Loading ...Jul 17
We wanted to get official word on this first, but as spotted by DigitalSpy member ‘mitsubishi’, it would seem that the following channels are transmitting broadcast data, which would suggest inclusion on the Freesat EPG shortly.
Channels include:
Gala TV
Gems TV
Inspiration TV
Netplay TV
Pitch World
Russia Today
Shop On TV
TWC Fight
Zone Horror
Zone Reality
One of Freesat’s FAQ answers sums it up perfectly…
You won’t be overwhelmed by all these channels
…your not wrong there, but still, its a start.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
wow what a line up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 17th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Well at least look at it this way- Can it be any worse?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
shame i was hoping for a lot more shopping channels……….not
is there any news of any proper channels?
July 17th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Good to see zone horror there,hopefully paranormal channel soon.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
WHEN DO WE HAVE MORE HD CHANNELS? LIKE CHANNEL 4HD !!
ALSO HOW ABOUT CHANNEL 5 ?
WHEN AM I GOING TO NEVER FEEL LIKE SWITCHING BACK TO FREEVIEW TO WATCH “REGULAR TV”?
July 17th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Wow makes me want to rush out and buy a box, not.
In my opinion, biggest line up of sh*t I’ve ever seen.
Freesat fails to listen to its customers again - wasn’t there a 60 or so post thread on here in which we all said we didn’t want shopping and other largely unheard of channels but quality over quantity?
So what do we get, shopping channels and channels most of us have never heard of and would be unlikely to ever watch.
Worst thing is, the cost of those 10 channels would probably have bought a single well known channel like Discovery, National Geographic, Extreme or similar.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
And what FTA channels are there that are miles better than these, exactly?
Anyone who thinks that channels which are currently encrypted are going to jump from the Sky ship in the near term needs to come back in a couple of years or so.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:26 am
(edit - please avoid abussive comments on here thank you)
July 18th, 2008 at 1:29 am
(edit - please avoid abussive comments on here thank you)
July 18th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Hold lets be realistic. Apart from the usual bunch of shopping and minor channels the only line up we can realistically expect from Freesat is the same as Freeview plus Channel 4 in HD. As far as I am concerned thats fine and I would be happy with that. Remember this is Freesat!!!! and not SKY so other HD channels that require subscription on SKY are not really likely to join Freesat.
I think for a fledgling service it is doing well. If people want these other paid for channels then perhaps they should have joined FEESAT!!!!
Finally when you think about it a large proportion of the programmes that are paid for on SKY were originally broadcast free on the so called terrestrial channels.
I for one am happy with the way things are progressing.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I agree with Denis, it is subscription free after all. We should not forget satellite broadcasting restraints due to various copyright issues. Also, television channels and programmes are subject to individual taste. Some people might not like a particular channel or programme, but others will, so don’t knock them. On top of that the more channels paying for a epg slot the more money freesat will make and thus increase its chances of survival.
chris
July 18th, 2008 at 9:08 am
What exactly was everyone expecting? I really don’t understand the strong/abusive comments posted here. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion obviously but it just seems so extreme. It just seems like some people are expecting too much, and that their disappointment is driven by their own high expectations more than anything.
Freesat can only ever have Free To Air channels. Anyone who’s ever done a manual scan on a Freesat box or has a non platform FTA sat box will know that there aren’t that many good free channels (or they are very niche). On top of that, the channels have to join the service to be available in the EPG. If a channel doesn’t want to join, what can FS do about it? If I was a FTA channel with little money, I’d probably want to wait and see how it goes before I cough up and join the EPG.
Maybe one day some channels will end their agreements with Sky, go FTA and join Freesat. I suspect this will be when Freesat has enough viewers; but obviously this is a chicken and egg situation, with some people not willing to buy without more channels.
At the end of the day it’s FREE! (subscription free anyway) and unfortunately you do get what you pay for in this world. It’s a shame that the likes of C4HD and Five aren’t available, but they’re encrypted, there’s nothing Freesat can do until they become FTA.
Whether or not we’re totally happy with the channels etc, Freesat is a good thing, even if it just worries Sky into dropping their prices (like Sky+ HD recently). They need a bit of competition and a kick in the backside!
July 18th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Okay, not a very exciting line-up, though the two Zone channels are worth having (up to a point) and Russia Today can be quite interesting at times.
I take issue with those who don’t expect much from FTA - the best general entertainment channels are already FTA (and they’re already on Freesat). And you can always get National Geographic HD FTA if you have a decent sized dish pointing at 12.5W (Atlantic Bird 1).
It may be the case that Freesat is leading its customers to expect too much. With the exception of the Five stable of channels, and C4 HD, the core services are already in place.
Those advocates of Sky should also bear in mind that Sky boxes are severely hobbled. They will only do two symbol rates, thus preventing access to hundreds of FTA channels available from other sats. I happen to have an old Sky+ box that I just don’t use, as I get more variety from my Foxsat and Dreambox combination.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am
[…] The join freesat site has repported a few new channels. Channels included are: Gala TV Gems TV Inspiration TV […]
July 18th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Sadly it would appear from some of the abusive remarks and foul language that the author has little else in his life but to watch TV and so any temporary shortcomings on the part of Feesat or ITV can only be perceived as major disaster.
Before Freesat was launched I used an FTA decoder and apart from BBC and ITV most of the FTA channels are either shopping, religion, ethnic or soft porn. You qare not going to get National Geographic or History Channels as they are subscription. Freesat is free! and for what it is I think they are doing a goof job on the whole. I am not dissapointed.
I have one omment but it is aimed at ITV and not Freesat and that is that the major disadvantage of having ITV HD as an interactive channel prevents it being recorded in HD on timer as you have to physically be there to press the red button. One suggestion to over come this would be for it operate in the same way as the guide button, you select the programme and just before it starts you get warning and if you do nothing it will automatically switch to the desired channel. Maybe it would be possible to automate the Red button facilty in a similar way..
July 18th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Like many others I’m fed up with the moaning. I don’t even want HD. All I want is decent reception on things like BBCi and BBC4 which I can’t currently get on Freeview because of where I live. If things like Setanta, who were supposed at one time to be negotiating with Freesat come along, that will be a bonus. Be grateful!!
July 18th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Nigel says, ‘You are not going to get National Geographic or History Channels as they are subscription.’
For the most part, and for most people, this is, of course, perfectly true. But those who want more need to realise that 28.2E is not the only group of satellites out there. National Geographic, for instance, is available without subscription, completely free-to-air, on Atlantic Bird 1 - and in HD! As I had a motorised dish long before getting a Foxsat box, Nat Geo HD is a channel I particularly enjoy watching now. Another example: if you’re into opera (personally, I’m not) you can watch Unitel HD on Astra 1.
There are other FTA channels out there (only a small handful in HD, though). But to be completely honest, not many of them are broadcast in English - though some are.
I guess it depends on what you’re interested in. I like to follow news and current affairs, and having access to other satellites brings in a wealth or worthwhile channels in that field.
While all this, strictly speaking, has nothing whatsoever to do with Freesat, thanks to the mass market Humax Foxsat box, access to these other services is now made possible for many more people than previously. All you have to do is get a larger dish installed, either with a motor or multiple LNBs (a motor is the cheaper option and the most flexible). Freesat has opened up a whole new world of satellite viewing simply by making people aware that Sky is not the only service provider out there.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Being FTA doesn’t mean it has to be filled with rubbish. Those channels still have to be bought and at the end of the day, I’m sure that one good channel could be bought for the cost of 10 cheap channels.
Also, what do I expect, a service that offers HD across all channels (no excuse as most programmes are now being produced in HD as the US market demands it) and films are shot in above HD anyway because of the size of the screen they have to fill at cinemas.
Nat Geographic and Discovery were only examples. Maybe they could be bought, maybe not, but I’m sure there are decent equivolents to many channels that could be bought as alterntives to mirror Sky if not exactly copy it. There’s no need to waste money on what many would perceive as rubbish. Where was that in the BBC remit?
There’s also no excuse for not mirroirng Freeview. Freesat was stated to have been brought about as an alternative way of getting Freeview for those in many areas where Freeview coverage was non existent. What use is bringing in a service for those who can’t get Freeview if it doesn’t provide all the channels?
Steve, I don’t know what you posted, but getting abusive doesn’t make your point which the backlash in the subsequent posts and their contrast to the earlier thread has shown.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Al - from what we beleive no purchase by Freesat of the channels is required, its infact the other way around with the channel deciding to pay for inclusion on the Freesat EPG. Therefore Freesat don’t really have a say in the quality of the channels being added, its pretty much an open policy at the moment.
Discovery etc will never come to Freesat as they have to be available from the Astra2 satellite, and given that they are in contract to Sky as a subscription channel, they are very unlikely to consider dropping this and loosing such large amounts of revenue…would be great to have them for free though, but unlikely to ever happen
July 18th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
What a crap line up!!!!!!!!!!! There are better FTA channels e.g. Flava, Bliss,Anime Central,Channel U etc.
Channel 5 should have been available at launch because it’s one of the main FTA channels.Also Freesat is mostly to do with HD channels so where is Channel 4 HD.If Freesat continue to break promises then I’ll have to switch back to Sky!!!!!: ( : (
July 18th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
ib - bare in mind though that the line up is decided by the broadcaster/channel signing up for an EPG slot, not Freesat picking the channels.
Also, Five and C4HD are to blame for their lack of an appearance, given that they’ve signed themselves into contracts with Sky until atleast later this year.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
i dont really understand why everyones moaning about the “new” channels, you dont have to watch them. personally got my foxsat for the HD channels so i can enjoy live sport, yes wimbledon was unwatchable but the footie was ok (roll on next update) i’m sure there will be more to come. i think some people should remember why freesat was created, it’s not here to rival sky
July 19th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Whole point is Robin that it should be trying to rival Sky at least within the limits of reasonable funding (which I’m not sure Freesat have secured yet - they seem a bit the poor relation to Freeview).
We already have mediorce public service broadcasting. What we need is a free service that finally gives something the people of this country can be proud of and feel that they want to watch instead of something that forces them to spend money to buy a service they can’t necessarily afford to get choice and quality.
There will always be a market for Sky, but it should be there as an alternative to the public broadcasting lineup not as the only choice for real choice and quality.
Also, another point to Freesat, is that Freesat is definately the future. Freeview is already dead because of the bandwidth issues. Maybe its pride on behalf of the government thats forcing them not to admit that Freeview’s already met its Waterloo before its even been rolled out yet, but the fact is it has in my opinion. Freesat is the only way forward for public broadcasting simply because HD and Super HD are the future and 4 channel’s of potentially low quality HD as to be available on Freeview simply isn’t going to cut it.
Freesat should be the premier service for UK tv and should be transitioning to full HD programming (with SD mirroring) and a premier line up of channels to mirror the Sky service to reflect this.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
thank you for putting me right mick, lol
July 20th, 2008 at 7:33 am
while the zone channels ,russia today and fight network(not twc fight-it changed nearly a year ago)are nice aditions to freesat,its sad that the shopping/gaming channels are starting to appear.lets hope freesat doesnt get the crud that is on sky
August 4th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
The new additions to the Freesat line up are availible on the STB setup on your freesat box, I have a Humax Foxsat if you want to watch freesat you watch the freesat tuner, if you want to watch the other channels just switch it to STB on the main options page on the setup. you can configure all you channels to you own setup. Channel 5, and 5US are still encripted though. but you get E4 +1 and the likes of that. I dont watch that much TV though, you cant complain really it does exactly what it says on the box…….( FREESAT) plus you have the added bonus of it being in HD for some of the channels.
I have freeview SKY in the 3 bedrooms but have the freesat in the living room,
I live in a very poor Aerial reception area, no terrestrail freeview, so I was forced to buy old sky boxes and freeview cards at £20 a shot.
I think we pay enough for our TV so I will not buy any sky package. I am counting on freesat taking off so i can have all the main channels.