Freesat: 80 channels, £150, or £200 with HD inc. installation

dfear

adr0ck wrote: »

you need a new box

you only need a new box if you want the freesat program guide and future iptv services. An existing sky box can used recieve the freesat channels.

sprogs

Thought some people may find my experiences useful! I had Sky first installed in 1994, so that's how old my box is! Since then we moved house and took the box and dish with us. We 'reinstalled' it at the new house ourselves by pointing the dish in the same direction as others then tweaking it until we got the best picture.

I finally cancelled the contract last year, didn't tell them I wanted freesat but I get it anyway with the old card. What happens when the cards change I don't know.

I purchased a freesat kit for my parents from B&Q recently for £60 plus £10 for the satellite finder meter, my dad installed it himself with no problem.

It may be worth noting for those that want to have a go at self installing that the dish does not have to be up high - I have a friend that actually has hers virtually at ground level and gets a perfect picture - it just needs a clear line of sight. This is not necessarily the most attractive way of doing it though!

Oliver27

MSE_Lawrence wrote: »

What's the deal?

It's also the only way to get HD-quality broadcasts without paying a subscription, although there's currently only one HD channel available; BBC HD (ITV HD to be released 'soon').

Thats Not quite corecct you can watch BBC HD on a Sky HD
box without having to have a Sky viewing card, you can also
watch CH4HD if you get a oneoff Freesat from Sky viewing card
which are £20, along with the usual 1/2/3/4/5 etc and lots more

If you allready have a Satellite dish I wouldnt rule out a
Sky HD box with a Freesat from Sky viewing card.

zebbscat

can anyone else get the more 4 and other extra 4 channels just from the old sky set up? (cancelled contract now)

oldwiring

Beware certain Currys and Comet branches are conning people that you have to buy installation from them. Blinking rogues:rolleyes: There's a lot about it in Digital Spy

skituscanycom

I thought others may like to try a tip that I have used for many years to get a good sky dish alignment without forking out for a meter.

Use the "rough and ready" method described elsewhere to get the dish roughly ok so that you are receiving a reasonable signal in good weather.

Now take a handy tea-towel and soak it in water. Water absorbs some of the microwave energy from the satellite and if you drape the wet tea-towel over the LNB (the box the wire attaches to) then you will simulate 'bad weather'. Optimise reception by adjusting the dish. Gently flexing one side of the dish will give you a clue which way to move it. The dish is best aligned when flexing in all directions makes the signal worse. Now remove the tea-towel!

If you've done it right, you should still have good reception even when it's raining.

Note: Sometimes you may need to fold up the tea-towel to get several thicknesses in front of the LNB before you notice the signal weakening.

I'd rather be skiing in Tuscany

Idiophreak

Missoula wrote: »

Is it correct that Freesat does not offer Channel 5?

OMGz! What's the point in TV without Neighbours!?

jewelie_2

zebbscat wrote: »

can anyone else get the more 4 and other extra 4 channels just from the old sky set up? (cancelled contract now)

Yes, I can! E4, E4+1, More4, More4+1. Addicted to Scrubs again. They became unencrypted on the day of the launch of Freesat. Yay!

Although strictly speaking I've got one of those Sky/BBC £20 one-off FTV cards. It is my understanding though that it probably doesn't even need a card on the most part, as anything that works now on Freesat ought to work on on a Sky setup without a card or subscription, as Freesat channels must be entirely unencrypted.

audiobore

Beeb fs has HD option, Sky freesat has ch 5 and options for additional subscription channels such as Setanta. Solution for existing sky fs customers (ie. no Sky contract), as both broadcast from the same satellite could be to get a twin-output LNB (£12ish)for the dish and feed both the sky box and the Freesat box. :beer:

Simon_c_2

caseyjones wrote: »

We already have a sky box downstairs set up to receive Freesat From Sky, can one of these boxes be used in addition to that?

It depends on your dish.
there's two parts to it. The dish, and the receiver (LNB). The old receivers only had space to connect 1 sky box.
Sky+ receivers have an LNB with 4 sockets (A sky+ box uses two of those).
Now, I think that all new installations since sky+ was announced use this 4port LNB. Wiring in extra sky boxes is as simple as running a satalite coax type wire (easy to get from B&Q) from the dish to the room. We used one in the kids play room for their TV until I got a cheap (and quite hopeless) PVR for xmas for them.

So, if you run a new cable down, you could even put a sky box and a freesat box in the same room.