Desparate to go digital!!! Freesat???

Inactive

Cheapest Freesat Receiver (SD) that I can find is a Goodmans at £54.99 at Argos.

The HD models are a little more.

Katie-Kat-Kins

macman wrote: »

Cheapest Freesat box is £89 direct from Humax (refurb Foxsat). Dish/LNB/cable install available from around £70 depending on your property. So say £160 all in.
External aerial and Freeview box are not going to cost you much less than that anyway. (You seem to forget that you can't get Freeview on your old TV anyway, you'll still need a Freeview box as well as an aerial).

Because I have already got a freeview box, a freebie from a friend who changed from freeview to virgin media because the lucky devils live in an area (only 6 miles away) with cable as well as freeview through an aerial!!! Fastest broadband and cheap phonecalls too, wish we had cable.......

almillar

Foxsat HDR costs £250 from Richer Sounds. This is HD and can record programmes. (PVR stands for Personal Video Recorder btw).
Phone a local satellite installer, check yell.com, and he will probably quote you about £85 for an installation. Obviously this depends on how complicated your house is to install at.
This gets you HD way before anyone with Freeview.
Or get a freesat hd box without recording for just over £100, or an SD freesat box for around £50.

norbet

KatP - from the sounds of it you may be requiring a new aerial anyway - regardless of the switch-over - if you get a ropey picture now with analogue, it's likely to be ropey with digital too.
Given that a new aerial may cost over £100, the digital satellite option might be worthwhile. As others have suggested freesat kit and install is a one off meaning no subscription charges, but you could always look to the base packages with Sky. This way you although paying around £18/month this will cover installation etc, you'll own the skybox at the end of the 12months where you can cancel, pay no more and you'll get the same (if not more) services you would with freesat. Just a thought like.

Katie-Kat-Kins

Hmmm that's helpful Norbet £18 x 12 = £216........

Sky on their website say £146 one off payment including all equipment and installation, I guess this is just the most basic of boxes.

Not too bothered about HD, we don't have an HD tv and can't see us being bothered enough to pay extra when we upgrade the tv either, but the facility to record would appeal, although I guess we could buy a hard disk recorder separately in future..... and we might not be so bothered when we have got the sort of interactive services and +1 channels you have on digital........

I guess the question is can anyone find a deal that beats £146 all in? Or is not much more but includes a hard disk recorder?

macman

KatP wrote: »

Hmmm that's helpful Norbet £18 x 12 = £216........

Sky on their website say £146 one off payment including all equipment and installation, I guess this is just the most basic of boxes.

Not too bothered about HD, we don't have an HD tv and can't see us being bothered enough to pay extra when we upgrade the tv either, but the facility to record would appeal, although I guess we could buy a hard disk recorder separately in future..... and we might not be so bothered when we have got the sort of interactive services and +1 channels you have on digital........

I guess the question is can anyone find a deal that beats £146 all in? Or is not much more but includes a hard disk recorder?

Any new TV you buy now will be HD Ready anyway. You're not going to find a Freeview PVR for less than that price.

almillar

You can buy a Freeview PVR for £50 easily on eBay, but then you'll need an aerial obviously.

DAS_TV

Freeview will need a new aerial
Freesat will need a new dish
Sky will need a new dish

Freeview will need a new box
Freesat will need a new box
Sky will need a new box

Freeview will not need any subscriptions
Freesat will not need any subscriptions
Sky might require subscriptions

What do your neighbours run currently? Are they all dished up, or are they making do with aerial signals somehow?

There's no doubt that the range of channels on Sky is better than the others, but then you get what you pay for. If you don't care about moves or sport, I'm not sure you can justify Sky. If you don't care about HD, I'm not sure you can justify Freesat.

familyfitz

We are like the OP only, about 1.5yrs ago finally decided only option was to go down Sky route - really for better signal and possibility of extra channels although dont really watch too much tv.

We then find can't get Sky signal due to tree in neighbours garden blocking signal (even when high installation team came to check). Result, back to 4 channels (dont even get ch 5) and not much hope.

I assume from what I am trying to understand that freesat also works through receiving signal like Sky hence will be blocked too.

Before anyone might suggest, neighbour has huge bird box on tree of interest so no chance of any help there.

Have I understood the freesat thing correctly?

Inactive

familyfitz wrote: »

Have I understood the freesat thing correctly?

Yes, however Freeview via a TV Aerial may work for you.