Freesat - educate me!

[PaulSecteur]

Hi,

Mum and Dad have just brought a static caravan, it has a satellite dish attached and my Dad says the aerial from it is a normal TV connector.

They have a HD TV they are taking down to it, and would like to recive HDTV.
So, my questions are...

1-Will the already fixed up "normal" as in not specifically HD ready dish be able to recieve HD freesat?

2-Anyone know of any good deals on freesat boxes (and dishes if I need one?), preferably with a recorder so my mum can watch Corrie when she wants.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[andygates]

The dish can get HD and non-HD channels.

However, the "ordinary" connector is a sneak - it's the same shape, but you need a satellite box to decode it: it's not just a dish-shaped aerial.

Many modern HD TVs come with a built-in Freesat box. Check the model!

 

[PaulSecteur]

Cheers andy,

So just get something like this...

http://www.richersounds.com/product/freeview-freesat-pvr/humax/foxsat-hdr/huma-foxsat-hdr-box


And they are set?

 

[marinyork]

You need a Set Top box that can receive HD such as a Humax foxsat HD box.


Unfortunately there aren't any 'magic' HD deals on STBs of the variety you're talking about. You aren't going to be getting a HD receiver for say £30, that's just life. You'll have to pay a lot of money for it, but it should last you many years. The good news is you don't need to be paying out huge costs for satellite installs (or subs).

 

[accountantpete]

Your main problem will be getting the satellite dish pointed in the right direction - it takes some very fine tuning so you may need to get a guy to install it.

 

[3narf]

We have Freesat as it's the only way we can get a TV signal where we live, and there's no way on earth I would ever give Rupert Murdoch any money.

It's a Grundig box, about 2 years old or so, and we have to reboot it constantly because the pic and sound keep going out of sync.

Good pic, though.

 

[meenaghman]

Lidl do some SD receivers. Most sat boxes take an f connector..screw on type connector...there are adaptor and plenty of guides on how to fit them on the net. The size of your sat dish may be an issue...bigger is better..while smaller may work it may be more prone to going off track. You will need to set the dish up to point at the right satellite..although another take is to add a motor so it can be pointed at various satellites..sometimes the lnb needs to be rotated slightly.

 

[marinyork]

Lidl do some SD receivers. Most sat boxes take an f connector..screw on type connector...there are adaptor and plenty of guides on how to fit them on the net. The size of your sat dish may be an issue...bigger is better..while smaller may work it may be more prone to going off track. You will need to set the dish up to point at the right satellite..although another take is to add a motor so it can be pointed at various satellites..sometimes the lnb needs to be rotated slightly.

You don't need bigger than a 50cm dish really, unless you're doing a lot of touring in far off places or live more towards the edges of the British Isles for some of the north beams. However taking people at their word most freesat channels are on 2D **cough cough**. If anyone doesn't believe me the footprints are well understood and widely available on the internet...

 

[meenaghman]

Further n and further w you go a bigger dish is needed.. I have a 60cm but really need 80..most people here also have larger. But then. I m west and north.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/dishes.htm

 

[marinyork]

I simply go on SES's footprints and what SES say can be verified by a large number of people on satellite forums. The people on that site are talking well meaning nonsense on the whole. As I said, for 2D it isn't half as big a problem as people go on about. I am literally taking people at their word and freesat. If people want to bang on about sky channels, Astra 2A North contains mostly premium channels... and doing all sorts of other things by all means get at 80cm dish.

Ironically 2D doesn't have a problem, it's mostly a myth made up as a clever fiddle by the BBC. The only problem on the horizon is is SES decide to stop the party for all those expats living in spain with a tighter footprint on capacity upgrades/replacement.