wot do i need for freesat?

[andy4]

i'm thinking of getting freesat box or built in tv
but was wondering does my sat dish need to be active (ie subscribe to sly) as i don't have live sat feed in i'm on cable or can i just plug & watch
any info would be appreciated

[sirlisterofsmeg]

No you dont have to pay to receive Freesat
As long as you have a satellite dish pointing at ASTRA 28.2E
Then you can pick up all the Freesat channels for free.
Providing your box is connected to the dish
I would buy a FREESAT HD box as apposed to a SD box.
Also if you can connect your box to your broadband via Ethernet you will also receive extras on a HUMAX box or SONY FREESAT HD TV
BBC iPlayer has launched already and ITV are planning on launching their ITV-PLAYER before the summer.
Something to do with a soccer tournament or something happening this year so i hear LOL

[thered]

i'm thinking of getting freesat box or built in tv
but was wondering does my sat dish need to be active (ie subscribe to sly) as i don't have live sat feed in i'm on cable or can i just plug & watch
any info would be appreciated

an old sky box and sky dish is all you need to view freesat although you wont get the HD channels

you dont need a sky viewing card either

[sirlisterofsmeg]

Yes but there is nothing more annoying than having every channel SKY broadcast on their EPG even though you cant view them.
Setting up a favourite channels macro is all well and good but not all FREESAT channels are available on FTA from SKY
Channel 5 and all its variants being one example.
I have SKY HD on my main Tv and i used old SKY boxes on my TVs upstairs but decided to buy FREESAT HD boxes instead and i am glad that i did.
Especially as you can buy one for about ?50 nowadays
Both the HD boxes upstairs are hooked up to my broadband so i can get i-Player aswell

[andy4]

thanks for the info guys
think the box is the 1 i'm gonna get then i can record on hd

[sirlisterofsmeg]

BBC i-Player is now working on the Bush HD box as well now
Picture quality is very good on their standard quality setting
I haven't tried the high quality yet (No need really its only for the bedroom)
If you want an HD box that records just remember that you will need to have 2 cables from your dish LNB to your HD box other wise you can only record what you are watching at the time but i think you can still timeshift with only 1 cable connected

If you look on the Humax Digital UK website they sometimes have GRADE A units for sale direct from them. they still come with 1 yrs warranty included

http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product.asp?ProdRef=10076&cat=Factory

Thats a saving of ?65 for a brand new machine

[andy4]

cheers sirlisterofsmeg
that looks like the box for me as i want to record 1 chan whilst watching another

[asadautor]

A box and cable to the pc

[thered]

Yes but there is nothing more annoying than having every channel SKY broadcast on their EPG even though you cant view them.
Setting up a favourite channels macro is all well and good but not all FREESAT channels are available on FTA from SKY
Channel 5 and all its variants being one example.
I have SKY HD on my main Tv and i used old SKY boxes on my TVs upstairs but decided to buy FREESAT HD boxes instead and i am glad that i did.
Especially as you can buy one for about ?50 nowadays
Both the HD boxes upstairs are hooked up to my broadband so i can get i-Player aswell

you can get channel 5 on a sky box for free but you right you cannot get fiver or five usa

you just need to change the frequency from the menu settings