Recommend a small TV with built in Sat tuner primarily for radio?

my3cents

So my wife wants BBC Radio 4 FM in the kitchen and it works fine on our main TV in the front room using Satellite. I was thinking of all sorts of ways of connecting up a satellite box and an amplifier but then though f*** it might be easier to just get a small TV with a built in satellite tuner.

No need for anything fancy like Freesat because once my wife knows what the channel number for Radio 4 is that is all the box will be used for. The only problem I can think of is that the sound quality of a small cheap small TV may be rubbish. Some of the Amazon reviews of the ones I've been looking at aren't good on sound quality.

Cello C16230FT2S2 16" Full HD LED TV/DVD Freeview HD and Satellite Tuner is the sort of thing I'm looking for but even smaller would be fine and price wise I can justify up to £150 which less than I probably spend on a satellite tuner and amplifier.

Also no broadband here and no terrestrial TV signal (down in a valley) so need for a smart TV and no way of using broadband for radio.

StreetLight

Have you considered hooking up the audio outputs from the satellite box to a cheap FM transmitter? You can pick one up for buttons on Ebay and you'll then have BBCR4 on any FM radio around the house.

my3cents

StreetLight wrote: »

Have you considered hooking up the audio outputs from the satellite box to a cheap FM transmitter? You can pick one up for buttons on Ebay and you'll then have BBCR4 on any FM radio around the house.

That was the original plan but the TV makes its easier with the screen when it goes wrong and with my wife it will go wrong.

niallb

If you had broadband your options would be a lot simpler, but you've got to work with what you have!
Do you have a satellite feed coming to the kitchen or would you have to run the cable there too?
If you have an amplifier under the TV, would it be possible to run speaker cables to the kitchen more easily?

If cabling is an issue, the FM transmitter is a really flexible idea. You could also use a bluetooth transmitter to a bluetooth speaker,
but it won't allow for multiple radios and it's more awkward if it unpairs itself.

my3cents

I have to run the cable but thats quite an easy job.

I'm just in the process of proof of concept for another method which is looking good and costing nothing

After posting and looking online I remembered I had a GTMEDIA V8 Satellite Finder which is essentially a satellite finder tool that is just a mini tele and tuner in one box - https://www.amazon.co.uk/V8-Digital-Satellite-Display-BLACK/dp/B07WBWCSFT/ .

I'd bought an old Panasonic SC-HC29 media box (DAB, CD, FM radio, USB) very cheap in a charity shop which I've never really used . The two together with the AV out on the GTmedia box into the AUX on the Panasonic and I have good sound quality on BBC Radio 4 FM :):)

Only problem is finding somewhere to put/hide the Sat Finder Box yet keep it accessible enough for the odd channel change and to switch it on and off - its hardly a thing of beauty.

btw highly recommend the gtmedia v8 satellite finder it makes it dead easy to set up a satellite dish when you can see the TV picture working when stood on the ladder adjusting the dish.

Johnboy1951

I had used an old Silvercrest SD sat box for a similar purpose.
The front display meant no need for a screen once it had been tuned.
Easy to bring to TV if retuning required.

Long time ago now though ...

lgs 4

my3cents wrote: »

So my wife wants BBC Radio 4 FM in the kitchen and it works fine on our main TV in the front room using Satellite. I was thinking of all sorts of ways of connecting up a satellite box and an amplifier but then though f*** it might be easier to just get a small TV with a built in satellite tuner.

No need for anything fancy like Freesat because once my wife knows what the channel number for Radio 4 is that is all the box will be used for. The only problem I can think of is that the sound quality of a small cheap small TV may be rubbish. Some of the Amazon reviews of the ones I've been looking at aren't good on sound quality.

Cello C16230FT2S2 16" Full HD LED TV/DVD Freeview HD and Satellite Tuner is the sort of thing I'm looking for but even smaller would be fine and price wise I can justify up to £150 which less than I probably spend on a satellite tuner and amplifier.

Also no broadband here and no terrestrial TV signal (down in a valley) so need for a smart TV and no way of using broadband for radio.

Has your wife get a smart phone with a 3g or 4g network .There is app called Radiogram from Google Play store it's free and adds free and stable and very reliable. I use it in the car by boothtooth .All UK and Irish radio

my3cents

lgs 4 wrote: »

Has your wife get a smart phone with a 3g or 4g network .There is app called Radiogram from Google Play store it's free and adds free and stable and very reliable. I use it in the car by boothtooth .All UK and Irish radio

Sorry but we don't have any 3G or 4G coverage here :mad:

I get our internet from 4G from a neighbors 250 meters away using a wireless link no reliable signal any nearer. If there was a better way I'd use it.

lgs 4

my3cents wrote: »

Sorry but we don't have any 3G or 4G coverage here :mad:

I get our internet from 4G from a neighbors 250 meters away using a wireless link no reliable signal any nearer. If there was a better way I'd use it.

I see ,there is two other things you could do ,take the sound output from sat box and put spekaers in that other room or depending on what part of the country your in, pick up a old vhf aerial and try your luck in getting a FM signal through your hi-fi .

my3cents

lgs 4 wrote: »

I see ,there is two other things you could do ,take the sound output from sat box and put spekaers in that other room or depending on what part of the country your in, pick up a old vhf aerial and try your luck in getting a FM signal through your hi-fi .

Would need a really good FM antenna to get BBC Radio 4 from Waterford

Although I can hear it crackling in the background when on the car radio but not down in our valley. We really have very few options but still wouldn't swap location.

Satellite is unfortunately the only way. Obviously can still get BBC Radio 4 on Long Wave but it would be nice not to hear the electric fence clicking in the background and thinking ahead for when they finally turn off the LW transmitters.

The new setup with the GTMedia Sat Finder works (using the satellite antenna from the TV) and has gained approval so its just a matter of finding somewhere to stick the sat finder box and run some cable to it.

Running cables from the TV audio out socket isn't really a runner because we often want both radio and TV in separate rooms, also a really awkward cable run I'd like to avoid.

lgs 4

We really have very few options but still wouldn't swap location . BBC 4 Cornwall 756 MW. Maybe just local medium wave . All the best

STB.

An iBRAVEBOX V8 HD set box will cost you about €20 on EBAY Remote Control and/or buttons on front. LED display. A/V out (mini jack) About the size of a cigarette packet.



Pair of mini PC speakers - €13



5v 1-2amp USB plug (you may have one lying around the house from a phone). Connect to Mini computer speakers USB for power instead of using a PC.

Stick em all on a shelf. Job done. less than €35 all in with a bit of patience using China post.