UK Freeview(aerial) and Saorview - combo possible from east coast?

onrail

Hi all,

Coming from a place of complete confusion, maybe someone on here might be able to explain.

We're based on the east coast, and back in the 'olden' days before the digital switchover, we had an Aerial (possibly two?) which picked up Irish and UK stations. During the time of the digital switchover, an installer came in and installed a satellite dish to provide UK channels in combination with a saorview aerial.

The setup* worked well until lately, when satellite reception started paying up, likely due to interference by trees. Getting rid of the trees will be tricky, so it may be best to either move the dish, or find an alternative solution. Is there any reason why we couldn't receive a 'freeview' signal with an additional aerial pointed towards Wales (as had been done years ago)?

*The setup is a bit strange, and I can't get my head around it. We have two TVs in the house. One which is fed by a box which has both a FTA satellite and saorview tuner, the second which has an in-built tuner (only DVT-T and DVT-C according to the manual) but will only function when the other box is switched on!
I can't follow the wires unfortunately (it's quite an old house with thick walls), but each tv is fed from a single point in the wall.

If a freeview/saorview solution is at all possible, are there any set-top boxes which nicely combine them? The more features and more user-friendly, the better.

Thanks in advance

Johnboy1951

IMO, if you can get a clear signal to your sat dish then that is the better option by far.

It is possible that the dish has moved slightly, a cable is damaged and letting in rain or the LNB needs adjusting or replacement.

I would suggest you look into redoing the coax runs so you DO know where they go, and can get proper signals where you need them.

decor58

onrail wrote: »

Hi all,

Coming from a place of complete confusion, maybe someone on here might be able to explain.

We're based on the east coast, and back in the 'olden' days before the digital switchover, we had an Aerial (possibly two?) which picked up Irish and UK stations.
Is there any reason why we couldn't receive a 'freeview' signal with an additional aerial pointed towards Wales (as had been done years ago)?

Depends on where you are on the east, We are in Bray, no freeview, an aunt 2-3 miles south towards Greystones, perfect freeview. Are there any aerials, pointing towards Wales, in your area.

onrail

Thanks for the replies Guys

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

IMO, if you can get a clear signal to your sat dish then that is the better option by far.

Thats interesting - Does Satellite offer a more reliable signal?

One frustration with the satellite system is the relatively poor offerings of saorview/FTA satellite combo boxes. I'm probably wrong here, but Freeview/Saorview boxes might be a bit better?

Depends on where you are on the east,

We're on the east coast of Wexford. I'll have to have a look around to see if there are many aerials pointing towards Wales, but we always picked up Welsh terrestrial channels back in the day.

Saying that, it might be telling that the installer put in a satellite dish without question a few years ago.

spaceHopper

My Mum lives in betteystown and get UK freeview from the north, the Irish channels are also broadcast from the north something to do with the good firday agreement. Any installer from around Drogheda should be able to sort you out. If the house is old I'd get new coax installed while they are at it and a distrobution amp. It's not a that big a job.

Johnboy1951

onrail wrote: »

Thanks for the replies Guys



Thats interesting - Does Satellite offer a more reliable signal?

IMO, yes, particularly when trying to bring in distant transmissions which are subject to all sorts of interference and changes due to weather patterns and were never intended to serve your location.

One frustration with the satellite system is the relatively poor offerings of saorview/FTA satellite combo boxes. I'm probably wrong here, but Freeview/Saorview boxes might be a bit better?

I don't consider the options limited for combo boxes.
There is something available in most price brackets.
Of course if you demand a 'Saorview Approved' sticker then you will be limited because most manufacturers apparently do not bother with the cost of that for the limited market.

We're on the east coast of Wexford. I'll have to have a look around to see if there are many aerials pointing towards Wales, but we always picked up Welsh terrestrial channels back in the day.

Saying that, it might be telling that the installer put in a satellite dish without question a few years ago.