Freesat, anyone any experience good/bad?

[Fab Foodie]

We are about to ditch Sky (woohoo) at Wimper towers and are looking at Freeview and Freesat.
We have a Sky dish but no ariel, so Freesat being a direct plug-in looks fave. We’d need recording facilities in the box too.

If we went Freeview on the other hand we would need to install an ariel. Not a monster cost but extra faff and cost none the less. But if we get an ariel installed we could use it with a new TV with freeview biilt-in, but we’d still need a recording gizmo.

As long as we have BBC 1&2, Itv, C4 and their players in HD anything else is a bonus.

What say the CC massive?

 

[Crackle]

Freesat here but no C4HD anymore. It went a few months ago in what is a definite wobble for Freesat. However all the others are still available in HD and a Chromecast or Firestick plugged in will give you access to C4HD, other options will also work.

We use the Freesat through a Humax box but I hardly ever use it to record now as everything is available via players or subscription. I can't fault it though, it works, delivers all the necessary channels (no Film4 HD either) and is still well supported but C4HD leaving is a wobble to bear in mind. It only takes a few more to decide not to pay for the service and it won't be viable.

https://www.channel4.com/4viewers/faq/name/c4hd-on-freesat/id/505218504
https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/news...ls-hd-channel-and-all4-catch-up-from-platform

 

[welsh dragon]

I dumped sky as well and as we live in the sticks an ariel won't work because of the mountains, so freesat was the way for us to go as well. We can record as well. Not bad. The basic channels plus pick, pbs, crime channels. We also have Now TV and used to have the movies on it. I cancelled as we didn't watch it very often.

We don''t tend to watch much TV anymore which isn't a bad thing and i don't miss sky (or the cost) either. And best of all, Freesat is free.

 

[Milkfloat]

If you have Sky Q, the newer sky system (someone would have come out and fiddled with your dish) be aware that it won't work with Freesat. You would need to replace the LNB.

 

[swee'pea99]

If you're reasonably agile installing an aerial is really no big deal. Then Freeview with a modern HD TV - one which lets you record via USB to an external hard drive - job done!

 

[si_c]

My Dad has freesat, it's much better than freeview.

 

[Smokin Joe]

We have Freesat, far superior to Freeview and for an outlay of around £100 you get a box with a recorder.

 

[mjr]

Freesat here but no C4HD anymore. It went a few months ago in what is a definite wobble for Freesat. However all the others are still available in HD and a Chromecast or Firestick plugged in will give you access to C4HD, other options will also work.

No need to do that even. C4HD is still broadcast on 11126 vertical 22Msym/s but isn't on the Freesat EPG so you'd have to enter its settings as an additional channel.

Because I have a multisatellite set so I can watch cycling on Rai and Eurosport, I don't use freesat but I've just bought a very good DVB-S2 receiver/recorder branded ZGemma for about £80 and plugged in the USB disk from the previous recorder. I understand it can do iplayer but I've not set up that or the network connection. I don't know what other players are available on it.

 

[ColinJ]

The Humax Freesat HD picture quality is excellent, which made the departure of Ch4 HD really annoying! (Freesat wanted to charge Ch4 more than they were willing to pay so they pulled the HD service. Broadcasting regulations require them to continue to supply Ch4 in SD though. They also took the All4 app away at the same time, but that doesn't bother me because I have it on my Smart TV anyway.)

Extra channels come and go. I often see new ones appear but then sometimes others vanish. E,g, more obscure stuff like Clubland and a Heavy Metal channel.)

No need to do that even. C4HD is still broadcast on 11126 vertical 22Msym/s but isn't on the Freesat EPG so you'd have to enter its settings as an additional channel.

But you'd have to mess about to select it and wouldn't be able to record it? (As mentioned in another thread today - watching commercial channels live means 1/3 of viewing time is wasted on annoying adverts.)

 

[Oldbloke]

Another one here for a Humax box, free channels galore, able to record & avoid watching adverts

 

[Crackle]

No need to do that even. C4HD is still broadcast on 11126 vertical 22Msym/s but isn't on the Freesat EPG so you'd have to enter its settings as an additional channel

I can read all the words......

 

[Andrew_P]

Don't you just call sky and they replace your Sky card with Freesat? I like the Sky UI

https://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/skyfreesat.html

 

[DaveReading]

Don't you just call sky and they replace your Sky card with Freesat? I like the Sky UI

https://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/skyfreesat.html

The link says it doesn't do HD - though it appears to be an old page, is that still the case ?

 

[mjr]

But you'd have to mess about to select it and wouldn't be able to record it? (As mentioned in another thread today - watching commercial channels live means 1/3 of viewing time is wasted on annoying adverts.)

Depending on the box, it may simply get stuck in a high number range - in the 5000s on Humax boxes, according to https://www.satandpcguy.com/2018/02/20/how-to-add-c4hd-to-your-humax-freesat-box/

I've no idea what restriction Freesat-branded boxes have to impose on recording capabilities to pass the Freesat approval tests. Comments there make me think that Humax boxes can't record it and Foxsat ones can. That sort of additional restriction is why I've never had one (or actually, it's that no Freesat boxes would switch between satellites or load standard DVB EPG details).

 

[Fab Foodie]

Cheers all. Freesat thingy ordered!