im a total noob to the site so if im in the wrong forum please move Ok, so due to the recession i can no longer afford my chorus bill and wish to change to Free to Air. I picked up a cheap and cheerful dish from Dunnes stores and was shocked at the quality and channel selection available off the dish. admitedly the build quality of everything is reletively poor but i cant fault it for the price. now down to the nitty gritty, 1. If i wanted to set up 4 boxes off this dish would i simply put a spliter in the line from the lnb and connect each cable to each box or is it just not as simple as that? (any guides greatly appreciated) 2. is it possible to pick up a HD box to get the likes of bbc hd and still pick up other non hd channels on this box and watch them? 3. is it possible to merge my terrestial signal and sat signal so i can pick up the likes of rte and such at my tv source or even via a dual tunner box? 4. do the set top boxes automatically power the lnb or does it require power at all? 5. i have rewired my house for chorus before, (to avoid installation charges) for multi room viewing so im not affraid of hard work. 6. is the astra 2e or 2a/2b (i forget which as i am not looking at it now) the be all and end all of satellites to be using or tuning from? this site is fantastic and informative, i have been hovering for quite a while and decided to join after deciding to take the plunge of FTA. i do apologise if this is the wrong sub forum as im not too sure what some of the acronyms mean (pvr......) but i promise to learn. Any and all help appreciated. Dave
Hi Dave, You will need a Quad LNB to receive the sat signal to each box in each room, you mentioned chorus so obviously you're Ireland based so if you get any HD FTA satellite box it will give you BBC HD, although I could be mistaken and it's on Freesat which is slightly different as it's mean't for UK residents only but it's quite easy to get around. I'm nearly sure any HD FTA box will receive it though as I only tuned it in on a Bravia TV set a few days ago here in Ireland. The LNB receives power from set top box yes. Your sat is pointing at 2D if your receiving ITV, BBC etc. Best way to receive RTE etc. is to plug your analogue cable from aerial into tv direct and scan them in on tv. Update: BBC HD is FTA and so is ITV HD so you will receive those channels with any HD satellite box.
Here you go: 1. If i wanted to set up 4 boxes off this dish would i simply put a spliter in the line from the lnb and connect each cable to each box or is it just not as simple as that? (any guides greatly appreciated) As mentioned, you'll need a quad LNB on the arm of the dish and 4 satellite cables - one for each receiver. 2. is it possible to pick up a HD box to get the likes of bbc hd and still pick up other non hd channels on this box and watch them? Yes. I would recommend the MVision HD200 Combo receiver which is compatible with the proposed Irish digital terrestrial switchover specs (as well as being a HD satellite receiver). If you are in Dublin or near enough, you can actually pick up the test broadcasts using this box too. http://www.m-vision.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=5 I believe there is an updated one which has an ethernet port which, with a hell of a lot of work, might work for other uses (which I wont go into here). 3. is it possible to merge my terrestial signal and sat signal so i can pick up the likes of rte and such at my tv source or even via a dual tunner box? With the box I just mentioned, yes. However, you will need a digital Ariel for the terrestrial connection. The U*C cable connection is just that - a cable connection for U*C.These can be had quite cheap. 4. do the set top boxes automatically power the lnb or does it require power at all? Most receivers (that I know of anyway) have the option to do so. Consult the documentation. 5. i have rewired my house for chorus before, (to avoid installation charges) for multi room viewing so im not affraid of hard work. Shouldn't be much hard work unless you're afraid of heights. 6. is the astra 2e or 2a/2b (i forget which as i am not looking at it now) the be all and end all of satellites to be using or tuning from? There are thousands of channels across the skies both at 28.2e and others. Most of which are rubbish or premium PPV stuff such as Sky or, looking at Europe, the likes of Sky Italia, Premier in Germany and others. Hope this all helps. NiGHTSJOD
Mooley, NightsJod, Thank you very much for your comprehensive and exceptionally detailed information. After searching this site i found info regarding saving money and avoiding the likes of maplin for the quad LNB and getting it on ebay for about 15 euros. I have a few more questions if thats ok?? 1. would inverting a splitter and putting my terestrial digital arial feed down one port and the sat down the other and simply connecting the other (single side) side of the splitter to a dual tunner box will it pick up all the signals or is there a correct way to merge the signals? 2. I was hoping to locate a satellite dish similar to the sky one (mesh style) so the wind would not affect it (pass through it), but im guessing this is all aesthetics and that any dish designed to do the job will be fine? Thanks again Your help is greatly appreciated
Personally I wouldn't think joining the signals will work, pretty positive it won't actually but I could be mistaken. If it has a dual DTT (make sure it's MPEG-4 for Ireland, MPEG-2 for UK) and Sat tuner then it will have 'Aerial In' and 'Sat In' or similar on the back so you feed in seperately. Sorry mean't to add, any dish over 60cm should do you (which the sky dish is).
