ᐅ Television – the Challenge of Choosing

Created on: 31 Jan 2016 17:50
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Fireman88
Good evening,

how have you handled TV reception in your homes? Nowadays, there are many options:

Cable
Satellite (SAT)
SAT over IP
Internet-only

I’m really considering my options. The Internet connection available is 50,000 kb/s, which should be enough to supply everything solely via the Internet, which would save quite a bit of effort. However, if the Internet goes down, you can’t watch TV at all.

What I just discovered is SAT over IP. Does anyone have experience with this? It seems like a great solution to me. In this system, only one cable runs from the LNB to an IP converter. This converter is then connected to the router. This way, any network outlet can be used to supply a TV signal. Of course, an appropriate receiver is needed. With the corresponding apps or software, it is apparently also very easy to watch on any PC or smartphone. I think that’s great. Since I’m already planning the network locations for all possible TV spots, this could save the entire satellite cabling.

Has anyone worked with this system?
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merlin83
31 Jan 2016 19:46
What about a traditional cable connection? Is it no longer considered up to date?
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Saruss
31 Jan 2016 19:53
merlin83 schrieb:
What about a good cable connection? Isn’t that still up to date?

Good point, but (at least in our case) especially small new housing developments are no longer being connected – “because it’s not profitable.” I would have liked to have cable like in my previous apartment (and I would have liked to include that again for internet and phone, since it’s fast and affordable). A request to Unitymedia showed that we (and 3 neighbors) would have had to pay a total of 35,000 euros for the cable installation and connection (houses within 50m (165 feet) straight line from us have 100 Mbps internet via cable). That was too expensive for most of us, so I’m now on DSL with “only” 10 Mbps, which is the maximum the line provides, and satellite TV.
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nordanney
31 Jan 2016 20:02
We are prepared for all options. The satellite system is installed on the roof and provides us with conventional TV reception. At the distribution point, we can also feed in a cable signal (DSL via cable with up to 400 Mbps possible; we currently use a 150 Mbps connection) and bring the signal into the network.

Overall, it wasn’t very expensive to have a few outlets installed and keep all options open. However, if your budget is tight, I would consider whether extras like IPTV are really necessary.
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Saruss
31 Jan 2016 20:26
I also forgot to mention that we have a cable in the basement that goes to the satellite dish / the central node of the star-shaped coaxial distribution. This provides flexibility, either for a potential installation of cable into the house (even though it is unlikely) or to route a signal from the basement toward the Sat-IP onto the switch in the network.
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b54_de
31 Jan 2016 21:35
Sat over IP is not internet TV, as we convert a traditional satellite signal into a network format, allowing you to receive the standard satellite signal at any network outlet using tablets or a TV with an IP-compatible receiver (e.g., Panasonic). However, as far as I know, this does not work with Sky so far.
Mycraft31 Jan 2016 21:39
Uhm... yeah, and what are you trying to tell us with that?