Freesat recorders

hewhoisnotintheknow

I live in an area where i cant get a freeview signal, i dont want to pay for sky subscriptions so i though a freesat setup might be worth investigating. If i am going to the hastle of setting up a freesat sat etc i might as well get the freesat recorder. I see maplins do a package for around £150 that allows you to record to a usb device

I have a couple of questions on this

1. Is it easy to align the dish.
2. Is the quality worth the effort (although i guess its all or nothing)
3. Is the way you record a program simple, like browse through the tv guide and select which programs to record, or is it more old school where you have to specify start and finish times.
4. Once the data is on the usb device can you then remove that device and plug it into a computer to watch


Is it worth bothering or should i consider something else

Thanks

Wolverine77

I would like to more on this subject too!!

dougk_2

The Maplin ones are NOT FREESAT recorders. They are FTA recorders which is not the same. You will not get FREESAT/FREESAT+ features like series link/ epg etc.

At present there is only one true FREESAT(+) recorder available. That is the Humax Foxsat HDR. It is a twin tuner recorder which can record two channels at once (but to do this you will need a twin feed / two cables from the dish). The cost is between £275 and £300 for the box only . Dish and installation is extra.

Aligining the dish yourself can be done, but its a pain. What some people do is to have sky for the year on the chepest package then cancel and then everything is setup and ready. You will still get the FTA channels after cancelling,

almillar

Doug speaks sense. The Maplin stuff you mention is only really for Satellite geeks, and doesn't come with a nice easy to use guide for information and recording. The freesatHD recorder he mentions is excellent (I have one) and like all freesat equipment, can directly replace a Sky box, using the same cabling and dish, with no realignment. The recorder can just about be had for £290. And just like Sky+ Sky+HD, it'll want 2 feeds from the satellite if you want to use it properly, as in record 2 or watch 1/record 1.
So what about the dish? Doug's onto something. Freesat can arrange installation for £80, or (I think) £110 for the HD recorder. However, Sky have something called 'Pay Once Watch Forever' which many people, inlcuding myself, used. You take this out, a standard Sky box with some of the packages, for 4 months, and after that 4 months, they start you on a subscription, or you can opt out, and be left with all the kit, and just the free channels watchable (you now have 'Freesat from Sky'). This will cost £75. You might be able to persuade the Sky installer to give you a quad LNR (bit in the middle of the dish, with 4 feeds, you need 2 for the HDR), and say it's in case you decide to upgrade to Sky+ or something. Hey, maybe you'll like it ;-)
Once the 4 months is up (actually you have to give a month's notice, so 3) tell them to cancel it, buy your freesat box and plug it in to enjoy subscription free HD.
Sound good? That's what I did anyway...