Loading ...In talks with Freesat today it became very apparent that the 6th May is going to be somewhat of a “soft launch”. Whilst the terminology might not be spot on, the use of those words indicates a less than perfect service going on sale.
We know this already from the limited line up of channels on the EPG, but also from Freesats claims of “free HD channels” resulting in just the one, BBC HD, which lets face it, is nothing more than a preview channel, even after years in development. ITV HD was tipped for 6th May launch, but Freesat have told us that this channel will not be available from then.
The receivers also seem to be the basic SD and HD versions only, with the more important (to most) PVR version not due for some time. We haven’t had any confirmation on the release of the Humax HD on launch day, with John Lewis taking a more professional stance of saying nothing, just like Freesat have told them to do.
We also beleive that C4′s existing subscription (via Sky) channels like E4, E4+1, More4, More4+1 won’t be released from their existing contract to Sky until later in the year; nor will Five, Five Life (fiver) and Five US, which are presently encrypted, albeit not subscription.
For the most part the launch is just a platform to start from, so don’t worry all those that have expressed disappointment in previous blog posts, it can only get better.
We do strongly beleive that Freesat will be the service to replace Freeview, with much more opportunity for future development, especially in HD and PVR. Its going to take time, but channels will start to appear on the EPG, it might just take a while for some of the small companies to stump up the 30,000GBP required for a placement in the Freesat EPG.
The full C4 family of channels, plus Five and a PVR receiver will really get Freesat moving, and this might be the time when Freesat start to advertise the full service.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Very disappointing. With Sky offering thier freesat for £75 why go for the ‘BBC freesat’ at £129. I guess that Sky will be equally competative when a PVR is released. Even for people who already have a satellite dish the missing channel 5 could be a show stopper.
As for HD I don’t think many will buy the HD Box for 1 preview channel. Sky already has 18 HD channels with several more in the pipeline.
I seem to remember that freesat was meant to start in 2006 and so why such a poor launch after 2 years of delay.
TrevorQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Tell me can these boxes get all the FTV and FTA channels on astra and hotbird OR just the one on the EPG?
If its only the ones on the EPG then £50 is a lot of money to pay..
BobQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Bob – bear in mind that the EPG is only partly populated yet. More chanels will be added during the soft launch period and beyond.
AndyQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Sorry but i just dont know what to make of it all.Only one hd channel from launch.
No channel 5 and the rest. This is the next big thing, thats what the freesat web is saying. Over 80 channels of top entertainment “yer right” . only time will tell l will not rush out to buy one not untill there more hd channels..or l could get sky hd…….
libQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Hi Andy yes I know that and thats what Steph at Freesat told me, we will provide 80 TV and Radio channels… but it does not answer my question.
Will we get all the FTV and FTA channels that are there now or just whats on the EPG?
BobQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Bob – You will only get the channels listed on the EPG for now. We are unaware of whether there will be a ‘hidden’ menu for adding channels, but there certainly isn’t one available from the services menu.
adminQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Bob – These boxes can only recieve FTA channels as they cannot decrypt the FTV channels. I think is was mistake not to include a cam slot on these boxes as it would give Sky some competition for Pay TV. I guess the BBC and ITV wanted to keep freesat for FTA channels only. Of course the likes of Sentanta could produce thier own boxes a bit like Topup TV on Freeview. Another option would be to provide Pay TV over the internet.
TrevorQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Thank you for the replies, I will not be rushing out next week to buy a box now. I will wait for the prices to drop and more channels added, the line up in the EPG is very poor.
Launch will come and go with out me on board, I have waited so long for this to arrive and this was not worth the wait.
The boxes will drop in price after the first rush.. and at £50 they are overpriced seeing as you can get a freeview box for £20.
All the hype and they launch with this…… They are wise not to make a big song and dance about it.
BobQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Admin. I’m sorry but I disagree when you say Freesat will be the service to replace Freeview. At present armed with the latest Humax PVR9200T, the Sky+ like functonality and Freeview channel line up is hard to beat – that’s why it’s overtaken Sky in numbers of units sold in half the time. I’d be very surprised if Freesat can deliver a better package than Freeview in 2008. Also in 2009 it’s likely that Freeview (in the Granada region to start with) will get 3/4 HD channels of it’s own. I hope I’m wrong but I can’t see Freesat making a big impact this year.
Barry SQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Barry S – Was meaning in the distant future, as satellite broadcasts can handle much more future technlogy like HD than Freeview will be able to. We are a long way from that happening though.
adminQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Ok thanks. Yeah I agree. Probably the best solution for now would be to keep a mixture – a Freeview PVR and a Freesat HD box until the dogs b* Freesat PVR arrives. Hopefully by then the only channels missing on the Freesat lineup will be the three from Sky.
Barry SQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Even after the complete roll-out of digital freeview by 2011, there will still be a small proportion of us who will only have access to satellite services. The problem that Freesat face is that most of those customers have already had to get Freesat from Sky or full Sky subscription to get any TV at all. At the moment, Freesat’s package is not attractive enough to make them switch from Sky, at least until a decent PVR receiver is available at a comparable price to other PVRs on the market. I’m going to hold out until then, and hope that Freesat hasn’t crashed and burned in the meantime!
LucyQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Freesat from $ky looks a much better option at this moment in time.
I will stick with my toppy with Freeview and may even be tempted to get the $ky freesat, 200 free channels are better than 80 including radio from freesat
BobQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I currently have freesatfromsky + HDD recorder. I live in a no freeview-’til-switchover area, so still have no option for a decent ‘watch 1 channel, record another’ unless I cheat and use my old ‘Comtel’ (;-) cable to get the 5 terrestrial analogue channels.
An HD freesat receiver with a second cable from my dish will answer this problem and give me a (hopefully increasing) choice of no-subscription high-def transmissions.
As I’m not certain just how much better the HD picture will be over SD on a 32″ Regza, this will be my cheapest option of testing it out before I decide whether to go Bluray etc etc.
I agree that it is a long term thing – what’s the rush? Time has always got to be on the side of free (as in ‘no-subscription’).
SimonQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
The HD box will have HDMI and so should give you a better upscaled SD pictures as well. I found the HDMI output of Sky’s HD box gives much better pictures than scarts.
TrevorQuote
April 29th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I’m not trying to promote other sites as I find this one is very useful, but I found this article which explains quite a lot about satellite transmissions which I thought other may like to read too:
http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051366
Al CatrazQuote
May 10th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Until Freeesat HD PVRs are available this doesn’t interest me in the slightest.
I wouldn’t go back to VHS now I have a DVD Player, so why would I buy a Freesat box which wasn’t also a PVR? Likewise why would I buy a Freesat SD PVR when I’ve already got Freeview with a Humax PVR.
I hope a Freeesat HD PVR does come sooner rather than later. For a one off cost of roughly £250 I would take up Freesat but provided it offered some channel(s) in HD and was PVR based. I’d even live with just BBC HD to start with, even some programming in HD is better than nothing.
I’ve no interest in subscription TV though which knocks out Sky and Cable HD.
Alex McCaffreyQuote