Topic: Free satellite TV service begins

[Clive]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7384928.stm

[Simon]

Interesting, but we're considered too posh to be allowed dishes round here, so I guess I'll have to stick to Freeview.

[Clive]

Sandra won't be able to move down south then!   

[GillE]

I would love to know if our current Sky satellite dish can receive this broadcast without compromising our Sky service.  I don't want to have another satellite dish on the side of our house; not only will it make our place look like a communications centre, it'll mean £80 for a dish (according to Argos), another £80 for installation (again, according to Argos) and another decoder which will probably cost more than £80 if it's to be of a decent quality.

Gill

[Rik]

The service is using the Astra satellites, Gill, so you can just swap the box in in place of a Sky one.

[Rik]

Interesting, but we're considered too posh to be allowed dishes round here, so I guess I'll have to stick to Freeview.

That's not legally enforceable anymore, Simon, there's an EU directive on the subject.

[Clive]

The service is using the Astra satellites, Gill, so you can just swap the box in in place of a Sky one.

We need a list of channels!   

[Simon]

That's not legally enforceable anymore, Simon, there's an EU directive on the subject.

This is Mid Sussex, Rik.  Our MP is Nicholas Soames, the man who got fined for allowing his grandchildren to travel unrestrained in the back of a trailer, on a fox hunt.  EU directives mean nothing to us. 

[Rik]

We need a list of channels!   

BBC1-4, plus News Parliament & kids
ITV1-4 (and plus ones)
Ch4, More 4 (and plus ones)
Five
Five US
Fiver (and plus ones)
All the shopping channels you can eat
Radio channels
Performance
all the others I can't think of right now.

[GillE]

I'll remember that, Rik - thanks.  Personally, I'd like to downgrade from Sky but His Lordship would never give up his wall-to-wall, Simpsons and kiddies' cartoon channels  .

[Clive]

I would love to downgrade from Sky too.  But we also have "vital" channels such as Living which shows endless repeats of CSI.  

[Sandra]

Channel 5 and some of the extra channel 4 derivitives arent on yet.
Theyre still contracted to Sky UK. Once they come to the end of their current contract then they can move to Astra 2D and join up with the current line up.

The easiest way to get it Gill will be to replace your single LNB on your present Sky dish with a double or quad LNB, then you can run a coax lead to up to either 2 or 4 satellite boxes.
Or two twin tuner boxes if you go for a quad LNB.

I wouldnt advise anyone jumping into the advertised HD freesat boxes just yet as there are a lot of HD satellite receivers coming onto the market that will be possibly around the same price but will be better boxes or for a little more will have such extra functions as multiple tuners, built in hard drives, ethernet and USB connections.

[GillE]

I'll do as you advise, Sandra, and hold fire until other receivers become available.  Then I'll try to do what you suggest in paragraph two, vertigo and ignorance of wiggly amp language permitting  .

[Rik]

Channel 5 and some of the extra channel 4 derivitives arent on yet.

This lists 4, More 4, E4 and Film 4 as available, with 5, 'soon'.

[Sandra]

Theyre hoping to add 30 channels a month to take the total channels available to 200.
Lets hope the extra ones arent going to be all shopping and god ones