Freeview v Freesat ?

mardatha

Which is best? Which one gets more channels? Are there any snags?

jamespir

freesat box gets more channels but is more expensive freeview is cheap(cost of box)but you need to be in a good signal area

mardatha

How do I find out what channels we get ? we live in a really bad area with no mobile reception at all and only 3 radio stations

ariba10

Freesat and Free view are both free once you have bought the appropriate box.

There are some channels that you will get on one and not on the other, and that goes for both.

We have both and shuttle between them.

mardatha

We were using Freesat but the dish has been damaged. Husband wondering whether to get another dish or change to an aerial and freeview.

googler

mardatha wrote: »

How do I find out what channels we get ? we live in a really bad area with no mobile reception at all and only 3 radio stations

Mobile and radio reception are totally different from TV reception. You can't conclude that TV will be bad because of these.

Do you have any TV equipment at the moment? Whereabouts are you?

mardatha

We're 900ft up in the border hills, but before digital we had to have a booster on the aerial as the hills around us blocked the signal.

macman

mardatha wrote: »

How do I find out what channels we get ? we live in a really bad area with no mobile reception at all and only 3 radio stations

The channel listings are available on the respective websites. There's no 'best', it depends what you want.
If the issue is simply a damaged dish, then change it-a very simple job for you or an installer.
If you previously had Freesat, then surely you know what channels you will get on that service?
If you go for Freesat, you'll get all the channels, assuming a line of sight to the satellite. For Freeview, you'll either get all the channels, or a reduced choice depending on whether you are aligned to the main transmitter, or to a relay station. Use the postcode checker on the Freeview site, and tick 'I am in the aerial installation trade.'
There is no connection between analogue radio reception, and digital terrestial or satellite TV reception.
PS: HD comes as standard on Freesat, with 4 channels. On Freeview, you'll need a more expensive Freeview HD box. If you already have a Freesat tuner or PVR, I can't see wh you would consider switching to Freeview-you'd need both the aerial, and a box or Freeview TV. All you need for Freesat is a working dish and LNB.

mart44

We have Freeview, Freesat and Cable as TV signal sources. The Freeview signal isn't that great where we are. Pixelation and sound drop-out can be a problem. It's not that bad by the time the signal is amplified and we do have Freeview distributed to the rooms in our house. The signal is certainly less than ideal though. We often can watch Freeview in the lounge but if the picture/sound break up too much, we eventually switch to the cable box. Freesat is used in one room to overcome the Freeview dropout problems we get. Not a bad arrangement for us all in all.

The convenient part about Freeview is that all modern TVs include a Freeview tuner, so no extra box is necessary. For Freesat, a box usually needs to be bought for each TV. We already had an old satellite dish on the roof. An aerial rigger friend fitted a new LNB to it and we bought a quite inexpensive satellite box from Maplin that works OK.

The Freeview signal is set to improve when analogue is finally switched off in our area early next year. Depending on how good it ends up being, we'll consider what we do as regards keeping cable TV ..and maybe Freesat too.

Hotspur

mardatha wrote: »

How do I find out what channels we get ? we live in a really bad area with no mobile reception at all and only 3 radio stations

The http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/ site will give you an indication of your switch over date and available channels. Put your postcode in the checker and bob's your uncle.

Providing the signal strength is good then freeview, using an aerial, will be the cheapest route into digital. Flat screen tv's have a freeview tuner built in. High Definition channels may also be available using a HD tuner and HD ready tv.

In poor signal areas freesat will usually provide a solution using a freesat tuner and satellite dish.

victor2

We have Freeview and Freesat as I was able to avail of a really good deal on a Freesat receiver. There's only a few differences between the channels and all the major ones are on both. Freesat has the advantage that you can watch any regional programmes you like, whereas Freeview will only get what your transmitter is broadcasting. There are a few HD channels we can get on Freesat as it's an HD receiver, but unless you've got a large HD capable TV, you're unlikely to see much difference IMO.
You can get BBC iPlayer and ITVPlayer through Freesat if your receiver is capable (many are) AND you have a good broadband connection available.
Having said that, we watch Freeview as it's built in to the TV so you don't have to mess about with another remote. I can only see a real benefit to Freesat if your Freeview signal is very poor.