Looking for a senior friendly saorview decoder.

flazio

Hi everyone, would anyone know of a simple saorview box that a less than tech savvy retiree could use. Have an old Panasonic TV that's working perfectly, however we had to scale back on Sky. The old Sky HD box is still giving us some channels we just need something to decode the Irish channels and has a clear and easy to use interface, Preferably under €100 but no worries if that's too low. New TV with Saorview installed is out of budget.

Any obvious ideas?

Max H

https://www.freetv.ie/saorview/

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058265626/looking-for-a-senior-friendly-saorview-decoder

You will need an aerial.

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119689838#Comment_119689838

The house is set up, wired and everything and has a smaller TV in the kitchen that is working off the aerial, just need a decoder for the big older TV that just shows the channels. No complicated terms like EPG, live pause or any bells and whistles, just turn on, tv channel showing, press up and down to change channels.

muffler

There should be plenty of boxes available from places like Amazon, Ebay, Currys, online retailers and local electrical shops. You could even ask family and friends if they have any old discarded boxes from the time it went digital. I'm no expert on these things but as you don't need recording built in you should be able to pick one up for about 50 Euro. As far as I know HD Freeview boxes will also do the trick but perhaps some of the more knowledgeable posters here could confirm that.

muffinhead

How old is the Panasonic telly, is it an old CRT model? If not, have you checked if it already has a Saorview tuner?

A few years ago I setup an elderly technophobe with a Saorview box but they ended up getting confused between 2 remotes and volume / input issues so I replaced it with a new TV. Now they just press 1 for RTE 1, 2 for RTE 2, etc and don't have to worry about any thing else.

Not sure what size you need, but you can get a basic 32" TV for €199 with 6 year guarantee here:

https://euro.richersounds.ie/p-204793-philips-32pfs6805-32-inch-hdr-smart-led-tv-1080p-hd-freeview-hd.aspx

dxhound2005

I could be reading this wrong, but the OP might think that a non Sky box will make the Irish stations available from the satellite dish for free. And there is no aerial going to the Panasonic, only to the other TV in the kitchen. They will need an aerial going to the Panasonic for for the Irish stations. And no box needed, just plug the aerial directly into the TV. They can then use the Sky box for whatever satellite channels it gets for free, and the aerial for RTE etc. The Irish stations are on satellite, but only as part of a Sky pay package.

Some people in strong signal areas can get the Irish stations using a cheap indoor aerial, could be worth trying. But it mostly depend on how close the nearest transmitter is.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119692426#Comment_119692426

He indicated that it was Saorview he needed to get on an old telly that didn't have a Saorview tuner. This is in addition to his Sky box that is used for FTA channels.

dxhound2005

It was just the "we had to scale back on Sky" bit that I wondered about.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119692886#Comment_119692886

Yeah, could have been better phrased.

dxhound2005

Another option might be a second hand TV to replace the Panasonic. And plug the aerial directly into that TV, no need for an extra box. They only need a TV which changes channels, no other requirements.

Shoog

A second hand flat screen would probably be cheaper than a cheap receiver. Its also worth getting a decent receiver because the encode format that Ireland chose is quite demanding and can overwhelm some of the cheaper decoders.

Elvis Hammond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119693231#Comment_119693231

What do you mean 'overwhelm'? Where are you getting that from?

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119693290#Comment_119693290

My first soarview receiver was such a beast, laggy with terrible audio syncing. It takes a moderate amount of processing power to decode Soarview streams and some of the early ARM based boxes simply were not up to the job.

flazio

OK, so let me repeat the situation. In order to survive winter my elderly man had to unsubscribe to Sky, he still has his Sky HD box but his way of using it was entering 101 for RTE 1 and Channel up and down to find something to watch. He has at most €100 to modernise the 40 inch Panasonic which suits his eyesight so he can simply watch the Six One news. Is this possible?

Gooser14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694962#Comment_119694962

What is the model number of the Panasonic TV?

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694962#Comment_119694962

It's all detailed in previous posts. If you are sure the telly doesn't have a Saorview tuner then get a box as I mentioned earlier. If you are unsure connect the telly to the aerial lead and scan for channels. If it doesn't find any then you do need a box. More than likely you won't have to run a scan but it's a simple procedure.

john9876

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119691364#Comment_119691364

yes a freeview box will work just fine and probably a lot cheaper to buy if you live anywhere near NI.

dxhound2005

For future proofing a combination box might be the way to go. One into which the cable from the satellite dish, and the other cable from the aerial can be connected, to give all the Free to Air satellite and terrestrial channels. Eliminates the need for two boxes.

More elegant again would be plugging both cables directly into the TV, eliminating the need for any boxes. But we don't know if the TV is capable of that. And again if they happen to be in an area which can get UK stations on the aerial, everything they need could be from the aerial only.

On the subject of a particular TV suiting the eyesight of a person, unless they tested a few they would not know the difference. They will be saving a lot of money by ditching Sky, and that savings could go over a few months to giving consideration to getting a new or second hand TV.

niallb

I expect any savings from ditching Sky will be going towards heating the house, so getting a new TV with them wouldn't be very constructive.

You'll need a box to receive Saorview, and a combo box that can take both satellite and aerial would make for a much simpler remote control experience. I've seen an LG TV with built in Saorview and Satellite, but leave people totally confused because you could only use one tuner at a time.

Most older people want to be able to do 1: RTE1, 2: RTE2, 3: BBC1, 4: BBC2 and so on.

The Amiko mini combo box is about €75-€85 new. You may do better on adverts.ie. A few on there at the moment for less than half that price. It's very basic, but works fine.

Whatever box you get you must be sure that there is an aerial connection near the big TV. Otherwise he's still going to have to watch the news in the other room.

dxhound2005

I just had a thought, the Sky HD LNB might rule out connecting a non Sky box for satellite.

niallb

SKy HD should be fine. Sky Q is where it gets difficult.

flazio

I have to give credit to the local age action group, they made sure the aerials were ready for the switch back when it happened. I'll look into the Amiko boxes, but might just set it up on the aerial only, not the satellite. My fear is that he'll end up with 20 versions of BBC 1 ITV, their plus ones and all, even without a Sky card the channels are still nicely organised on the sky box.

dxhound2005

Freetv.ie have video guides on how to set up the Amikos. You can easily delete out any of the channels not needed, and sort the ones you want into the most suitable order.

https://www.freetv.ie/amiko-mini-combo/

The Cush

Regarding the Panasonic TV, what connections are available at the rear, specifically HDMI, many boxes have HDMI out only.

flazio

For those who keep asking

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119696460#Comment_119696460

Based on information posted here on boards back in 2007, the TV model is 15 years old, cost around €1100-€1500 at the time, came with an Irish VHF/UHF analogue tuner only. No digital tuner. Has 2 HDMI ports.

The UK (PX) model included a UK digital tuner instead of a VHF tuner, probably wasn't compatible with the Irish digital TV which began the following year in any case.

mikeecho

I'd just get a new TV.

Having to deal with an elderly parent, who is still using an old sky SD box via coax, there is no way I'd get another box and remote, it'll only cause confusion.

A new TV, and existing sky box(or get a Manhattan sx freesat box as well, (they're about £55 up north or on Amazon.. they are for sat only)

flazio

Uh huh, when you go to the AV list you get 2 Scarts, component, pc, 2 hdmi and TV. Select TV and it's typical analog snow.

It's a shame because the smaller kitchen diner TV is a great yoke. Sony Bravia KDL 32V4500. Saorview works no bother there.

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119696822#Comment_119696822

I purchased a 26v4500 in April/May 2008 in advance of the start of the Irish DTT engineering test transmissions starting September that year. One of the earliest range of TVs that were compatible with Irish DTT.

14+ years later it's still performing flawlessly in another house. It never saw the inside of a workshop.

Great range of TVs.

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119696796#Comment_119696796

Do you not get this? We don't have money for a new TV, otherwise we could have just kept the Sky sub going.