what TV equipment do i need to buy>

jayme1

Gratis wrote: »

It occurred to me when thinking about it further, subsequent to my answer (above) to the OP, that if the OP can still receive no adequate Freeview signal after the Digital Switchover, and has also lost the analogue signal entirely as a result of it, there is no actual point in the OP buying a television at all. Neither of its two tuners would be of any practical use.

A good quality 1,920 x 1,080 resolution monitor with one (preferably two, or more) HDMI port(s) would be perfectly adequate to display the output of a Humax FoxSat-HDR (or Sky) box in HD.

I was going to recommend the same but a computer monitor doesn't have any SCART or other inputs (meaning for instance their wii couldn't be temporarily hooked up to that TV if the wanted) (monitors only have generally one DVI and VGA and you would have to use an adaptor to make the DVI into an HDMI)

whereas something like that LG TV I suggested (even though it is technically a monitor with a freeview bit bolted on) has the 2 HDMIs along with composite, SCART and VGA in)

also looking at some monitors you are not saving much/any money by leaving the (albeit useless) freeview function out at the expense of loosing the input connections. and you can always mute the inbuilt speakers and add your own.

almillar

I'd stick with TVs. OP if you get back to us with a budget and screen size, it would be helpful.
If you want to record stuff, a Humax Foxsat HDR would be great, around £200. If you buy this from a retailer you can add in the Freesat installation (dish, cabling to the box) for (I think) £120. Other people might tell you you can do it yourself but you say you're not a techie so they're being overambitious. You MAY get a cheaper install if you phone around satellite installers for quotes, but it may not be worth the hassle, up to you.
That leaves us with the TV. As Gratis hints, you can just use the Humax for receiving telly, so don't need to worry about having FreesatHD or FreeviewHD built into the TV, which could save you a few quid. You'll be looking for as big a full HD (1080p) TV as you can afford, especially watching out for the sound quality of the TV as well as picture quality.

vervin

Could i use the Sky dish [for the freesat ] that i have ,i am thinking of giving it up in 1012

almillar

vervin - Yes. Same dish, pointing at the same satellite in space, same cables. As with Sky, if you have a recorder, you'll need 2 cables from the dish to watch one/record one, and if you have Sky+, you'll already have 2 cables installed.

Gratis

Quite so. But he may find Shotgun cable a bit hard to come by in 1012. :rotfl:

vervin wrote: »

Could i use the Sky dish [for the freesat ] that i have ,i am thinking of giving it up in 1012

vervin

Me again , what is shotgun ?? Think i will need a tv man to wire it up will look into it :beer: to u

Gratis

vervin wrote: »

Me again , what is shotgun ?? Think i will need a tv man to wire it up will look into it :beer: to u

Shotgun cable is a type of cable that runs from the LNB on your satellite dish to your satellite receiver box (e.g. a Sky box). It carries the signal to your box.

If you only want to watch satellite television, you need only one such lead.

If you want to record things, with a box containing two tuners (e.g. a Sky+ box or a Humax FoxSat-HDR FreesSat box), you need two feeds from your LNB to your box; and thus two cables.

Your existing installation should be fine for FreeSat unless you want to upgrade from watching to recording (in which case you will need two cables from the dish to the box, instead of just one).

Get back to here if you need any further advice!

Pincher

Because you need to put up a satellite dish, it's simpler to sign up to a Sky promotional deal for one year. When you cancel, it automatically becomes Freesat, and you can keep the decoder box, but they disable the record function. The TV is whatever you want to buy.

It is entirely possible to put a FreeSat PC together,
using Windows 7 Media Centre and a DVB-S2 PCI tuner card,
or go down the Linux route, but it's just not worth the bother, unless you want 2TB of archive.

If you must pay for your own dish installation, and not go down the Sky route, then you need to choose a FreeSat STB. I don't know why people like the Humax FoxSat.

I have been using an Echostar HDS-600RS:

http://www.johnlewis.com/231218308/Product.aspx

I love it. Slingloaded means you can watch TV from home in a hotel room with broadband anywhere in the world, or on your mobile if your data allowance can take it. The previous incarnations of Sling were incomplete, but now it's got EVERYTHING.

When the HDS-600RS first came out, it was £349. It's now £249 in John Lewis, with two year warranty, or £229.99 in Maplin, with one year warranty. I got John Lewis to price match, so I got it for £229.99, with two year warranty, free delivery.

Pulsat seems to have dropped their price to £214.95 + £11 delivery

http://www.pulsat.com/products/Echostar-HDS%252d600RS-Sling-Loaded-Freesat-Recorder-and-Media-Streamer.html

Poor thing, I think people simply don't know how good the HDS-600RS is.

Gratis

Interesting piece of kit. Thanks for posting links to it.

Tell me (since you’ve got one!), can you use its USB port to attach a large-capacity external hard drive for additional storage capacity and, if so, does its operating system recognise it and incorporate access to it through its GUI? That’s one of the main advantages of a Humax box over a Sky box. It also means that there’s no need to fork out more money for a Humax box with a large-capacity internal hard drive when you can simply plug an external hard drive (or several, using a USB hub) into the back of it.

Even for those who already have a Humax FoxSat-HDR (and/or a Sky box), this device could be a useful addition for those who travel. In such a role, it looks as though it could be used with just a single feed from the LNB to provide functionality, too.

almillar

Pincher, please don't call that FreeSat - it's all very confusing and not your fault, but that Echostar box isn't FreeSat, the Humax box is.
FreeSat is a joint venture between ITV and BBC allowing people who can't get Freeview to access subscription free digital TV. Includes On demand access, and an standardised EPG.
Freesatfromsky is subscription free Sky TV
Free satellite TV is what you're talking about - maybe a bit techie for some people and maybe lacking a few features that people don't realise will be missing (like an EPG for example).