[clockworks999]

I was in my local B&Q yesterday, and I spotted a huge pile of what appeared to be DIY dish kits. Closer inspection revealed that the kit also contained a satellite receiver.

Seems remarkably cheap - £40 for a dish, mount, LNB, cables, satellite decoder and remote. Anyone tried one?

They were also selling alignment kits for a tenner.

[derek500]

They're FTA kits not Freesat. Good value though.

[rai uno]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

I was in my local B&Q yesterday, and I spotted a huge pile of what appeared to be DIY dish kits. Closer inspection revealed that the kit also contained a satellite receiver.

Seems remarkably cheap - £40 for a dish, mount, LNB, cables, satellite decoder and remote. Anyone tried one?

They were also selling alignment kits for a tenner.

Is it a B&Q Warehouse (or whatever they now call the bigger stores!)?

If so, they've been flogging Satellite stuff for a couple of years now - but I'd be interested to know if the smaller stores are getting involved.

Slowly, very slowly, we're getting a bit more like the mainland Europeans in respect of the availability of such kit.

Credit to freesat for adding further impetus in putting to bed the peculiar "Satellite = Sky" myth that has prevailed in the UK.

And time alone will tell, but freesat may well provide a trigger for some Broadcasters to review their Business models and contemplate dropping their Encryption.

[Bryan Spink]

Is it this one?

B&Q

Listed at £99.98 on their site.

Bryan

[clockworks999]

I couldn't see a brand name - blue and white cardboard box.

It was the B&Q in Penzance - a small store that I think is now branded as a mini-warehouse.

What's the difference between Freesat and FTA? Can't an FTA receiver pick up all the channels that are on Freesat?

[rai uno]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

I couldn't see a brand name - blue and white cardboard box.

It was the B&Q in Penzance - a small store that I think is now branded as a mini-warehouse.

What's the difference between Freesat and FTA? Can't an FTA receiver pick up all the channels that are on Freesat?

Yes - the real difference is in the EPG.

Freesat provides a comprehensive EPG similar to the way Sky does, whereas FTA kit only have Now and Next Programme info.

Platform EPGs do have restrictions though - in general FTA kit allows renumbering, renaming, sorting, deletion, classification etc. etc.

Pros and cons to both.

FTA kit also supports multi-Satellite operation, whereas most Platform based kit doesn't - with the honourable exception of the Humax Foxsat range.

Most of my kit is non-Platform and it suits my needs, even for Recording.

Those who have a penchant for PVRs will prefer a Platform based Box.

[TV DUNIYA]

Originally Posted by Bryan Spink

Is it this one?

B&Q

Listed at £99.98 on their site.

Bryan

I think that clockworks999 is refering to the Zone 2 minidish and Fta Philex/Skymaster receivers satellite kit.
They have been selling these for a couple of years.
Initially priced at £79.99,but are reduced to £40,several times a year.
Usually tend to be only available in the warehouse branches.
Good to see that they are now selling motors,as well as larger dishes.

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

I couldn't see a brand name - blue and white cardboard box.

It was the B&Q in Penzance - a small store that I think is now branded as a mini-warehouse.

What's the difference between Freesat and FTA? Can't an FTA receiver pick up all the channels that are on Freesat?

They are in the Redditch Warehouse. Think the reciever is badged Silverline. Probably buy one for a friend on Wednesday when I can get the wrinklies 10% discount

[derek500]

Originally Posted by rai uno

Yes - the real difference is in the EPG.

And all the red button stuff, which an FTA box won't pick up automatically.

[rai uno]

Originally Posted by derek500

And all the red button stuff, which an FTA box won't pick up automatically.

The streams can be set up in the same way as proper Channels - simple and direct access.

Quite a useful feature. Thanks for reminding me.

Text isn't available, though.

Red Button not missed here

Edit: I may be wrong, but I think you can also get direct access with a freesat Box, as well as via the Red Button, so it's just Sky Boxes that are restricted in that respect.

[alwall]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

I was in my local B&Q yesterday, and I spotted a huge pile of what appeared to be DIY dish kits. Closer inspection revealed that the kit also contained a satellite receiver.

Seems remarkably cheap - £40 for a dish, mount, LNB, cables, satellite decoder and remote. Anyone tried one?

They were also selling alignment kits for a tenner.

Saw them on sale at the B&Q Cheltenham store today

[bignoise]

Originally Posted by rai uno

Credit to freesat for adding further impetus in putting to bed the peculiar "Satellite = Sky" myth that has prevailed in the UK.

Places like B&Q, Maplin, Aldi, etc, have been selling FTA receiption kits for nearly ten years! Exactly what does Freesat have to do with anything?

[rai uno]

Originally Posted by bignoise

Places like B&Q, Maplin, Aldi, etc, have been selling FTA receiption kits for nearly ten years! Exactly what does Freesat have to do with anything?

Increasing choice and making a few more members of the public at large aware that Sky is not the only way.

The fact that FTA kit has been available in the places you mention doesn't alter the fact that hitherto sales have been confined to the cognoscenti and to people which think they are getting something which "gets Sky for free" - the latter being part of the myth.

freesat is just another, and relatively new, part of the "Satellite does not equal Sky" reality.

Once the bigger Supermarket chains get in open the act, we might have a market bearing greater resemblance to that which has prevailed in much of the rest of Europe for ages.

[Snoods]

And the platforms will be even more definable when the freesat PVR arrives.

Do you want a platform that charges for recording ? (Sky) or would you like a free recording service ? (freesat)

freesat for me please!

[clockworks999]

I didn't realise that Freesat was a proper platform as opposed to a branding exercise for FTA.
I've currently got Sky+, as the analogue and Freeview signals are really poor in this area.

I just bought a Freesat HD telly (Panasonic '81B) a few weeks ago. When Channels 1 to 5 are available via Freesat HD, I'll ditch Sky and get an HD PVR, assuming that it's easy to use. I find the Humax Freeview PVR a real pain in the butt to use.

[JamesE]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

I find the Humax Freeview PVR a real pain in the butt to use.

Really? You do surprise me. I find it rather good. What in particular annoys you?

[davesull]

Originally Posted by JamesE

Really? You do surprise me. I find it rather good. What in particular annoys you?

Off topic I know, but clockworks999's post puzzled me because he'd just said that Freeview is poor in his area, so why have a Freeview PVR?

However, I have one (Humax 9200T) and the biggest irritation is the length of time it takes to populate the EPG, especially if I've just switched it on in order to set a recording (10 to 15 minutes is not acceptable). My previous Freeview (DigiFusion) recorder did the job within seconds. (Mind you, it did fail catastrophically one month out of warranty!)

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by JamesE

Really? You do surprise me. I find it rather good. What in particular annoys you?

So do I although it has a few foibles so that on the whole I prefer the Toppy. On the other hand there are some things on the Hummy that I prefer to the Toppy (No Taps loaded)

[clockworks999]

Originally Posted by JamesE

Really? You do surprise me. I find it rather good. What in particular annoys you?

Compared to Sky+, the whole way it operates is poor.
It's noisy (HDD access), slow to populate the EPG, daft logic for setting recordings, poor series link function (can't have series link and padding) - I could go on. In just about every way, Sky+ is superior. I'd rather pay Sky £17 a month than rely on Freeview.

[clockworks999]

Originally Posted by davesull

Off topic I know, but clockworks999's post puzzled me because he'd just said that Freeview is poor in his area, so why have a Freeview PVR?

However, I have one (Humax 9200T) and the biggest irritation is the length of time it takes to populate the EPG, especially if I've just switched it on in order to set a recording (10 to 15 minutes is not acceptable). My previous Freeview (DigiFusion) recorder did the job within seconds. (Mind you, it did fail catastrophically one month out of warranty!)

Freeview PQ is poor, but poor PQ is better than no picture. I bought the 9200 as a backup to my Sky+, which had a HDD failure a couple of years ago, a few days before Christmas.
Analogue reception is truly abysmal here, so Freeview was a better option. A bit of pixellation and freezing is OK in an emergency if Sky fails.

I'm hoping that Freeview PQ will improve with switchover next year.

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

Compared to Sky+, the whole way it operates is poor.
It's noisy (HDD access), slow to populate the EPG, daft logic for setting recordings, poor series link function (can't have series link and padding) - I could go on. In just about every way, Sky+ is superior. I'd rather pay Sky £17 a month than rely on Freeview.

Agreed series record is better but reliability is pretty poor, my daughter has had two both failed now scrapped replaced by toppy, friend now awaiting 2nd replacement and you cant watch a recording whilst recording two channels. I have toppy 3.5yrs old and hummy 2 yrs old touch wood no problems. Have rescued both daughter and friend with lost recordings following sky plus failures, And the ultimate failure you can't copy the mpeg2 source files directly to a PC. This alone has rescued my friend and daughter from lost recordings. In my opinion the Toppy is much much better than sky + especially when you consider when taps can do. So for 3.5yrs you have spent £17.00 a month for very little extra does not sound much of a bargain to me !!!

And by the way the Hard Disc in the Sky + box is tiny by modern standards

Also if you want to add a recording reservation through the epg you cant carry on watching the current program/recording as selecting the epg loses the current picture and sound

[davemurgatroyd]

Originally Posted by grahamlthompson

Also if you want to add a recording reservation through the epg you cant carry on watching the current program/recording as selecting the epg loses the current picture and sound

You can set reminders or recordings on a Sky+ if the programme is on in the next 6 to 8 hours - via the now and next banner at the bottom and keep a full screen picture. Plus on Sky programmes you can often set reminders/recordings direct from trailers for programmes (press the green button) where channels bother to make use of the facility on their trailers..

[clockworks999]

Originally Posted by grahamlthompson

Agreed series record is better but reliability is pretty poor, my daughter has had two both failed now scrapped replaced by toppy, friend now awaiting 2nd replacement and you cant watch a recording whilst recording two channels. I have toppy 3.5yrs old and hummy 2 yrs old touch wood no problems. Have rescued both daughter and friend with lost recordings following sky plus failures, And the ultimate failure you can't copy the mpeg2 source files directly to a PC. This alone has rescued my friend and daughter from lost recordings. In my opinion the Toppy is much much better than sky + especially when you consider when taps can do. So for 3.5yrs you have spent £17.00 a month for very little extra does not sound much of a bargain to me !!!

And by the way the Hard Disc in the Sky + box is tiny by modern standards

Also if you want to add a recording reservation through the epg you cant carry on watching the current program/recording as selecting the epg loses the current picture and sound

I've actually been very impressed with the reliability of Sky+. I've got an original Pace V1 box. I've had 2 problems in over 5 years. The first was the HDD failure - fixed by installing a 160GB drive.
The second was when Sky did an upgrade, which disabled V1 boxes with bigger HDDs. Huge outcry from owners, so Sky fixed it within a couple of days.

As I said, Freeview and analogue PQ is poor, despite spending £120 on a new aerial with masthead amplifier. Sky PQ is far superior. The combination of ease of use and superior PQ makes it worth spending £17 a month.

The imminent arrival of a Freesat PVR may change all that. If the Humax Freesat PVR is easy to use, and if C4 HD and C5 are available, I'll get one.

[boyzie]

Originally Posted by clockworks999

Compared to Sky+, the whole way it operates is poor.
It's noisy (HDD access), slow to populate the EPG, daft logic for setting recordings, poor series link function (can't have series link and padding) - I could go on. In just about every way, Sky+ is superior. I'd rather pay Sky £17 a month than rely on Freeview.

I have Sky+,V+ box, and the Humax 9000t and I find that the Humax is by far the easiest and most user friendly to use...Had it for over a year now and couldn't complain about anything.

[clockworks999]

Originally Posted by boyzie

I have Sky+,V+ box, and the Humax 9000t and I find that the Humax is by far the easiest and most user friendly to use...Had it for over a year now and couldn't complain about anything.

I suppose it depends on what you are used to using the most. I had Sky+ for 3 years before I got the Humax. They are different, and I find Sky+ more intuitive.