Freesat/Plex/Vbox

jwhitbread

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Hi everyone, first time a forum member hoping to get some expertise on a Freesat matter.

I've been a long time Sky subscriber and am now looking to cancel my subscription in favour of Freesat. Putting aside whether or not my dish is Sky Q only LNB or Hybrid etc, I'd really like to distribute my incoming Freesat signal over the internet/LAN (preferably access then via Plex).

I've been looking into Vbox as a potential solution and already have a Synology NAS setup running Plex. Where the Freesat signal comes into the house I have a Asus XT8 Node in Mesh mode so would connect to the network via that node which talks to the Synology NAS and Plex. Can anyone give me any advice as to whether or not this is even a solution that would work and what I need to consider as I'm quite the newbie when it comes to satelitte?

Grateful for any assistance!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Your last paragraph could as well be written in Swahili but there may be better educated people than me around here. :)
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Your last paragraph could as well be written in Swahili but there may be better educated people than me around here. :)
Haha sorry, I've rambled a tad about what I'm hoping to achieve! I'm essentially wanting to get rid of Sky, replace it with Freesat and "stream" that Freesat signal over my local network via Plex. I just don't have any knowledge of Vbox so was wondering if anyone had a similar setup :)
 
Would personally use an Enigma2 Receiver rather than the VBox, they have a hughe following world wide so have good development. You could also get one with FBC tuners so you will have 8 tuners off one cable (will need a LNB change but you will probably need that anyway). Have not connected Enigma to plex but have to Kodi (i have read about it though) .

You can achieve the same as what you are looking at with Kodi instead of plex, but on the plex forums look up enigma2
 
Anything that can stream (or record unencrypted) won't be freesat and use their proprietary 7-day epg / auto tune on channel changes / logical channel numbering.

Enigma style boxes with DVB-S/S2 tuners can - with user community internet connected add-ons can emulate something close.
Different types have been mentioned in this forum in previous discussions: use the search feature to find them and inform you a bit about them?

Whether or not the VBox (presumably VBox Communications ) you are looking at has that type of emulation / support I don't know. If it does there'd very likely be a dedicated community forum for it?
 
I believe with the Vbox you have to pay a sub for the EPG but could be wrong
 
Would personally use an Enigma2 Receiver rather than the VBox, they have a hughe following world wide so have good development. You could also get one with FBC tuners so you will have 8 tuners off one cable (will need a LNB change but you will probably need that anyway). Have not connected Enigma to plex but have to Kodi (i have read about it though) .

You can achieve the same as what you are looking at with Kodi instead of plex, but on the plex forums look up enigma2

Anything that can stream (or record unencrypted) won't be freesat and use their proprietary 7-day epg / auto tune on channel changes / logical channel numbering.

Enigma style boxes with DVB-S/S2 tuners can - with user community internet connected add-ons can emulate something close.
Different types have been mentioned in this forum in previous discussions: use the search feature to find them and inform you a bit about them?

Whether or not the VBox (presumably VBox Communications ) you are looking at has that type of emulation / support I don't know. If it does there'd very likely be a dedicated community forum for it?
Thanks so much for the guidance. So I need to be looking at an Enigma2 receiver then by the sounds of it!

Any recommendations for Freesat/4K? Not too fussed about recording features but always a bonus!
 
I am very happy with my Gigablue UHD UE 4K, but really depends on budget, you can spend £50 to £600, all will be able to record, to your NAS, set up auto timers etc.

If you chose to record directly to the device then the recordings are also available on the clients around the house.

Which ever route you take it will not be plug and play like Sky is, but then wanting to go the Plex route I think that you are expecting some learning curve and tinkering
 
Thanks so much for the guidance. So I need to be looking at an Enigma2 receiver then by the sounds of it!

Any recommendations for Freesat/4K? Not too fussed about recording features but always a bonus!

If linking enigma 2 into plex the check out the addon HRTunerproxy. It fools plex into thinking it is a HDHomerun type device and therefore is compatible with Plex Live DVR, Plex pass is also a requirement

An other common plug-in used within E2 is called Satpi which comes preinstalled on openatv images. Using sat ip protocol this can also work with plex but requires a more hands on approach, this plug-in can also link into tvheadend which can be installed on the syno, rabbit hole goes pretty deep on this one.

As mentioned by @JonMace there is clients for various android/iOS devices such a kodi etc which can link straight into the receiver removing the need for using plex.

Moving away from enigma for a moment and onto the Synology , in DSM 7.0 usb support was largely removed for most dvb sticks but I believe the dvb sky one may still work as it doesn’t require kernel access, if it does then you could install onto the Synology and use TVheadend and run it that way but tbh, enigma 2, even with its own learning curve, would be easier to setup, it could be a none starter anywhere if your NAS isn’t located anywhere need the sat feed.

Boxes, You can get a pretty cheap box zgemma or go for one of the pricey VU+/Dream models, personally I would buy something in the middle such as gigablue or AX/mut@nt. Tuner requirements will be key
 
There are plenty of dedicated E2 (enigma2) forums with many helpful members. one thing you will have to consider is what image you are going to use, personally I use openvix as it was the 1st I tried and I got used to it. They are all quite similar but different in what plugins are installed and where things are in the menus etc. With openvix I find everything that I need is already installed to get up and running, but I dont use plex.

What do you use as clients?
 
I have a couple of the Vbox terrestrial units, but Vbox do make satellite versions.
EPGs are an issue as both the Freesat and the HD Freeview EPGs are encrypted and only licensed manufacturers are given the decrpyt data, Vbox is not one of these. The boxes can use an external EPG that you routinely download to a shared location or the box itself can just be given the url. Neither are perfect. Series linking works most of the time.
I have only had one box freeze once in 12 months, a reboot and sorted it.
There is mfgs support for issues, not the best but has helped me once.
Vbox did play eith a "premium EPG" for terrestrial boxes, but dropped this payed for service, relying instead on channel matching.
Their boxes are off the shelf solutions with only EPG to be configured in the UK.
They are not bug free but do work almost all of the time.
 
If linking enigma 2 into plex the check out the addon HRTunerproxy. It fools plex into thinking it is a HDHomerun type device and therefore is compatible with Plex Live DVR, Plex pass is also a requirement

An other common plug-in used within E2 is called Satpi which comes preinstalled on openatv images. Using sat ip protocol this can also work with plex but requires a more hands on approach, this plug-in can also link into tvheadend which can be installed on the syno, rabbit hole goes pretty deep on this one.

As mentioned by @JonMace there is clients for various android/iOS devices such a kodi etc which can link straight into the receiver removing the need for using plex.

Moving away from enigma for a moment and onto the Synology , in DSM 7.0 usb support was largely removed for most dvb sticks but I believe the dvb sky one may still work as it doesn’t require kernel access, if it does then you could install onto the Synology and use TVheadend and run it that way but tbh, enigma 2, even with its own learning curve, would be easier to setup, it could be a none starter anywhere if your NAS isn’t located anywhere need the sat feed.

Boxes, You can get a pretty cheap box zgemma or go for one of the pricey VU+/Dream models, personally I would buy something in the middle such as gigablue or AX/mut@nt. Tuner requirements will be key

There are plenty of dedicated E2 (enigma2) forums with many helpful members. one thing you will have to consider is what image you are going to use, personally I use openvix as it was the 1st I tried and I got used to it. They are all quite similar but different in what plugins are installed and where things are in the menus etc. With openvix I find everything that I need is already installed to get up and running, but I dont use plex.

What do you use as clients?

I have a couple of the Vbox terrestrial units, but Vbox do make satellite versions.
EPGs are an issue as both the Freesat and the HD Freeview EPGs are encrypted and only licensed manufacturers are given the decrpyt data, Vbox is not one of these. The boxes can use an external EPG that you routinely download to a shared location or the box itself can just be given the url. Neither are perfect. Series linking works most of the time.
I have only had one box freeze once in 12 months, a reboot and sorted it.
There is mfgs support for issues, not the best but has helped me once.
Vbox did play eith a "premium EPG" for terrestrial boxes, but dropped this payed for service, relying instead on channel matching.
Their boxes are off the shelf solutions with only EPG to be configured in the UK.
They are not bug free but do work almost all of the time.

Thanks everyone, really appreciative of all your help with this and advice. It's already helped a great deal!

In terms of clients, I'll just give you the full picture so it makes sense...(stay with me as I'm including my network setup so it makes sense with what I'm trying to achieve with this).

I have a Synology NAS running a Plex Server with direct connection to an Asus XT8 node in Router Mode (connected to my Virgin Hub 4 in modem mode) in one room of the house. I then run a Mesh network and have an XT8 in Mesh AI mode next to the TV/Aerial Point/Satellite cables coming into the house.

The idea is to introduce a solution that allows me to take the Freesat signal, distribute it over my home network, get it recognised by the NAS/Plex Server and redistribute it and gain access via Plex arounds the house (clients mostly all TVs running Firesticks/Google ChromeCasts/Plex app on smart tvs).

I hope that all makes sense haha!
 
Had a play. Now have a Plex server set up, Installed HDTunerProxy on my enigma2 box, and connected to plex very simple and all working, even turned off my wifi and streamed over the net
 
Had a play. Now have a Plex server set up, Installed HDTunerProxy on my enigma2 box, and connected to plex very simple and all working, even turned off my wifi and streamed over the net
Sorry just realised you've already answered this I think. Gigablue UHD UE 4K?
 
The Gigablue UE 4K paired with a Unicable lnb is a quality box. You can use various apps/clients to access the channels. Even create your own m3u playlists for vlc etc.

Channels can be automatically updated using various plugins.

I use openatv, but that is personal choice. Most of the images are pretty similar.

You can also set recordings so that they save on your NAS.
 
Just starting the same journey you went on OP. 6 months on, any regrets or useful learnings/considerations to share?
 
Just starting the same journey you went on OP. 6 months on, any regrets or useful learnings/considerations to share?
Well after figuring out my dish was the Sky Q lnb, I ditched the Freesat idea and just went for the easy option after picking up a cheap second hand HDHomeRun. So I use that to distribute Freeview and run it through my NAS/Plex :)
 
Well after figuring out my dish was the Sky Q lnb, I ditched the Freesat idea and just went for the easy option after picking up a cheap second hand HDHomeRun. So I use that to distribute Freeview and run it through my NAS/Plex :)
Thanks. Excuse my ignorance, but was the Sky Q Inb a positive or negative discovery? Does that make things easier or harder? And did you need to adjust anything on the dish?
 
Thanks. Excuse my ignorance, but was the Sky Q Inb a positive or negative discovery? Does that make things easier or harder? And did you need to adjust anything on the dish?
If you e got the Sky Q LNB it's generally a bad thing when going down this road as the hardware you choose needs to be able to decode the signal (like the FreeSat boxes can) as well as then distribute it over your network. So generally speaking you're better off changing the LNB so then you can choose the hardware that suits your setup best.

As I would have had to change the LNB on the dish (i.e., but another LNB and either change it myself or pay someone to do it), I decided I couldn't be bothered with it all and for the sake of a few channels, decided distributing Freeviewfrom the aerial was alot easier for me than FreeSat from the dish.
 
Thanks. Excuse my ignorance, but was the Sky Q Inb a positive or negative discovery? Does that make things easier or harder? And did you need to adjust anything on the dish?

Sky Q lnbs pretty much only work with sky q or the arris freesat box
 

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