Freesat, the downside?

juliescot

pdoff wrote: »

hi, i am very confused. i've not been on the boards for ages as no longer have internet at home. basically my 30 year old tele is dead and i need a new one. our reception is rubbish and the freeview box i have has never really worked properly. i've been left about 600 pounds so am after advice on a television. was thinking about freesat as my reception is poor and we are not going digital till 2012 but after reading hundreds of posts on different boards i'm very confused lol so am hoping someone could direct me in the best way to spend my money as i normally don't have this much available and hate parting with it!

thanks in advance for any assistance.

Do you know why your current reception is poor? Do you know what transmitter you are receiving from? Do you neighbours have problems with their reception?

You may need a new aerial or new cabling.

No point in spending money on a TV if you cant get a decent picture on it.

Depending on the situation you can expect to pay in excess of £120 for a new aerial so that eats into the budget. Not sure how much it costs to have freesat fitted.

pdoff

think the bad reception is due to the aeriel. which is why i was considering freesat if am gonna have to pay for a new aeriel anyway i figured it may be better to pay for the freesat. have seen the dish and installation for around 80 quid. the freeview box i have worked great at my friend's house.

juliescot

If you can get freesat for £80 then I would go for that.

Is it just the one TV you want to feed with the signal?

pdoff

that's for the dish and installation. have seen a box for about 50. yes just 1 tv. only have 1 downstairs and 1 in bedroom i rarely watch anyway. to be honest my current tv's about 30 years old cos it was my grandma's that she left us about 7 years ago, and we can only really get 4 channels so anything will be wonderful after that lol.

pdoff

tele upstairs has an indoor aeriel.

almillar

People, isofa in particular, seem to be having trouble finding a reason why Freesat may be better than Freeview, and Leopard has helped me in trying to point it out - HD. Please don't fall for the Sky mentality that more channels = better TV because it doesn't. Despite all these advances in technology, we humans can still only watch ONE thing at a time!
BBC HD programmes that I enjoy, in no particular order - Planet Earth, Life, Jools Holland, Jonothan Ross, and also the new series of Top Gear starting this month. Keep saying FreeviewHD is coming if you want, but FreesatHD has been here for a year already and is getting iPlayer soon too. Regardless of platform, the Humax HDR is an excellent PVR, wiping the floor for picture quality and usability with my (ok, ancient) Pace Twin Freeview PVR.
Also I, personally, find that the Freesat picture is better, comparing channel to channel, on my Panasonic TV with Freesat and Freeview built in. Just my opinion, but had to put that 'vote' in!
Humax HDR is now £243 in Argos and I think you still get the vouchers back?...

macman

pdoff wrote: »

tele upstairs has an indoor aeriel.

Then you need a proper external aerial-or go the Freesat route.

alanrowell

red_devil wrote: »

thats untrue if you like sport or films then sky is the best.

If you like sport then Sky is the best but I wouldn't get it just for films as unless you are a 24x7 watcher of films, it's cheaper to rent the DVD

pdoff

macman wrote: »

Then you need a proper external aerial-or go the Freesat route.

thanks that's what i was querying cos i'm not at all techy lol. we have one in the loft that supplies the one downstairs but as i say we only really get 4 watchable channels with that.

thanks for everyone's help think am gonna go freesat.

juliescot

almillar wrote: »

People, isofa in particular, seem to be having trouble finding a reason why Freesat may be better than Freeview, and Leopard has helped me in trying to point it out - HD. Please don't fall for the Sky mentality that more channels = better TV because it doesn't. Despite all these advances in technology, we humans can still only watch ONE thing at a time!
BBC HD programmes that I enjoy, in no particular order - Planet Earth, Life, Jools Holland, Jonothan Ross, and also the new series of Top Gear starting this month. Keep saying FreeviewHD is coming if you want, but FreesatHD has been here for a year already and is getting iPlayer soon too. Regardless of platform, the Humax HDR is an excellent PVR, wiping the floor for picture quality and usability with my (ok, ancient) Pace Twin Freeview PVR.
Also I, personally, find that the Freesat picture is better, comparing channel to channel, on my Panasonic TV with Freesat and Freeview built in. Just my opinion, but had to put that 'vote' in!
Humax HDR is now £243 in Argos and I think you still get the vouchers back?...

If you are serious about HD then Freesat at the moment has little to offer
http://www.freesat.co.uk/index.php?page=whatson.HDschedule

Sky has by far the largest choice, which admittedly you pay for.
http://packages.sky.com/hd/channels/

I wish broadcasters would get their collective fingers out and start transmitting more in HD. ITVs efforts are frankly pitiful