#“Our replacement for Sky TV cost \u008099. Ariva 120. No monthly fees!”
So the kids complained about the removal of Sky. A lot. There are only so many Charlie and Lola episodes you can watch on YouTube, particularly the ones in Finnish.
The intention was to get that very highly recommended Humax Freesat box on Amazon but it's bloody pricey and we weren't sure we needed all of the features. Then the very kind @gpelly on Twitter mentioned the hugely impressive Ferguson Ariva 120 Combo. I love finding absolute bargains that don't disappoint and this ticks both of those boxes. It is a FTA satellite receiver and DTT receiver. So it can handle Freesat and Saorview programmes. At 99 on Satellite.ie, it's a complete steal.
Ours arrived yesterday and already the kids are happier. I plugged a spare 500GB USB HDD into it and it does full PVR functionality too. You can watch DTT and record Satellite or vice-versa. It does 720p and 1080i and can upscale SD content. It has a LAN port, SCART and HDMI. I'm intrigued by the LAN port. If they could add UPNP or SMB browsing then you have a pretty bloody decent streaming media player thrown in too. It's also tiny. Software upgrade is easily done using USB.
There is a massivethread about it on boards.ie with tons of support from Tony in Satellite.ie.
The Freesat programme list is not massive but is not bad. As it's not an official Freesat box, there is no EPG, so you only have now/next for the programme info. CBBC, CBeebies, CITV and daytime TV on some of the other channels should keep the kids from going completely mad.
I can't report on DTT performance as our aerial doesn't seem to be working right now. It is pointing into a tree in the general direction of the old Carrigaline repeater so I'll need to twist it to point to a local digital mast and test it too.
And all without any Rupert tax to pay. I'm already thinking of getting a second one.