Best deals for Freesat

Katie-Kat-Kins

Hi everyone,

I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the ever worsening analogue signal and lack of anything to watch (or everything worth watching all being on at the same time) and so I have decided that I can't wait for the digital switchover to come to me.

As our local transmitter hasn't switched I can't get freeview through an aerial, we don't have cable in our area either so that leaves freesat.

I'm not very up on what we would need to get freesat and have never had sky so can you recommend the best deals for having freesat or freesat from sky installed please.

I would prefer to have a built in recorder on the box and would also prefer to buy the equipment and installation all as one package rather than having to source an independant contractor to install it.

Thanks

macman

You just need a minidish (exactly the same as Sky) to feed your Freesat box. Best box with a built in PVR has to be the Humax Foxsat HDR (Good deals on this at Richer Sounds). In order to watch one channel and record another you need a twin feed from the LNB on the dish, so make sure you specify that to the installer when getting quotes. I would go and buy the box yourself and then just find a reputable Freesat registered installer to supply the dish, LNB and cabling. The dish and install should be around £100.
If you move fast you'll have it ready for the World Cup...

Kurtis_Blue

^agreed

A lot of high street chains (Trewins etc) will sell the box and installation, I believe it is even part of the distribution contract that all freesat sales points must also be able to book installations.

Personally i would get a quote from an independent as well as although thier box cost may be a little higher the combined cost may be a lot lower and i would imagine carried out with more care from the small company.

Approved freesat installers

Katie-Kat-Kins

Hmmm the built in PVR is more expensive than I was expecting, what deals are there if I just wanted a straight forward free sat box for now.

I guess I can use on demand type services rather than recording most of the time. I don't use the VCR to record much so probably isn't worth spending £250 on a freesat box with PVR.

macman

Then just get the Humax Foxsat HD (no PVR) which is about £120 at RS.

gavinp

Just be wary if you are planning to connect a LG television to a Humax box as they have a lip sync bug which I am still waiting for them to fix... :mad:

Katie-Kat-Kins

Not got an LG TV but thanks for the warning!

I've found a freesat box on argos for £29, what would be the difference between that and the Humax one for £120???

Sorry if that is a stupid question but I don't know anyone with satellite as where I lived until recently had a choice of freeview or cable.

Also are the "on demand" services similar on freesat to the sort of thing you get on cable? I really like those services but obviously can't get cable!

macman

Is your Argos box this one?
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5321557/Trail/searchtext%3EFREESAT.htm
If so it's an old Freesat SD one, so you won't get HD on it. It probably also has a rubbish EPG, and has no HDMI output, so you'll need a free SCART on your TV. Cheap but not at all cheerful. The Hummy is not the cheapest but it's streets ahead of the competition. You can get full HD Freesat boxes down to about £70 or so but the Humax is worth the extra. You can get a Grade A one direct off the Humax UK site for £90 if you prefer.
The only on demand service on Freesat is via iPlayer. For this you need a reasonably fast broadband connection, and you then have to link your router to the Freesat box using ethernet or powerline networking. The on-demand content is streamed via your broadband, so it counts towards your data limit.

Katie-Kat-Kins

Yes that is the one I meant.

I don't have an HD tv so HD isn't a concern for me.

But as I say I'm clueless about the features of these boxes. If I will get noticeably better results with a more expensive box then fair enough, but I have a smallish (by most peoples current standards) CRT TV and no intention of upgrading until it blows up. I'd just like to be able to watch it without the snow effect and get the extra channels most people take for granted!

I think I understant what you are saying about the on demand, and I'd like to be able to do that so a box capable of connecting to the router would be good.

Thanks for the help!

almillar

Very worthwhile connecting ANY Freesat box (it's part of the Freesat spec to have a LAN port) to your broadband connection. The iPlayer integration is great, and you're watching it all on your TV, not hunched over a laptop. Other channels' stuff is coming soon. At the moment, iPlayer only works on Humax boxes...

Katie-Kat-Kins

almillar wrote: »

Very worthwhile connecting ANY Freesat box (it's part of the Freesat spec to have a LAN port) to your broadband connection. The iPlayer integration is great, and you're watching it all on your TV, not hunched over a laptop. Other channels' stuff is coming soon. At the moment, iPlayer only works on Humax boxes...

Hunched over a laptop????? Oh the luxury, you obviously underestimate how tight I actually am when it comes to spending money on technology!!!!! :eek:

If I were to watch I player it would be sitting at a computer table in the study, on an uncomfy swivel chair, whilst peering at a small and not very good moniter on the ancient PC that is *shock* connected by wires :eek:


Ok so I would need a Humax box to watch iplayer immediately, do all other boxes not have the capability or is it something that will be possible in future? Should I hold off a while to get the best deal???

Yikes, this is why I've never actually got a dish before, it is all too confusing!