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-   -   4K Freesat Box (https://www.cableforum.uk/board/showthread.php?t=33709409)

alanbjames 04-10-2020 04:34

4K Freesat Box
 
I have a friend who i drink with who is considering changing his old freesatHD box to a 4K box with a dual tuner.

Since he only has a connection for 1 tuner at the moment and lives in communal flats it maybe difficult to get the second one installed.

My question is this, if he only uses a single tuner will the box still work but u cannot record from another channel while watching one?

Thanks

cheekyangus 05-10-2020 13:38

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
The following comes with a disclaimer, I've not looked into this in a while. :dozey::erm:

The answer isn't as straightforward as you may think. Simple answer, that is indeed the case. It will likely work but your friend will be limited to watching a previous recording whilst recording something new.

The complication is that I think it is possible to record from another channel at the same time if it is on the same satellite transponder. The likelihood is that it won't be on the same place, so mostly it would be the way you already described.

I'm only bringing up what I'm about to because of the way you worded it in the first paragraph. As far as I recall the Non-Recording box of the new 4K FreeSat models has two tuners despite it not having a recording feature, so please be careful.

Chris 05-10-2020 13:44

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
If the box has a single feed mode, then it should be able to watch and record simultaneously, as long as both the channels in question are broadcast with the same polarisation. Sat signals are broadcast with either vertical or horizontal polarisation and the LNB can only deliver one or the other down the cable at the same time.

When we got our first Freesat recorder we used it with a single cable for a few weeks until I got up on the roof to install a new LNB and extra cable. From memory, it worked reasonably well.

There are websites that tell you the broadcast frequencies of satellite channels, including the signal polarity. This will give you a good idea which channel combinations will work together and which won't.

cheekyangus 05-10-2020 17:31

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
Thanks Chris. :) I knew something about what I said was wrong.:D

alanbjames 06-10-2020 00:28

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
This is the box in question hes looking to use...........

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freesat-UHD...s%2C155&sr=8-4

SnoopZ 06-10-2020 00:47

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by alanbjames (Post 36052810)
This is the box in question hes looking to use...........

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freesat-UHD...s%2C155&sr=8-4

Non recordable? He won't have a problem then.

cheekyangus 06-10-2020 00:50

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by alanbjames (Post 36052810)
This is the box in question hes looking to use...........

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freesat-UHD...s%2C155&sr=8-4


Well that's the Non-Recordable 4K box. It says so right at the top.

The lowest capacity (cheapest) version of the 4K Recordable box is this

It's available at multiple other UK retailers if they have stock problems by the way.

alanbjames 06-10-2020 02:12

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
i know it says non recordable thats what he wants but if u check out the images of the thing it clearly shows 2 tuners.

Chris 06-10-2020 08:06

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
A non-recording box doesn’t need 2 tuners :confused:

alanbjames 06-10-2020 08:43

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
i know but the images are missleading.

cheekyangus 06-10-2020 12:20

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by alanbjames (Post 36052816)
i know it says non recordable thats what he wants but if u check out the images of the thing it clearly shows 2 tuners.

It is the non-recordable box though. There was much talk about the 2nd tuner when it launched on Digital Spy forums with a few speculating it might be for recording to USB stick feature being added in a future software update. It's months later, and none of the software updates have added this.

The box on your link is the same as the non-recordable one on the official Freesat website. Same approx price too.

The official Freesat page for their recordable box is here.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris (Post 36052821)
A non-recording box doesn’t need 2 tuners :confused:

Some of DS forum posters have said it's to allow EPG updates and other background tasks that require a tuner, having two tuners allows certain processes to happen more often than they would happen with one. That's the way I understood it anyway.
-------
The very long DS thread about the new Freesat 4K boxes that started back in February with the release of the non-recordable box is here. Read the discussion about the two tuners in the non-recordable box for yourselves.

punkrock101 12-10-2020 22:43

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
I think the reason that the Freesat non recording 4K box has two inputs is for compatibility with Sky Q LNBs. As each input cable will have its own polarisation eg input 1 vertical input 2 horizontal.

ScottishSteve 13-10-2020 17:01

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
An official answer on the product page says

Question: Why does it have two tuners if it doesn't record?

Answer: Our 4K TV Boxes have two tuners because they are compatible with most UK satellite dishes, so if your box is connected to a dish with wideband LNB or standard LNB (using 2 cables) it will use one of the tuners to tune into the channel you’re viewing and the other to tune to our home transponder. This enables the box to receive programme information and any available software updates at the same time.

Chris 13-10-2020 18:17

Re: 4K Freesat Box
 
The EPG will certainly load faster if it has a second tuner dedicated to it. I suspect there are also cost savings in only having to produce a single box design. If you open one of these up I’m guessing there’s just an empty bay where the more expensive box has a hard drive.


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