Freesat Purchase

[potty64]

Can anyone advise me the best deal for Freesat? We particularly like Challenge, Drama, Dave, Pick, CBS Reality. Do all the boxes supply these channels? And what do you think is the best deal? We already have a Sky dish.

[VHG]

It is not the boxes that supply the channels, it is the signal coming in to your dish that provides the cannels, and that is the same for all Freesat boxes.

Do you have a Sky box because if you do you can use that to pick up all the free channels.

[jennyjoan]

VHG - I can never get through to my sister who is over 70 but a young one - anyway can't stress that it is the signals coming in rather than the boxes or channels. She will say Oh I can't get Channel such and such - I've given up.

[bhg481]

The only caveat is that if you want HD you have to get a Freesat box that will decode the HD signals.

[mccfluff]

you can get all those channels on freeview

[hc4361]

This is a good guide to what channels are available on each service:
http://www.ukfree.tv/allchannels.php?system=3

[potty64]

I do have a Sky box but I'm going to cancel my Sky direct debit so I don't know if they'll want the box back or not. Either way, judging by all the answers, getting a freeview box sounds good so I shall purchase one tho I will have to get someone to connect it to the sky dish won't I?

[mccfluff]

how old is your tv? most come with freeview already, it just needs tuning in. if not you can buy freeview boxes pretty cheaply

[Sipowicz]

Freeview and Freesat are different.
Freeview comes via aerial, Freesat via sattelite dish.

[Sipowicz]

http://www.choose.net/media/guide/features/freesat-or-freeview-free-tv.html

[hc4361]

It is your Sky box and Sky won't want it back. You can cancel your subscription and buy, from Sky, a FreeSat card for £25.

http://www.sky.com/shop/freesat/home/

That will turn your Sky box in to a FreeSat box with no ongoing costs.

[potty64]

Ooops! I meant to say Freesat.

[VHG]

As HC4361 says above, once you cancel your Sky account you will keep the Sky box and it will revert to a Freesat box so you wont need to do anything.

However you will lose the ability to record programs and save them on your Sky box so you may want to buy a freesat box that allows you to record programs and save them on the box.

[Buenchico]

Let's start at the beginning:
The Astra group of satellites (which your dish is pointing at) broadcast lots of FTA (= 'free to air') channels, which can be received by any generic satellite receiver. (You can use a Sky box, with the old card in it, without a subscription to function as such a receiver). Those channels are listed here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free-to-air_channels_at_28%C2%B0E

Sky can also sell you a 'Freesat from Sky' card (which, confusingly, is not the same as 'Freesat') for a one-off payment (i.e.with no subscription). That basically does little more than an old (ex-subscription) Sky card would but possibly adds in things like a few 'red button' options.

'Freesat' receivers are designed to receive a subset of the channels in the list (from my link above), together with a few 'red button' extra facilities. (i.e. Freesat actually gives you fewer channels than a generic satellite receiver but you'd probably not miss things like obscure religious stations anyway!).

All (basic) Freesat boxes can receive the same channels. They also provide 'catch up' facilities through BBC iPlayer and ITV Player (except in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where there's only the BBC iPlayer available). However there are now also 'Freetime' boxes available; they have the same channels as ordinary 'Freesat' boxes but additional 'on demand' facilities (such as 4oD and Demand 5). It's all explained here:
http://www.freesat.co.uk/channels

UKTV, which owns (among other channels) Dave, Drama, Really and Yesterday do NOT make those channels available as 'free to air' on the Astra satellites. They're encrypted and the ONLY way you can receive them through a satellite dish is with a Sky subscription. However they're available free of charge on terrestrial TV (i.e. Freeview).

Challenge, Pick and CBS Reality are all in my first link, so they're available for free using any satellite receiver. They're also available on (terrestrial) Freeview.

[potty64]

Thx for such a detailed description Buenchico! I'm off in the morning to purchase a Sagemcom DTR94500 freesatHD from Argos & hopefully all be settled then!