Recommendations and technical advice sought for satellite and UHF receivers.

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Recommendations and technical advice sought for satellite and UHF receivers.

Rikkitic

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#236397 31-May-2018 12:50

I need to replace my satellite and UHF receivers but am not sure what to look for, especially in regard to the new Freeview + standard. I know something about the technical aspects, but am no expert. I would appreciate it if someone could help point me in the right direction.

I want to be able to look beyond just the officially-approved devices. Cost and flexibility are important considerations and I am thinking of a combo box that does both UHF and satellite. As far as DVB-T goes, I already have a pre-2013 Sony TV with basic UHF tuner. This works well enough for regular Freeview, though the antenna-fed EPG takes forever to load and there is no recording option. Needless to say, any external box I buy should at least offer more than this.

I am not too worried about the EPG as long as it shows current programmes. I realise it will probably be limited in a non-approved box. My question is whether there is anything else I need to watch out for, other than frequency range, channel bandwidth, and PAL standard. Are there any hidden issues with the new Freeview specifications?

The main thing is the satellite box. The one we have is starting to act up and it needs to be replaced. We use it for more than just Freeview so any new one needs to be capable of full HD satellite reception. There are plenty of stand-alone boxes that can do this. Is there anything I need to watch out for? Suggestions welcome and thanks in advance.

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MikeB4

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#2026183 31-May-2018 12:54

One piece of advice I can give you is avoid Dish products, they are terrible.

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Rikkitic

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#2026215 31-May-2018 13:24

Thanks. I ruled them out a long time ago.

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MikeB4

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#2026219 31-May-2018 13:33

The options are not great here in NZ. For myself after I dumped Sky I just couldn't be bothered with a labour intensive setup so I went with a new smart TV with built in tuner, a Panasonic PVR and NAS using Plex for my digitalised media.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Rikkitic

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#2026233 31-May-2018 14:04

That's fine for people who can afford it. I need to do this on a budget. Anyway, my Sony still works fine except for the useless 'smart' crap. I don't believe in supporting planned obsolescence or rewarding manufacturers who play that game. I also don't expect to find anything in NZ. I will probably pick up a $60 box on Aliexpress. I just want to make sure to avoid any compatibility issues.

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wellygary

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#2026277 31-May-2018 14:29

Rikkitic:

I am not too worried about the EPG as long as it shows current programmes. I realise it will probably be limited in a non-approved box. My question is whether there is anything else I need to watch out for, other than frequency range, channel bandwidth, and PAL standard. Are there any hidden issues with the new Freeview specifications?

PAL is long dead,

The standard in NZ for terrestrial is DVB-T and DVB-S for satellite, you will want a sat box that supports DVB-S2 as that is where the world is moving to and eventually when Freeview Satellite goes HD that is the standard they will use....

B1GGLZ

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#2026284 31-May-2018 14:40

Rikkitic:

That's fine for people who can afford it. I need to do this on a budget. Anyway, my Sony still works fine except for the useless 'smart' crap. I don't believe in supporting planned obsolescence or rewarding manufacturers who play that game. I also don't expect to find anything in NZ. I will probably pick up a $60 box on Aliexpress. I just want to make sure to avoid any compatibility issues.

IMHO, from comments I've seen in online Fora, the new Freeview + stuff is crap and just doesn't work for many brands and lots of people. TV's are meant to receive UHF (and some brands Sat TV too) signals and simply do not have enough computer power to do much else. I've never even been interested enough to update my gear and try it. I have a HTPC and get all my viewing from online (Lightbox etc) except for the daily news and the odd occasional program recorded on my Panasonic Recorder. I also have an Android TV box with built in Sat and UHF tuners which was under $100 but now I rarely use it. It has Kodi installed and is able to access heaps of live Worldwide TV online. If I was to subscribe to a VPN I could also access BBC iplayer and others that are geo-locked on the HTPC but have no interest or need to at the moment.

P.S. Go for the box on Aliexpress particularly if you can get one with UHF/Sat Tuners.

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Rikkitic

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#2026298 31-May-2018 14:48

wellygary:

Rikkitic:

I am not too worried about the EPG as long as it shows current programmes. I realise it will probably be limited in a non-approved box. My question is whether there is anything else I need to watch out for, other than frequency range, channel bandwidth, and PAL standard. Are there any hidden issues with the new Freeview specifications?

PAL is long dead,

The standard in NZ for terrestrial is DVB-T and DVB-S for satellite, you will want a sat box that supports DVB-S2 as that is where the world is moving to and eventually when Freeview Satellite goes HD that is the standard they will use....

Thanks. I was just trying to find examples and used PAL without thinking. Of course I want DVB-T2 and S2.

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Rikkitic

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#2026305 31-May-2018 15:04

B1GGLZ:

P.S. Go for the box on Aliexpress particularly if you can get one with UHF/Sat Tuners.

Thanks for the tip. It sounds like we are on the same wavelength. I also rarely watch NZ Freeview and do most of my viewing overseas. I also use multiple devices, Kodi on Android, DVB-T2, DVB-S2. About the only thing I watch on Freeview is the news. For other things I mainly use Kodi and Android apps, and also some non-Freeview satellite channels.

My satellite box is showing signs of impending failure so needs to be replaced. I can still get Freeview on the TV, but don't want to lose the other satellite channels. My thinking is if I have to get something anyway, I might as well get something as future-proofed as possible. It would also be nice to get everything in one box to reduce clutter. But does it make sense to buy an old technology UHF receiver when Freeview + is about to be relaunched? I might as well get something for that if I'm going to do it at all. Also, it looks like public service television may return in the near future here and that is something that would interest me. So what kind of box should I get? Is it going to be outmoded as soon as I get it? Hence my questions.

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RedactedRetracted

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#2026379 31-May-2018 17:15

Have you considered getting the Freeview Kodi addon that exists? IIRC you can also setup a TV guide which hooks into the iptv streams provided by TVNZ and Mediaworks, however it won't have some of the smaller channels (HGTV, Choice, Prime etc). You can also get TVNZ Ondemand and ThreeNow (plus HGTV and Choice TV addons).

Obviously you can't record stuff, but it outs everything in one place.

Apsattv

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#2026915 1-Jun-2018 14:09

I saw this? but not really what you after either?

https://www.vboxcomm.com/new-zealand-free-tv.html

Rikkitic

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#2026955 1-Jun-2018 15:05

RedactedRetracted: Have you considered getting the Freeview Kodi addon that exists? IIRC you can also setup a TV guide which hooks into the iptv streams provided by TVNZ and Mediaworks, however it won't have some of the smaller channels (HGTV, Choice, Prime etc). You can also get TVNZ Ondemand and ThreeNow (plus HGTV and Choice TV addons).

Obviously you can't record stuff, but it outs everything in one place.

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually already have that as a backup, but because we are on RBI with a data cap, we prefer to reserve streaming for things we can't otherwise watch. The advantage of UHF and satellite is that there is no data cap. Apart form that, we also use satellite for other stuff.

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#2026961 1-Jun-2018 15:15

Why do you have satellite and UHF receivers? Is there a different need to have both?

If you after a good UHF freeview PVR why not just get one of the modded Tivo's off trademe? Some for under $100. They still one of the better boxes IMO. Just no satellite, they UHF only.

Rikkitic

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#2026966 1-Jun-2018 15:22

Apsattv:

I saw this? but not really what you after either?

https://www.vboxcomm.com/new-zealand-free-tv.html

This is actually really interesting. It seems to have pretty much everything. My only problem with it is the price. I want to have Freeview available with both transmission technologies, but we actually watch very little other than the news. This is just too much money for the use we would make of it. We can also record via other means if we want to. This is a Rolls-Royce but I'm just looking for a Capri.

I have more or less decided on this one unless someone comes up with a good reason not to. It seems to tick all the boxes and it is quite a bit cheaper.

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Rikkitic

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#2026968 1-Jun-2018 15:26

Wiggum:

Why do you have satellite and UHF receivers? Is there a different need to have both?

If you after a good UHF freeview PVR why not just get one of the modded Tivo's off trademe? Some for under $100. They still one of the better boxes IMO. Just no satellite, they UHF only.

I have satellite because I also watch channels on D2 and Intelsat 19 on occasion. D1 is just an extra, though it is handy as an extra back-up or when I want to record something.

UHF is for better quality and the channels I can't get on satellite, like Al Jazeera. It also serves as a back-up.

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