Freesat Question

jawjawsdad

Have just upgraded to Sky+, so I have original Sky dish on wall. I would like to hook it up to a freesat box for a bedroom tv. Is it as simple as that? I can get a cheap Freesat box in argos for £30 although it only has a scart out on it, so TV would need to have a scart in. Have I missed anything?

Thanks for any replies

jtk174

It's not clear from your info if you already have a cable in the bedroom, connected to the LNB of your dish, from a prior installation.
Assuming the cable is already in the bedroom, thats all there is to it. If you have an HD capable TV in the bedroom you might think of getting a Freesat HD box which will have HDMI. I had looked at one in Tescos and had it in my shopping basket at £27, however, it has now gone up to £60! I will be waiting until after Christmas to complete my purchase.

However, bear in mind that Sky+ requires 2 cables, so your installation will need at least 3 cables coming from your LNB. So if you don't have a 3rd cable from dish to bedroom, then one will have to be fitted.

There are other ways to get satellite feeds to other rooms, it just depends on what you want.

BigAl94

Obviously two boxes can't control one LNB at the same time so you willl need another one fitted to the dish.

jawjawsdad

Cable not run into bedroom yet, but would not be a big job to do it. Regarding Freesat HD, I would assume the dish/LNB I have, would not support HD as it was for the old Sky system.

yorkie98

Hi,

If you have recently upgraded to Sky+ then you most likely have a quad LNB on your dish. This means an LNB which can run up to four independant boxes (a recording box such as Sky+ uses 2). This means if you take a look at your LNB, you should have 2 unused F type sockets, unless you have been incredibly unfortunate and been given a dual LNB, which is extremely rare.

This means that this should be an easy case of running a new coax (of suitable quality) to the bedroom from one of the spare ports and hook it up to the freesat box.
Doing a DIY job should cost very little.

There is no difference between an LNB for SD and HD, they just collect the digital signals from the satellite and pass them on. The receiver then decides which signals it can/can't use.
If you do get Freesat HD this is only of benefit if you have an HD TV which will connect via an HDMI cable. If your TV is not HD or does not have an HDMI then just get Freesat SD. Scart does not carry HD pictures, only SD.

For Freesat SD, as with most modern equipment, your TV will need to have a scart input and unless it's a 20+ year old set, it will have a scart on. A minority might not have scart but have phono connectors (a white, red and a yellow) instead, in which case you can get a scart to phono cable very cheaply. If the TV only has an aerial socket, you will need to get an RF modulator to convert the signal to an RF (aerial) signal. These can cost upwards of £30.
If you do need RF, you can use an old VCR or DVD recorder instead. Tune the TV to the VCR then connect the freesat box to the VCR scart and select the appropriate AV input on the VCR.

If you are still unsure, post the make/model of your TV and I should be able to tell you what it will/won't take.

HTH.

jawjawsdad

Hi yorkie
Thanks for your detailed reply, that sounds like a really good option. I have not bought a TV yet, but am pricing around for a 24 inch flatscreen, that will have an HDMI input. I will check to see if my new Sky+ LNB has the 2 spare sockets. Just have to find a cheap Freesat HD box.
Again thanks to all who replied.

D.A.

Bear in mind that you're unlikely to get much benefit from HD on a 24 inch screen. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the difference between SD and HD only becomes noticeable (or worth paying for) on screens larger than about 36 inch. Yorkie, what's your advice?

yorkie98

D.A. wrote: »

Bear in mind that you're unlikely to get much benefit from HD on a 24 inch screen. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the difference between SD and HD only becomes noticeable (or worth paying for) on screens larger than about 36 inch. Yorkie, what's your advice?

I'd tend to agree with that, I have a mid-priced LG 42" Full HD 1080p set in the living room and in my opinion the SD picture is rubbish, HD is great tho.

In the bedroom we have a bottom of the range Acoustic Solutions (Argos) 32" HD Ready 720p set and the SD picture on this is great. I've never even tried this in HD although the DVD player attached is an HDMI upscaler. As we normally watch the bedroom set from 8-10 feet away thru bleary eyes, HD is not an issue here.

For a small set, I don't think I'd go the effort and expense myself for HD as you'd have to be about 6 inches away appreiciate it being in HD. 32" upwards, you'd start to see the benefits.

yorkie98

jawjawsdad wrote: »

Hi yorkie
Thanks for your detailed reply, that sounds like a really good option. I have not bought a TV yet, but am pricing around for a 24 inch flatscreen, that will have an HDMI input. I will check to see if my new Sky+ LNB has the 2 spare sockets. Just have to find a cheap Freesat HD box.
Again thanks to all who replied.

If you have not yet bought a TV set, you should have no issues. I think pretty much all modern TVs are as a minimum, HD Ready 720p and have at least 1 scart and 1 HDMI.

If you don't have any spare sockets on your LNB, don't panic, get yourself on eBay and buy a suitable quad for under £20. It's a straight swap.
I got a new Zone 2 dish with quad LNB for £27 including the shipping to NI from mainland. No need to pay silly prices retailers will charge.

jtk174

jawjawsdad wrote: »

Just have to find a cheap Freesat HD box.

Sorry, the info on the box I posted was incorrect, as pointed out below. So I have removed it.
I can however recommend the Humax Foxsat HD or HDR. There is about £100 difference between the two models and if you have a broadband connection you can get catch up TV from BBC and ITV.
I bought the cheaper model from an Argos sale about a month ago for £85

jawjawsdad

Checked LNB good news it has the 4 sockets, with the Sky+ using the centre 2. Have taken your advice and I will just go with the SD setup. The wall where I will be putting the TV is just wide enough for a 24 inch set mounted on a bracket. Something fairly cheap will do the job.