# Soarview/Freeview



## stobear (10 Jan 2018)

Hi
I hope this is in the right forum to capture the knowledge!

I have a second hand Aviva 250 combo receiver. I wish to install it to get Soarview and also Freeview channels. I think I need an aerial for Soarview and a dish for the Freeview channels. Is it possible to get just a dish that will receive both? I am limited in th size of dish I can get and would therefore like your recommendation. 

I have cancelled my Virgin Media TV service as it full of rubbish so I can easily get by with above once I know what I need.


----------



## Leo (10 Jan 2018)

Depending on where you are, an internal aerial may suffice for Saorview, but a satellite dish can't receive terrestrial signals, so you will also need an aerial.


----------



## MrEarl (10 Jan 2018)

Hi,

You cannot pick up both Saorview and Freeview from the one dish, you need a dish for Freeview and a separate antenna for Saorview.

Depending on your location, you may be able to get away with a 60cm satellite dish, but many parts of Ireland really need an 80cm dish to ensure a decent signal on all channels during bad weather.

Likewise, your location will influence what you need for Saorview.  If you are very lucky with location, you may get away without any antenna, or perhaps just a small one in the attic.  I have an outdoor one on the side of my chimney, but it's very small and because it's small and not a solid deflector (unlike a satellite dish), you need to look fairly carefully to spot it.

Best to get an independent engineer out to do an assessment.  They can check signal strength for both services, suggest locations for a dish and antenna etc.  I would expect most do this for nothing, as part of a survey to give you a quote for work that you may need done.


----------



## dub_nerd (10 Jan 2018)

I think you mean a Ferguson *Ariva*. No, you need an aerial _and_ a dish. They are both types of aerials, but picking up quite different signals. The dish in particular is very directional, as it must point at a particular satellite in the sky, and focus reflected signals onto the little receiver at its centre, from whence they travel down a coaxial cable to your Ariva. The Saorview aerial, by contrast, picks up _terrestrial_ signals, i.e. ones broadcast from a local transmitter instead of from space. It is less directionally sensitive, though its orientation still matters.

If you are in a good Saorview coverage area, the signal will be strong enough that you only need a simple little indoor aerial that you can buy and set up yourself. They're available in lots of electrical and TV shops. But for the dish you will need it mounted externally, pointing south/south-east, and done by a competent installer who will measure the strength of the satellite signal as he adjusts the direction.


----------



## stobear (10 Jan 2018)

Many thanks for the replies folks, very informative. I am in Ratoath (Meath) and suspect the nearest Soarview transmitter is Three Rock. Any recommendations for supplier of hardware and installers?


----------



## SparkRite (10 Jan 2018)

A 60cm would be fine where you are and if you are any way handy they are simple to set-up. Remember they do not have to be high up as long as they have a clear view of the sky pointing at 28.2 degrees east of south for Free*Sat *(not Freeview as that is terrestrial (UK) ).

I would try a cheap indoor ariel first for Saorview and see how you get on with that before looking for an outdoor one.


----------



## Leo (11 Jan 2018)

As SparkRite says, easy enough to set up the dish yourself. You can get a signal meter for less than €15 to help you align the dish.


----------



## jim (19 Jan 2018)

Im thinking of cancelling my sky account. I recently came out of the 1 year contract where i was oaying €49 per mnth for the broadband and basic sky tv and landline which was ok for me. My bills however have now increased to €78 for this month and for the next 2 months they will be €90+ which is a rip off.

I phoned sky just now and thy said if i sign up for 1 more yr it will be €69 per month for the same package which isnt the worst but still probably a bit pricey.

If i were to just stick with broadband wi5 them and get rid of tv package it would be €55 per mnth which obviously is a bad deal.

So i am trying to decide if it make sense for me to go for saorview and freesat. If i do then what Are the options for broadband? And what is likely to be my monthly bill and my initial outlay for set up saorview and freesat?

Also, will it be worth the hassal for me to get my sky equipment and dish all pulled out and the new equipment put in?

Thanks,
Jim


----------



## RedOnion (19 Jan 2018)

jim said:


> Also, will it be worth the hassal for me to get my sky equipment and dish all pulled out and the new equipment put in?


Keep the dish! It's already pointed at the right satellite to get Freesat.


----------



## jim (19 Jan 2018)

RedOnion said:


> Keep the dish! It's already pointed at the right satellite to get Freesat.



But is the dish not belonging to Sky? I thought they would take this back. Am i right in saying i need a set top box for both freesat nd for saorview? Thanks for the info!


----------



## RedOnion (19 Jan 2018)

As far as I understand, with Sky after the initial 12 month contract, the ownership passed to you (I'm open to correction though). In any event, it's not worth their while sending someone out to take down a dish that they can buy for 50 quid.

If your TV is SaorView compatible, you might just need an ariel for that if you don't have one.

You'll need a box for Freesat. Some advice in this thread: https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/free-to-air-saorview.205311/


----------



## jim (19 Jan 2018)

Thanks redonion ill have to check with sky to see whether i can keep the dish. My tv is saorview ready and ill check that link re freesat box. In fairness it seems that going this route is the cheapest for tv needs. However i will still need broadband and there doesnt seem to be a stand out deal for this. Its going to be upwards of €35 per mnth and so i might be just aswell getting tv thrown in for an extra €15 per mnth which is the current virgin deal for first 12 mnths.

Vodafone have an interesting deal of tv and broadband for €25 pm for first 6 mnths and €80 thereafter (and includes bt sport). I wonder though is it possible theoretically to cancel with them, penalty free, at end of the 6 mnths?

Ultimately though, having researched this for a while now, it seems to me that in order to have broadband as well i might as well just stay put with sky at €69 pm and save hassle of switching and changing. Saorview and freesat, whilst free pm, do have an initial outlay and would require a bit of hassle to switch to and i would then need to seperately sort out broadband costing prob €35+ pm.


----------



## Leo (19 Jan 2018)

jim said:


> If i do then what Are the options for broadband?



Look up the comparison sites like Bonkers, they'll tell you what the broadband options are in your area.

Sky have no interest in retrieving second hand dishes, it'd cost them more and they're of no value to them.

Unless your current TV is saorview compatible and has a built in satellite tuner, you will need to buy a box to receive both. If your TV doesn't have either, look for a combi box that will do both. Even if your TV has either saorview or satellite tuner, a combi box can be easier to use as you will get all terrestrial and satellite channels in a single TV guide view rather than having the use the TV interface for one, a separate box interface for the other.


----------



## Leo (19 Jan 2018)

jim said:


> Vodafone have an interesting deal of tv and broadband for €25 pm for first 6 mnths and €80 thereafter (and includes bt sport). I wonder though is it possible theoretically to cancel with them, penalty free, at end of the 6 mnths



Those deals involve an 18 month contract, so no penalty-free way out.


----------



## jim (19 Jan 2018)

Thanks Leo. All things considered i will prob stay put with sky at €69 pm. 

The Cost of getting broadband alone in the house at €35+ puts me off switching as well as the hassle and initial outlay cost of switching over to freesat and saorview.


----------



## Leo (19 Jan 2018)

jim said:


> Thanks Leo. All things considered i will prob stay put with sky at €69 pm.
> 
> The Cost of getting broadband alone in the house at €35+ puts me off switching as well as the hassle and initial outlay cost of switching over to freesat and saorview.



Yep, hard to argue alright. A new box would set you back and the interface on many of them is nowhere near that of Sky's.


----------



## stobear (19 Jan 2018)

I am in the process of switching from virgin media to Saorview. With virgin I have a large number of channels no one really watches.  My virgin bill was 90pm for B.B. tv and phone.  The outlay for Saorview is 289 and the B.B. bill will be 40 pm.


----------



## MrEarl (20 Jan 2018)

RedOnion said:


> As far as I understand, with Sky after the initial 12 month contract, the ownership passed to you ....



That is 100% correct. 

The matter was recently confirmed by a member of Sky staff on the Talk to Sky Forum on Boards.


----------



## MrEarl (20 Jan 2018)

jim said:


> ...My tv is saorview ready



Depending on where you live, if you have a TV that is Saorview ready (to include a built in tuner), you may only need a small indoor aerial (which will cost very little).

 Click here  to get an idea on how close you are to a transmitter etc.



> ...i will still need broadband and there doesnt seem to be a stand out deal for this. Its going to be upwards of €35 per mnth and so i might be just aswell getting tv thrown in for an extra €15 per mnth which is the current virgin deal for first 12 mnths.



If you decide to go for Virgin, they do a special deal if you join via their Talk to Virgin forum on Boards.  There's a link on their section of the site, which brings you to an online form where you submit your order and in addition to getting the exact same deal as advertised on their website, you also get a €50 One4All voucher.

No doubt that Virgin provide the best broadband, but the service is not available to everyone.  Again, it depends on your location.



> Ultimately though, having researched this for a while now, it seems to me that in order to have broadband as well i might as well just stay put with sky at €69 pm



Get on to Sky if you are thinking of staying with them, but tell them you want to leave because you are not happy with what they offer or how much they charge.  They will pass you through to the cancellation team, who will most likely offer you a financial incentive to stay with them (usually a reduced rate for 3-9 months).  That said, despite what they tell you, Sky tend to put up their prices once a year - usually in Q4, so expect your price to increase at that stage regardless of any agreement you might make.



> ...and save hassle of switching and changing. Saorview and freesat, whilst free pm, do have an initial outlay and would require a bit of hassle to switch to and i would then need to seperately sort out broadband costing prob €35+ pm.



I am in the process of moving, but taking it very slowly in truth.

We have installed Freeview and Saorview.  It was a fairly simple and straight forward process because we already had a satellite dish.  Our TVs were not Saorview ready, so we bought a combination box, that provides both Saorview and Freeview (so only one box and one remote control for all channels).  Picture quality is excellent, sound the same etc.  

Obviously, the fact that there are no ongoing costs is an important consideration.  Furthermore, there is only a once off cost to install a second or third box for other tv's elsewhere in the house, as against Sky charging a further monthly fee for each additional box you require.

The initial outlay to buy a new box or two is quickly recovered, by the fact that you don't pay Sky a significant lump sum anymore.



> Ultimately though, having researched this for a while now, it seems to me that in order to have broadband as well i might as well just stay put with sky at €69 pm



We don't watch a lot of Sky's programming any more.  Netflix is probably the best subscription service these days and it's a fraction of the cost of Sky.  Granted, I don't get live football or rugby, but there's always the pub for the odd game that I want to see.

Long term, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Sky are far too expensive for what they provide.  They make massive profits, pay a fortune for football which results in football players getting paid crazy weekly sums, all of which I am paying for and what do I get in return - a few good TV stations and a load of rubbish that I never want to watch and Sky won't remove, and cut my monthly premium for.


----------



## dub_nerd (21 Jan 2018)

stobear said:


> I am in the process of switching from virgin media to Saorview. With virgin I have a large number of channels no one really watches.  My virgin bill was 90pm for B.B. tv and phone.  The outlay for Saorview is 289 and the B.B. bill will be 40 pm.


Similar here, switched about a year ago. Got annoyed by Virgin Media sneaking up the price annually, for a ton of channels I had no interest in. The final insult was the "upgrade" to a VM Horizon box with its sub-standard WiFi. Already had a Sky dish, as well as Virgin Media. Bought a combi Freesat+Saorview receiver and a Saorview aerial, total about €140. Kept the Virgin Media broadband plus phone at about €50/month.

I never really watched much TV apart from news anyway. Still have more channels than I know what to do with, including all the Irish and UK terrestrial channels. The Ariva combi box lets you set up groups of favourites and so I have a dozen channels just on the "News" menu alone. I also watch YouTube more than broadcast TV, and have that available on laptops, smart TV, Ariva box, and a Kodi box which lets you access the playlists in your own YouTube account. It's a bit rubbishy but there are some gems on YouTube like the last decade of University Challenge already set up as a playlist per season.


----------



## MrEarl (21 Jan 2018)

dub_nerd said:


> S....Got annoyed by Virgin Media sneaking up the price annually, for a ton of channels I had no interest in......



Sky do the exact same, price hike is usually announced around September and applied from December.

It will keep happening, as long as we keep on permitting them to do it - long past time that more consumers found their voices and started fighting back, demanding better value or simply moving service provider entirely.


----------



## jim (22 Jan 2018)

If there was a reasonably priced mnthly broadband service for say €20 pm then i would end my sky subs immediately and take the offer and get a combi box in. At the moment though i cant see the point in scaling back to a monthly broadband fee of avout €35 pm and also paying to install combi box etc and loose sky interface which i like and easy recording functionality.

So as things stand its just not worth it to switch from sky €69pm to a new broadband provided as well as to combi box.


----------



## MrEarl (22 Jan 2018)

Hello Jim,

The difference between Sky's €69 pm and your proposed Broadband at €35 pm, is €34pm (or €408 pa). 

I reckon you can get Freeview and Saorview installed (assuming a standard installation and standard kit) for about €400, possibly a little cheaper.

From Year two, it's a saving of €408 pa, and that's before Sky put their prices up in Q4, 2018 (as they have consistently done in previous years).

If you think it's worth paying that additional cost per year for Sky's interface, then fair enough


----------



## jim (22 Jan 2018)

Fair point MrEarl. I suppose its a question of whether a €408 saving next yr is worth the hassal of cancelling sky now, loosing the sky interface that i like and recording functionality, getting a new reliable bb provider asap for €35pm or better and getting a combi box in and set up asap  ..hard to know....

Im going to research bb offers and if i can find one for less than €35 and its reliable etc and if i can easily source a combi box then this might be a runner for me.


----------



## MrEarl (23 Jan 2018)

Hello Jim,

Sky reported pre-tax profits of *GBP£1.05 BILLION* last year (which was slightly less than the year before), because of people like you and I, who have been paying Sky far too much money, for far too long.  Source: BBC News 

Stick with Sky for broadband, if you really don't want to leave them for everything.  They are promoting unlimited fiber at €35 pm for the first 12 months, so if you are not already on that deal, a phone conversation with Sky explaining how you are going to move for a cheaper broadband deal, will probably help resolve matters (assuming you've completed your initial contract with them).

Take a look at switcher.ie or bonkers.ie to compare prices from broadband providers, so you will know what the competition are offering before you telephone Sky to cancel, unless they reduce your broadband bill for you.

Combo boxes (Saorview and Freeview combined) are easily bought from numerous retailers across the country, installers are plentiful, some boxes offer decent 7 day programme guides and have record facilities.  Trust me, you are placing far too much value on Sky's services (I'm not saying that Sky don't provide a good service because they do, it's just not worth anything near €408 pa more than the alternative).

If you are Dublin based, I can recommend  this business  based on my past personal experience as a customer.  I have also purchased equipment from  this retailer  and again, found them very good.  Coincidentally, the guys in Dublin, installed some of the kit that I had purchased from the fella in Mayo, as part of the work they did for me (at a small charge obviously).

From here on, it's time for you to do a little leg work my friend, but believe me, it's well worth the effort


----------



## RedOnion (23 Jan 2018)

Have a look at the certified 'FreeSat +' boxes in the UK. These have a decent interface, record function, and series link. As close as you'll get to the sky interface.
You already have the dish so you'd be set up for 200, plus whatever you need for SaorView.


----------



## jim (23 Jan 2018)

I can get a combi box installed for €240 which is good value and gives plenty of channels as i have the sky dish in place. So its a no brainer from that side of things.

The issue is broadband. If i get rid of sky i need to sort bb elsewhere. I just spoke to sky and they said i can get 15.3mb bb for €39.50 pm. I would go for that only for the fact that 15.3mb is probably woeful. Their fibre bb is €47 pm (its €35pm for new customers!).

Does anyone know whether 15.3mb is sufficient for occassional streaming? I know it would suffice for email and general reading. Also have 2 others in the house.


----------



## Leo (23 Jan 2018)

Netflix recommend 5Mbps or higher for HD playback.


----------



## jim (23 Jan 2018)

Thanks Leo. I think theres other bb deals for about €35 that might haVe better speeds. Ill prob sit on my hands on this for the time being but definitly saorview/freesat at €240 (with dish already in place) makes a lot of sense versus Sky!


----------



## MrEarl (23 Jan 2018)

jim said:


> ...The issue is broadband. If i get rid of sky i need to sort bb elsewhere. I just spoke to sky and they said i can get 15.3mb bb for €39.50 pm. I would go for that only for the fact that 15.3mb is probably woeful. Their fibre bb is €47 pm (its €35pm for new customers!)..



First thing to remember is that is the max speed they can provide on download, not a guaranteed speed.  It's terrible, but not uncommon with Sky (or others using Eir's copper cables).  You will probably find very similar speeds being offered if you speak to Vodafone, Eir, Pure Telecom etc.  Only Virgin have their own lines, so if you are serviced by them, they can offer substantially better speeds.

I would tell Sky in no uncertain terms that what they are providing is a substandard service, so does not justify anything near the full monthly premium.  Talk of speeds up to 100mbs might not result in someone getting download of 100mbs constant, but it certainly doesn't justify them charging someone the same price for receiving download speeds of say 60mbs, as someone getting max. 15.3mbs.  They'll try to drive you nuts doing online tests etc. but give them hell until they improve their speeds, or drop their price to reflect their substandard service is my advice.  Accepting a very poor service for the money you pay them is the worst thing you (or anyone else) can do.


----------



## jim (24 Jan 2018)

I cancelled sky today - good riddance.

Getting combi box installed soon for €240

Getting eir bb for €35 pm for first 6 mnths €49 thereafter.

All in all i will save a bit this yr and a lot henceforth.

Combi box will provide more channels than i can shake a remote at.


----------



## RETIRED2017 (24 Jan 2018)

eir have an offer on at present free calls to Ireland uk +bb for 50 euro  one year contract,


----------



## tommygirl (31 Jan 2018)

Would anyone have a link to channel frequencies that I could install from USB? I have a freeview box for years but satellite channels have just disappeared and won't tune in even when using first time install. Planning to try installing from USB (I did this before) and if this doesn't work start looking at connections, satellite dish etc. Its all legit so hopefully no issue in someone giving me link.
Thanks
Tommygirl


----------



## Leo (31 Jan 2018)

tommygirl said:


> Would anyone have a link to channel frequencies that I could install from USB?



You could program yourself with the details here. Look up the official support site for your brand of receiver to see if they offer downloads of the config files. Many independent site charge a fee for these files.


----------



## PaddyBloggit (29 Nov 2018)

jim said:


> Getting combi box installed soon for €240



What combi box did you install in the end Jim? 

What set-up have you got now and how is it working?


----------



## jim (30 Nov 2018)

I got saorview installed last jan/feb and got rid of sky. The saorview was around €240 once off and a fella installed it for me to my Sky dish. He programmed it fairly easily. So I have all the channels I need plus have the Eir app which gives me all the sport I need casted from my phone to my tv. Have Eir app baceuase my bb and my mobile is with Eir.


----------



## PaddyBloggit (30 Nov 2018)

Thanks Jim.


----------



## candyman (16 Feb 2019)

Has anyone tried the saorview connect box?

I have an Ariva combi currently but the interface is a bit crap, recording is a bit clunky and no real series link capability.

Just wondering if the connect box is better for these points?


----------



## Leo (18 Feb 2019)

candyman said:


> Just wondering if the connect box is better for these points?



There are some videos on the Saorview site that show you through the interface.


----------

