A free-to-view satellite television and radio service from the BBC and ITV is being launched across the UK.
Freesat is available to 98% of homes with a satellite dish, including those who are currently unable to receive Freeview television. It broadcasts 80 digital TV and radio channels including the main ones, and will rise to 200 by the end of 2008. Users make a one-off payment for a dish, set-top box and installation, but will not pay a monthly subscription.
Emma Scott from Freesat told BBC Radio 5Live: "It's got 98% coverage across the UK and it's only homes that really don't have a clear line of sight to the satellite that can't get it, or certain listed buildings.
"But unlike Freeview you can receive Freesat across the country, which means that in those areas that at the moment can't get access to free digital television this is the first time that you can get free digital TV."
View: BBC News
Freesat is available to 98% of homes with a satellite dish, including those who are currently unable to receive Freeview television. It broadcasts 80 digital TV and radio channels including the main ones, and will rise to 200 by the end of 2008. Users make a one-off payment for a dish, set-top box and installation, but will not pay a monthly subscription.
Emma Scott from Freesat told BBC Radio 5Live: "It's got 98% coverage across the UK and it's only homes that really don't have a clear line of sight to the satellite that can't get it, or certain listed buildings.
"But unlike Freeview you can receive Freesat across the country, which means that in those areas that at the moment can't get access to free digital television this is the first time that you can get free digital TV."
View: BBC News
Yes one day, but for the UK Ofcom currently doesn�t have plans to set aside any of the freed up frequencies for HDTV usage.
Despite a successful trial run in London during 2006, where HD was delivered over Freeview, the only available ways currently to watch HDTV is via Sky satellite, cable and now Freesat.
I'd personally consider freesat as both Sky & Virgin are scum.
Who's confused?, we know they plan to offer HD, that's what we said.
ok its going faster now seems they was changing the website design it was originally black themed now its white themed
Last edited by BBinder on 06 May 2008 - 10:41
This looks like E4 and More4 to me!
http://www.freesat.co.uk/index.php?page=whatson.Main
Five are still under a contractual obligation to Sky to use their encryption. Once that expires, they'll move to Freesat.
but it doesn't have virgin1 which is a bit of deal breaker for me, but maybe not for all. but it does have Al Jazeera and Euronews. so if you like news....
Freesat
List of channels on freesat
but it doesn't have virgin1 which is a bit of deal breaker for me, but maybe not for all. but it does have Al Jazeera and Euronews. so if you like news....
Freesat
List of channels on freesat
Channel Five are going to be joining it this year. Some people (at digitalspy) say a couple of months, others say near Christmas and Comet just says "this year". The chances of them not joining are pretty slim.
True, some sat channels are free, but with a commercial satellite tv contract.
Or could I just use any DVB-S2 card?
Nevermind I found the answer:
I need a huge-ass dish to pick that one from Spain
I wonder what are they going to do to prevent people from other countries watching it? I mean, don't you have to pay for the BBC in the UK? Is it free as in unencrypted free?
A lot of people don't watch the BBC anymore I know I certainly don't but I still have no choice in the matter. And with them harping on about it going up everytime they decide to do something daft like launch another mundane kids channel full of repeats it kind of gets your goat a bit.
They screwed up the launch badly. I think the service is great, lots of nice channels for free and ITVHD + BBCHD, just hope some more HD channels come on board soon and that they are all in MPEG4.
You have to go out and buy a new freesat box to receive it (�120 for the cheapest budget model) [SOURCE]?
Even existing dish installations may not be able to use it.
If you currently use this dish to receive services such as BBC Three and ITV2, your existing dish is probably suitable for receiving freesat. Once freesat is available you might wish to contact your local installer to see if this will work for you.
[SOURCE]
Probably better just sticking to Freeview if you are not already a Sky/Virgin subscriber IMO, I mean whilst it would be nice to see some shows in HD on ITV like ... erm ... umm ... ahh .. Well I can't think of anything on ITV that I watch actually unlike BBC HD (Hustle, Torchwood, Robin Hood etc), its not just not worth it
Freesat is mainly just a way of providing an EPG to non sky box's
The only channel you may not have access to is ITV HD at launch as at the moment it looks like that is exclusive to the freesat EPG. However I don't see this lasting long as ITV are denying themselves 500,000 viewers by doing this.
*Edit*
Ah here it is... http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/
I couldn't get freeview in my area without some big aerial so I decided to go with freesat.
I paid a one off £150 for installation and box. Now I have lots of free to air channels. Including Channel 5 but not E4 and more4.
How is this new thing any different from I have now?
E4, E4+1 More4, More4 +1 all went FTA today at 10:30am on the Freesat (from Sky) platform.
Last edited by artnada on 06 May 2008 - 14:39
No, Film4 has been FTA (Ch 32) "for a while now". Film4+1 is only available through cable or satellite, neither of which are free.
Last edited by mrbester on 09 May 2008 - 11:58
And make no mistake, that's exactly why Sky have chosen to use that name.
And make no mistake, that's exactly why Sky have chosen to use that name.
Who named theirs first - Sky or BBC/ITV?
I have Sky+ (the best invention!!
As for Sky Plus, we have the Virgin "alternative", V+. As much as I loved Sky Plus, I wouldn't go back - virgin's system, while unorganised, is so much better.
The one thing that's puzzling me with this is, what's stopping me going and buying a £29.99 receiver from maplin or a £20 one from ebay that does the same thing?
but yeah i guess you can just buy any dvb-s tuner and it will get all the unencrypted channels.
And make no mistake, that's exactly why Sky have chosen to use that name.
Who named theirs first - Sky or BBC/ITV?
In September 2005, the BBC and ITV announced that they would collaborate on a free-to-air satellite service to complement Freeview. -http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4221722.stm
Freesat from Sky, launched by Sky in October 2004 -http://www.dancewithshadows.com/media/bbc-free-digital-satellite-tv.asp
It's most likely that Sky already knew that this would happen, and did this on purpose.
They didn't invent the PVR, another con that BSkyB have foisted on the British public, along with Sat = Sky, FTV channels, and Sky+ is the only PVR.
I've got a much better PVR than Sky+, and pretty much anyone with a PC can have a better PVR. Also through a subsidiary Sky have patented lots of basic PVR functions, which is unfair to other manufacturers of PVRs; yet another tactic that isn't too surprising!
Last edited by beardedwonder on 06 May 2008 - 17:10
Then again, I prefer to pay for digital cable TV. I can watch TV when the weather is bad outside, unlike SAT that can lose the signal from time to time.
But for those of you who are interested, there's a whole world of DIY satellite equipment out there. If you get the right stuff, you can easily get several thousand channels.
Now I know some skeptics are thinking "yeah but they're all french/german/etc," but you'd be very surprised. What's more, it's ideal for sports fanatics. Are you paying a monthly subscription to Sky, Virgin or Setanta(sp?) so you can get all your football games? Well, they're being broadcast for FREE and in ENGLISH somewhere in Europe and you could easily get them with some basic equipment. Why? Because local matches here don't matter outside this country.
That's just one example, though, the DIY kits are far above and beyond anything Sky will ever sell you (For example, you can get models that let you plug in any 2.5" HDD you can find for the ultimate PVR machine). I do hope that the freesat initiative here will broaden the availability of this stuff, so that I can walk into a local store and have a selection of decent receivers so that I can, with the help of a bit of Jiggery-pokery, can get HD freeview AND a few thousand other channels - all for free, instead of having to buy it from dubious looking websites and ebay.
You have to pay for the equipment, you have to pay for it to be installed and the big booby, of course the TV licence that funds the bloated broadcasting corporation.
If you pop to lidl or maplin you can get a kit thats for caravan users so you can get tv for zip.
It comes with great instructions and a piece of kit that will line you up perfect with a satellite.
Maplin b-grade they had a few at £49.99 and the better ones upto £99.99
Lidl around £65 to £70 so why the need for freeview and the rip-off installation?
It comes with great instructions and a piece of kit that will line you up perfect with a satellite.
Maplin b-grade they had a few at £49.99 and the better ones upto £99.99
Lidl around £65 to £70 so why the need for freeview and the rip-off installation?
Who says you need to pay for installation for Freesat?! And, shock horror; you need to pay for the equipment!! Next you'll get your knickers in a twist about the electricity you need to watch it.
As i said you don't need to pay for installation for Freesat either, and better still if you get a 'Freesat' approved box you get a fully functional EPG, MHEG and interactive functionality. And also, what's Freeview got to do with it?
Last edited by beardedwonder on 06 May 2008 - 17:51
Oh wait, sorry I was in the magical land of inconsistencies and nonsense, now that I'm back in the real world where things (don't) make sense, everything you've just said is rubbish.
Really the only valid point you had there was the cost of installation, but if you want a PROPER TV Ariel that goes on your roof, then you'd better be prepared to pay for that as well, unless you fancy getting the ladders out (in which case you could just install a bloody dish).
nah i was talking about people like this one:
I've already got a Sky dish on the side of my house, so that's one less thing to go and buy!
Get the headline right.
A free-to-air satellite television and radio service from the BBC and ITV is being launched across the UK.
Big difference.
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