Good day gentlemen, Ex SV here and learnt and read all about that so its time to move on. I was researching what next and was in the market to go for a Kryptview a850 due to HD and being cable. Now this is where my confusion comes in, I spoke to my bro in law as he has a technomate and I told him what I was getting etc. he told me to go to a shop in Bham to see what they have in case I saw something I like so I did and spoke to the guy at the counter. Now I though cable was vermin and sat was sly, I did not know that I can still have vermin and have a dish installed which would plug directly into the box and then have a Ethernet cable running to the box from my suberhub. So in essence I have two co axial cables..... does that sound correct? The reason im asking this is the guy said he does not do cable box but only sat box which he offered the sky f3/5. All in it comes to about 250 (same price as a850) and that basically 190 for the box and year sub with the rest being the dish install. After knowing of this place I know I could probably get the box cheaper with sub and could try to DIY the dish myself. As im not familiar with what I should be looking for, what would be the best box to go for? Is there a big difference between them all i.e. blade, sky f3/5 vuo etc. It has to be HD as well. And if im looking to get a dish myself, does it have to have a specific spec? Does it have to be a sly dish or could it be anyone as long as it is facing south? Ive seen some on ebay. Thanks for your help. Some reason I cant press enter in this box to start a new paragraph.
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Openbox/Skybox receivers connect to a dish to receive all the channels/signal, thats all the free to air and scrambled subscription channels. You dont need a special type of satellite dish, using a cheap common Sky dish is perfectly fine...The box would only need a connection to your internet to employ its ability of being able to unscramble channels...
Skybox F3 costs about 50 quid
Sky dish kit around 20 quid on ebay
Years doodah of extra channels around 50 to 100 quid
Sky Dish installation, around 50 quid (or do it yourself)
So you could DIY the dish install and have it all setup and good to go for year from just ?120, but you will have to spend some time learning up and googling... The smart man doesnt buy a year, cause he's aware it could all go off in a month or two and lose his money.. The smart man usually just buys a month or two at a time...
Or take the lazy arse easy route and have it all setup for you for your quoted price of 250 quid, and then keep your fingers crossed and hope it actually lasts for a year.
Getting the box & installing the dish you will get lots of help here, but not about how/where to get extra channels as that topic is not allowed on this forum... -
Thanks a lot nibblitz, that was of great help! That has answered some of my questions but has also opened the need for others. What would be the ideal box to go for? I mean ive read glitching about the krptview at the moment so I am steering clear of it for the time being; been reading that the sat boxes are considerably better then their counterparts. Im not sure about which to go for, ive seen blade, openbox, skybox (f5) but again not sure. Im after a reliable (or most reliable) HD box really. The places I was looking to get the boxes from before also stock the boxes mentioned above; do they also supply the sub as well? I was going to get it from either DCuniversereceivers or Lynxcat (if I shouldnt name them please edit or remove, ive disguised too obviously). I currently have a dish on the side of the house but from what you have said it seems that it might suffice? I just assumed it had to be a specific one. Thanks again, nib...... how do you start a paragraph?! What is this wizardry!Comment
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Kryptview & Starview are Cable TV receivers, they have very limited choice of provider for extra channels, so if its crap service there's nowt much you can do about it.. But with Satellite Receivers the choice is seemingly endless, so if it becomes crap you can easily switch to another..
Skybox F3 is the cheapest, and probably the most reliable of the cheap receivers at the moment, can be bought from anywhere, even ebay... The more you spend on a box then a better feature set it may have. HD picture quality is much the same on cheap boxes as it is on more expensive boxes... The cheap boxes wont give you a 7 day EPG though, and they're only single tuner, which means when recording you cant view a different channel.. For a box that would allow you a full EPG cost around 150 quid or so... A twin tuner box start around 200 quid...
If you have a Sky dish on the wall already then yep, use that...
We cant talk about how/where/who regarding subs, its a banned topic on these forums... But there are other forums out there that do allow for such discussion, googling may help you find them...
Good luck in your quest..
(Pressing enter a couple of time creates a new paragraph, doesnt it?)Comment
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Nib.... Youre a star mate. Has helped me a lot! I guess im on the right route with going sat. Just have to decide which box.... I appreciate you information on the epg and tuner; does the f5 surpass the f3? I mean it should do for it do be released but I don't know whether it has been considered fully reliable or not. I appreciate the help (ive been hammering enter
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Not really, and there seems to have been quite a few people reporting issues with the F5's, yet the F3 has proven to be quite reliable since its release. But you might also like to consider the M3... The M3 is identical in functionality, reliability and uses same firmware, but it comes in a much much smaller unit with an external 12v power adapter. The M3 is a perfect choice if you prefer a more discrete box not taking up too much space..
You're making the right choice coming to satellite and I recommend you buy either the Skybox F3 or M3 to get you started watching HD satellite TV.. Then in the future when your understanding of it all has grown (and pennies in the bank allow) you'll be all set to get yourself a more expensive and more capable receiver, and dream of getting that motorised dish installed, thats when you start to have some real fun with satellite..Comment
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F3 is a cracking box if you just want to setup and watch tv, HD is great
I brought my dish a few years ago for freesat as freeview round here is crap, cost about 50/60 quid all in with cable k t brackets etc etc, I just pointed my dish the same way as next doors and then got a mate to say if signal got stronger or weaker, doing this I saved a lot and I have a rock solid strong signal. Getting into this does not need to cost a arm and a leg just a few basic diy skills and your set
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Thanks again Nibs.... will consider choosing the f3 over the f5. Will also look into the M3, will search on here later. You mention in future that I might consider a more up market box; I not looking for the cheapest box out there I just picked f3 because of what I have been reading about. What are the more expensive boxes? openbox? Blade? Are they more reliable? Reason being, I don't mind investing a bit more money if I am able to get the longevity out of it as ive learnt my lesson with SV! Thanks again Nibs.Comment
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Ajax, that's pretty much what I want to do unless there are other things I should be looking for (can only assume things like record, epg etc.)Comment
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The F3 can record to USB mate, the EPG is limited to say the least but all in all a great little box for the money. If you want closer to the Sly + experience then look at the VU+ range of boxes, more expensive but great little boxes with all the bells and whistles
Posted using Tapatalk for IPad.Comment
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A more expensive box should be no more reliable than a cheap box, a more expensive box will simply have more features.
Blade 7000 & Technomate 5402 allow for having a full 7 day EPG, and a few other extra pies, them boxes cost around 150 quid.
For a dual tuner box I guess you need to be looking at the more complex Linux boxes, like the VU+ Duo, they're around 250 quid...Comment
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