Satellite and Saorview Installer Recommendation

Blandpebbles

Hi,
Can any one recommend a good installer? Planning on ditching Sky.

Thanks

Taltos

There are quite a few options out there.
Personally I used the satellite.ie crew as did a friend of mine.

However if you are ditching Sky you might not need an installer.
The Sky dish should let yet get the free view channels from the UK using the sky box, and the dish can be plugged into a new box or directly to your TV if it's compatible.
For the Irish channels you need an aerial and a saorview or combi box to take in the signal from both.

Before anyone comes out figure out if you want multi-room etc. As above there are loads of other suppliers around and there might even be some local ones too that I don't know about. FYI while I have a combi box, I now have all cables just going into my TV which has a freeview tuner, and I don't miss RTE at all, haven't watched it in over a year now, and when I need to I just use the RTE player on the TV...

Blandpebbles

Thanks Taltos.

Yes I know I don't need to do anything with the dish for freesat and also have TVs with built in freesat and Saorview.

Looking for someone who can do cabling for some additional rooms and put up a Saorview aerial.

Although I agree on RTE, very rarely look at it, so might just be a cabling job.

2011

I used Ian McDonnald from Mastec (087) 257 9222

He wasn't cheap but speaking as an electrical engineer, the standard of his workmanship and the quality of components he used was exceptional. I have a high quality satellite dish and Saorview aerial on the roof connected to a powerful multiswitch in the attic. It is possible to supply as many TVs as from the multiswitch as it is sized for. No more Sky subscription for me!

Available Free to air Channels in Ireland on Saorview and Freesat
Entertainment:

RTE 1 HD, RTE 2 HD,TV3,3E,TG4, UTV Ulster, UTV Ireland, TV5MONDE (French with English subtitles)

BBC 1 HD, BBC 2 HD, BBC 4 HD, BBC NI HD, ITV HD, Channel 4, Channel 5,

BBC Alba, ITVBe, ITV+1, ITV2, ITV2+1, ITV3, ITV3+1, ITV4, ITV4+1,S4C Digidol
Channel 4 + 1, E4, E4 + 1, More4, More4 + 1, Channel 4 HD, Channel 5HD ,Channel 5 +1
5 USA, 5 USA +1, 5*, 5* +1, CBS Drama, CBS Reality, CBS Reality+1, CBS Action
Horror Channel, Horror Channel+1, BET, BET+1, True Entertainment, More Movies
Pick TV, Challenge TV, Viva, Spike Tv, Showbiz channel. PBS America


News & Sport

RTE News Now, BBC News HD, BBC Parliament, Sky News, Al Jazeera Eng, Euronews, France 24, Russia Today HD,CNN, Bloomberg Television, NHK World HD,CNBC, CCTV News

Movies

Film4, Film4 + 1, True Movies 1,True Movies 2, Movies4Men, Movies4Men +1

Lifestyle

Information TV, Food Network, Food Network+1, Travel Channel


Music

AKA, Chart Show TV, The Vault, B4U Music, BuzMuzik, Bliss, Zing, Clubland TV
Planet Pop, Vintage TV, Heart TV, Capital TV, Kiss, The Box, Heat, Smash Hits, Magic,

Children

CBBC Channel, CBeebies, CITV, POP, POP Girl, Tiny Pop, Kix

Special Interest

Psychic TV SAB TV, Inspiration TV, Daystar TV, Revelation, God Channel, TBN Europe


Radio

RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ Radio 2 FM, RTÉ Lyric FM, Raidió na Gaeltachta
BBC Radio 1, BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 FM
BBC Radio Five Live, BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra
BBC Radio 4 LW, BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC 6 Music
BBC Asian Network, BBC World Service, BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio na Gaidheal, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru
BBC Radio Ulster, BBC London 94.9 , Capital FM, Choice FM
Classic fm, Gold, XFM, Absolute Radio, Absolute 80's, WRN Radio
Jazz FM, Planet Rock, talk SPORT, Smooth Radio, Heart, Insight Radio
BFBS Radio, TWR Radio,

beepbeeprichie

Ditching sky is the best thing ever. Especially if you are already a sky customer and have the dish up there. It's so easy I think if more people were aware of it there would loads more people leaving sky.

ellejay

Interesting thread, I'd love to ditch cable but watch a lot of the sports channels.

I got a flyer in the door offering a tv service that runs off the internet.
They're offering install and 1 year's service for 179 and then 80 a year after that.
The flyer says you need a sky dish though, which we don't have as we're with UPC.

Strongly thinking of it.

If anyone has tried this can you let me know how you get on.

I have the lidl dish and box on the tv in the kitchen and it's great.
We set it up ourselves.

Only downside is that I can't record.
Although I'm sure technology has moved on and I could get a box that records now.

Taltos

elle - depending on your TV all you might need to record is a USB stick or an external HDD. Would recommend against live recording but we use a 16Gig USB stick to pause TV and then continue as needed. Works really nicely. But as above depends on the TV or the receiver. In my case my TV is the receiver, but I used the same technology with the combo box we used to use too.

2011

Plenty of freesat boxes can record.
Example:

http://www.satellite.ie/acatalog/Humax-HDR-1000S-freesat--recorder-with-free-time-500-GB-Humax500.html

Sasso

You simply won't get better than Radek from tvsolutions.ie AND he's local.
Did great job on mine. Still perfect after two years. I recommend.

Samson1

+ 1 for Radek from TvSolutions. He is a pure professional, and he even corrected & fixed a set-up that original installers failed to make work.

Would have no hesitation using him again.

Alan_P

Samson1 wrote: »

+ 1 for Radek from TvSolutions. He is a pure professional, and he even corrected & fixed a set-up that original installers failed to make work.

Would have no hesitation using him again.

He did mine too, and I would also recommend him.

2011

Regardless of the installer selected free view satellite and Saorview combination boxes are the way to go in my opinion. It has certainly saved me a significant amount of money over the last 10 years or so.

It is possible to use Sky login details on a computer to watch Sky sports. Then mirror the computer screen onto a TV using a Chromcast, Apple TV or similar device. This makes it possible to watch Sky sports etc. on a TV without using a Sky box. This is handy for houses that only have a freesat / Saorview satellite box, but broadband is a requirement.

Cerco

For satellite I prefer the Freesat boxes. No retuning required as channels change.
Set it up and away it goes. There is a good range available. Think Humax is very good.

Chuchote

Which of the Freesat boxes show subtitles on foreign-language stations when the stations offer them? Which box (manufacturer and if possible model) is most user-friendly?

ellejay

Chuchote wrote: »

Which of the Freesat boxes show subtitles on foreign-language stations when the stations offer them? Which box (manufacturer and if possible model) is most user-friendly?

My parents have a lidl box and also a walker box.
The lidl set up has way more channels than the walker box.
The brand is silver crest.
They usually sell the satellite and the box for about 65.

The walker box was about 50 in power city.

I've a lidl box myself.

As for user friendly, they're much of a muchness.
There is a bit of set up involved to find the right satellite to pick up the channel's.
You will need to rescan about 3 / 4 times a year because some of the channels change signals.
The plus side of scanning means you'll pick up new channels that come online.

The more user-friendly the box / remote is, the fewer options available.

You would have to check / google whichever box you fancy re subtitles as it can vary by available languages.
Hope that helps!

Chuchote

Thanks - will watch out for the Lidl one. When you say they sell the satellite and the box, what do you mean by the satellite? The dish? Something that attaches to it? (Surely not the big yoke flying around in the sky ) Non-techie here… I'm a great believer in hiring other people to do work that they'll do better than me, assuming my finances at the time will allow it.

I should have mentioned that the Freesat box I'm using doesn't have subtitles *for non-Freesat channels*. But perhaps this is the case for all Freesat boxes?

ellejay

Sorry I meant the satellite dish!
You need to set up it outside, usually on the side of your house, and point it at the right tv satellite in the sky.
A cable runs from that to your Receiver box.
Simplified version!!

ellejay

Also just to note, a free sat box will pick up on the free sat network.
My understanding is that it's a brand or network.

A free to air box will pick up all free to air stations.

You could have a look on the satellite forum you might pick up more information there.

Chuchote

ellejay wrote: »

Sorry I meant the satellite dish!
You need to set up it outside, usually on the side of your house, and point it at the right tv satellite in the sky.
A cable runs from that to your Receiver box.
Simplified version!!

I have a dish already, so would I need to replace anything on it, or just plug in the cable to the new box?

ellejay

is it a sky dish?
if it's a sky dish, you'll have a sky box, you don't need to do anything.

If it's not a sky dish, ideally it should be as simple as connecting it up.

Are you in Charlesland?
pm me your number i can lend you my box to try if you don't have one.
only a lend!

Chuchote

ellejay wrote: »

is it a sky dish?
if it's a sky dish, you'll have a sky box, you don't need to do anything.

If it's not a sky dish, ideally it should be as simple as connecting it up.

Are you in Charlesland?
pm me your number i can lend you my box to try if you don't have one.
only a lend!

Thanks, but I'm not in Greystones at all (didn't notice what the forum was), though I have a friend there and a long-running date to have a bite in the Happy Pear some day.

ellejay

lol!!!
maybe some closer to you could lend you a box