Freesat or Freeview

caronoel

We are getting the house redone over the next year or so, which will entail removing the existing satellite dish.

So the decision is: should I replace the dish or go with freeview, or are there better free to air options worth considering?

We watch very little TV, so I am not interested in a monthly subscription

elsien

I'm perfectly happy with freeview because it has a good enough range of channels for me (happy with the main ones, not particularly interested in sport) and I don't want a satellite dish.

But it would be a good idea to check the freeview signal where you are as I think freesat has better coverage. Having said that, I'm in a poor reception area but with a booster I've had no problems.

Mister_G

Freeview will probably be the better option (as most TVs come with it as standard), but you will need to check that you can get all the channels. If you are covered by a main station or one of the higher powered relay stations then you should be ok.

However, if you are covered by one of the smaller relay stations, then there will be a restricted number of channels. In that case, Freesat may be better for you.

Check here

https://www.freeview.co.uk/channels-at-your-address#ZxcWwIq4miuvq7tp.97

A_Nice_Englishman

I would keep my options open by putting the dish back up after the work has been done. The cost will surely be minimal in the overall scheme of things?

I'm assuming you have a serviceable aerial for Freeview too.

caronoel

Thanks all. How do these offerings compare with the barebones Amazon firestick or Chrome aer, or even an app like TV PLAYER?

merchcon55

I had similar issue to yourself. At the end I use freeview but I also kept the dish. I have a Sky box connected to one of our TVs. At certain times, some of the freeview signals can be a bit weak, so we then watch on Satellite. Also some extra channels on satellite I watch, in particular CNBC.

Spelunthus

Sounds like Freeview will have all the channel coverage that you need. Freesat adds LOTS of channels - but, in my view, they are mostly not worth having. I do like Freesat for the extra Regional BBC feeds etc - but that is a minority need. Interesting idea to abandon "broadcast" and go entirely to online - BBC iPlayer is good, ITV Hub is less good, a little unreliable in my opinion. CH4 and CH5 online viewers are poor. A subscription to Amazon or Netflix would add to your choice - all this depends on a decent broadband connection, of course.

For us the combination of Freeview and hard-drive recorder works well = cheap, gets all your favourites recorded, and skip all the adverts. - best solution!

[Deleted User]

caronoel wrote: »

We are getting the house redone over the next year or so, which will entail removing the existing satellite dish.

So the decision is: should I replace the dish or go with freeview, or are there better free to air options worth considering?

We watch very little TV, so I am not interested in a monthly subscription

Do you have a Sky box? If so put the dish back up and use Freesat from Sky. The EPG is far better than the Freesat one via a Smart TV or Humax box and it doesn't sound as if you need the recording facilities.

If you don't have a box then you could pick up a second hand one for £10-£20 and get a card from Sky for £25(?)

Simple_Soul

caronoel wrote: »

We are getting the house redone over the next year or so, which will entail removing the existing satellite dish.

So the decision is: should I replace the dish or go with freeview, or are there better free to air options worth considering?

We watch very little TV, so I am not interested in a monthly subscription

I have freeview; my only problem with it is that sometimes some channels become unwatchable. This is hugely frustrating when you are following a series, and every now and then one of the episodes can't be watched due to very bad picture quality.

Does anyone else have the same problem?

On the positive side, I only need one aerial lead (I believe satellite dishes require two, if you have a recorder?), and my humax recorder can record 4 channels simultaneously, which I don't think would be possible with freesat?

I also have internet TV (BBC i-player etc.), which can be useful if one has missed a programme, or for watching a whole series in one go, but what I don't like about it is that winding forward and backwards is so clumsy; and it is not always possible to get subtitles.

A_Nice_Englishman

Simple_Soul wrote: »

I have freeview; my only problem with it is that sometimes some channels become unwatchable. This is hugely frustrating when you are following a series, and every now and then one of the episodes can't be watched due to very bad picture quality.

Does anyone else have the same problem?

On the positive side, I only need one aerial lead (I believe satellite dishes require two, if you have a recorder?), and my humax recorder can record 4 channels simultaneously, which I don't think would be possible with freesat?

I also have internet TV (BBC i-player etc.), which can be useful if one has missed a programme, or for watching a whole series in one go, but what I don't like about it is that winding forward and backwards is so clumsy; and it is not always possible to get subtitles.

It's not uncommon to have intermittent reception problems with Freeview. It could be due to all sorts of things from trees getting in the way of the signal to interference from mobile phone networks.

Satellite recorders do need two cables from the dish for full functionality, though these are often combined in one outer casing ('shotgun cable').

It might be best to start a new thread in Techie Stuff if you want to discuss your Freeview reception problems. It's difficult to give specific advice remotely though.