Cable vs. (Free)sat?

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dunroving
dunroving Posts: 1,881 Forumite
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in Techie Stuff
Probably a dumb question, but can you get "Freesat" via cable?

Current situation: Have a Sky dish with 4 feeds, and multiple (!) terrestrial aerials. Freesat via Humax gives me 200+ channels, and Freeview gives me maybe 20 (I'm in a black hole in rural Scotland)

Have been looking at houses and many have no satellite dish. When asked, they say I can get free channels via the cable.

Questions:

Is this correct?
If so, are these "Freeview" or "Freesat" channels?
If "Freeview", how many channels am I likely to get? (it's in south Birmingham)

I really like my Freesat service so if cable won't give me that, I will likely just install a dish and Freesat cabling. I think the house I am purchasing is currently served by NTL.

I do not want to pay for my TV (other than my TV license, that is!)
(Nearly) dunroving
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  • Tiexen
    Tiexen Posts: 724 Forumite
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    I think you would be served by Virgin Media not NTL- who are you going to use for Broadband/Phone?
  • psychic_teabag
    psychic_teabag Posts: 2,865 Forumite
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    dunroving wrote: »
    (I'm in a black hole in rural Scotland)
    ...
    If "Freeview", how many channels am I likely to get? (it's in south Birmingham)

    You're running a very long cable from a freeview box in south Birmingham to a black hole in rural Scotland ?

    I think the availabily of cable is location-specific, so you'd need to clarify where you are. I don't know if things have changed, but cable used to be available only in urban areas.
  • twhitehousescat
    twhitehousescat Posts: 5,368 Forumite
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    freesat is free , freeviw is free (after you buy the needed equipment)

    cable is owned by virgin , and you RENT it

    it is not freecable
  • dunroving
    dunroving Posts: 1,881 Forumite
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    Thanks, All.

    I am currently with BT for telephone line and interWeb. I currently only access Freeview (via aerial) and Freesat (via dish).

    At the house I am moving to (location B45, Birmingham), they have cable but no dish. It sounds like I need to just install a dish so I can carry on as I am at my present (Scotland) house. No way am I paying for cable telly (though I'd be open to paying for cable interWeb).
    (Nearly) dunroving
  • dunroving
    dunroving Posts: 1,881 Forumite
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    Tiexen wrote: »
    I think you would be served by Virgin Media not NTL- who are you going to use for Broadband/Phone?

    I think you are correct - the person doing the viewing with me looked at the box/doodad behind the telly and said it was NTL. But I just ran a search on the Rightmove ad, and it looks like Virgin media are the providers.

    I will possibly just stick with BT/copper wiring as I don't really need high-speed interWeb. I get 15MB where I live and streaming access to BT Sport, Amazon Prime, iPlayer, etc. works fine.
    (Nearly) dunroving
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,673 Forumite
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    BT expensive, check availability of other services on the exchange that serves the new property...start here:-

    https://availability.samknows.com/broadband/
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • onomatopoeia99
    onomatopoeia99 Posts: 6,964 Forumite
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    dunroving wrote: »
    I think you are correct - the person doing the viewing with me looked at the box/doodad behind the telly and said it was NTL. But I just ran a search on the Rightmove ad, and it looks like Virgin media are the providers.
    VM took over NTL and other cable operators some time back, but there's still stuff around branded with the old suppliers - I see plenty of "teleworst" about the place here in Bristol.

    It used to be the case here that if you had a cable connection and then discontinued it, you'd still get the free terrestrial TV channels sent down the cable to your home. This might have ended when the terrestrial digital switchover happened though - I'm not and have never been a cable TV subscriber.
    Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 2023
  • bingo_bango
    bingo_bango Posts: 2,594 Forumite
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    onomatopoeia99 wrote: »
    It used to be the case here that if you had a cable connection and then discontinued it, you'd still get the free terrestrial TV channels sent down the cable to your home. This might have ended when the terrestrial digital switchover happened though - I'm not and have never been a cable TV subscriber.

    Doesn't happen with VM. When you end the subscription, the signal goes completely.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    VM currently have 50meg BB, telephone and basic TV for £29 a month which is what you!!!8217;d pay for broadband only anyway.
  • almillar
    almillar Posts: 8,621 Forumite
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    Probably a dumb question, but can you get "Freesat" via cable?

    No - the clue's in the name - Freesat operates via satellite.
    Freeview, no subscription, operates via aerial.
    Cable, you're stuck with a Virgin subscription - there's no susbscription free option.
    they say I can get free channels via the cable.

    That statement is vague at best, and they need to be more specific.
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