Loading ...Want your thoughts and suggestions on the new Freesat platform to be heard? Then this is your opportunity. Freesat and their PR company regularly read this blog and see it as a valuable resource with a good level of customer interaction.
You may have seen the addition of a poll down the left hand column, this was introduced at the request of our readers, and Freesat have been made aware of it. Whilst it only offers basic voting functionality, it does give a good indication of what potential Freesat customers want, and we are confident Freesat are taking note.
We want to take it one step further, and are giving you the opportunity to get involved. We want you to post your comments below about what you want to see over the next 6-12 months. Freesat won’t be a success without a good level of customer interaction, so have your voice heard.
A few examples from reading comments on our posts include:
- Inclusion of FIVE, won’t buy Freesat until its available
- Inclusion of C4HD, its a free channel that should be on Freesat
- Waiting for a HD-PVR
Get involved, have your say, Freesat are reading.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:19 am
We’ll start the ball rolling by asking Freesat to introduce a high end twin tuner HD-PVR Digital Box (3-4 tuners would be even better!). We’d also like to see C4HD added, and improvements to BBCHD, which still shows far too many previews. Our final request would be for standard definition picture quality to be improved on all existing digital boxes, as its a little blurred on plasma/lcd televisions.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I’m waiting eagerly to get my hands on a freesat box, but there’s no way im going to spend any money on a box until a high end twin tuner HD-PVR comes on the market. I think freesat is new and exciting and i hope freesat stick to their guns and keep adding more and more great channels to the lineup (C4 HD and Five would be a start
I think what is important is to get the PVR on sale and broaden their range of boxes and just as importantly, make it less of a hassle to get started. Make retailers more aware of freesat and ensure they don’t push the home installation but make the customer aware of what is required to get up and running so they can decide if they need it.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:54 am
improve SD pictures. F1 in HD. more HD channels
May 17th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Freesat needs to include all the channels currently available on Freeview, until it does it is a lesser service.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Having finally got a Foxsat box from Argos ( Thanks Argos excellent delivery ! )
My picture is excellent on my Sony 32inch Bravia lcd tv including upscaled sd stuff. ( must work better on some tvs than others?)
BBC HD must in my view expand its coverage as soon as possible, ch4hd must get on freesat and itv HD should have already been there in my opinion.
Inclusion of the +1 channels for ITV2 etc and as many already available free channels as possible ,Personally I have no attraction whatever for shopping Channels as I consider them a waste of bandwidth.
Freesat is an Important development and one that should grow but more publicity is really needed on TV as friends of mine have seen my setup but knew nothing about Freesat at all The snag now is they cannot get a box …. what a joke that is !
May 17th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I have a Humax, but would like there to be a freesat universal remote produced to include basic tv functions such as volume, power and input select.
More HD channels, and the other freeview channels that aren’t currently free on dsat.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I’ve currently got Freesatfromsky, so for me to move to the new Freesat service, I’d like to see all the Five channels, including Zone Horror and Zone Reality, and all the CSC channels.
And an SD PVR would be nice aswell.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Freesat needs to have all the channels that are on FSFS up and running
asap, plus the 3 HD channels already mentioned (more if poss) plus the
HD PVR (eagerly awaited) needs a card slot availability for Setanta, if it
is to challenge SKY in any way. I realise not everybody wants pay sports
but it would be an option for those who did
May 17th, 2008 at 11:23 am
have purchased a fortec star system with ‘passion set top box.pictures are great but waiting for channel 4 and 5.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Get channels like ch4 hd and the five family on asap itv hd needs to be up and running aswell preferably by wed 21st may wink wink other channels like zone horror even luxe hd that you can get in non freesat mode let the brand build steadily dont make the mistake like other providers that dont deliver.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:36 am
The approach to the launch of Freesat has been disappointing - I am sure Sky feel unthreatened by a low key and somewhat chaotic launch. Personally I am awaiting the PVR as I am sure many others will do and for the BBC to broadcast HD programmes other than repeats from earlier transmissions. Come on Freesat look a bit more lively and organised!
May 17th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I’m interested in getting Freesat, too, but as Fred B says, until Freesat offer the same channels as Freeview it will be a lesser service (albeit the HD, but only from BBC!!). I’d no idea it had launched, and I was interested in it! It was only when I got an Argos vision supplement in a gadget magazine that I saw they were now selling the Freesat Receivers. So there definitely needs to be more information about it, out in the public domain.
I would have thought ITV’s HD channel would be up and running if Freesat has officially launched, and I certainly agree about the BBC’s HD channel, ie too many previews.
At the moment the majority of our viewing is from freeview, and we’ve been using a Pace DS810XE HD receiver for the BBC’s HD service. But, for the reason’s listed above I won’t be buying into Freesat until there’s an HD PVR available, and ITV have launched their HD channel.
As others have commented, I’d also like to see CH4 and CH4HD, along with Five and it’s variants available to Freesat.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
we need more hd channals asap
when are they comming ?
May 17th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
In the next 6 months I would like to a good branded HD PVR (preferably in the next 2 months). Inclusion of the missing standard freeview channels and if possible further indication of any new HD services on the horizon.
Also one thing that put me off a unti I tried recently (Humax HD foxsat) was the quality of the SD output, albeit on a 40″ LCD, in comparision to existing freeview channels (and it has to be said SKY Digital). With so little HD content available now and in the near/medium future I feel the SD quality provided shouldn’t be less than is available right now.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
My suggestions are as follows:
1. More HD - ideally all programmes on all channels should moved over to being broadcast in HD as soon as is physically possible. HD is the future and more than enough people have HD sets to justify this - estimated 9.6 million currently according to Emma Scott’s interview. SD could still continue as a parallel.
2. Ch 4 HD and Ch 5 (in HD as soon as is available) are a must.
3. BBC HD needs to move to full programming and not just previews
4. All HD channels should broadcast HD programs all day to a full schedule not just for a limited few hours per day
5. Freesat needs a Dedicated Natural History Channel / Channels, in HD, as natural history has both a wide appeal and looks fantastic in HD
6. Would like a Dedicated Extreme Sports Channel such as “Extreme” in HD eg. Surfing, Windsurfing, Kite surfing, moto extreme sports, etc etc
7. More Sport - maybe a dedicated channel (in HD)
8. All the current Freeview Channels should be available on Freesat - Freesat should not build on Freeview’s offerings
9. Better Movie Channels with all movies available in HD - appreciate here that cost is the issue but Freesat doesn’t have to be the 1st channel to show them, simply have lots of HD up-to-date movies available as soon as possible after subscription rivals have had 1st bite
10. Better Advertising of Freesat - despite a seemingly good start from enthusiasts, Freesat is simply not attaining its potential - its advantages compared to Freeview / Sky should be being shouted about - many people simply don’t know about Freesat or its advantages over other services such as the fact there’s free HD, that Freeview has limited bandwidth for HD and will have to have its quality reduced in the future, etc
11. Guarantee of Continued Free Programming - Subscription Channels / top Up TV, are just the slippery slope to a subscription service.
Most people choose Freesat because either they can’t afford a subscription service or because they don’t want to pay a subscription service. After decades of having to put up with a poor quality service compared to Sky’s offerings, we have a free public service that has the potential to rival Sky. Let us not back away from that. People who can’t afford a subscription have just as much right to have a quality tv service as those who can. Let Sky compete through its uniqueness of indivdual channels rather than through superior choice. I’d like to see Freesat parallel Sky in so far as is possible (minority / shopping / travel / channels and similar excluded) and for Sky to let its unique features eg The Premiership differentiate its service). Freesat can parallel by offering equally good but different offerings eg Champions League, Cup Finals, European Chamionships, National Football, Rugby Matches / Sporting Events, The Championship (?) in the case of football / sports.
12. Quality of Broadcasting - I’d like to see Freesat aim for quality of broadcasting rather than quantity so as mentioned above parallel programming as far as possible but non of the “rubbish” channels (my opinion of those channels not a statement of fact as to what their quality is)
13. Quality of Broadcast Picture - All channels especially HD to be broadcast in the highest quality of transmission possible / lowest compression. HD big screen tv’s as which are now really popular and widespread in people’s homes really expose poor quality transmissions. Also there’s little point having HD if you spoil the picture with high compression / low quality transmissions.
14. Quality of Broadcast Sound - Again sound should be broadcast in as high quality a format as possible - Dolby Digital when available highest quality Dolby Pro Logic II or stereo when DPII not available. Also consideration should be given to True HD when possible to transmit in the future - many people buy cinema systems nowadays at the same time as they buy large HD tv’s so good surround sound is as essential as a good picture.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Mistake in 8 - should read “Freesat should build on Freeviews offerings”
May 17th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Wishlist:
Twin (or more) tuner HD-PVR with a facility (USB) to connect additional storage - at least a TB (1000GB) because HD will eat up storage. An external hard disk USB port will also allow transfer of HD movies to other devices eg laptop.
Freesat DVB-S2 USB Tuner to attach to my main computer to allow me to store a film library on my network storage to watch what I want when I want.
Ability to watch Bloomberg, ideally on Freesat. Alternatively the PVR should allow it to be added as a non-Freesat channel.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
i think freesat will be a great thing .but they need to get the five channels all the itv and bbc regions,more radio stations(not just the bbc ones),more of the quality sky fta channels(zone channels,travel,performance,fight,channel m)and improve the performance of the boxes.but the future is looking good
May 17th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Definitely awaiting a twin or more tuner HD PVR with accurate recording, series record, trick play all the usuals!
A self install option would be good - all in the one box for those of us who don’t know which sat dish etc to buy but who want maybe a multiple install and the wires fed where we want them fed.
Obviously more HD content running parallel with the normal tv schedule. From reading the above better quality SD by the sounds of it!
May 17th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I’m afraid that Freesat is not living entirely up to its philosophy behind the project. The idea, as I understand, is to have a number of stations FREE TO AIR! These stations should be available to the public as an alternative to FSFS or Freeview (where it is or is not available in decent quality). The public, in such case should be free to choose its own brand of receiver. At this stage there are a lot of FTA satellite receivers available. Even extremely good hd and sd pvr’s at reasonable prices. I agree that those which haven’t closed a deal with Freesat won’t get the advanced EPG service. But one should be allowed to make one’s own choice. The whole fuss of a stock shortage, which gave a bit of a sour taste to the Freesat launch, could have been avoided. What happens now? ITV is going to offer an exclusive Freesat HD service. It is broadcasting in a test phase in a format which is not receivable by most of the FTA non Freesat branded apparatus. Why? Because they claim they want to keep it away from SKY. A statement which is absolute rubbish because, if they don’t allow Sky the rights to offer it in their product, they are not allowed to air it anyhow. What is going to happen to the coming HD stations? Are they also going to apply the closed shop principle? So I appeal to Freesat to stick to their philosophy. Freesat stations should be unconditional FTA. The public has the right to have a free choice in the appliances to watch the stations and decide for themselves if they go for a Freesat labelled or a independent receiver. If Freesat, which is supposed to be a non profit organisation, abandons or neglects this basic principle, they are not any better then the commercial providers.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
- Five & it’s siblings
- More of the FTA channels in the EPG (zone horror, pulse, itv 2+1 etc )
- Channel 4 HD
- All regions working
- HD PVR
- Setanta for free (incl a HD channel)
- UKTV channels
- Be able to scan for non EPG channels on the Alba SD boxes
- Music Channel(s) in HD
- MTV “3″ ala T.M.F on freeview
- Discovery “3″ older programing
- Fun & Games, Comics etc for kids & younger audience
- Playboy ONE
- Network streaming service
- EMAP/Ch4 groups music channels
- Five/US/Fiver HD
- E4, More4 & Film4 in HD
- Commercial radio stations
- CNN & CNN HD
- Exclusive channels only availble on freesat receivers.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I bought a Bush SD Freesat box for my other home, and it works very well.
Zone Horror seems to be missing from the EPG, and this is the channel I really want.
I was using a Sky box.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
five on Freesat, as I live in an area where we only get the 4 channels - no five, no freeview. PVR is a must, C4HD would be nice, as well.
Freesat to take action on the companies gouging and profiteering customer’s who aren’t in the know when it comes to installation would be a good way to bolster Freesat’s image as well, by protecting customers. Good publicity never hurts.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I think there needs to be some more movie channels i.e.
ITV-Movies, ITV-Movies HD or BBC-Movies BBC-Movies HD. I think that would really knock BSkyB for six.
Also get the receivers made by some descent companys like Panasonic, Pace, Philips, etc. Instead of bloody Alba PLC
May 17th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
BBc sports channel, BBC HD movie channel, all regions for bbc and itv sorting out ITV-HD, 4HD, UKTV GOLD, dave, UKTV HISTORY, PVR, and i beg you and i really mean beg you, no dodgy call the girl on the sofa channels, or 1m shopping channels, also could you sign up as many music channels as possible and DISNEY for the kids lol
May 17th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
The Fight Network. It has live boxing on tonight. More of the other FTA channels but no TXT / sofa / dating type channels that clutter up Sky.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I signed up ages ago for emails to give advance notices from freesat UK and have received nothing. Join freesat has been much more use. Keep up the good work. I have freeview but it’s poor no BBC4 etc. so that’s the sort of thing I want. UKTV History would be good but it won’t stop me going for freesat which I’m sure will grow more channels in time. I would like a dual channel HDPVR. Anyone know when Humax are likely to come through with the goods? At the risk of being accused of heresy, I can’t understand all the fuss about HD.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Need at least to match the freeview lineup before I’ll consider switching.
BBC (and others) need to ramp up their HD programmes.
HD PVR please!
I was hoping to get shot of BBC London once and for all by getting freesat, so until other regions appear I’m sticking to freeview.
PS: I totally agree with Steve and others - no shopping channels or dodgy chat channels please (fortunately, you can delete unwanted channels with freeview - not sure that’s an option on freesat)!
May 17th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
“Also get the receivers made by some descent companys like Panasonic, Pace, Philips, etc.”
All singing, all dancing Pace ‘by the end of the year’…
May 17th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I hope Pace don’t make a Freesat box, as none of their previous products have ever worked properly.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I’m told by a trade contact that Panasonic don’t intend to make boxes, only integrated TV’s.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
fit the pvr with a card slot ,broadcast stronger signal and charge a yearly fee (licence fee via card slot) so we can watch it when we visit our homes abroad, many already pay for sky to watch abroad cash in bbc &itv
May 17th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
1) I would like to know a rough spec and release date for the humax hd pvr box
2) More HD channels. So many american tv programmes broadcast in hd, i want to see em!
May 17th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Id like to add my vote to:
freesat at least matching channels with freeview
C5 Suite of Channels
C4 Suite of Channels
BBC suite of channels
ITV suite of Channels
Discovery channels
History channels
More HD channels
Ability to add other non freesat FTA channels
Working to have a PC card maker with full interactive/epg for use with sagetv
May 17th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Andy if you want to get it abroad and pay for the privaledge thats up to you.
Maybe Freesat could set up a seperate relay on another Astra satellite for that purpose, (Astra 2D doesn’t have a Euro footprint), allow you to use a Sky box to receive it encrypted and then charge for a card in the Sky box to decrypt it.
However, most believe that Freesat for the UK should remain entirely free. Most people who choose Freesat can’t afford to pay extra for tv and the last thing most people want is to be denied access to Freesat as they have Sky based on being a have or have not. Public broadcasting services should be free for all.
Freesat should remain entirely free for UK customers.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Freesat _must_ up the publicity! I live in a Freeview fringe postcode (which is going digital next year) - I’ve seen five very large Freeview aerials installed locally in the last couple of weeks, flapping about on long masts. These bods are not going to be happy when they eventually find out about Freesat.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
AI it might be called FREEsat but try not paying your licence and see if they agree! I wasn,t suggesting any one else had to pay extra I live in the UK and pay for 12 months viewing the beeb but i am not here 12months but i would pay more rather than pay sky for a couple of weeks away, Entirely free????? no such thing as a free launch as they might say!
May 17th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Just watched FA cup final in BBC HD. It’s good to have an HD programme simulcasting another BBC Channel.
Most BBC dramas on BBC tv have already been shot in HD. eg “Waking the Dead” ” Doctor Who” . I think that BBC HD should be showing them at the same time and not filling the evening listings with random pretty but old Nature programmes.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
sparky i dont think doctor who is recorded in HD ,the series boss Russel T Davies said it will never be in HD whilst he is the Showrunner(too costly to film effects wise).But more stuff does need to be in HD,also bring out some news about iplayer(something that sky cant have)
May 17th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
At the very least we should have every channel freeview has.
We should be able to arrange the channels any way we want.
the quality of the picture on some of the channels is a disgrace, so washed out it makes quality programs like ally mcbeal look cheap rubbish. one of the poll questions should be about not watching certain channels not because the programming is poor but the quality of the broadcast is unwatchable on a big lcd/plasma. we were led to believe this was new and fresh, with the latest broadcasting codecs and technology. some of it looks like old analogue sky.
i think thats your biggest priority, picture quality, less is more we don’t want countless unwatchable channels. Plus what’s with all the secrecy, where is the coming soon. im beginning to thing all these new channels don’t exist, you’re just going to use all the dross that’s all ready on FTA to fill the space, the GOD channel anyone.
quality picture on EVERY channel and the freeview channels, it would be a start. at the moment its a big disappointment to a lot of early adopters. I dont mean to be rude but your looking like amatures, Come on the BBC you used to be at the cutting edge.
May 17th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I think, in time, we shall all enjoy Free-to-Air satellite, including HD, but it will take time. Unfortunately, nothing is free. I’m sure the BBC and ITV will just ‘pop out tomorrow’ and purchase a whole new HD broadcasting system for 50p? More like £50,000,000 (a guess). Next, where is the bandwidth/spectrum coming from? Ofcom are flogging off a huge chunk (if they get their way) of spectrum in the existing UHF TV bands for terrestrial TV, bloody cheek! This WILL cause a squeeze for space in the future and the enevitable outcome will be a reduction in picture quality. As we enter further into the digital era will will continue to see and hear worse quality, I firmly believe this. Well just get used to it, like listening to MP3’s on your Ipod. Maybe you think otherwise? Look at DAB, a disaster and complete waste of time, I’ll give it two years maximum.
Anyway, once other channels are released from the ‘talons’ of those greedy people at Sky we’ll have an excellent free choice in the UK, perhaps better than anywhere else in the world? Hopefully the uptake will be as sucessful as FreeView?
May 17th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Freesat’s unique selling point is clearly subscription free HD so they need to pressure the broadcasters to get all available FTA HD channels on the platform at the earliest opportunity as well as adding to the channels on offer (BBC One HD anyone?). The only thing desperately required from the hardware manufacturers is a twin tuner PVR (or DTR as Freesat call it on their website).
May 17th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
There are so many comments so this will probably go un-noticed, but I’ll say it anyway: GIVE US AN OPEN API FOR THE HARDWARE.
Allowing an open interface for the Freesat system (accessed over Ethernet) would unleash a blizzard of innovation and improvements to the user experience of Freesat. Look to the success of open firmware alternatives for many routers and other devices. Sell the hardware - but let the people take care of the software and ensure the platform lives forever because of it. Read Charles Leadbeater’s book “We Think.”
May 17th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Let’s see other manufacturers boxes supporting the Freesat EPG.
Bought the Humax HD box on 7th May but, the picture quality is disappointing in comparison to my Topfield HD PVR both SD and HD fed with HDMI omn my Loewe LCD TV
May 17th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
More HD channels would be nice; BBC HD’s picture quality is excellent.
The upscaled SD channel picture quality isn’t so good (Humax). The upscaled picture from a Sony DVD Recorder (to a Sony Bravia 32D3000) is far far superior.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Amendment to last comment - should read:
The upscaled *Freeview* picture from a Sony DVD Recorder (to a Sony Bravia 32D3000) is far far superior.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Obviously it’s early days yet for Freesat, but I would love to see
1. All of the UK channels joining Freesat such as UK Drama, etc. After all, most of their content is from the BBC.
2. The user to be able to make the EPG just display only their favourite channels by choice and not just ALL channels.
3. The Genre ‘pop up’ to be either accessed via a button press, or can be turned off by the user.
4. The user able to choose not only transparancy of menu’s etc, but also colours.
5. Keep the bit rate for all channels as high as possible on Freesat in order to provide the best quality viewing, after all, their is room to do so.
6. Don’t take it for granted that Freesat viewers require or want 100’s and 100’s of channels! We can after all only watch one at once, and I for one would honestly prefer less channels at better quality broadcast than tons of dross that I will never watch at lower quality!
7.Try to keep in constant touch with your viewers about what they would love to have/see on Freesat. For example, we aren’t all sports fans, and I am sure that you could conduct surveys etc to in order to find this out.
8. Please keep it all free and don’t be tempted to allow any pay per view on Freesat. There are many of us who didn’t agree with the inclusion of TopUp on Freeview.
Good luck for Freesat
May 18th, 2008 at 7:26 am
I would like to see quality not quantity, some channels from Sky look like you are watching pirate DVD’s, don’t make the same mistake. More HD and a good make PVR is a must.
May 18th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I lot people I know just laughed when they found out that they could not watch channel five, they will not buy a box until it appears, we shouldn’t have to have another stb or freeview just to watch five. Need more hd content to persuade existing sky fta viewers to switch. Come on freesat, be proactive and not reactive.
May 18th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Freesat need to be more honest and open about their service. There was no need to keep thier launch date secret leaving everyone to speculate as to when it was. Freesat is not being honest about the shortage of hd boxes. The shortage is not due to “very high demand” but due to the fact that a very small quanity of boxes were delivered. Being dishonest has done alot of damage to Freesat’s credability. Freesat claim that ITV HD is “exclusive” to freesat. This is clearly not the case as owners of PC tuner cards and some FTA receivers can even get the test transmissions.
Freestat need to make sure the salesmen in the stores are trained and well informed. It’s become quite clear that most shops have not given any training to thier staff and so the general public has been given incorrect information.
Freesat should stop being vague with meaningless with words like “available soon”. This particularly applies to ITV HD which Michael Grade has said will not be available till the next football season next August. To me this is not soon.
I would have liked Freesat to have minimum standards for picture quality. This particularly applies to ITV which transmit 544×576 pixels at a very low bit rate. This is why there is so much interest in ITV HD even if it mainly upscales SD pictures.
Freesat is of course not free it is a subscription service which costs £11.63 per month. Looking through these posts I think some people have too high an expectation as to what £11.63 can deliver. Advertising revenues are dropping and TV companies try to redress the shortfall with premium rate numbers and charging for downloads. In view of this I would have liked freesat boxes to include a cam card slot for pay tv. This would have given Sky some real competition and greater choice to the viewer.
Freesat should make thier standards open to everyone so all manufacturers can participate. Freesat can still certify equipment which pass thier complience tests.
I think Freesat should be turned into an independent not for profit company just to supply EPG services and standardise on box specifications. This will make the platform provider independent of the content provider. It is a great pity that the goverment did not do this from the start.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I’ll will not buy until there Channel 5 goes FTA.
For my Wish List, just one thing
SD PVR for all of us that only have SD TVs. HD set top boxes have around a £100 permium over SD boxes so I don’t want to pay this same “HD premium” when I buy a PVR for my SD TV.
May 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
what are you on about trevor,there is no £11.63 subscription for freesat(or are you on about the tv licsence?).and there should be no card slots on freesat boxes or it will turn into the joke that freeview has become(top up tv,sky picnic).if people want pay tv then they should stick to sky or virgin cable-freesat should be 100% free to air
May 18th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
For me, I MUST have a PVR version. I will get a Bush £49 job to play with at my holday home but will wait for the PVR version for home use and then upgrade the TV to HD
May 18th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Throughout the whole launch process this site has been the only source of quality information. I find it bazaar that Freesat themselves have been so poor at disseminating information. I have mentioned the service at work a few times only to get quizzically looks. Maybe the service is not being publicised because the content doesn’t really match Freeview. In my opinion, if you can get Freeview, it isnt really worth buying a Freesat box for limited BBC HD programs. Im hoping things will improve, I will join it when there are more HD channels and a Freesat PVR. Of course I will look to this site to find out when these things become available!
May 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I would like a low-end SD PVR, like the £150 Freeview models that proliferate. It would be a cheap alternative to Sky+ for non-Freeview homes such as ours.
If (as I suspect) only HD PVRs are available I couldn’t justify spending more than £250 on one and preferably not more than £200.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Unfortunately, not being a fan of the typical mix of DROS that appears to appease the general viewing public via the 5 main terrestrial broadcasters, i.e. Soaps, Gardening, House Buying or Selling etc, or Reality (! ?) and Football, I hope that the programme base will be extended with time.
I subscribe to Sky, at this time, but have the Knowledge and News options. So offerings, similar to those offered in the Knowledge channels would be very much of interest to me.
What about a non-subscription Sports Channel ?
I’ve had a quick read of the above listings, and no one appears to have mentioned a sports channel, other than Setanta !
What about Eurosport, which knocks the spots off of SKY, if you are interested in sports other than FOOTBALL. It dosn’t do a bad job with that either, if your into all the major European stuff.
I appreciate that British Eurosport and BE2, may be tied into Sky for the forseeable future, but what about Eurosport International, which is FREE, unencripted, and currently broadcasts on analogue Astra, showing more or less the same programming as currently appears on British Eurosport.
I am waiting for the HD PVR to become available before purchasing, but have just purchased a 32″ HD TV, so I’m just waiting now.
Good luck to all at Freesat.
Oh, buy the way, did anyone ever get an e-mail from Freesat ? I registered, along with quite a few of my friend, but to date have never received an e-mail.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
You’re right, daveb, I too registered for e-mail updates from Freesat but have never received one…
May 19th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Humax receiver, 720p projector.
BBC HD picture quality is great - content less good.
For the most part, Freesat will live and die on how it differentiates itself from Freeview - ie HD. What I can see so far is a good taster, but there really needs to be a fast increase in the number of channels and content for it to be hailed a success.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:26 am
ITVHD on a seperate channel, not a red button temporary job!
May 19th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Some SD channels need to increase the bandwidth available so the picture quality improves, this needs to be at least as good as Freeview on a large screen.
C4HD and C5HD would be a really nice addition, fingers crossed for later in the year….if C5HD went freesat only that would a big seller as well.
Virgin 1 HD would be nice, but as they struggle to get any HD on cable currently then I won’t hold by breath.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Seems like Freesat suffers from the dilemna between priorities - get the product out and then build the content, or wait for maximum content first. One could speculate that this is a conflict of interests between the manufacturers and the content providers.
Content.
Whatever the case, it is out and let’s hope they arrive at SD channel parity with Freeview asap and as much HD as possible. I agree that picture quality is Freesat’s main USP for now. I agree with those who would like better picture quality versus more channels.
Picture.
I haven’t examined lots of channels but the upscaled SD picture quality does seem a little better than my freesatfromsky box. BBC HD picture quality is impressive.
Recording.
I will get a PVR when they come out and if it offers upscaled DVD play too, that would be great!
EPG
This is more informative than I have at the moment (freesatfromsky as I can’t get Freeview).
Someone pointed out the ‘Genre’ pop-up box - yes, it’s very annoying.
I haven’t found a way to reserve a whole series, either, so this would be very useful, particularly when the PVR’s come out.
Don’t know if this is specific to the box I have, but it’s great to be able to see the channel number on the box itself. It means I don’t have to switch on the TV to listen to radio, for example.
Iplayer
…will be great, just so long as the broadcasters remember that timed broadcasting will always be more important than VOD. Would you want to eat in a restaurant with no menu? “We don’t need a menu, sir, just tell us what you want!”
When (in years to come) I can justify buying a new set, I shall look forward to being able to chuck out all these boxes and do it all with one TV and one remote…
May 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
* DIFFERENTIATION *
The BBC and ITV have an opportunity to drive an end-to-end solution like SKY have but unlike SKY providing exclusive content is unlikely - therefore - they need platform features. For that should be:
1. Broadband delivered on-demand video/audio
- Catch-up TV like iPlayer
- Video Rentals
- Podcasts, both audio and video
2. Other internet content accessible via MHEG
- Weather
- RSS Feeds (e.g. News)
- Email/Chat notifications
The boxes should be able to do a lot of the things something like the Apple TV does (even without a hard drive)
May 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I will not buy Freesat until Price Drop TV is broadcast in HD.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Great idea - poor launch. For me to make the leap to Freesat the following would need to be in place/available:
1) Minimum main 5 Channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel4 and FIVE) need to have full HD schedule (I’m happy with freeview so for me the only differentiator is the availability of HD)
2) Minimum twin tuner HD PVR with ability to back-up programmes to a PC via either USB2 or Ethernet (I love my Toppy!!!) and some sort of series link functionality
May 19th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Current freeview PVR user, eagerly awaiting the arrival of an HD PVR for freesat.
As mentioned in many posts, the arrival of Ch5 and ITV/Ch4 in HD will be great, but it’s the ability to record that’s holding me back at the moment. I have a sky dish (ex sky customer) so looking forward to simply plugging the box in to the dish.
I’m really not fussed about the cheap trashy TV that is commonly available on sky (with shopping channels etc, one of the reasons I got fed up with Sky,) but would hope that there is scope to increase the picture quality of the SD broadcast that I’ve heard (but in fairness not yet seen)mixed reviews of.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
We have a Humax Freesat HD box just installed. SD picture quality markedly superior to our Skybox. The BBC HD preview channel is superb. Agree with the wish-lists of everybody else but would comment on the present usability of the Humax box: -
The EPG is OK for starters but lacks Sky’s “Page down” / Page Up” and “+24hrs / -24hrs” functions and setting repeats is downright clumsy. The worst thing, however, is the complete lack of connection between the Freesat and other FTA channels. It takes 8 clicks to go from watching a Freesat channel to a specific FTA channel and since a number of BBC & ITV channels (including our local NE regional stations) are not included on the Freesat EPG (why??), we need to access the FTA channels. Hopefully, somebody is working on the software usability NOW - otherwise refugees from Sky are going to be very unhappy.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
To start with, no I didn’t receive an e-mail from Freesat either so what did they do with our details? This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in them from the outset! However, I am pleased to see the service launch and offer an HD alternative to Sky (& Virgin) for those of us who would never wish to pay Sky another penny after experiencing their customer service, or lack of it.
I would like to see a top end HD PVR, with at least a twin tuner and I would like to see Channel 5 join up.
May 19th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
You may think Im mad but I sold my foxsat today on ebay listed it and it sold in 5 min’s for more than I brought it for 1 week ago
I have decided to sell for lots of reasons
5ch group of channels
itv2+1 & film 4+1 (dont understand those ones)
If using the manual tune having no ch 4 or guide but all the +1 channels
using freesat mode have ch 4 and guide but not BBC1 East (had London instead)
foxsat remote not having basic tv functions (volume & power)
BBC HD channel having limited programs (wow great picture though)
My wife watched the oliver program on saturday in HD but not sunday why????
And the main reason decided to wait for the PVR and now is a good time to sell without loosing to much money
I think Freesat need to worry even though I am just 1 customer already walking after just 1 week how may more of us are there thinking the same way
Dont get me wrong freesat I think your service will be great but you just need to sort all the niggles listed on this article alone to make sure you keep your customers
I am looking forward to the launch of the PVR now and hopeing you are providing a better service by this time (will miss the quality of the HD though)
The other thing I would love to have but know nothing about would be pay per view movies we all go down to the video shop now and then so just with the press of a button would be great and it would be a way of covering just some of your costs / still be not for profit just providing a nice service (not sure how this stands with being called freesat but I think movies would be a nice feature.(still not a rip off contract)
May 19th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
A connected digital set top box becomes functionally a part of your television set. As the primary human interface is a remote control, I believe it is essential that just one remote can control your total television experience. This requirement was recognised by Sky a long time ago.
I hope that the awaited Humax HD PVR will come with a remote to control both the STB itself and, at minimum, the television on/off and volume control functions. Several years ago the remote control for the Humax Freeview PVR model 8000T included control of the TV, having identified the model during set-up.
Mark Thompson’s proposal to use the Ethernet connection for iPlayer is brilliant.
Having contacted various FTA channels currently missing from the Freesat lineup, I have been reassured to find that most of interest to myself intend to join up or are already awaiting completion of the registration process.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Well I would like higher bit-rates.
Like every one else I would like to see, 4-HD ITV-HD and Channel 5.
We need all the current Freeview channels on there too.
I would like you to use this slogan in your TV adverts, when you advertise FreeSat.
“so, you’ve got to get your self a FreeSat box, got to get your self a Dish”.
Here are a few of My advert ideas that you can use.
I would like to see one advert with a Model Rocketry person firing his model rocket and hitting ASTRA 2D by accident and activating FreeSat. Though not real but would be fun to watch a model rocket going off signaling FreeSat’s launch.
Also one advert like the “CALL 999 for the Coast Guard” but with that man getting told to put a Dish up by his wife.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:45 am
I hope the ‘powers that be’ at Freesat actually read and ACT upon the comments people have made. There are some absolutely cracking suggestions with which I wholeheartedly agree. Forget the dross shopping channels etc we are not interested if they fill the freesat EPG at the expense of quality in content, picture and sound of the channels that we the customers actually pay for directly or indirectly. You have the technology and there can be no excuse. I would make an educated guess that the more HD that is available the happier your customers will be. Anyone with an HD TV clearly would wish all channels in HD tomorrow however I am a realist….the end of the week will be fine!
I for one have gone for Freesat because I refuse to give Rupert Murdoch an extra £10 a month to watch HDTV on top of what I consider to be an already exorbitant fee for hundreds of channels of utter rubbish which are nothing short of a ripoff.
I don’t expect perfection from day one however up to now I am deeply dissatisfied in one major regard. One member of my family is deaf so the availably of subtitles on BBC HD is a priority for us. Despite calling Freesat, Humax and The BBC I have yet to receive a coherent explanation as to why I cannot get subtitles on BBC HD with my Humax HD box. There has been a great deal of buck passing so far. Humax claim there is no subtitle/teletext data available on BBC HD, Freesat say that all BBC channels are ‘fully functional’, the BBC have shown no interest in giving out any information simply saying that it is entirely the responsibly of Freesat to give out such details. What an utterly unprofessional situation!
Rest assured box manufacturers and providers you will hear more from me if you do not extend the curtsey of an explanation soon……you have been warned!
May 20th, 2008 at 3:25 am
I need a good brand HD PVR. Especially I love my toppy.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Am I correct in thinking that an HD PVR will play back in HD or just good quality SD? Will it be like having a BluRay player for recorded programs? I guess if it does record in HD you’ll need a pretty large memory. I currently have a PVR that records SD at the higest quality using 6.5MB per hour, so I’m guessing that recording HD quality to playback back at HD quality will use of the order of 20-25MB per hour, so you’ll need either 250MB or preferably 500MB hard drive.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:42 am
No HD set top boxes are available in Northern Ireland, why? Comet have some in stock but will not deliver here.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Nick : I’d expect at least a 80GB disk, (Tivo’s used to have 40GB’s, and that was over 6 years ago) I’d put money on it being a 160GB drive they’ll use tho.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
humax have now updated standby clock today, waiting for channel 5 and pvr, then will dump virgin media tv hurry up.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
iam an independant rdi fitter my supplier has told me we cant have stock untill the end of july shame because i have customers who wont use the big shops because of poor service FREESAT you should have let more independants in on the launch at least we know what we are selling
May 20th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Looking forward to getting freesat mut I’m going to wait until at the following is true:
1) 1-1 match between freeview and freesat channels
2) a well reviewed and affordable twin tuner HD-PVR is available
3) HD content on main 5 channels and Film4 is at least 33% of their evening schedule
May 20th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
HI ive all ready posted once but ive just read on digitalspy that channel five is coming, but not fives other channels due to not enough narrow beam capacity. As i understand it, narrow beam is broudcasts that can only be recived by the uk. the problem is distrabution rights, five has the rights to show its programing in the uk only. so if its not on the narrow beam then say germany will be able to recive it, making five in breach of its distributing contract.
so we have a U.K satellite service but by the look of things, there isn’t any room for many U.K only channels. I cant see were freesat is going to get its great channels from, if any channels that sign’s up are going to have massive distribution rights for its programming. I hope im wrong, i often am. Please could some one please re ashore me im quickly loosing faith
May 20th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I noticed on this page Comet have the recievers in stock so I visited the comet store on teesside park today. On walking in the store a sales assistant asked if she could help,”I bet you have no freesat boxes in store” I said,”yes we have ” she said, and took me to where there wereabout 8 boxes on a shelf.”£149.95 then there is installation” she said,I told her I didnt need the installation service,”Oh,but you need a satellite dish” I told her I had one,”one moment please while i speak to a colleague”.she scurried away and came back a couple minuets later…”Sorry we have sold out,but we should have them in at the weekend” Do Comet display empty freesat boxes or were they dissapointed i didnt need the installation service…..I left the store somewhat confused
May 20th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
further to my other comments (no 28) I have an official answer from the freesat team about regional channel availability:
Answer:
Re: regional channels
The regional channels are being phased in and all BBC regional variants, plus all the main ITV regional variants, will be available on freesat by the end of June.�
When they are launched they will automatically become your default, based on the postcode that was entered during the set-up phase.
Thanks for your query,
The freesat team
… that’s one of my requirements satisfied!
May 20th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
The whole regional thing is interesting. I can count 7 BBC1 regions, 3 BBC2 regions and 22, yes, 22 ITV1 regions on my receiver. That’s 32 in total.. Now, probably 98% or more of the time they are broadcasting “exactly the same” content. Think of the bandwidth and one hell of a waste of space. why on earth don’t the broadcasters, especially ITV same millions by incorporating some of these? And also release TONS of bandwidth? Apparently ITV are not doing well financially, must be costing a fortune for those 22 ITV regions.
Go on ITV, cut your regions down to 10 and give us some extra HD services with the spare satellite capacity. You might save money too . .
May 20th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Further to what Doug says in 78 and Nicky in 72, I wanted to also add that there needs to be a REALLY HIGH quality HD TWIN or TRI PVR box as well as the run of the mill ones.
I’m quite prepared to pay £ reasonable for a HD PVR box, but I’m not prepared to pay for one that doesn’t give me a top quality picture and sound experience.
Its dissapointing to see that the current top non PVR box, the Humax, has “thin” sound and some soft SD pictures - What HiFi Review:
http://whathifi.com/home-cinema/archive/2008/05/12/exclusive-test-our-verdict-on-the-humax-foxsat-hd-freesat-set-top-box.aspx
We really need a reasonably priced enthusiasts box with totally astounding HD (and SD) pictures and sound.
The box also needs to be able to output full Dolby Digital via both Optical and HDMI connections simoultaneously so as to enable the use of the normal tv for sound via HDMI for ordinary programs and a cinema sound system for sound for films or simply when you feel like it.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:59 am
[…] Have your say on Freesat […]
May 21st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
The most generous thing that can be said about the introduction of Freesat is that it makes the start of service at Heathrow Terminal 5 look fairly successful.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Will not swap to freesat without
1. Channel 5
2. HD channels that show the same programming as non-HD (mix of HD & SD).
May 21st, 2008 at 11:20 pm
The Champions League football from Moscow was excellent this evening (21st May) on ITV HD, well done. there were a few issues with the sound earlier on but these were quickly resolved.
Well done ITV . .
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
- Extreme Channel in HD.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
- Extreme Channel HD
- Ch4 & 5 HD
May 28th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Why isn’t tonights England vs USA game on BBC HD ?
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
i am think of buying a freesat with built in recorders people don’t missed out recording programmes they missed when they been out some where and recorded it and watch it when they get back from where they been so when is freesat recorders out in comet stores from daniel clapham from bamber bridge preston lancashire
June 4th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
British Eurosport HD… …and murdock’s SKY is banished forever!!!
Come on, make it happen
there’s got to be a way!
June 16th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Why is the HD PVR Digital Box taking so long to become available?. I wish to switch to Freesat as soon as possible, because I’m having to pay sky £10 per month, every month, just to be able to record freesat with my sky box. As far as I can make out, it seems that the HD PVR Digital Box will not become available until the end of 2008 / early 2009. Is this true?