Freesat - multiple TVs

ellectrastar

I am meant to be moving soon to an area that has no cable provision, or Freeview. It doesn't even have an aerial (obvs because nothing would be picked up on it!) I had never heard about Freesat until the kind people at Freeview told me (after confirming I will be in the very small percentage of areas they don't cover).



The current owner has Sky, so there is already a dish. I've read that unless the dish has been set up to receive Sky Q that I should be able to just plug in a Freesat box and be up and running? What is anyone's experience of this? Is it that simple?



Also I would like a TV in more than one room. How easy is it to do that? I guess I'd need a box for each TV that I want to view on? Is it pretty simple to link up, or does it need the attention of an official installer?


As there are no fees, and I don't watch a huge amount of TV anyway, I see this as a better option than Sky itself. Especially as I want it in more than one room and Sky would charge additionally for this as well.


Thanks in advance!

Owain_Moneysaver

Yes, it's simple. Cheap Freesat boxes can be found on Ebay. (Example - ignore the 'kinky wire' which can be binned)

For multiple TVs, each TV/box needs a dedicated cable back to a separate outlet on the satellite dish LNB. Most LNBs have 4 outputs, but you can get ones with 8. For more than 4 (or 8) you'd need a multiswitch.

You can't connect multiple TV/boxes to the same cable like you can with TV from an aerial.

If you use a Freesat recorder box you may need two cables from the box to the dish to record and watch different channels simultaneously.

[Deleted User]

The current owner has Sky, so there is already a dish. I've read that unless the dish has been set up to receive Sky Q that I should be able to just plug in a Freesat box and be up and running? What is anyone's experience of this? Is it that simple?

Yep, that simple.

Each box should have it's own double lead (shotgun cable) if you're using a recordable box. If you're using 2 non-recordable boxes say then each one just needs the one feed from the dish. There are alternatives but we'd have to know exactly what you have and what you want to advise further.

BTW, a lot of TV's have Freesat & Freeview built in nowadays so you may be able to just connect the cable directly to the TV for a non-recordable option.

ellectrastar

Thank you!



The LNB - this is the thing that's at the end of the arm on the actual dish, right? I've had a look on the old Sky dish (not in use now) where I live at the moment and I can see two cables plugged in at the bottom of the LNB. There aren't any other slots free (unless there's two on the upper side of it as well). The neighbour's only has one cable and a spare slot.



So I'd need a separate box for each TV, and each box has its own connection to the LNB - via a coaxial cable and connector? If I have a view-only box I only need one cable. If I have a box I want to record on I need shotgun cable. My plan is a main TV which I'll use to record on, then two others elsewhere. So in all I need four outlets on the LNB?



Does the cable literally plug straight into the LNB with the connector?


I have seen more than one TV in the property as it is at the moment so I'm hoping a lot of the cabling might already be there.


My TV is pretty old now so can't imagine it has Freesat built in - believe me I am not someone that upgrades until it breaks!

almillar

2 wires in the LNB (yes, the bit in the middle) - you'll likely need to upgrade this. You need 1 cable for each thing you want to watch/record. So just a player needs 1 cable, Sky+ needs 2 really, allowing you to watch something and record something, or record 2 things. Same for Freesat.
You need a new LNB (an Octo (8 outputs) will be cheap), get it all wired at least into the roofspace or something. You'll need either 1 or 2 cables (shotgun cable is 2 stuck together and easier to install) into each room you want to watch/record in.
Whilst this might sound like more hassle than Freeview, which just needs 1 aerial, 1 cable, if you start splitting it into multiple rooms you'll likely need an amplifier, satellite avoids that.


The connector that fits the back of the box is called an F-connector and screws on. Fiddly.


4 sounds fine for you - but an Octo LNB will cost very little more than a Quad, and will give you more options for the future. If I was actually paying someone to come and do the work, I would get shotgun cable into each room - same work, cheap extra material.