Ariva 4K Combo Satellite+Saorview+Android+KODI Box

STB.

Surprised there isnt a thread on these.

Ferguson have a new range of 4K Combo boxes out that combine Kodi, Netflix, Android (Playstore) Satellite & Saorview for as low as €120. The processor is an Аmlogic S905 Quad Core running @ 2GHZ with 8 GB of flash and 1 GB of RAM.

• 4K UHD – Support for ultra-high resolutions
• H.265/HEVC – Support for hardware decoding
• DVB-S2 – 4K UHD/H.265/HEVC
• DVB-T/T2 – also support for H.265/HEVC standard
• DVB-C – Cable television
• Support for pay TV card reader (CA)
• Dualband Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n 2.4Ghz/5Ghz
• Ethernet modem (LAN) for interactive communication with local network and Internet
• Bluetooth – Support for connecting the keyboard and mouse or other devices
• SD Card Reader
• Hard drive ready – Support for easy hard drive installation for TimeShift and programs recording
• Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Kodi Media Center – Advanced multimedia support
• Netflix, HBO GO – Excellent cooperation with almost all Video On Demand (VOD) services
• DLNA, Miracast i AirPlay – Support for media streaming to the device

FeeMBee

Thanks STB

I've been looking at Combo receivers (having recently cancelled Sky) and am getting a bit bamboozled by the jargon.


I was looking at the Ferguson Ariva 253 which looks like a good-entry level receiver.
It seems to only have one USB port though so I'm guessing that you would only be able to connect either (i) a hard drive for recording, viewing filed videos, etc. or (ii) a WiFi dongle. (I would like to be able to connect to the internet without cabling the ethernet through the house)

The Ferguson Ariva 4K Combo seems an overall better option maybe?
I'm hoping that you might be able to help with a few questions...

Does the Ferguson Ariva 4K Combo come with WiFi connectivity built in?
Does it require an aerial for the Saorview channels?
Can you plug it in to an existing Sky dish to receive the FreeSat channels?
What can you record - e.g. can you record one Saorview channel while watching another or does it restrict you to watching a Saorview and record a Freesat and vice versa?
Is it possible to get the EPG for both the Saorview and Freesat channels on it?
Do you need an external [wireless/Bluetooth] keyboard to navigate through the apps (Netflix/YouTube/etc.?
Any ideas on where to buy online? I had a look at a few "freeview" Irish sites but didn't see this listed.

Thanks for your help!

FRIENDO

Possibly, this is exactly what I'm looking for.
Is it available from any of our known Irish suppliers?

Shar!

I hope somebody can help me out ' not sure where to post this - currently agreed to have sky q installed for long term use of free sat channels when contract is up but for a 2nd room I wanted to connect something like this system. ProblemProblem is I'm reading the new sky q systems won't allow connection of free to air and I was really hoping the engineer would put a connection to a second cable for me if I'd asked him too. I'm totally new to satallite and recievers so please excuse me if I'm on the wrong page. Now im thinking of scraping sky alltogether and just having somebody install independently. Would love to hear advice please.

Gerry Wicklow

The wonky USB socket in the above picture doesn't inspire confidence in build quality. If that's an official promo image, it inspires even less confidence. :eek:

FRIENDO

What's wrong with the USB connections?
there's two stacked at the back of the box - looks like you could connect a hardrive etc
and a third USB connection on the right hand side looking at the back of the box, possibly for some technical/software input.

I remember with older boxes having a USB connection at the front, which was awful ugly when connecting a hardrive/USB stick for recording.

Gerry Wicklow

Maybe it's my eyesight but the right-hand one looks crooked.
Also, the single DVB-S2 seems a bit limiting on an otherwise good spec for money box.

FRIENDO

Any photos of what the epg would look like?

I would be looking for a box like this for Saorsat/Freeview hd and 28e on one epg.

Also would it be possible to add apps via Bluetooth from another android device, by using an app sender.

It mentions Bluetooth, hopefully it includes the above.

FRIENDO

Ye the single satellite connection could be limiting for some, but most likely for 28e it's possible only doing now and next epg.

However if I was to use such a box for Saorsat/Freeview it will have 7 day epg or for somebody with Saorview 7 day listing also.

At the moment I have three boxes on my main tv Freesat humax hdr, Saorsat box and Android box, I don't have any function set up for recording freeview either.
If I got a box like this I could hopefully do away with the Saorsat/android boxes and have a facility for recording freeview also, it will also give me freeview hd.

FRIENDO

Ye the USB connection on the right looks a little slanted alright

but sure if it works that wouldn't bodder me, as it's on the back I won't be looking at it.

STB.

I don't have one of these so I cannot tell you much about them other than what I have read. They are fairly new so I don't know if anyone from Ireland has tested them. They are appearing now on allegro (polish ebay) for about 500zl or €118

The 4K combo is part of a suite of new boxes that Ferguson are releasing.

There are 4 main boxes.

Ariva 4K (Single satellite tuner)
Ariva 4K Combo (as described at post 1)
Ariva 4K Combo+ (with added CI+ module)
Ariva 4K UHD Smart Combo (with Smart ZigBee/Wi-Hi Hub), comes in white and not available yet.

All of the have dualband wifi built in and you can stick a HDD in these ones. Tony from Satellite.ie may have more info.

There are plenty of screenshots of the EPG and GUI etc at the link below (the text is in Czech though). For someone who wants a box that combines kodi, saorview and satellite with android apps for CCTV its a one stop box, if you like all that.

http://www.parabola.cz/clanky/5920/ferguson-ariva-4k-combo-ultra-hd-prijimac-s-androidem/

Ronan Raver77

Found this on Youtube

Video configuration and demonstration

https://youtu.be/8OrUADdToxk

The Ayatolla

Nice to see something like this coming to the market. Great budget option for 120euro, especially with all the viewing capabilities.

FeeMBee

Thanks for the info, STB!

I'll definitely be looking into this one a bit more.

Alun

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Also, the single DVB-S2 seems a bit limiting on an otherwise good spec for money box.

I agree, a deal breaker for me.

lgs 4

How would the 4k picture look on HD TV ?. Would there be much reduction in picture quality .just wondering ,i have monoblock for 19e Astra 1 and Hotbird 13 a good few FTA UHD channels .

Tony

A colleague in another company has tested the 4k combo and unfortunately he is not impressed with the firmware and usability.

Gerry Wicklow

lgs 4 wrote: »

How would the 4k picture look on HD TV ?. Would there be much reduction in picture quality .just wondering ,i have monoblock for 19e Astra 1 and Hotbird 13 a good few FTA UHD channels .

At present the only FTA 4k channels on 13° and 19° are a shopping channel, a fashion channel and 'Insight' extreme sports with a VERY limited stock of programs. The others are just demo loops.

FeeMBee

Tony wrote: »

A colleague in another company has tested the 4k combo and unfortunately he is not impressed with the firmware and usability.

Thanks Tony

Would your colleague recommend a better option?

Tony

Perhaps another Thread will emerge if something better comes along.

FeeMBee wrote: »

Thanks Tony

Would your colleague recommend a better option?

Johnboy1951

STB, thanks for starting this thread. I had asked for info about the STB but got no responses. I guess I chose the wrong forum
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=100566177

tylercheribini

Hi

Did anyone take the plunge with this after? Seriously considering it, looks almost too good to be true for that price. Thanks in advance

Fingleberries

tylercheribini wrote: »

Hi

Did anyone take the plunge with this after? Seriously considering it, looks almost too good to be true for that price. Thanks in advance

Picked one up and started to set it up yesterday.

First impressions:

• Picture Quality is quite good(currently connected to a 1080p TV)
• In a Freeview HD spillover area: FTA Satellite, Saorview and FreeviewHD channels all can be combined into one EPG.
• Switching between channels can be slow (changing between Terrestrial and Satellite Channels is slower)
• Terrestrial Channels can sometimes display black screen after watching Satellite channels for a time, a reboot tends to fix that.

More testing required:

• Hard Drive: I installed a HDD internally, but the box didn't appear to pick it up - I'll need to check that it's formatted correctly, etc.
• Recording options: I'll need to resolve the internal HDD before I test these options (e.g. if Series Link is available, if timer works ok).
• Android Apps / Smart TV functions, etc.

tylercheribini

Hi, I bought this item after, Im quite content with it so far. DTV/Sat interface is a bit harsh on the eyes compared to sky and when I try to record a program to usb drive it wont let me unless I am watching said channel, rendering feature pointless. If i set timer in advance to record another channel a timer will count down on screen and then switch me to channel I wish to record. I am hopeful the installation of a hdd will somehow remedy this problem. The manual is completely useless. Also as box is not freesat certified, the lack of schedule for satellite channels is a bummer, only description of what is on at the time comes up for me. Overall Im quite impressed with it and am glad I purchased though.

Johnboy1951

tylercheribini wrote: »

Hi, I bought this item after, Im quite content with it so far. DTV/Sat interface is a bit harsh on the eyes compared to sky and when I try to record a program to usb drive it wont let me unless I am watching said channel, rendering feature pointless. If i set timer in advance to record another channel a timer will count down on screen and then switch me to channel I wish to record. I am hopeful the installation of a hdd will somehow remedy this problem. The manual is completely useless. Also as box is not freesat certified, the lack of schedule for satellite channels is a bummer, only description of what is on at the time comes up for me. Overall Im quite impressed with it and am glad I purchased though.

You should be able to record a Terrestrial channel while watching a Satellite channel.

As there is only one Satellite tuner then you can only watch and record the channels on the same transponder.

You seem to expect behaviour which would require dual Satellite tuners ..... or so it reads

tylercheribini

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

You should be able to record a Terrestrial channel while watching a Satellite channel.

As there is only one Satellite tuner then you can only watch and record the channels on the same transponder.

You seem to expect behaviour which would require dual Satellite tuners ..... or so it reads

Cheers, be gentle, Im a newbie to all this ;)did try view terrestrial and record sat and vice versa also with same results though. Not a big deal for me anyway, dont record much.

Johnboy1951

tylercheribini wrote: »

Cheers, be gentle, Im a newbie to all this did try view terrestrial and record sat and vice versa also with same results though. Not a big deal for me anyway, dont record much.

I would expect that to work.
Also I would expect to be able to view one terrestrial channel and record another from the same mux, as well as record a Satellite channel.

I do not own one of those but I would be surprised if Ferguson limited it unnecessarily.

tylercheribini

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I would expect that to work.
Also I would expect to be able to view one terrestrial channel and record another from the same mux, as well as record a Satellite channel.

I do not own one of those but I would be surprised if Ferguson limited it unnecessarily.

It may be usb drive issue either, it seemed to upset whole system in general especially using timeshift etc, Ill try hdd later.

tylercheribini

just attempted hdd installation formatted in ntfs, not recognising it, any suggestions? thanks

Johnboy1951

tylercheribini wrote: »

just attempted hdd installation formatted in ntfs, not recognising it, any suggestions? thanks

What does the user manual say about the filesystem on the HDD?

tylercheribini

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

What does the user manual say about the filesystem on the HDD?

It says it will take fat32 or ntfs but recommends ntfs, thats all it says, no other requirements. Ive tried formatting it as a simple volume in windows, assigned letter I, quick format. Didnt register in ariva so then i reformatted it in windows, this time no assigned letter and labelled HDD. Still nothing in ariva.