Advice Needed I need to replace 96yr old ladies Sat box

[worcesterman47]

Hi guys,my mother in law is a disabled 96yr old Italian lady,she speaks no English and relies on the Italian tv we had installed for her many years ago.it is/was a Fortec Star digi box but it has now totally stopped working,I am looking for advice on what to replace it with.she only ever watches Rai one,Rai two and Rai three (nothing else at all) what I would like is just a basic replacement box that is relatively easy to set up and receive Rai one two,three.the dish is obviously already pointing in the right direction so I just need to tune it in (I assume),she does not have a lot of money so we want to buy it for her (but we are not rich so something quite cheap...hopefully.the tv has a scart and hdmi connection if that helps.i know nothing about these things but I'm sure I can figure out the tuning in etc,so if anyone can advise/help it would be greatly appreciated,many thanks in advance.

 

[Adam792]

From your username it looks like you're local to me!

Pretty much any free to air satellite receiver will work for those channels. If you look on any of the forum advertisers I think they would all have a range.

Alternatively, for around £170 you can buy a Tivùsat receiver and card. This is like the Italian equivalent to Freesat, and you get all the Rai channels without them ever going scrambled, and then channels like Rete 4, Canale 5, Italia 1, La 7 etc (all the main Italian commercial channels). If you have family in Italy who can buy one of these receivers and activate the viewing card (you need Italian ID to do it I think) for you then ship it over, that could be a bit cheaper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Analoguesat]

The Technomate TM5403 series are well regarded, and easy to use.. Should you be able to pick up a Tivusat cam & card you can have the channels in HD instead of SD, should the old lady have an HD capable TV. The TM5403 works fine with the Tivusat cam.

 

[worcesterman47]

Thanks guys I was looking at the Tivusat set up with a card that would be set up by the company I was looking at to buy the system from,they apparently register the number which is called a "Codice fiscale" (equivalent to our National Insurance number)we think my mother in law has this Codice fiscale number as she receives a small pension from Italy ...but she only has a UK address (mine) and now no other relatives in Italy. Can these company's actual do as they say and is it all as honest as possible and not a scam ?...if it is all above board I think the Tivusat and card set up is the way I will go.would they be genuine companies or just scams ? Would really appreciate some more advice on what I may be ordering....many thanks again

 

[a33]

Well, on the tivusat enlish language FAQ page they say you also need an adress (italian??); see tivùsat - FAQ

However, on the actual italian page for activation, no adress is asked; see tivùsat - Attivazione SmartCard

Not sure how this works.....

A33.

 

[worcesterman47]

Thanks for that info I will check it out..................Also......just a thought as I have been looking around for further NFL/advice I came across a post that said someone was using an old Sky box to watch Italian channels,could I use a Sky box ? And connect it to the current dish being used for the Italian channels and tune that in,maybe an old Sky+ box

 

[mariust5]

Activation is very easy to do as you can generate the numbers anyway .. i wouldn't worry about that .

 

[Channel Hopper]

Hi guys,my mother in law is a disabled 96yr old Italian lady,she speaks no English and relies on the Italian tv we had installed for her many years ago.it is/was a Fortec Star digi box but it has now totally stopped working,I am looking for advice on what to replace it with.she only ever watches Rai one,Rai two and Rai three (nothing else at all) what I would like is just a basic replacement box that is relatively easy to set up and receive Rai one two,three.the dish is obviously already pointing in the right direction so I just need to tune it in (I assume),she does not have a lot of money so we want to buy it for her (but we are not rich so something quite cheap...hopefully.the tv has a scart and hdmi connection if that helps.i know nothing about these things but I'm sure I can figure out the tuning in etc,so if anyone can advise/help it would be greatly appreciated,many thanks in advance.

Have you tried a cleardown to factory settings and then a full rescan ?
Many changes in frequency will stump the older boxes.

 

[Sat1969]

Point your dish to 5W and get Octagon SF4008.
The Italian channels that you are seeking are free to air...

 

[Lazarus]

Point your dish to 5W and get Octagon SF4008.
The Italian channels that you are seeking are free to air...

Nice idea, but probably exceeds the budget. Considerably!

 

[worcesterman47]

Final question could someone tell me if this is the kind of box I am looking for ? Remembering all I really need is Rai 1. Rai 2. & Rai 3

TivuSat Fuba ODE713HD Receiver with FREE PRE-ACTIVATED Smartcard

 

[Lazarus]

Yes, that'll do nicely.

And WoS is a Forum Sponsor, so you should have confidence.

 

[a33]

.she only ever watches Rai one,Rai two and Rai three (nothing else at all) what I would like is just a basic replacement box that is relatively easy to set up and receive Rai one two,three.

Keep in mind: For only Rai 1-2-3 in SD format, any secondhand SD-receiver would do! So, much cheaper options are also possible, when you don't want extra programs.
As most people buy HD-receivers nowadays, SD-receivers are easy to get.

Only thing to consider then, is if you want a SCART cable to your TV, or a HDMI cable.
And that very very rarely, the RAI SD-channels go scrambled; but that your mother in law is used to I suppose.

Greetz,
A33

 

[worcesterman47]

Hi guys just a final update,I bought the above link receiver (previous post) and set it up and it does everything required,so a BIG thank you to all for your advice/input.we now have a much happier 96yr old .

 

[Lazarus]

Nice outcome.

 

[Adam792]

Glad you have it all working!

From what you've said, it doesn't sound like she'll go above channel 3!

 

[shawl_who]

at first I misread it as a 96 yr old satellite box, my bad

get ur mom to watch few music and other happening channels.... rather than the 3 RAI channels only.

 

[worcesterman47]

at first I misread it as a 96 yr old satellite box, my bad

get ur mom to watch few music and other happening channels.... rather than the 3 RAI channels only.

It's my mother in law not my mom .....and she only believes in Rai 1,2 and 3 ...try as we may to get her to use other channels she will not, so we have given up !

 

[jeallen01]

Had the same "problems" with my mother-in-law (sadly now deceased) when she was in her late 80s after a Sky (UK) box was installed - she watched (about) just the main low-numbered BBC/ITV channels but "refused" to try anything else = "too complicated" (she could be quite an "obstinate" andvocal old lady)!

 

[worcesterman47]

Had the same "problems" with my mother-in-law (sadly now deceased) when she was in her late 80s after a Sky (UK) box was installed - she watched (about) just the main low-numbered BBC/ITV channels but "refused" to try anything else = "too complicated" (she could be quite an "obstinate" andvocal old lady)!

I know exactly where you are coming from....the really old uns are very difficult to change (not all but some )