# Combo Boxes



## Thanos0 (23 Feb 2018)

I am considering getting a combo box to get saorview and satellite.

I intend getting two combo boxes for two rooms. 

I understand that you can purchase satellite receivers with two cable connections for both rooms.

I also intend getting an Ariel for Saorview 

Questions 
1. Can ariels be wired with two cables going to two separate combo boxes?

2. Is there any issues wiring two connections to a satellite dish to two separate combo boxes.

3. Does the size of a satellite dish make any difference to signal strength or picture quality.

4. Are some satellite dishes better than others and what to look for?

5. Does the size or make of an Ariel make any difference to picture quality or signal strength in relation to Saorview. 

6. Does the grade of cable RG6 or RG11 have any effect on picture quality or signal strength that is noticeable?

7. Any recommendations on setting these up?

Thanks Again
Thanos


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## Palerider (24 Feb 2018)

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not that I am aware of, my own dish is the standard size.
4. Mine was off the shelf, nothing special, not expensive, works fine.
5. I did not like the saorview aerial on my chimney so I went with a digital Saorview receiver, it looks like a large bulb, much nicer.
6. I have standard cables so cannot answer...
7. I used an approved installer as I do not have the equipment to hone the satellite into the box...also I dislike heights and drilling holes in my house but it looked straightforward to me.

Well worth doing.


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## Leo (26 Feb 2018)

The size of the dish will depend on which satellite you intend to pick up. If you're after the regular UK FTA channels, then a regular 45/50cm dish pointed at Astra 28.2 will do the job. 

You will need a separate LNB feed from the dish to each satellite tuner, many boxes will support two satellite feeds so you can watch one channel while recording another. Two of these boxes would mean you'd need a quad LNB attached to the dish. This dish/LNB combo would likely do the job.

If you'll have a longer run to your boxes, the lower signal attenuation of RG11 cables (due to their larger conductor) will be worth it, but you're talking very long runs of 50m+, otherwise RG6 will work fine and cost a lot less.


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## Thanos0 (27 Feb 2018)

Thanks for your replies. I am looking into getting the kit now for the job. Thanks again


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## DeclanDublin (20 Mar 2018)

Palerider said:


> 1. Yes
> 2. No
> 3. Not that I am aware of, my own dish is the standard size.
> 4. Mine was off the shelf, nothing special, not expensive, works fine.
> ...


I'm using free to air on an Arriva box. I find the box and remote quite cumbersome and fiddly. I was using the aerial from an old sky connection, and it isn't working great, so quite interested in  the digital Saorview. I am looking for an idea of the costs involved and a recommendation for an installer in the (north) Dublin city area if anyone can recommend someone let me know


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## Leo (21 Mar 2018)

DeclanDublin said:


> I find the box and remote quite cumbersome and fiddly.



As an alternative you could try using a Logitech Harmony remote to control the box. Won't solve poor UI issues with the box, but the remote button layout is good, has defaults for most AV equipment and is fully programmable.


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## DeclanDublin (23 Mar 2018)

Leo said:


> As an alternative you could try using a Logitech Harmony remote to control the box. Won't solve poor UI issues with the box, but the remote button layout is good, has defaults for most AV equipment and is fully programmable.


 As the dish is acting up I'm thinking of replacing the whole thing in any event.  The dish is about 20 yrs old, so probably due to be replaced. Ideally, I'd like a more modern system, and if anyone knows an installer, that would be great.


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## Leo (23 Mar 2018)

DeclanDublin said:


> As the dish is acting up I'm thinking of replacing the whole thing in any event.  The dish is about 20 yrs old, so probably due to be replaced. Ideally, I'd like a more modern system, and if anyone knows an installer, that would be great.



If you're any way handy, it's an easy enough job. I recently got a Formuler F1 [broken link removed] with dual satellite and single terrestrial receivers, add a USB drive for live pause/ rewind and recording. With the Android based boxes there are groups making alternative user interfaces available, so if you don't like the one it's shipped with, you can flash it with another one.


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## DeclanDublin (23 Mar 2018)

Leo said:


> If you're any way handy, it's an easy enough job. I recently got a Formuler F1 [broken link removed] with dual satellite and single terrestrial receivers, add a USB drive for live pause/ rewind and recording. With the Android based boxes there are groups making alternative user interfaces available, so if you don't like the one it's shipped with, you can flash it with another one.


You lost me on the first sentence Leo! I'm not in any way handy! I'll get someone else to do it.


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Nov 2019)

My mother got one of these yokes - a Blazer box.

It works fine most of the time, but sometimes in freezes completely. The person is talking on the TV and stops. 

It seems to be only RTE 1 but that might be because that is what she watches most of the time. 

She has difficulty understanding why she has two remotes so I told her to leave the box on and just turn on and off the TV and it will default automatically to RTE 1.

I am wondering now if that was bad advice and maybe she should turn off the box.

Brendan


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## Zenith63 (17 Nov 2019)

Brendan Burgess said:


> It works fine most of the time, but sometimes in freezes completely. The person is talking on the TV and stops.


Does it need to be powered off/on when it freezes, or is it just a momentary thing? If the latter the issue could be a weak signal from the aerial. If the former, a software update might improve things, or the box could just be a lemon. Lots of others on the likes of freetv.ie if you wanted to try a different brand.

Personally I’d agree with leaving it powered on all the time for less techy users like this, the power usage is small and it’s unlikely to solve the issue here by powering it off regularly.

FWIW you can buy TVs with a satellite decoder built-in, avoiding the need for these boxes and second remotes. Just in-case she ever needs a new TV anyway.


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Nov 2019)

Zenith63 said:


> FWIW you can buy TVs with a satellite decoder built-in, avoiding the need for these boxes and second remotes. Just in-case she ever needs a new TV anyway.



Zenith. 

Thanks for that. It might be the simplest solution.  

In the old days, anyone could operate a TV. Turn it on. Press 1 for BBC 1, 2 for Ulster and 3 for RTE 1. 

Brendan


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## JohnJay (17 Nov 2019)

Zenith63 said:


> FWIW you can buy TVs with a satellite decoder built-in, avoiding the need for these boxes and second remotes. Just in-case she ever needs a new TV anyway.






Brendan Burgess said:


> Zenith.
> 
> Thanks for that. It might be the simplest solution.
> 
> ...



Just be careful of what TV you buy with this function. I have an LG with a built-in Tuner, but its still a bit of a maze to get from the "Saoirview List" to the "Satellite List". Its actually easier for me to have a separate box. 
But I hear the Walker TV's work very well with this function. All channels appear on the same list.


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## Leo (18 Nov 2019)

I use a Logitech Harmony remote to control my setup, single remote controls the TV, combi box, and any other AV equipment you have. Very easy enough to program and use. For example, when I hit the TV button on mine, it turns on both the TV and combi box and sets the TV to the correct input. Hit the off button and it turns both off. The regular remote buttons like channel up/down, etc. then control the combi box functions.

You can program multiple steps for the function buttons, for example I've the movie button set up to launch Netflix on the TV, mute the TV volume and turn on the surround sound system to the appropriate input.


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## Brendan Burgess (18 Nov 2019)

Leo said:


> Logitech Harmony remote



Hi Leo

Does this work with any equipment? 

Could I buy one of these and set it up for my mother? 

Brendan


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## Blackrock1 (18 Nov 2019)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Hi Leo
> 
> Does this work with any equipment?
> 
> ...


yes and yes

although be prepared to become tech support


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## Leo (18 Nov 2019)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Does this work with any equipment?
> 
> Could I buy one of these and set it up for my mother?



They work for most equipment, check out whether yours is supported here. 

In my experience, they are very reliable, relatively easy to set up, and simple to use. If my parents were using anything other than Sky, chances are I'd set one of these up for them too so I wouldn't be getting tech support calls!


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## nest egg (18 Nov 2019)

Given the remit of the post, let's look at things in terms of ease-of-use, and reliability.

Top spot: the only way to have it like in the "good old days", is to be lucky enough to be able to pick up transmitters from both Ireland (aka Saorview, for Irish channels) and the UK (aka Freeview, for British channels).  All TVs these days have an integrated DTT (digital terrestrial tuner), so with this setup, you only have one remote control, one list of channels / EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) etc. It's the neatest, friendliest system you can have, but unfortunately, very dependent on where you live.

In 2nd position: buy a dedicated box, which accepts both DTT for the Irish channels, and satellite feeds for the British channels, and compiles them into a single list / EPG.  This is a product which is very focused on the Irish free-to-air market, as British people would either use DTT or satellite, not a combination of both, as they can get all their channels on either platform. Therefore the choices which appeal to the mass market here are limited. I've only briefly used one, Walker, which seems to have targeted this niche, but can't comment much on its reliability. 

In 3rd position, you can buy TVs with integrated DTT and satellite tuners. Ideally you could have all channels in one list / EPG.  It can vary very widely though from manufacturer to manufacturer.  My folks have an LG TV from about 10 years ago which does just that, and it works well, as BBC follows RTE pretty seamlessly, despite the signal coming from DTT and Satellite respectively (some data is missing from the EPG for the satellite feeds but that doesn't bother them). I have a newer LG TV however and it is anything but that simple, with a myriad of menus required to hop from DTT to Satellite. Caveat emptor!

In my own case, I use a slightly different setup than the above. I use the integrated DTT tuner for the Irish channels / Irish EPG, and a separate "Freesat" box for the British channels / EPG.  Freesat is a brand in itself (like Freeview) which packages free-to-air satellite channels into something designed for the masses, a free "Sky" rival so-to-speak.  The box isn't for sale outside of the UK, but its relatively easy to buy one online.  This requires two remotes and two EPGs, but my folks can use it when they visit, so it passes that test at least.  I have it on my list to purchase an all-in-one remote, which should further simplify the setup.


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