Freesat HD
 

Anybody using this service yet? If so, is it any good?

I was interested, although I dont have a satellite dish. Ive held off so far because there have been lots of issues with the receivers.

Receivers integrated into Panasonic televisions should be a good deal better though.

I hear that there are only 2 HD chans on FreeSat? Dunno if its worth all the messing for the sake of that.

Parents have it, limited choice of channels but what there is look fantastic.
Football is like being there.
For £100 it can only get better, also hear there is a Hard drive version coming out soon so might be worth hanging on.

Limited channels so waiting, but its the future.

Definitely. FreeView was sh*te when it started and whilst its far from brilliant now, it has improved no end.

I'm waiting till the hard drive versions come out with dual tuners then dumping Sky.

They're going to be expensive, about £300.

HUMAX FOXSAT HDR FREESAT TWIN TUNER 320GB PVR RECEIVER :: Parabolic Online Shop

Also the earlier boxes did suffer some problems (mainly lip sync issues) but they are usually sorted very quickly with software updates. I am just waiting for the one on the above link to come out :)

btw there are more channels on freesat, and also with the above box you can get even more by adjusting a setting in one of the menus so you can actually pick up from a different satellite. ONly downside at present is no channel 5, but who watches that anyway ?

i was considering this but not sure if its worth it yet.
I thought it was £200 ??

if I get it does this mean the current ariel I have on my chimney will be made redundant ?? or will it still be needed??

reason being its about collapsing and will either need replacing or chucking out!

Agreed, freeview was a bit pony when it started off, but its good now.

been interested in freesat for a while, sky will/have to slash prices to keep people intrested in the longterm IMO

We have poor reception for freeview and analog signals so Freesat is a big improvement on that especially as we didnt want to give Murdoch any money. The lack of Channel 5 on it is a nuisance but it's coming before the end of the year I hope. The HD is nice, but it's very limited at the moment - ITV sometimes has only 1 HD program a week! HD quality can vary too (as in the filming not the transmission) Watching Man U-Celtic on HD at the moment and it's quite good.

If you have a HD compatible screen then it really makes sense to get Freesat HD. If you haven't then I'm not so sure it's worth it. I installed the dish myself and with good cable and receiver did it for under £200.

maplin do grade b boxes for a decent price. foxsat (reckoned to be the best at the moment) are around £140

Still no eurosport, the 1 channel I actually miss from cable.....

This is great, this is .... I have bought a FreeView HD Plasma and now find that to get HD I need another box!

I thought that FreeView were going over to HD when it was rolled out all over the country?

There isnt enough available bandwidth.

End of 2009 you might start to see HD on Freeview.

Sorted :thumb:

i reckon it would be possible if half the **** channels were dumped to be honest!!


some of them, must have drastically low viewing figures!

i must admit that we do actually use the +1 channels quite a bit, especially if something overlaps.

Well I'll be jiggered!

Just bought a Panasonic with freesat built in. As has been said, not much HD content yet but so far what there has been (including the football last night) is stunning.
Freeview HD will be out next year but you will need another box for it. If the manufacturers get their act together hopefully we'll have a Freeview/Freesat HD PVR before too long.

So, can I just plug this onto my existing Sky cable and go? Do I need two sky cables plugged in (like sky+) or just the one?

Ta

Dave

yep to use the full features you would need the 2 connections in exactly the same as sky+

You may be able to view 1 channel with one cable but the record another channel ability wouldnt work, and possibly the pausing of live tv etc.

If you only currently have a normal sky box, then just get a quad lnd for the dish (few £) and run another cable alongside the existing one.

I have all the cables - the previous tenant installed Sky+ downstairs and a single Sky cable in the bedroom (without telling the landlord - naughty boy ....). And I have a *normal* Sky box downstairs at the mo. Hmmm. The Missus loved the old Feeview Humax and it's 'easy to record' facility .....

Ta

Dave

get yourself a sd for upstairs then, about £40 quid ish (foxsat are the best at the moment) and a hd for downstairs :thumb:

Sky HD will go the way of sky+

When it first came out, it was a tenner a month.

Now, cos the take up rate was slow, and competitors offering superior products, its free!

sky multi room and hd will not be chargeable from next year!

I have a mate who works for sky!

So let me get this right, you can use your exsisting sky+ setup bar the tuner itself, so the dish/lnb and the cabling can be reused?

Heck i might be up for this once my contract with murdoch is out. :D

100% correct.

The available Freesat Channel list (those covered by the Freesat EPG) is at freesat - What's On

More are being added regularly.

If you aren't bothered by the EPG you can get the channels listed at Eurobird 1 & Astra 2A/2B/2C/2D at 28.2°E - LyngSat

Al jazzera channel hmmm....

Anyway ideal, not a fantastic list as you say but anything to get the monopoly away from murdoch.

Is there much aggro in getting the dish alligned, would it be best left to an installer?

I still have a few months left to go before my 12 months are up, sky shouldn't want the gear back id imagine but it'll be great to give it a go.