Saorview

SAORVIEW is Ireland's first free digital television service. It brings you all your favourite Irish channels for free.

Analogue Switch Off (ASO) is the date when Ireland will stop broadcasting the existing analogue television signal. This will happen on the 24th October 2012.

TV channels available on SAORVIEW are:

RTÉ One, RTÉ Two HD, TV3, TG4, RTÉ News Now, 3e, RTÉjr, RTÉ One+1 and RTÉ Aertel Digital.

Radio services are also available on SAORVIEW. There are 4 national stations:

RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, and 6 exclusively digital stations:

RTÉ Choice, RTÉ Pulse, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Gold, RTÉ Junior, and Radio 1 Extra.

The SAORVIEW television signal is received through the standard TV aerial on your roof. The vast majority of homes with existing outdoor/rooftop UHF aerials will be able to receive the SAORVIEW signal.

You do not need to buy a new television to receive the SAORVIEW service.
All existing televisions are able to receive SAORVIEW, all you need is a set-top-box between your aerial and television. For more information go online to www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/

An iDTV is an Integrated Digital Television. This is a television set that can receive SAORVIEW without the need for a set-top-box. Many new TV sets have this facility. If you are buying a new television and want to receive the SAORVIEW service, we recommend that you buy a SAORVIEW Approved integrated digital television.

HD stands for High Definition. HD television provides exceptionally clear, sharp pictures with vivid colours and up to five times more detail than standard definition. SAORVIEW will offer, for the first time, HD pictures to everyone.

To receive HD pictures you will need either a HD Ready television connected to a SAORVIEW Approved set-top-box, or a SAORVIEW Approved iDTV which are all HD Ready.

If you do not have a HD Ready television you will receive the SAORVIEW service in standard definition.

If your aerial is working fine and you just want to upgrade your existing television, the total cost will only be for a standard SAORVIEW approved set-top-box that you install yourself. A basic SAORVIEW approved set-top-box currently costs between €50 and €100. For more information on how to install a SAORVIEW approved set-top-box see www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/set-up-guidesvideos/

If you decide to buy a new television then SAORVIEW approved iDTVs vary in both size and the cost – talk to your local retailer to get current prices.

You need a set-top-box for each non-iDTV on which you want to receive all the Irish channels. If some or all of your TVs are iDTVs then you do not a set-top-box for each of those.

Once you connect up your set-top-box or iDTV you will need to tune your receiver to view SAORVIEW channels and services.

This is normally a very straight forward process. Different branded products will have different tuning procedures; you should check the instruction manual that came with your receiver for precise instructions. For a general guide on tuning and re-tuning go online to www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/set-up-guidesvideos/

SAORVIEW is available to 97% of the population of the Republic of Ireland now. This will rise to 98% after ASO in October 2012.

It is possible to combine SAORVIEW with other free or Pay TV services currently available in Ireland, whether they are terrestrial, cable or satellite, to give you a broader range of channels and services. Talk to a specialist retailer or TV installer to get further information.