Freesat, the downside?

isofa

juliescot wrote: »

When(if) Freeview starts to provide HD then all those people who wish to view it are going to be less than amused to find that their shiny new TVs with built in Freeview will not be able to decode the HD signal

It certainly isn't an "if", Freeview HD broadcasts are due to start in Dec 2010 for 2 main regions, then rolled out nationwide during the next year. http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/Services/Freeview-HD

Freeview boxes will continue to always work providing SD channels, but to receive HD broadcasts, you'll need an HD freeview box. Freeview HD TVs will be around early next year onwards.

With many old CRTs still giving a better picture quality then new flatscreens, only [STRIKE]fools[/STRIKE] those with too much money have rushed to upgrade to LCD, long before the technology and transmissions have been matured. :rolleyes:

Our top end Sony CRT which we purchased quite a few years ago – with Freeview built-in (one of the early versions) and the picture quality is way better on SD than several friends who have nice Sony LCDs... BBC1's Life in SD on a top end CRT looks incredible. And as a photographer and someone who analyses images for a living, I do notice small nuances.

C_Mababejive

Jake'sGran wrote: »

I was just reading another thread and there was a comment from the poster that he has decided not to buy this "due to the negative comments". Can anyone tell me what is wrong with Freesat.?

Like freeview,it is a cause of retardation....but costs more.

Jake'sGran

isofa wrote: »

The OP was essentially compared to Freeview from the other thread to Freesat...

So my points are in comparison to Freeview. Mentioning Sky seems irrelevant as it's a commercial subscription service.

Some HD channels will be available on Freeview soon too.

Unless you are in a poor / non available signal area, I can't see many benefits, and if the user already has freeview equipment then it's just spending more money than you need, especially based on my other original points.

The Sunday Times In Gear section featured Freesat boxes and
I got very interested but yes, I have got a digibox and TV and reading all these responses have begun to realise that I probably would not use Freesat extensively especially as I like to watch drama more than anything. I wanted to give my son my digibox etc but can now see that I might as well buy him one.

We too are in the Granada area and have excellent reception.

Also, it looks like I will have to buy pre-recorded DVDs (when I get a player!)instead of taping films on VHS tape which is what I do now and what I will miss being able to do.

Jake'sGran

robredz wrote: »

@ PeteHerts
Yes so long as you pay an extra £10 a month on the Sky subscription for SKYHD, but free if you cough up £150 + for a HD Freesat box

Tesco have Freesat boxes with twin tuners for just under £100.

isofa

Jake'sGran wrote: »

The Sunday Times In Gear section featured Freesat boxes and
I got very interested but yes, I have got a digibox and TV and reading all these responses have begun to realise that I probably would not use Freesat extensively especially as I like to watch drama more than anything. I wanted to give my son my digibox etc but can now see that I might as well buy him one.

We too are in the Granada area and have excellent reception.

Also, it looks like I will have to buy pre-recorded DVDs (when I get a player!)instead of taping films on VHS tape which is what I do now and what I will miss being able to do.

^ Granada will be one of the first regions to offer Freesat HD next month too.

Personally if you have good reception, there there is little (and often far less) to recommend Freesat over Freeview.

If you want to record to DVDs, try a good DVD recorder like the Sony's or Panasonic's, for well under £150 you can get a very good device with a hard disc built in too. All of these devices at the moment only have one freeview tuner, so you can only record one channel at once.

If you just want to record, one of the best solutions is the twin tuner Humax 9300T (a hard disc PVR), available online, and in plenty of stores, it's an excellent device. You can record 2 different freeview channels at once with this device.

I'd point you in the direction of www.avforums.com for some excellent advice, of people with these devices, and technical advice of the digital formats, and not people saying how great xyz is... but honest experts showing the pitfalls of old and new tech.

macman

What's the point in transmitting Freeview HD in the London and Granada regions from December 09, if you can't buy Freeview HD boxes until Jan next year?
Presumably December is just for testing purposes?

lfc321

We moved in to a house with a working dish but no working arial. We decided to go for a Freesat PVR rather than pay to have a new arial fitted. Have been very pleased with Freesat.

You need to weigh up the cost of each option, but all things being equal I can't really see any downside with Freesat unless you want the few channels which are only on Freeview . There's not much HD content so far to be honest, but what there is is a nice bonus (I know it's coming to Freeview soon). Have never noticed the weather affecting picture quality at all.

vyle

isofa wrote: »

With many old CRTs still giving a better picture quality then new flatscreens, only [STRIKE]fools[/STRIKE] those with too much money have rushed to upgrade to LCD, long before the technology and transmissions have been matured. :rolleyes:

Our top end Sony CRT which we purchased quite a few years ago – with Freeview built-in (one of the early versions) and the picture quality is way better on SD than several friends who have nice Sony LCDs... BBC1's Life in SD on a top end CRT looks incredible. And as a photographer and someone who analyses images for a living, I do notice small nuances.

The thing is, a lot of TVs upscale terribly. A lot of newer ones upscale brilliantly. Yes, a top end CRT showing standard def will look better than a mid range HD tv showing SD, because they're not really designed to show SD.

I changed to an LCD because my CRT was terrible. The only thing going for it was the sound quality. I also had a sony trinitron (can't remember the model number) in the spare room and it looked ok, but actually not as nice as my current TV. the funny thing is, a lot of customers at work will stick their nose onto the screen and marvel at HD, then switch over to SD and go "GAWD! That looks horrid!"

Yet if they were to do that with a CRT of the same size, they'd say the same.

The real telling thing is when people look at a TV from a sensible distance when it's on SD and haven't seen it displaying HD, then say to me "Wow, HD looks brilliant, what does freeview look like?"

Of course, it's a select few tvs that are that good, but they do exist for under £800.

As for freesat, there are pitfalls for everything. The main people who buy freesat in my experience are ex sky customers. they've got an old aerial and dont want to pay £200 to have a new one. they've got a dish. they buy a freesat box.

On a different note, I bet the sub £100 twin tuner freesat HD boxes somebody mentioned sound like jet engines...

robredz

Jake'sGran wrote: »

Tesco have Freesat boxes with twin tuners for just under £100.

HD box is £129

timbim_2

Colour quality on a good CRT is usually much better than most LCD's as well. Looking at even composite, SD feeds directly out of a camera on a reference grade CRT monitor is much, much better than even an LG LCD will produce.