and-lnb-holders/page-3/

Inverto Pro Quad Terrestrial LNB - cost is €25. They work well.

You put the aerial pointing at the transmitter, run the cable to the LNB, and then all four sat cables carry the UHF signal. The aerial cable can be quite long. Height helps the aerial, put it at eave level or higher, height is not necessary for the dish, and having it low down makes it easier to install, but you have it installed already.

At the TV, you use one of these. You could use these at the sat dish as well, but it would need to be weather proof. You could put these behind the TV and use a short pair of cables to connect to the TV. It gives a neat solution.

[I have no link to the seller]

Can someone check my "homework" please, I'm not sure I have this right.

I want to replace my Sky box with a Saorview Connect box.

I need to buy an aerial, such as the one kindly detailed in the above post, to get the Irish channels into a Saorview Connect box.

I need to keep my Sky dish to get the Free to Air (FTA) channels from the UK, into the same Saorview box.

I can plug the aerial output cable into a new LNB, again kindly detailed detailed above, and run the cables from the LNB to the Saorview box in my house.

I will be able to use the one interface on the TV, the Soarview system, to switch between Irish and UK channels.

Have I got this right?

Thanks.

Sam Russell

iirishsham40 wrote: »

Can someone check my "homework" please, I'm not sure I have this right.

I want to replace my Sky box with a Saorview Connect box.

I need to buy an aerial, such as the one kindly detailed in the above post, to get the Irish channels into a Saorview Connect box.

I need to keep my Sky dish to get the Free to Air (FTA) channels from the UK, into the same Saorview box.

I can plug the aerial output cable into a new LNB, again kindly detailed detailed above, and run the cables from the LNB to the Saorview box in my house.

I will be able to use the one interface on the TV, the Soarview system, to switch between Irish and UK channels.

Have I got this right?

Thanks.

Depends on where you are.

If you have a Sky dish, you just connect the Sky 'F' connector to the Connect box. If you have Sky +, then connect both the Sky 'F' connectors.

If you have a good Saorview signal, a cheap aerial will do, and diplexed onto one of the cables at the sat dish.

Apart from the Connect box, you need one diplexer at the sat dish and one at the TV.

The info I posted assumed you had no dish.

Capt'n Midnight

iirishsham40 wrote: »

I need to keep my Sky dish to get the Free to Air (FTA) channels from the UK, into the same Saorview box.

Only with the older Sky system. Not with Sky Q unless you change the LNB or got the special legacy one installed.



Saorview connect would be better for catch up and series link on Irish channels.

If you are OK with just now/next on the UK channels and having to manually enter every single recording on UK channels then Saorview Connect is grand.

If you want full UK EPG and Series Link on the UK channels get you a genuine FreeSat box for the satellite or a decent Linux FTA receiver for the satellite and aerial.

iirishsham40

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Only with the older Sky system. Not with Sky Q unless you change the LNB or got the special legacy one installed.



Saorview connect would be better for catch up and series link on Irish channels.

If you are OK with just now/next on the UK channels and having to manually enter every single recording on UK channels then Saorview Connect is grand.

If you want full UK EPG and Series Link on the UK channels get you a genuine FreeSat box for the satellite or a decent Linux FTA receiver for the satellite and aerial.

I have a Sky HD box and dish.

I'm happy enough with the basic package, so I think I'll go for the Saorview Connect Box.

tod1982

quick question - when i connected the aerial to the saorview connect box i am only getting some of the Irish channels. Others such as Virgin Media 1 and Rte1 are missing.
I connected the aerial directly to the tv to test it out and I was receiving the channels that were missing on the box on the tv but not getting the channels that were on the box on the tv. would anyone know why this is?

also when i scanned the satellite channels i got many duplicates e.g channel 4 and BBC1 about 4 times each. how do I get rid of the duplicates?

Thanks

xl500

Regarding Recording on Saorview Connect on the Saorview channels Series Link works so no problem recording all episodes in a show

On Sat Channels only have now and next as expected but is it possible to set a timed recording for say a show on BBC1 at 8.30 next Week I cant seem to find where to set timed recording

Thanks

lsjmhar

Go to recording section when in satellite mode. In recordings section go to planned option. When in planned section, click right (There should be an arrow to the right of the screen) and that should open up the option to set recording of UKFTA channels.

xl500

lsjmhar wrote: »

Go to recording section when in satellite mode. In recordings section go to planned option. When in planned section, click right (There should be an arrow to the right of the screen) and that should open up the option to set recording of UKFTA channels.

Great Worked perfect Thx

lsjmhar

xl500 wrote:

Great Worked perfect Thx

Do a test first. I found my recordings missed by one hour when the clocks changed over. Do a test to make sure times are aligned correctly. Otherwise you could end up watching miss marble when you wanted March of the day. Lol!!

lsjmhar

Is anyone having issues with recordings on the box. All my recordings tend to stutter along. If I stop and resume again it works ago for a few seconds then stutters and stalls again. I am using a 500gb Seagate drive bought in argos. I realise it is a spinning disc in hdd so it seems to be missing spins or something. Not sure if it is demands from hd channels.

The Cush

lsjmhar wrote: »

Is anyone having issues with recordings on the box. All my recordings tend to stutter along. If I stop and resume again it works ago for a few seconds then stutters and stalls again. I am using a 500gb Seagate drive bought in argos. I realise it is a spinning disc in hdd so it seems to be missing spins or something. Not sure if it is demands from hd channels.

I wonder if this could be an issue, an AV dedicated HDD is recommended, - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=109536715

lsjmhar

What type of hdd is that? Surely any hdd should work at this stage of their development.

Sam Russell

Well no.

A HDD designed to be used in a desktop will be spinning all the time, while in a AV situation like in a STB, it only spins when required. You need one specified for that use.

lsjmhar

The issue is hd channels. I recorded Ireland cricket series and they kept stalling. The same with MOTD on BBC1. Just watching the EFL highlights I recorded from Quest and no stuttering. This is an sd channel. The box cannot handle hd Channel playback. This is an issue. Is nobody else having this issue.

Johnboy1951

lsjmhar wrote: »

The issue is hd channels. I recorded Ireland cricket series and they kept stalling. The same with MOTD on BBC1. Just watching the EFL highlights I recorded from Quest and no stuttering. This is an sd channel. The box cannot handle hd Channel playback. This is an issue. Is nobody else having this issue.

Do you also have Quest HD?

If so, do a direct comparison of Quest HD and Quest SD which should provide a more definitive answer.

tsue921i8wljb3

lsjmhar wrote: »

The issue is hd channels. I recorded Ireland cricket series and they kept stalling. The same with MOTD on BBC1. Just watching the EFL highlights I recorded from Quest and no stuttering. This is an sd channel. The box cannot handle hd Channel playback. This is an issue. Is nobody else having this issue.

It's likely their crappy software or some usb limitation due to crap hardware. A sub 10Mb stream should be no issue to a modern hard drive. Why do people persist in paying to beta test this disaster?

Capt'n Midnight

Sam Russell wrote: »

Well no.

A HDD designed to be used in a desktop will be spinning all the time, while in a AV situation like in a STB, it only spins when required. You need one specified for that use.

It's the opposite in real PVR's.

They support stuff like time shift by default instead of just pause on demand. HDD is on all the time, HDD is writing all the time.

If you are in time shift, like when you bypass ads, HDD is both writing and reading at the same time. My FreeSat box has a 500GB drive and I don't plan to upgrade it because it's a proper AV drive. Stuff gets archived to the FTA box if need be.

My FTA box doesn't have a proper AV drive so I haven't enabled time shift by default. I can still hit pause manually though.

tsue921i8wljb3

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

It's the opposite in real PVR's.

They support stuff like time shift by default instead of just pause on demand. HDD is on all the time, HDD is writing all the time.

If you are in time shift, like when you bypass ads, HDD is both writing and reading at the same time. My FreeSat box has a 500GB drive and I don't plan to upgrade it because it's a proper AV drive. Stuff gets archived to the FTA box if need be.

My FTA box doesn't have a proper AV drive so I haven't enabled time shift by default. I can still hit pause manually though.

I've a seven year old 5400rpm 2.5in laptop drive in a Tiviar Alpha. Timeshift is constantly on and it records without issue. If the drive is mechanically sound and doesn't have bad sectors there should be no issue with any modern HDD.

liam7831

Have they changed the actual box since launch a few yrs ago or do you just keep getting updates ? Seen one in a shop but has a sticker on it saying "coming in 2018 recording etc" so must be in stock since 2017

byte

liam7831 wrote: »

Have they changed the actual box since launch a few yrs ago or do you just keep getting updates ? Seen one in a shop but has a sticker on it saying "coming in 2018 recording etc" so must be in stock since 2017

Nope, same box with some software updates

xl500

lsjmhar wrote: »

Is anyone having issues with recordings on the box. All my recordings tend to stutter along. If I stop and resume again it works ago for a few seconds then stutters and stalls again. I am using a 500gb Seagate drive bought in argos. I realise it is a spinning disc in hdd so it seems to be missing spins or something. Not sure if it is demands from hd channels.

I have a WD External Drive connected and have recorded HD Channels No problem with Playback works great

lsjmhar

xl500 wrote:

I have a WD External Drive connected and have recorded HD Channels No problem with Playback works great

It may be the drive. Seagate is probably not good enough.

Hoagy

lsjmhar wrote: »

It may be the drive. Seagate is probably not good enough.

I doubt that, Seagate are a premium brand.

It could be that the USB power on the box is marginal and your particular drive is taking a little too much current.

When combo boxes came out first the advice then was always to use a self powered hard drive. Modern boxes don't seem to need them any more.

I would try recording HD onto a memory stick and if that works then a powered USB hub might sort it.

STB.

lsjmhar wrote: »

It may be the drive. Seagate is probably not good enough.

I doubt its a brand problem. Judder and dropped frames is more likely because:

• The read/write speed speed is too low on the HDD,
• or the read/write speed is borderline trying to do too much (say for example if timeshift is turned on at the same time as playback)
• or a fussy os requiring specific formatting (e.g. exFAT)
• or the inability to process large files over a certain size (HD channels) due to available mem
• or indeed the the firmware controlling same.