Options when there's no freeview signal

lammy82

Deleted_User said:

What would you expect to pay for a dish fitted ?

I got a dish fitted at my mum's house (similar situation) a few years back. Got quotes using FreeIndex which ranged from £65 up to £130. That included dish and cabling but not the receiver.

Neil_Jones

Deleted_User said:

Neil_Jones said:

Deleted_User said:

lammy82 said:

Deleted_User said:

OK sky want £175 for a freesat box
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/tv-providers-and-services/article/free-tv/what-is-freesat-from-sky-amza75r9TetZ

That's Freesat from Sky, not Freesat. Sky no longer offer it. You can get a local installer to install a dish and buy a Freesat box (Humax are a good brand), but it probably won't come out much cheaper than that to get set up. You might be able to get the Freesat box second-hand. Also, if the TV has got Freesat built in, with a record facility via external USB hard drive, then that might save you some pennies, as you won't need an external Freesat box. 

That was dated Oct 2020 - are you telling me that they have stopped this service in the last 6 months? 

Sky haven't done Freesat from Sky for years (to buy anyway), it only exists in the form of its what the Sky boxes do when you stop your subscription, they become chunky free to air receivers without any Sky+ functionality.  You get few more channels than you would through regular Freesat but hardly worth the effort really.

You can pay £10 per month to retain the facilities of Sky + (recording and menu)

I was only going by https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/tv-providers-and-services/article/free-tv/what-is-freesat-from-sky-amza75r9TetZ dated October 2020 which implies that Sky do offer FREESAT ?

Yes you can pay Sky £10 a month but you can also get Freesat receivers which do the same job for a one off cost and eventually pay for themselves over time.

Considering Sky don't do Sky+HD boxes any more - Sky Q is all that's on offer - and the Freesat pages linked on Sky's site don't actually go anywhere, I would argue its heavily discouraged in favour of Q.  May be worth phoning just to make sure, but expect to be told we don't do it, here's some details on Sky Q

Rodders53

A dish can be diy installed, $ky hybrid LNB, plus the latest freesat recording box would be a good investment and would allow more TVs to be used in other rooms eventually.
NB Some TVs have satellite tuners built in as well as Freeview - some even use the freesat EPG.
Cheaper solution is a non-recording box, and single or quad lnb on a $ky dish.

DT is Dorchester postcode but need more accurate to confirm reception from all terrestrial sites are really blocked.  Nearest village/suburb may assist with that.
Check that you are allowed to fit a dish on a South-SouthEast facing wall... There may be Planning or Landlord (Lease) permissions required.
Aerial installers will give estimates for a dish and lnb install -- Dorset has a trusted trader scheme, I think?

I assume you've plugged in the postcode etc.,. in to the Freeview checker and also the professional  detailed view version? Pro  with a 'no predicted coverage' type return?  (Or is the address postcode too new to be found on the database?)  Other terrestrial self-help solutions may still be possible, but the expense is probably not worthwhile (unless a fairly large number of others are affected and willing to help pay) e.g. a remote aerial atop the cliff and cabled down.

Virgin Media Cable is another possible if it's available in this mystery location (albeit rather expensive in my view).

matelodave

About the same as it would cost for an aerial - it depend where you live and how difficult the installation is. The cost of a dish is around £30-£40 (cheaper from e-bay),. and whatever it cost where you live for a man, a van and a big ladder to come and fix it all up perhaps around £150-£200 all in. You'd need to get some quotes.

SKY came and did mine for nothing but I had to pay the monthly contract fees for the duration, however after a year, it was all mine (including the satellite receiver) so a bit of a bargain.

Nowadays SKY want their Q box back at the end of the contract but you can keep the dish and cabling and connect your own box to the dish. It lokks like a basic SKY package is £25 a month for 18 months plus £49 up front. - around £500 for 18 months and you have to give the box back.
If a dish is around £150 plus the cost of a basic HD recording receiver.  then it's gonna cost around £300 ( £50-£100  more if you want 4K and more storage capacity) but it's all yours for ever. I
f you dont want recoding then a Manhattan box for £50 from Argos would do the job and you might get away with around £200

[Deleted User]

Rodders53 said:

A dish can be diy installed, $ky hybrid LNB, plus the latest freesat recording box would be a good investment and would allow more TVs to be used in other rooms eventually.
NB Some TVs have satellite tuners built in as well as Freeview - some even use the freesat EPG.
Cheaper solution is a non-recording box, and single or quad lnb on a $ky dish.

DT is Dorchester postcode but need more accurate to confirm reception from all terrestrial sites are really blocked.  Nearest village/suburb may assist with that.
Check that you are allowed to fit a dish on a South-SouthEast facing wall... There may be Planning or Landlord (Lease) permissions required.
Aerial installers will give estimates for a dish and lnb install -- Dorset has a trusted trader scheme, I think?

I assume you've plugged in the postcode etc.,. in to the Freeview checker and also the professional  detailed view version? Pro  with a 'no predicted coverage' type return?  (Or is the address postcode too new to be found on the database?)  Other terrestrial self-help solutions may still be possible, but the expense is probably not worthwhile (unless a fairly large number of others are affected and willing to help pay) e.g. a remote aerial atop the cliff and cabled down.

Virgin Media Cable is another possible if it's available in this mystery location (albeit rather expensive in my view).

Portland! 

Neil_Jones

If this is the Isle of Portland that hangs off the south coast, I've just randomly dumped the Google Images man onto the two majorily populated areas and vast majority of house have aerials on them.  I've even dumped him on the area around the cliffs and an area with a north cliff and I could only find one cul-de-sac, a modern looking estate  where none of the houses had aerials on them, but the next street they connected to did, and they were pointing away from the overhang.  Looks like a nice area.

Still suggest there is an aerial issue though on the new property which would be the first thing to check out.

Rodders53

Portland is mostly served by the Wyke Regis relay aka Weymouth. IIRC. Other distant transmitters are also used eg Stockland Hill.
But it is one of the more tricky places to predict and obtain good terrestrial reception.
There must be one or two local installers with a good reputation?
Ask nearby neighbours / long term residents in the area for recommendations.