Replacing Sky Q with a FTA receiver

[navi87]

Good day all,

I've been looking around for a replacement receiver since I will need to return the Sky Q receiver now that I've cancelled my subscription. I have decent knowledge of satellite stuff and I used to get the UK FTA channels over in Germany when I lived there using the built-in DVB-S2 tuner on my LG TV (that TV is still in Germany for now). The TV at my mums house doesnt have a built in Satellite tuner unfortunately.
But I've seen some interesting receivers which uses DVB-S2X which seem to be linux based, are those backwards compatible with DVB-S/S2?
Can I install any app on them linux systems, just like a normal linux pc?

Also, any recommendations for a receiver?
Twin Tuner would be nice so I can record whilst watching something else.

Much appreciated

 

[ozumo]

I believe there's only one active DVB-S2X transponder with FTA television receivable in the UK, it's on 33E and contains Swiss versions of French channels that are available elsewhere. So while nice to have 'just in case', it's far from a deal breaker, and yes they are compatible with DVB-S/S2.

As for Linux receivers they can't run desktop Linux apps.

If I had to recommend a twin tuner receiver it would be an Octagon SF8008, however there is a steep learning curve with Enigma 2 based boxes. Non-Enigma based twin tuner receivers are thin on the ground, they tend to be quite simple but if that's what you want receivers from Technisat or Humax may be suitable.

Personally I'd run two separate single tuner boxes, one for general viewing and one for recording. But make sure they are different brands so the remotes don't clash.

If you just want UK television then a Freesat box may be the best bet, though we've seen many people have problems with the newest 4K models.

 

[Analoguesat]

no point paying extra for an S2X receiver - its not taken off at all in Europe yet so unless you want the future proofing of it theres nothing available to use it really. 33E can be tricky to get in the UK so isnt of much interest really. LG tvs will resolve S2X with the inbuilt tuner, although the satellite tuner software isnt terribly user friendly from what Ive seen of it.

 

[navi87]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Im not bothered about SX2 to be honest, it just seemed the more powerful receivers tend to have them tuners.

I did some more digging around the forum after I posted up, and yeah, it seemed that SX2 was backwards compatible so I thought id try my luck with a "Zgemma-Star 1PCS/Lot ZGEMMA H9S SE Bulit In 300M Wifi DVB-S2X Multistream 4K UHD Support ZGEMMA H9S SE Satellite Receiver
" that I found on aliexpress since the UK websites I found with such receivers had worse specifications, in particular the size of the NAND flash (256mb vs 16gb).
The unit set me back 75.51 GBP and according to a Import Tax calculator I used, it might be another 15 GBP or so when it arrives. Lets see how that goes

Ive been playing around with a raspberry pi for about 2-3 years now so I am pretty comfortable in the Linux environment, I am curious about what kind of Linux images will be on the device, hopefully Debian or something similar so it wont be a massive change for me regarding CLI commands.
OK so no QT apps for these receivers but I would imagine I can still set up scripts/autostart for example, mounting NAS drives using fstab? I hope so lol. I also like the fact I can install Kodi onto it, I have a raspberry pi set up as a media server with a maria db SQL, so I can watch my FTA satellite channels and Kodi content all in one box. That was my main draw towards them to be honest.

Oh, one question comes to mind, regarding the TF memory card. From what I read its basically the same as a micro sd card, but do all micro sd cards work with such receivers? Or do they need to be a certain class? Anything I need to watch out for?

 

[navi87]

And I just realised the unit I ordered isnt a Twin tuner, it has a loop out. Oops. Oh well lol

 

[Channel Hopper]

You may have paid a bit too much for the H9S, they can be found for under £70 or so if you look around.

If you can get it to multiboot then you can eveluate the user friendliness of different images without flashing each time.

The micro SD card size should not bother the receiver.

 

[navi87]

You may have paid a bit too much for the H9S, they can be found for under £70 or so if you look around.

Based on the specs, there was a difference with NAND size, processor and the amount of RAM too. The UK sellers seem to have units from 2018'ish, so it seemed like I paid more for the same product, but those on aliexpress do have superior components. I guess since Im ordering directly from China as opposed to someone who bought a batch of them several years ago in the UK/europe.

Multiboot sounds fun

I didnt mean in terms of the capacity (128gb seems to be max) but in terms of the class of the card....XDHC, Class 10 and all that jazz.

 

[navi87]

Also, I remember reading yesterday on one of the threads regarding the LNB installed for a Sky Q system...they arent universal? Is that true? Will I need to change it?

 

[ozumo]

You get some channels with the Sky Q LNB but in reality you'll need a universal or Sky quad LNB.

 

[navi87]

You get some channels with the Sky Q LNB but in reality you'll need a universal or Sky quad LNB.

Right, gotcha, thats not a big deal. Thanks for confirmation.

Any recommendations for one which I can find on amazon?

 

[Channel Hopper]

If the dish is accessible without risk then a quad/Raven 4 Uni is the way to go, though I think the Zgemma does allow SCR and so you may get away with a converter (dSCR) box inside.

Somebody else with personal experience should be along soon.

 

[ozumo]

Right, gotcha, thats not a big deal. Thanks for confirmation.

Any recommendations for one which I can find on amazon?

Any mk4 Sky quad, about £14 the last time I looked on Amazon.

 

[navi87]

If the dish is accessible without risk then a quad/Raven 4 Uni is the way to go, though I think the Zgemma does allow SCR and so you may get away with a converter (dSCR) box inside.

Somebody else with personal experience should be along soon.

OK thanks, I was worrying more about the mounting mechanism/arm, if they would all fit on the sky mini dish. Ill have a peek at the Raven unit.

 

[navi87]

Any mk4 Sky quad, about £14 the last time I looked on Amazon.

Brilliant, cheers!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Satellites-Quad-LNB-Dishes/dp/B077DQHL3H/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=mk4+lnb+quad&qid=1617447921&sr=8-4

Is that the one?

 

[Channel Hopper]

Not without confirming the dish with a picture. I've seen more than one 'creative' SkyQ installation with something other than a Raven dish where they cobbled together something, usually a shared block on a hidden roof.

 

[Channel Hopper]

OK thanks, I was worrying more about the mounting mechanism/arm, if they would all fit on the sky mini dish. Ill have a peek at the Raven unit.

If you do decide to stay indoors, I checked a few minutes ago and the H9S does have SCR/Unicable capability.

 

[ozumo]

Brilliant, cheers!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Satellites-Quad-LNB-Dishes/dp/B077DQHL3H/

Is that the one?

Yes but I'd buy one either from Amazon or fulfilled by Amazon so if it doesn't fit it's easy to return without charge.

 

[navi87]

If you do decide to stay indoors, I checked a few minutes ago and the H9S does have SCR/Unicable capability.View attachment 135518

My dish is outside and im really not clued up about the different types of LNBs. Will I need to configure my receiver in this same way then? Ive not played around with Satellites since 2011 or so due to the rise of IPTV, and that was just a basic setup. This dishes came with a LNB all in one package so I never really had to focus on just the LNB before.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Go have a look at the dish, take a picture of the front end

 

[Offtensive]

If the dish is accessible without risk then a quad/Raven 4 Uni is the way to go, though I think the Zgemma does allow SCR and so you may get away with a converter (dSCR) box inside.

Somebody else with personal experience should be along soon.

Apologies for jumping on someone else's thread. I found it quite interesting.

Do you have a link for the converter (dSCR) box?

Thanks