Moving from the US to Ireland

[sshirley]

[Mod edit] Discussions about UK/US/EU cable and satellite solutions in MC is here: http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 995#p48995

Hi everyone,

I live in the US and have the opportunity to move to Ireland later this year. I am very excited about it! Of course, one of the few things that I am bringing with me is my media center!

About 1.5 years ago I bought a Ceton InfiniTV 4 (CableCard) and I couldn't be happier. It was painless to install, works great in WMC, and captures great video and audio. Now I understand that CableCard is a US standard (correct me if I'm wrong). The main cable provider in Ireland is UPC and they use the DVB-C.

My question is two-fold:

1) Am I correct in understanding that in order to see encrypted channels, I need to have a CI (Common Interface) module along with my TV card? Does this Pay TV card perform the same function as a CableCard in that it decrypts signals from the cable company?

2) What TV tuner cards are the best? Basically I am looking for a DVB-C card with the same Plug-n-Forget qualities as the Ceton InfiniTV 4. The HDHomeRun Tech (TECH3-EU) looks good. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[erkotz]

CI performs the same function as CableCARD. It is similar, though not compatible. Additionally, the InfiniTV is not compatible with DVB-C (or DVB-T/DVB-S) so you will need a different tuner card.

I doubt the HDHomeRun Tech is what you want - it is more designed for technicians, and has no CI function. SD makes non-Tech EU-compatible HD Homeruns, or other manufacturers make similar devices.

I also get the feeling that DVB-S is pretty common there - are you sure you want to use DVB-C and not DVB-S?

[foxwood]

I'm not sure that you'll be able to get a CI "card" from UPC - there is no regulatory requirement that they have to support "customer supplied equipment".

You might want to check out the forums on www.boards.ie, and see if you can get some advice from local users.

[mark1234]

Congratulations on moving over to Ireland. I hope you get to see lots of Europe whilst you're over here.

Now, you're in for a bit of a culture shock when it comes to Media Centre and TV outside the US. There is no such thing as a plug and forget option for cable or subscription TV. Media Centre doesn't natively support DVB-C or CIs. DVB Logic software can bridge this gap, but you'd need to have cracks for UPC's encryption. I'm not sure if these are available.

In UK/Ireland cable is the least common way of getting TV. The main way is OTA (free) with satellite (both free and subscription) coming next. Media Centre will work fine with DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 (free is supported natively - extra work required for subscription support).

If you're commited to bringing over Media Centre then I'd suggest starting with DVB-T as it's free and has the most popular channels.

(Oh, and don't forget the power supply change - it's 240v mains power in Ireland)

[foxwood]

I also get the feeling that DVB-S is pretty common there - are you sure you want to use DVB-C and not DVB-S?

There's a lot of "free to view" satellite service available in Europe, and users in Ireland can take advantage of "spillover" from satellite services targetted at the UK.

[sshirley]

CI performs the same function as CableCARD. It is similar, though not compatible. Additionally, the InfiniTV is not compatible with DVB-C (or DVB-T/DVB-S) so you will need a different tuner card.

I doubt the HDHomeRun Tech is what you want - it is more designed for technicians, and has no CI function. SD makes non-Tech EU-compatible HD Homeruns, or other manufacturers make similar devices.

I also get the feeling that DVB-S is pretty common there - are you sure you want to use DVB-C and not DVB-S?

Thanks for the quick response! I know that the InfiniTV is not compatible with DVB-*. I had a little cry to myself when I found out.

I think you're right that DVB-S is common in Ireland. A quick Google search shows a plethora of satellite providers there. I was thinking DVB-C only because I'm used to cable. 40% of households in Ireland have DVB-C. I don't know what percentage has DVB-S.

So I guess that my question on cards can be expanded to DVB-S cards as well as DVB-C.

[sshirley]

Congratulations on moving over to Ireland. I hope you get to see lots of Europe whilst you're over here.

Thanks! My dad is from Ireland and I have loads of family there.

Now, you're in for a bit of a culture shock when it comes to Media Centre and TV outside the US. There is no such thing as a plug and forget option for cable or subscription TV. Media Centre doesn't natively support DVB-C or CIs. DVB Logic software can bridge this gap, but you'd need to have cracks for UPC's encryption. I'm not sure if these are available.

If you were to guess, how many channels on a given provider, say Sky, are clear versus encrypted? Do I really need to worry about CI? I mean, if the encrypted ones are movie channels, then I'm fine as I am good with Netflix and movie theaters.

In UK/Ireland cable is the least common way of getting TV. The main way is OTA (free) with satellite (both free and subscription) coming next. Media Centre will work fine with DVB-T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 (free is supported natively - extra work required for subscription support).

If you're commited to bringing over Media Centre then I'd suggest starting with DVB-T as it's free and has the most popular channels.

I love WMC but I had thought of giving MediaPortal a shot since it has a lot of support for DVB-* cards. But if the support for DVB-S/S2 cards is there for WMC, then I'll try it.

Recommendations on DVB-S cards?

[foxwood]

If you were to guess, how many channels on a given provider, say Sky, are clear versus encrypted? Do I really need to worry about CI? I mean, if the encrypted ones are movie channels, then I'm fine as I am good with Netflix and movie theaters.

I think it's likely to be "all or nothing" - you either need a set-top-box to access the service, or you don't. There may still be some analog service available on cable that isn't encrypted, but I'm pretty sure UPC has eliminated most of that.

[mark1234]

If you were to guess, how many channels on a given provider, say Sky, are clear versus encrypted? Do I really need to worry about CI? I mean, if the encrypted ones are movie channels, then I'm fine as I am good with Netflix and movie theaters.

This is easy - if you go with Sky then everything is encrypted! It's Murdoch and he doesn't run a charity.

I suggest you do some research on what channels are available on each platform and decide what you want to go with. This looks like a reasonable place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_Ireland

Recommendations on DVB-S cards?

Sorry, but I have no opinions here as I don't use DVB-S.

[sshirley]

Yup. I had looked at that Wikipedia page. Good stuff.

So it seems like if I want to watch anything good, I will need to get a CI module and Pay TV card (for the CI module).

[holidayboy]

Sky TV in Media Centre via DVB-S2 tuners is a good option if you're looking for premium content.

Freesat carries quite a few FTA channels, including HD ones (on the same 28.2 satellites as Sky).

The DVB-T service can also be used with a TV tuner.

I don't know how easy it is to natively tune the Irish cable TV signal in Media Centre. I know that it's not easy (impossible?) to do it with Virgin TV in the UK.

I'd definitely look at what satellite and terrestrial signals will get you.

[STC]

Stay away from the Guinness.
It's just too good

[holidayboy]

Take a look at www.freesat.co.uk/what-you-get/our-channels/ for most the UK FTA satellite channels, I'm not sure what Irish TV is broadcast via satellite.

You can check out www.lyngsat.com and www.kingofsat.net for a list of channels on each satellite - the encryption will be "Videoguard" for Sky TV channels on the 28.2E / 28.5E satellites.

I use a Hauppauge Nova HD S2 single tuner and a TBS6981 dual tuner for DVB-S2, and a TBS6280 dual tuner for DVB-T2.

Quad tuner cards are available as well.

Blackgold are another maker of tuners, I've used their stuff in the past with good results.

[blueiedgod]

The main way is OTA (free)

I am not questioning you, since you obviously live there, and it has been quite a few years, over a decade since I have been to UK. But, when I was there in the late 90's, early 2000's, if you had a TV, you had to pay an "antenna tax" which funded BBC. IF you claimed that you did not have a TV, there was "antenna police" which drove around neighbohoods with some sort of TV antenna sniffer, and even if you had an antenna hidden in the attic, they would sniff it out and make you pay tax and penalty.

Have they gotten rid of the Antenna tax, and the antenna police?

Or was that never implemented in Ireland, and was exclusive to UK, or London, per se?

[holidayboy]

^ See here:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/co ... ences.html

[sshirley]

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

The take away, for me, from all of this is (and correct me if I'm wrong):

[*]In the UK and Ireland, satellite is really the best way to go.[/*]
[*]There are free alternatives, but Sky (or some company of that size) provides premium content. For example, I want Fox, Discovery channel, History channel, etc.[/*]
[*]For premium content, I will need a tuner card with a CI module. If the provider doesn't provide just the pay tv card for the CI module, I'll just have to take the set top box, remove the pay tv card, and use it in my tuners CI module.[/*]

Does that seem right?

Thanks, Holidayboy, for what cards you use. What else does everyone use?

[foxwood]

I am not questioning you, since you obviously live there, and it has been quite a few years, over a decade since I have been to UK. But, when I was there in the late 90's, early 2000's, if you had a TV, you had to pay an "antenna tax" which funded BBC. IF you claimed that you did not have a TV, there was "antenna police" which drove around neighbohoods with some sort of TV antenna sniffer, and even if you had an antenna hidden in the attic, they would sniff it out and make you pay tax and penalty.

It's not an "antenna tax". It's called the TV license, and Ireland has one too. It funds the public broadcasting service - in the UK that means that the BBC doesn't carry any commercials (except for their own shows!) though you also have Commercial stations that do show ads (though not quite as many as in the US). In Ireland, both commercial and "public" station carries ads.

The TV license is a marginally cheaper in Ireland (€160 vs £145.50, about ($210 vs $220). It's payable whether you get your TV service over the air, by cable, or by satellite. I don't know if they bother with the detector vans any more - the details of how they worked were supposed to be "secret", but the coils in old CRT TVs were pretty leaky, and weren't hard to detect. With newer flat panels, that technique doesn't work, but as almost every home has one, they now assume you have a TV, and they follow up on the people who don't pay. If you claim that you only use the TV to watch DVDs or play games, technically you're not liable, but you probably shouldn't pay a cable subscription if you're going to try to take that line!.

Looking at the various taxes that get tacked onto my US cable bill, €14/month doesn't sound so exhorbitant.

[foxwood]

Thanks for all the comments everyone!
[*]In the UK and Ireland, satellite is really the best way to go.[/*]

Satellite will give you the widest range of FTA content, and should work well with WMC.

[*]There are free alternatives, but Sky (or some company of that size) provides premium content. For example, I want Fox, Discovery channel, History channel, etc.[/*]

Those channels are available from UPC or from Sky in Ireland.

[*]For premium content, I will need a tuner card with a CI module. If the provider doesn't provide just the pay tv card for the CI module, I'll just have to take the set top box, remove the pay tv card, and use it in my tuners CI module.[/*]

I'm about 95% certain that that's not going to work with UPC. You should ask on www.boards.ie, though.

[sshirley]

So I found a good card from Nevron:

http://www.nevron.eu/products/iptv-acce ... tuner-card
http://www.nevron.eu/products/iptv-acce ... odule-card
http://www.nevron.eu/products/iptv-equi ... ess-module

I don't understand the role that the various components play. I get the DVB-S2 tuner. That's the card itself. What are the CI module card and the CAM (Conditional Access Module) module? It looks like the CI module plugs into the tuner card and allows you to plug in a CAM module. It looks like the CAM module holds the SmartCard (the real word for what I've been calling "Pay TV Card").

Is that how it works?

[mark1234]

I want Fox, Discovery channel, History channel, etc

It may share a name (and ownership? not sure) with the US channel, but Fox in the UK is not the same as Fox in the US. Many of the premium programmes from the US have their first runs on Sky One, though sometimes other channels get a look in, usually with the early seasons.