Freesat?

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colly

Re member eR
Location
Leeds
I'm thinking of ditching our cable TV connection from Virgin and simply getting a Freesat box.

Any one have any advice as what to look out for and what I should be getting. I don't want to invest in it and get it all set up and find out I have missed something obvious.

What kind of box/system ? Kind of dish? Self install or get someone in? How much should I be looking to spend for a reasonable set up?

That sort of stuff.

I am pretty hopeless as regards the ins and outs of consumer electronics so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
You need a dish which requires very precise setting up -1/4" out and you get no reception - so you will need to get someone to install it.

I just have a cheapy box courtesy of the govt just to try it but will probably upgrade to a Humax in the near future.

Freesat is basically the same as Freeview without Dave and the the 2 Fiver channels but with a full "red button" service on the Beeb and something called Films For Men!
 

threebikesmcginty

Corn Fed Hick...
Location
...on the slake
We've got freesat, had to ditch freeview due of the variable quality of the reception. We got ours through a local independent TV/Audio shop and they arranged it all including installation, we just used their recommendations on what was best and it's been good so far apart from the general standard of programmes. Get HD too!

I haven't seen Films for Men.
 

siadwell

Guru
Location
Surrey
If there are any channels you currently watch, check that they are also on Freesat, 'cos there are several on Virgin and Freeview that aren't there. And a whole world of cack that you'll never watch - two wedding channels FFS!

Foxsat HD PVR box is great.

Movies 4 Men is not as titillating as it sounds...
 

4F

Active member of Helmets Are Sh*t Lobby
Location
Suffolk.
Yeah we went free sat a few years ago. I think it cost about £ 150 and we did ours via sky and that included all equipment and fitting. Take into account that for each TV you will need a freesat box so make sure the LNB on your dish has enough outlets.

I have bought several freesat boxes off e bay for no more than £ 20 each and now up to the max on my quad LNB so if I want to add any more then the next one up is an octo-lnb.

This is a great site on the subject http://www.satcure.co.uk/index.html
 
I bought a sat dish and receiver from Lidl. 60 quid and about 3hrs work to fit dish, align (they have a wee buzzer thing that works.. plus had daughter on the cordless phone telling me how things were on the TV -receivers have a signal quality/strength bar ). I'm lucky enough with a Rural S Facing wall and no trees etc. I appreciate town set up may be more difficult meaning perhaps a chimney or high gable set up to get appropriate signal. Look at other peoples sat dishes to see where you're most likely to have yours.
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
Just make sure you get a PVR. Quad LNB. Foxsat from hummy, that be about it ;). The HD ones are a fair bit of money though.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
You havnt got a redundant dish up already have you ? (God knows, many people have) I did and (probably not relevent to you) just connected it up to the TV which has Freesat internally installed. The dish hadnt been used in 5 or so years.
I expected loads of alignment problems, but it worked straight away.

Not sure i could just watch freesat...Virgins basic package is cheaper than Sky, but there were glaring shortages in available and decent channels, and freesats got even fewer.

There again, (in my case) if money was an issue, i'd dump Virgin and just have the Freesat
 
OP
OP
colly

colly

Re member eR
Location
Leeds
Thanks one and all.
Still thinking about quite what to get but for the amount of TV I watch, which is mostly just ITV and Beeb stuff I reckon I'm wasting money with Virgin.

There are some things I would miss out on but I can live with that, just trying to pare back on outgoings is all really.

I have seen some seconhand dishes and boxes for sale; would they be more trouble than it's worth?
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
colly said:
I have seen some secondhand dishes and boxes for sale; would they be more trouble than it's worth?
Do what I did - get an old analogue system so you can watch the cycling on International Eurosport for nothing! There's no guarantee how much longer the broadcasts will continue though...
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
Have you any relations over 65? They get the dish and box for £14 fitted.

In no circumstances should they order just the dish and box without the installation option.
 

Debian

New Member
Location
West Midlands
colly said:
Thanks one and all.
Still thinking about quite what to get but for the amount of TV I watch, which is mostly just ITV and Beeb stuff I reckon I'm wasting money with Virgin.

There are some things I would miss out on but I can live with that, just trying to pare back on outgoings is all really.

I have seen some seconhand dishes and boxes for sale; would they be more trouble than it's worth?

So long as it's in working order it'll be fine.

I use our old (grey mesh) sky dish mounted on a broom handle hammered into the ground and connected to a secondhand sky box for use at our caravan and it works fine. Dish alignment is a doddle - I use nothing but a compass a spirit level and the signal strength meter on the sky box and it takes me about five minutes to get everything locked on.
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
They work fine, a lot of second hand stuff is overpriced though. There are two sizes of sky digital 'branded' dish in the uk.
 
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