Freesat - Yes or No??

[Aldershot1]

Hi, I am considering paying SKY the £175 for Freesat with a view to using the box in conjunction with my Oyster Cytrac DX dish but I have a number of questions I hope somebody can answer for me.

 

1. Am I assuming right in that using Sky Freesat I will be then able to access the Astra Sky footprint which reaches much further South?

2. Through Sky Freesat what additional channels am I likely to get around Benidorm area.

3. Is this additional cost worth it or should I consider full subscription to Sky and then get a dig box, although I think I have to have it connected to phone for first year - is that correct?

 

Hope someone can help

Regards

John

[Matrix Meanderer]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

 

We have an 85 cm Oyster Vision 3 Auto Skew twin LNB system. My experience taking a standard SKY HD box to Spain in January this year was that it did not help at all. We still lost all the UK channels just south of the Loire River. We took the box primarily to watch films and shows recorded over Christmas which worked OK obviously and was great in the long dark winter nights. We began picking up the main UK channels again north of Clermont Ferrand on the way home, with the box connected.

 

I have heard that there is a sort of "blip" in the Astra 2 footprint that gives some UK channel reception around Benidorm, but we did not experience it when in the area.

 

No, as I understand it, you don't need it to be connected to a phone line anymore. However, I believe that any films/programmes recorded on premium channels will only play back when the box is linked to your Wifi router at home. Not sure what happens to subscription channels as we don't pay for them.

 

Suggest you give Anthony at Oyster Sat Tech UK a call - he is a font of knowledge on satellite footprint issues and Oyster kit. He will also be at the NEC show next month.

Hope that starts the reply - no doubt others will have better advice on this topic.

 

[Way2Go]

My understanding is that you don't need to pay Sky anything unless you want to watch Premium Channels. All you need (besides your 85cm dish) is a set top box and a list of free-to-air channels.

 

Your dish should automatically find the Astra 28.2 satellites used by Sky and if you get one of these little fellas you can watch any free-to-air channels you like.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Megasat-HD-Stick-510se-Satellite/dp/B00BB93WOU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474094782&sr=8-1&keywords=Megasat+HD+Stick+510se+Satellite+Receiver

 

Look at the pictures and you'll note it sticks to the back of your TV and the included remote gives you access to the channel menus. It has a satellite-in connection and an HDMI-out connection to plug into your TV.

 

Amazon may not be the cheapest supplier so you might want to shop around.

 

Here's a list of Astra 28.2 free-to-air channels which should keep you busy.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free-to-air_channels_at_28%C2%B0E

 

 

 

[Randonneur]

Nice to see you Pa, just checked our TV and it has 2 HDMI sockets, its an Avtex but we bought it in 2004, old but still working well, no Sat built in using a Sky Mini box at the moment but am thinking of cancelling our subscription shortly so will need something to replace the box.

[Way2Go]

Thank you ;-)

 

We have the AVTEX - L185DR and it comes with 2 x HDMI, 1 x RF and 1 x SCART connections.

 

There are other similarly sized 12v set top boxes on the market and a recently saw one with a SCART connection . . . if your AVTEX has one of those ;-)

 

Barry (PA)

[Aldershot1]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts they have helped greatly in my deliberations. It leaves me still confused about one issue and that is 'what does Freest offer over and above Freeview'?

 

john

[jenkothewanderer]

Freeview is received only through a conventional rooftop aerial and only in the uk and possibly the northern french coast around Calais.

Freesat on the other hand will receive all the free to air transmissions via your satellite dish both in the UK and on the continent.

As previously stated you will start to lose bbc,itv , c4 etc around the central french region depending on your dish size. However you will still receive Sky news, all the shopping channels , true movies and a few more english speaking programs, enough to keep you occupied if you like a bit of telly during the early dark nights.

I go to Benidorm regularly around Jan/Feb and my 85cm dish with a 12v sky mini box will still receive the above described channels but not the bbc,itv etc.

Another point of note is that some of the sites around Benidorm have their own large dishes and you can plug your normal tv aerial into their supply and receive british tv. One note of caution you may require a tv with the analogue tuner to enable you to tune your tv into the system.

Hope this helps.

[bigparkie]

We have got free satellite built in our avtek not freesat, on astra 28.2 which means the epg is poor or none existent,but we can work round it.

 

[Aldershot1]

Once again many thanks I now understand the principles.

John

[Billggski]

Free view = aerial

Freesat = satellite dish

 

Both give loads of channels

 

Sky = dish + subscription to get extra if you want.

 

Note, French TV went digital this year, you can buy a TNT box for about €35 from supermarkets and there are some programmes in English.

 

My son watches UK football for free through the internet, but with a Turkish commentary!

[mildi]

Billggski - 2016-09-17 9:02 PM

 

Free view = aerial

Freesat = satellite dish

 

Both give loads of channels

 

Sky = dish + subscription to get extra if you want.

 

Note, French TV went digital this year, you can buy a TNT box for about €35 from supermarkets and there are some programmes in English.

 

My son watches UK football for free through the internet, but with a Turkish commentary!

 

I believe that the French TV changed in April and you can now only get them if you have a HD box or tuner. It was digital before but now it's digital HD and yes there are a few channels in English.