Hey,
I recently got my new TV which is supposed to Freesat "built in" to it but of course it hasnt been connected up yet.
My mum and I came to an agreement that a 2nd dish would be best so I was going to get a Freesat+ PVR (Humax).
Freesat doesnt look to have the line up of channels that Sky or even Freeview has though. However the HD services (eg football in HD) does sound appealing

If you've got an existing dish, you just need to fit a quad LNB on it, this will allow you to feed your TV (1), PVR (2), and an existing box(1) - total (4).

You can get 4 or 8 outputs from one dish just by changing the lnb so it's unlikely you need a second dish

You certainly shouldn't expect it to have the same lineup as Sky! Freesat is free after all.

Re: Freeview, yes, it has channels that Freesat doesn't and vice-versa. Personally I prefer Freesat's channels but each to his own. Some of the channels on Freeview, e.g., Five's, will probably appear on Freesat eventually but don't rely on that for making your decision.

Freesat will probably get more HD eventually but again don't rely on that.

For me, Freesat was worth it because I was on a [analogue] cable system that just had the five terrestrial channels + News 24 and Hallmark. I had a choice of getting an aerial or a satellite dish. I chose the latter.

Apart from maybe a few matches on ITVHD you will be hard pressed to find much football in HD on Freesat. People need to be careful that they match the system with the type of programmes they want or will be disappointed.

I heard if you buy a HD box the installation will be done for free - I may be wrong on that.

If you had asked me last year, I would have said a overwhelming yes. Now, a year later, no real new channels added, no HD content added, I would almost say don't bother and stick with what you have already... There is no news either of new channels being added in the future, and it almost looks to me as if this is what we get...

You obviously had unrealistic expectations, Freesat is just an alternative EPG to the free channels on Sky - or at least to most of them. It's doing exactly what it was supposed to, and what was expected of it.

If you have sky - then unless you want to get rid of sky and save mone - then no it isn't worth it.

If you have freeview then I would say it is marginal - depends how much of bbcHD and itvHD ( what little there is) channels you might watch

Iyou oy have analogue - then this might be a good option as a digital upgrade.


If you find anyone to install for free please let me know (after all you may not be living in a dream world)

Well I bought the TV and its meant to have freesat built in, since it was included I'd rather take the plunge now, whether it means a 2nd dish or not (I know it doesnt have to)

Of course freesat is worth it. With Sky charging you £10 a month to record programs it takes just over two years to recoup the cost of the box while the charge from Sky will continue to mount up.

Hand on heart I can honestly say I don't miss the films or documentaries. I do miss the sport from Sky, but only when my team are playing on there. So far I have managed to watch a couple of games on foreign TV or via the net. I'd prefer to watch them in HD but while finances are an issue I won't subscribe again. If I got another half price offer from them I might waver.

1-What do you mean "Supposed" to have freesat? it either has, or it hasnt.
2-why pay the extra for a freesat TV if your going to get a Humax freesat box anyway?
3. why do you want 2 dishes?
4 unless your really bothered about BBC HD, or ITV HD (Absolute Pain "Behind a "Red Button") as far a programme content is concerned , Its not worth it, unless you like subititled Dutch progs.!

Bit of a sweeping statement there. I would echo Nigel's comment. to somebody else
If people expect Freesat to be an adequate replacement for Sky, then they are going to be disappointed. (Expectations again) For a young family and sports fans, their is no substitute for Sky. Don't get me wrong, I like Freesat, but I have been able to keep Sky. Of course for many the cost of both is not an option, especially in these hard times.

To anybody thinking of investing in any TV platform, do your research thoroughly.

I didn't expect Freesat to be a like for like alternative to Sky, however...

I did expect Freesat to have 200 channels within the first year as 'claimed', which it didn't manage to achieve.
I did expect Freesat to get a little more HD content than just 1.5 channels (BBC and ITV-0.5) in its 1.5 years of existence
I did expect Freesat to get a few more decent channels in addition to the current line-up
I did expect Freesat to include Ch4HD once it was no longer tied into a contract

So based on this, and the fact that there is no communication on further 'developments' of Freesat, I think it is fair to share some expression of disappointment...

In reply to your subject, 'Is Freesat worth it?', it's worth every penny of the monthly sub.

Seriously though, yes, it's a great platform. It's moving very slowly at the moment, but I do think it will continue to grow and be one of the leading platforms.

I used to sub to Sky, but as soon as the HDR was released, I cancelled Sky, and haven't really looked back since.

Instead of paying £19 / month, to get the Freesat channels, the occasional programme on Sky 1 plus the ability to record, I can now go buy the box set of the programmes I used to watch on Sky 1 with the money I have left over, and still be in pocket.

I'm a big football fan, and did sub to sports for a while, but I'm more than happy with the offerings of BBC & ITV. However, to be honest, I don't really have time to watch any more than what the BBC & ITV offer. If sky allowed customers to sub to sports channels without paying the £19 (or whatever it is now) for the base package, I'd probably still be a Sky subscriber.

It was never going to, it was a ridiculous suggestion from the woman who seemed to do her best to kill Freesat before it was born.


It's not even 1.5 HD channels, BBC is only part time, and ITV doesn't even have a 'channel' at all.

As far as I see it the big disappointment is BBC, why broadcast demos all day, why not broadcast programmes?.

They still treat BBC as an experiment, not as their 'flagship' channel.


None of those were ever even suggested, so you had pretty unrealistic expectations there

CH4 HD will appear eventually, and I'm sure ITV will eventually launch a proper HD channel.

At least it explains why I am (to some extent) disappointing after a year of FreeSat.

Because their hands are tied by the BBC Trust, for it is the Trust that has set the current limit on the hours of broadcast (approved by Ofcom).



And I guess that the current preview loops are a good way of showcasing the range of programming during the day in the many shops that are displaying HD kit (at a time when most people will not be at home to watch full programming anyway). What better way to raise the profile.

and after all, it was clearly stated what the initial hours would be (four, rising to nine), and what they would be raised to, so few should have been surprised or disappointed.

After more than three years, it would be nice to have more than the current limited amount, and the modern trend in TV watching is to use a PVR, so programming during the day isn't a problem.

The TV has a built in Freesat Tuner but it hasnt been tuned in yet as our dish/dishes havent been set up.
Its the BBC/ITV Freesat (satellite version of Freeview?) not Freesat from Sky.

There has been a rather limited release of HD PVRs though, and they are still expensive.

As I said - it's a BBC Trust/Ofcom issue, probably more to do with the BBC being seen not to prioritise a service above other programming when that service is viewed by 10% of the households or less, and where there is a perception that money spent on a full-time HD channel is money that is not being spent of SD programmes that the majority can enjoy (bearing in mind that BBC HD cannot be received by the method most commonly used by viewers - terrestrial transmissions.

Not forgetting any concerns that the channel is not perceived as a direct threat to existing subscription channels (which is one reason why the Trust stipulated a maximum percentage of airtime that could be given over to films & sport for example).

It's all about perception & responsibility I feel. In the meantime, the preview loops (which are not meant to be watched as proper programming) are most likely doing a good job in selling HD to the shoppers - what better way of doing that than by showing clips of popular programmes (rather than complete programmes) so that the casual shopper might see a clip of a programme that he/she is familiar with in SD and can immediately see the difference. More HD sales/greater penetration will strengthen any case that the BBC has of increasing the hours.


Over the next few years, that limit will have to be reviewed. It must be a racing certainty that it will go full-time during the day some time after DSO is complete, leading to a point where that channel is joined by HD versions of BBC1 and BBC2 (as the BBC completes its plans to convert all new programming to HD). i guess that, at some point, it will be replaced by a HD version of one of the existing BBC channels. That surely has to be the most logical path.

You're probably right, I'm sure more channels/content will be added as we get closer to DSO.
Look at what Freeview had when it originally launched and compare it with now.

i cant believe the amount of people that are unhappy with freesat
we are really pleased with freesat, i live in france and the reception is great , i have the goodmans hd box so some of the programmes up-scale with great quality. the only difference between freeview and freesat is fiver and five US , but now i have bbc HD and ITV HD when they broadcast in HD.
I really cant see what all the moaning is about, freesat gives you HD for free, if you want HD with sky you have to pay for it!!
and i would rather have 50 channels worth watching than 200
that are rubbish

I wouldn't be so sure, there are few channels FTA on Sky that aren't already on Freesat - and the main one, Sky News, is unlikely to appear on Freesat.

I thought it was reported on join freesat that sky news had bought a slot on freesat?Well unconfirmed anyway.

http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/page/7