Freesat/saorview separates vs combo box

Im open to correction but the Revez seems to be a basic 2 tuner combo box. It probably only has now/next EPG not full 7 day

Because it only has one satellite tuner it would not be possible to record one satellite channel while watching another. Also unlikely to have series linking.

Over time it will need as much retuning / maintenance as any Enigma based combo box.

IMO a proper Enigma combo box would be far more versatile with far more functionality.

Ive been down the separate route , that was a humax 1000s and a triax 212 , and the wife hated it , with venom , even though I had it set up on the harmony remote , she hated the fact that she had to press an activity button and wait for the switch between boxes , and I mean boy , did she hate it.

Enigma 2 is not all that hard to do , Set up your tuners , set up ABM , run ABM , now log in to the box via Webif and use bouquet manager to set up your favourites.

ABM is key here , set it to run at 4:00am every day ( I think that is default ) and you never have to worry about losing any channels , they are always there , and its simply a case of using bouquet editor to copy into favourites should one move transponder etc.

Recordings are not encrypted with enigma 2 ( they are on the reves ) meaning you can copy and paste and stream to any other device you have in the house.

If you get stuck with a Zgemma or any of the other enigma 2 boxes , then ask here or on WOS forums. You'll get sorted in no time.

If you get stuck with the Reves you will most likely be on your own , as its not a very popular box at all.

BTW , if you go enigma 2 , the version you want is openvix.

It is by far the most user friendly and there is a full manual available.

https://www.openvix.co.uk/openvix-builds/Guides%20and%20Tutorials/VIX%20Manual%20Vs%201.1.pdf

Most only get into trouble with Enigma when they start messing about with skins trying to make the thing look like something it is not ( a sky box ).

Get it set up , which is fairly simple , then use blue button to make a back up to USB , then once you have that , you can go back to that point should anything go wrong in future.

I knew nothing about Enigma 2 when I switched back in 2013 , now I wouldnt run anything else , its a piece of cake.

2 rules , dont mess with skins , dont mess with plugins , and life is a breeze with these boxes.

It's a bit of a jump from saying that the only requirement is something for the wife to watch the News and Bake Off on, to looking for French and Spanish stations. If the TV has both terrestrial and satellite tuners, I would see how it performs with the aerial and satellite dish cables attached. Get familiar with all the menus. What make and model of TV is it?

If that is not satisfactory, then look at spending more money later on.

There are 640 LG's on the Saorview approved list. Might be worth checking again. I have a OLED 55B7V which is on the list. But I never plugged the aerial into it to see what Saorview is like. I have a combo box, which works well for Free to Air terrestrial and satellite. I don't need EPG's. I have looped the satellite tuner on the LG through from the box. But I do find the menus on the LG a bit of a pain.

https://saorview.ie/en/find-a-product/

Even if the terrestrial tuner is not Saorview supported, it could still be worthwile seeing how suitable it is in Free to Air mode. Before you go spending more money.

Ive got an LG CX

Its absolute crap when fed directly to the TV.

Either you set it up as UK so you can get the freesat EPG , in which case the Saorview Channels are shotgun scattered all over the place amongst about 800 blank channels , or you set up as Irish and you get sensible Saorview listings and only now/next on FTA Satellite.

You can set up favourites , but they will not stick , and disappear after every update , and there seems to be an update at least once a month.

You can switch between Saorview and Satellite by adding say RTE1 and BBC1 to single button shortcuts , but its a faff and the above problems still stand.

The fact is we are in a geographical oddity when it comes to TV. We have Saorview and a footprint overspill for FTA satellite to work with.

No TV is designed to capture English FTA and Saorview natively on a single menu with 7 day EPG, the only real option for hassle free TV is a good versatile linux combo box.

Though I have a Amiko combo, I use the RF on my Sharp 55-4k (etc) for Saorview. Downside, I can't record but I find the Saorview picture & sound much better this way. To do with less compression I understand.

Maybe assigning 8 channels to shortcuts would be enough for someone not watching much TV. There are lots of YouTube videos showing other menus including so called Hidden ones on LG's. Like I said before have a good play around with the TV for a while, and no harm done if it turns out it is not suitable. The Shortcuts menu is usually got by a long press of 0 on LG remotes.

In terms of simplicity, the TV on its own would win out. If the OP is sticking to what they said they need originally.

"I barely watch the tv, and the wife just wants to be able to watch rte news and the bake off."

Assigning the most used channels to the Shortcuts might be enough. I would say definitely do not spend any extra money without giving this solution a good try first. In my case over the years I have found that things which seem difficult or strange at the start soon become second nature. This applies to TV's and remotes.

If you can, look at the signal readings. There should be a menu. To do a Before and After comparison if you change anything. A perfect picture can be from a signal just about strong enough. It looks the same on the screen as a 100% signal.