The news that thousands of Irish viewers are ending their pay TV subscriptions to Sky and UPC due to the recession comes as no surprise. And now many people are asking: “How can I get the UK TV channels for free – and what is the cheapest way to connect to SAORVIEW?” Well read on and I will try and offer some advice that may help you save money when switching to SAORVIEW and installing Freesat for the UK channels.
The annual cost of pay TV – Sky or cable – is anything from €300 to €700 per annum – which in my opinion is far too expensive for a service that comprises too many repeats.
And unless you are a complete sports fanatic surely there is only so much live soccer, rugby, tennis and golf you can watch in any 7-day period.
There is a lot happening in the TV world in Ireland right now including RTE Two broadcasting sport in HD on SAORVIEW.
SAORVIEW is available through your rooftop aerial.
The switchover to SAORVIEW – Ireland’s new digital TV service – is a hot topic as households go about making sure they will be able to receive the new service when the old analogue TV signal is closed down this Autumn.
Luckily, I have always had an interest in the technical side of TV reception – terrestrial and satellite – and have been shocked in recent days to read the prices that are being charged to connect people to free-to-air satellite in Ireland.
So here’s what you need to look out for when going digitial.
Sky To Freesat
If you are already a Sky customer and want to change to Freesat it will cost you absolutely nothing. End your subscription and continue viewing as your current Sky box will receive all the Freesat channels.
However, if you have a Sky Plus box, as many households subscribing to Sky have, the big downside to this particular set-up is that the Sky Plus box’s recording function will no longer work.
If that’s not a problem, fine.
Otherwise you have two choices: either buy a new Freesat box for as little as €55 – but without the recording function – or replace your Sky Plus box with the Humax FOXSAT-HDR500 Freesat + HD – which works just like the Sky Plus box – and I can personally highly recommended the Foxsat HDR, having had one for three years.
A quick check of some of the leading online satellite TV retailers in Ireland shows prices for a basic Freesast HD receiver starting at about €142.
A Humax box from this well-known online Dublin retailer, whom I have purchased from myself in the past, costs around €355 for the 500 GB model – and the same box here for €305.
A Google search will find a number of other Irish-based online satellite TV retailers
New to Satellite
The Humax HDR Electronic Programme Guide makes recording easy.
If you are new to satellite TV and don’t want to pay a monthly subscription to get all the British channels such as BBC1, ITV, C4 and Five you need to buy a dish and a satellite receiver – which should not cost much more than €150 for basic setup.
If you are not up to installing the system yourself then call one of the satellite TV installers in Mayo.
Getting SAORVIEW
SAORVIEW reception should not be a problem for most households.
If you bought a HD TV in recent years that cannot receive the service then you will need to buy a receiver like one of these for sale here
Need A New TV
If you have a TV that’s over 10 years old, you are better off changing it now for a SAORVIEW approved set which you will be delighted to hear is all you will need to receive the digital TV channels, once it is connected to your rooftop aerial.
Anyone who can currently receive TG4 and TV3 be assured that your existing aerial will receive SAORVIEW. If you cannot get either of these chanels then you will need a new aerial.
SAORSAT
Those mountainous areas of Mayo and elsewhere with poor reception will be able to receive the new Irish digital channels via the SAORSAT satellite service – but reception will require specialised equipment – and be aware that SAORSAT is beamed from a different satellite to Sky so an existing dish will not work.
Combo Boxes
Personally, I would advise people against buying what are commonly known as Combo Receivers that allow you to receive both UK satellite and SAORVIEW digital channels from the one receiver.
While the boxes do have the obvious advantage of having Irish and UK TV reception coming through one unit, the big problem with this set up is that the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) is limited to NOW and NEXT which is totally useless for recording purposes.
So unless you are an enthusiast stay clear of Combo boxes.
The truth is it should not cost you an arm and a leg to start tuning into quality digital TV for free and save your hard-earned cash for a nice sun holiday!