I'm reading an advert for freesat free time, and it says you can watch programs you've missed without setting a timer. It doesn't say you need broadband (it does say you need broadband for on demand TV).

It can't possibly record all the free sat channels, including 5 HD channels for 7 days. No recorder can record that number of channels simultaneously, or store that much content.

So does it need broadband and stream the programs? Does it record just a selection of programs? Or something else?

I find their advert very confusing. What does it actually do?

Basically as YouView its got BBCiPlayer,ITV Player,Demand 5,4OD built into the EPG so you can go back the last 7 days.
This is the on demand part that needs the broadband.

Then it is very misleading.

1) It doesn't say you need broadband for the 'backwards TV guide', this is a totally separate paragraph to the on-demand TV
2) it actually criticises steaming services as having "constant breaks"

I'm surprised they are allowed to be so misleading.

Sounds like the OP needs to simply read up a little

See Step 3 - get connected

from here

http://www.freesat.co.uk/freetime/

Not sure how its misleading, the adverts I've seen say

Read step 3

http://www.freesat.co.uk/freetime/

Do you expect a full technical description in a 2 minute TV ad

Looking back before posting I see others have posted similar.

Not sure how you imagine such a service would be possible without the internet.

I wasn't referring to to a 2 minute TV ad. Something that should be obvious from my comment about On-demand and backwards TV guide being in separate paragraphs.

I was reading the 2 full pages of advert in the TV guide that was included in yesterday's Independent newspaper. Plenty of space to say you need broadband for the backwards TV guide. In fact if they had removed the part where they said streaming TV services have frequent interruptions without mentioning that they are also advertising a streaming TV service, they'd have had even more room.

Since when were adverts allowed to be misleading on the assumption that the audience will "read up a little"?

I am reasonably technical and knew the advert was too good to be true, which was why I made my original post. How many less technical people will have been misled by this advert?

The whole Freeview/Freesat/Youview/<FreeTime> propositions are a minefield and there is no way that the average consumer can make an informed choice without much research.

As for YouView there's three different versions to choose from!!

It says you need Broadband for on demand TV, whats misleading about that. The only difference is you have a convenient epg to access it with entries that tell you what content is actually available. To watch VOD you just click on the programme entry in the epg. (one click convenient access)

Without this you have to log in to the content server to find out if the programme you want is actually available. There are actually recorders that can record all the Freeview channels at the same time by recording all 6 multiplexes in there entirety. Of course you need a massive amount of data storage.

There is nothing misleading about that part. The misleading part is treating on-demand and backwards TV guide as if they are totally separate features. If it had even once mentioned that the content of the backwards TV guide would be streamed to your home, it would be clear.

There are alternatives, as I mentioned in my original post. They could do a TiVo type thing where the box tries to guess what you'll like and download some things in advance. Or it could have huge storage and record many channels 24/7. In my view Freesat are deliberately misleading people with this ad.

They criticize streaming on-demand services, then position their "free time" service as the solution. Actually, it is more of the same. If you have frequent interruptions on your current on-demand serivce, you'll very likely suffer exactly the same with "free time".

In what way do they criticise streaming on-demand services?
What exactly does the ad say?

Lets just say you appear to be the only person who has ever posted failing to recognise what Youview (which has been around a lot longer) and freetime is. Where have you been for the last few months ? What exactly does this ad say about streaming video services like Netflix etc ?

Seems more likely they are merely pointing out that freetime is free, other services you have to pay for.

The exact words:
"Happily, catch-up TV solved the need to remember to set the timer - except you still had to watch the programmes in lower picture quality on a computer screen with constant breaks in steaming and coverage or through a video games console.
But now thanks to <free time > the smart new TV guide from Free sat, it's even easier to find the programmes you love."

As I wrote earlier, if streaming has constant breaks now, probably so will free time.

I'm pretty sure theyre talking in past tense ie "Except You Still Had to".

Things are different now as Broadband bandwidth is higher(for most people)
And you no longer need to view via a computer or games console and things are easier to find via the new TV guide.

They are comparing options before free time, not before broadband. I can't think of any streaming TV services before broadband. You had to download stuff for hours to watch a short video, even You Tube was struggling.

Does your PC have a 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 display (the latter being the minimum for a HD display) ?. Even with sufficient bandwidth watching on a PC monitor is going to be a poor substitute for the large screen TV most have now.

You claim to have some degree of technical expertise, every post you make makes this claim shall we say a tad dubious.

The quote simply refers to vod experience on pre broad band connections. The ad says YOU NEED BROADBAND, sorry to shout but you seen incabable of getting the message.

You remind me of the other posters complaining the new full-HD tv they bought can't watch the Freeview-HD UK TV service. Unless they were told by the retailer it would they don't have any re-dress in law. Basically you thought wrongly that you knew more than actually did.

Get over it and do a tad more research.

Why don't you complain to OFCOM/Trading Standards/The Publication, interested to see how far you get, Somehow not very far I suspect. There's always one

Adverts in a national newspaper should be designed for an average person, not a geek with time to do follow up research.

My complaint is that the add is highly misleading, not that I don't understand it.

I didn't think anything wrongly, I asked a question as I suspected the ad was misleading and wanted to check.

As you seem to think you are a technical genius, I'm amazed you haven't thought of connecting your PC to your TV. No more small screen experience! That's what I do for catch up TV today. It's the most flexible solution for catch up, on demand and watching stuff I've downloaded.

This is nothing like comparing detailed specs of different HD services, it is totally misrepresenting the product.

Who said anything about before broadband?
When on-demand video streaming first started to become more popular in the early stages of broadband the vast majority had low bandwidth connections, hence the watching in lower qaulity with breaks due to constant buffering issues.
In fact if I remember correctly when BBCiPlayer first came about I only had a 1MB connection so had no change of using it.
Now as broadband bandwidth is far greater they can offer much less compressed video for much better quality to view on your TV screen with hardly any buffering and no breaks during.

I don't think I'm a technical genius at all, my laptop has a hdmi out and a HD graphics card, yes I can connect it to my 40" Full-HD TV, best picture is 1280 x 720, the graphics card is not capable of 1920 x 1080. It's fine for Iplayer-HD 720p25 content, would I use it surf the net no way. I can watch iplayer in HD from a HDR-1000s, HDR-FOX-T2, a HD-FOX T2 and a PS3 why would I bother using the laptop. It's all connected by a Denon AV amp. I can also connect a Android tablet to my display and replay full-HD content in the same 1080p24 quality and same bitrate as on a BD disc in full 5.1 sound. from a usb drive, I can do the same with a 12V tiny satellite box, the HDR FOX T2 and the HDR-1000s.

I can stream recorded content across my home network to other displays. My grandson can watch recorded content on his smart TV on his bedroom from my pvrs. I am able to create my own software using high level programming languages. I even understand how a cpu is programmed at the lowest binary level. That doesn't make me a technical genius, there are far more posters then me with far more knowledge.

At 68 it does mean I have a a bit more knowledge than your posts so far have displayed, not to mention 40yrs plus experience.

You are the one professing to have some degree of knowledge, every post you make reveals that you do not.

I would give up digging, the hole you are creating is getting ever deeper.

If you feel so strongly complain about the so called misleasing ad to the the relevant places. None of us can do anything about this other than point out the enormous flaws on your argument. Goodnight

I guess you are the first Free sat fan boy I've met. Pleased to meet you.

All that would make sense if the second paragraph started "But now thanks to broadband" and not "But now thanks to free time".

Ha Ha, well your totally wrong with that as I don't even have Freesat. Bog standard Freeview user at this time.
I was just intrigued by your post claiming the <FreeTime> ad was misleading and just wondered why. Then proceeded to say how I read what the ad described.
Pleased to meet you too

Have you even seen the full 2 page ad? Or was your personal attack based on the one and a bit paragraphs I copied to this thread?

I can't see how you can judge the ad or me if you've not seen it.

Personal Attack
I'm done Ta Ta.

Watch the Desiree Ad.
There's no mention of a new box even being required......