Loading ...Jan 26 2010
Latest update scan on all Freesat receivers (26/01/10)
1 Added – 692 Genesis TV
0 Removed
1 Changed – 140 BET frequency change
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January 26th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Great another religious channel just what we needed (not). Any ideas what the channel change is?
3sat readerQuote
January 26th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
happiness indeed, what a great leap forward for freesat – where are the new channels worth having & further HD content?
pathetic
squib1Quote
January 26th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
@squib1
Genesis TV certainly won’t have a large viewing audience but to say “pathetic” is a little unfair given that Freesat survives on the basis of broadcasting channels such as these paying for placement on the Freesat EPG; whilst you may not like these channels, they do pay the upkeep of the Freesat platform.
More channels and HD? Ask the broadcasters; they need to broadcast them and launch them FTA before they can even consider buying in to the Freesat EPG.
adminQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 7:28 am
Over promising and under delivering is not a good marketing strategy
Imho and seems to be the way Freesat has to date proceeded I for one think Freeview is going to kick its proverbial back side if Freesat don’t come up with the goodies soon, sadly.
annother channel indeed does help to pay the bills but its hardly a big pull for potential new users.
Dave KQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 7:34 am
Over promising?
adminQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 7:54 am
I’d love to know the viewing figures for these religous channels. Are they compulsory viewing in old peoples homes?
With two teenagers I find that a lot of time is spent in non-freesat mode watching music (scizz and bloss are really good) and sky news. These are the channels that should be on freesat but I accept they have no control over who wants to broadcast in freesat.
barrieQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 7:55 am
Sorry scuzz and bliss ha ha, no coffee yet!
barrieQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 8:11 am
The freesat epg is made up of all sorts of channels. Having read the posts that are on this about Genesis TV coming on and having a go because its a religious channel, I think is not called for as one person’s type of channel is not another person’s type of channel. I dont agree with the porno channels coming on, but I dont knock other people’s choice. Come on, guy’s, be fair, at least another channel has come on. Does anyone know of anything else that is expected soon?
KeithQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 8:17 am
yes I concur Over promising?, wish i could get Freeview, and i can not in all fairness recommend Freesat to people not with the current lack of channels not to mention the lack of HD 10% BBC and 0.001% ITV
Robert HudsonQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 8:50 am
I agree, wish I could still get Freeview, since I’ve moved home I’ve lashed out on the Humax HDPVR (which is great) but still wait for a couple more decent channels, and some more HD content. COME ON FREESAT!!
byfoQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I agree come the switchover and I can get proper signal strength on freeview then freesat becomes obsolete for me. Lack of HD quality, sorry but BBC HD is nowhere near as good as it was, I found myself thinking what a similar quality picture I had on BBC4 the other night! Lack of content ITV HD seems to be showing less not more programmes. Unless freesat can convince broadcasters to improved the quality and quantity of content especially HD then when freeview HD available with full signal strength the market for freesat has shrunk dramatically. Maybe thats why broadcasters do not see any need to get on board?
jeQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 9:49 am
I have a freesat tv with freeview and I can get Fiver and Five USA Which are rubbish channels anyway.So I don’t see any real urgency to get them on freesat as long as you can get them on freeview. I don’t see why people are so incensed, Freesat are never going to get premium channels. As for HD , for me it’s no big deal I won’t watch HD programmes just because they are in HD I will only watch them if it’s a programme I like. There are some channels you may find worth watching on freesat like the CBS channels , Movies for men, M&M and some other music channels which are not available on freeview and vice versa.So if you want to watch Dave for example just switch it over to Freeview. But even Dave is nothing to rave about.
LlewQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 10:23 am
@12 there’s nothing wrong with top gear channel oh! i mean dave! but i think they should still be thinking about how to get more hd channels or even programes on freesat after all its hd for free,not some hd for free, well thats if there’s anything on worth watching.
stigQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
No freeview in my area til 4Q of 2011, so no choice but to watch freesat
RattyQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 10:39 am
FREESAT SMACKS OF BETAMAX
Robert HudsonQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I’m sure if Freesat could get other so called worth watching channels they would. I don’t believe they are just sitting around shrugging their shoulders like they don’t care. But in time I’m sure we will see those so called worth watching channels coming to Freesat. Look how many channels have come to freeview and it took a few years. People should be patient for a year or two. channel five have said they intend to broadcast Fiver and Five USA on Freesat eventually and when space is made free.
llewQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Come on people stop moaning about FREESAT its FREE, Don’t forget Sky still control the sat by renting all the channels, More programes on FREESAT when sky contracts run out . ITS FREE.
Alan MQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 11:09 am
I used to subcribe to sky tv and all I ever used to do was just flick through the channels because even the pay channels were just reapeating the same programmes over and over so that was just a waste of money. Just like dave they just keep showing the same top gear over and over again.and I love only fools but on GOLD they just have been showing the same episodes time and again and how many time has Fawlty Towers been repeated on GOLD and even the BBC so Sky a total waste of money. So I would like to see exclusive channels coming to Freesat
llewQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Since all new tv’s will have freeview built in just look at freesat as a bonus.
@5 admin
Didn’t Freesat promise 200 channels before the recession started?
No mention was made of Astra 2D being full up why not?
Richard CrichtonQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 11:41 am
@Richard Crichton
Freesat promoted 200 channels without doubt, but the recession caused quite a few broadcasters to rethink their spend and some even went bust; something Freesat couldn’t have predicted and measures were in place to obtain that number; I’ve seen them. Not their fault, they cannot be held accountable for what happened in this particular occasion.
Freesat would have been aware of limited capacity/availability on Astra2D but have absolutely no control over such space; it is the broadcasters responsibility to ensure they have enough allocation to support the channels they wish to broadcast in the clear. Whilst some broadcasters have stated they cannot go FTA until space is available, it could be questioned that this is just a smoke screen for them to retain as FTV and benefit from the no doubt incentives Sky give them to remain exclusive on DSAT.
adminQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Well, I will have Freeview within 3 months. However, where I live (medium size Cotswold town), all we will be able to receive are the usual analogue channels, more 4, ITV2, News 24, BBC 3, 4, Parliament, CBBC and a couple of timeshifted channels.
So do I get more from the free FreeSat? Yes – a lot more, and without paying out each month. As it is we have a FoxSat+ in the lounge with 2 feeds and another feed to a playroom – there’s always something that appeals to us, even if it’s off the hard disk, or via iPlayer (we do have a 12Mbps unlimited web connection).
If I wanted to receive Dave, Gold, a multitude of sports channels, or loads of movies, then I’d be prepared to pay for them, however they’re of no interest to my family.
Now as to religious channels, they’re of no interest to us either; but they are to someone out there. No doubt some Sky viewers also complain that “there’s too many religious channels on my EPG, and that I’m paying good money only to see it spent on this rubbish”. Well folks, you don’t have to watch it.
MarkQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
So do you watch programmes in HD even if they were of no interest to you. I think eventually all tv will be in HD anyway and if and when that happens people wouldn’t think twice about it. Just like when digital tv first came into being everybody were excited about it but now a few years later nobody even thinks about it , and it will be the same for HD. So why is everybody so obsessed with HD . I will only watch a programme in HD if it is of interest to me , if it is not of interest I won’t watch it just because it’s in HD. Channel 4 HD will eventually come to Freesat. There is no doubt HD is good quality picture but when some else comes out let’s say 3D tv for example then people will forget about HD
LlewQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I cannot get Freeview (like most of this area of Sussex). My teenagers get Freeview at their mothers and clearly prefer the choice on freesat, the HD and music channels.
barrieQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
All the moaners on here this a a free tv service so what are you expecting. If you want the latest movies or live premiership football then subcribe to Sky or virgin. But because it’s a free service I’m quite happy. There’s something for everyone. CBS reality and True Movies for the women, Men and Motors and movies for men for the blokes. Childrens channels and music for the teens. So something for everyone. But don’t forget one thing Freesat was never meant to be for premium pay channels and never will be it’s meant for people who do not wish to pay for or people who cannot afford pay tv. And if you also have freeview then you got the best of both worlds. What’s wrong with switching between Freesat and Freview. So if you want to watch something on Yesterday channel then just switch over to Freeview then later something on say M&Ms then switch back to freesat. But premium channels will never be on Freesat and what’s more Freesat is easier to use than Freesat from Sky
LlewQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Hmmm, it is free, we do keep hearing this over and over, don’t we??
However, I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one here that justified the £250 price tag of my Foxsat HDR with the fact that it was the same as 14 months Sky subscription but without having to pay £10 extra pm for HD.
So really, it’s not free, at least not for the next 12 months. I therefore feel justified in moaning that I am not getting what I paid for and was promised. Obviously there is the iPlayer, but it currently does less than the computer that sits a few metres away…
CarlQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
@Carl
…but, if by “promised” you are referring to previous comments about 200 channels etc, this was revised and clear long before the Humax HDR actually got launched.
It is frustrating that some of the better known channels are not available, but this is largely down to the broadcasters and Freesat are pushing all they can.
adminQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Just as a technical query re the Foxsat HDR why when adding a new channel does it not say what that channel name is rather than saying added 1 channel?
Stephen BamforthQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
If Freesat reduced the outrageous cost(£30,000) for a slot on the epg then perhaps they would not be fighting a losing battle in attempting to attract new channels.admin apart from i player freesat has under achieved do not keep using the recession as an excuse I am sure that if the epg cost was reduced by 33% they would be queueing up to join!!!!
terryhQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
@terryh
The recession isn’t an excuse, but a reason to the argument of why 200 channels didn’t join. How do you come to the conclusion that £30k is outrageous? It may seem high to the average person but to the broadcaster who can expose their channels potentially to a minimum of 1 million extra viewers it might be a bargain; Sky charge £70k!
adminQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Yes but how many potential customers are they exposed to on the sky platform ? enough to make it the better value imo.
terryhQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
More channels on sky so less chance your channel will be seen. I had Sky HD and never watched the Zone Channels (now CBS) but since getting Freesat I watch them quite a lot.
JonQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
If the sky fee was only £70k though! CBS Reality pay over £300k in platform contribution fee, and alot of the others pay more than £70k, actually it’s all of them…
wakQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
I have just started using my old humax freeview pvr,due to lack of hd/channels on freesat.
Found myself watching Quest,more than anything.
Dj DexQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Freesat,
have a word with Bernie, and the BBC, show the F1 in HD, that would draw in an audience,
what a coupe for Freesat/BBC
DougQuote
January 27th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
just going back to this no space on astra 2d available, what country don`t they want this signal to go to. every one i no in spain is whatching bbc & itv on bigger dishers, but they are getting it. other wise they would all come home. france picks up the signal germany holland. but the big thing is people in france whatch french tv because they speak french and so on. the only people whatching english tv abroad are english, spainish people do not want to watch deal or no deal in english. so apart from red tape does it realley matter if the odd person sees one of our good old channels for free.
also why on earth are we not showing all five main tv channels in hd now
so many people have hd tvs now. but hd norm seems to far away.
TerenceQuote
January 28th, 2010 at 12:25 am
Quite a few people have pointed out that HD is coming to Freeview but very few mention the fact that you will need a DVB T2 receiver to watch the HD channels. At the moment all Freeview TVs to date will not receive Freeview HD.
I noticed that Argos are now selling HD Freeview boxes but they are around £150. Unless the price comes down I would not consider investing in a new box. I doubt if my wife would want yet another box next to the TV!
Kevin Ver1Quote
January 28th, 2010 at 9:20 am
I think I will keep freesat for a couple of years as the next thing we will have is
3D tv.sets HD is another betamax all promises
no substance
Teenagers seem to prefer the internet to tv
3D sport in pubs and cinamas who knows the future ???? perhaps we should all get out a bit more .Then their is the 2012 OLYMPICS what format will that be in can anybody guess the future ???
delQuote
January 28th, 2010 at 10:20 am
@del
I cannot imagine people in pubs wearing those silly 3D glasses.
3D TV is no more than a flash in the pan which will flop big time due to the costs involved.
Richard CrichtonQuote
January 28th, 2010 at 11:11 am
@Richard Crichton
I believe 3D without glasses is currently in development.
PaulB007Quote
January 28th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I think a lot of people seem to have low expectations of Freesat and its content. Let’s look where their money really goes. Freesat is not free and the content is not free in my opinion due to the following numbers I found on the net.
License fee revenues totalled £3.3billion in 2008. Sky’s revenues were £5.3billion in 2009 but witha profit of £780million, so costs were about £4.5billion.
£4.5bn vs.£3.3bn ? Do you really think we receive 75% of the value that Sky offers?
JasonQuote
January 28th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
@PaulB007
A cure for cancer is in development.
Richard CrichtonQuote
January 28th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Alan M. seems to feel that we should be grateful for what we get from ‘FREE’sat. Doesnt he pay a TV license fee? Of course it isnt free! I will certainly feel sold short if Freeview eclipses Freesat on HD availability.
muncQuote
January 28th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
We all pay the licence fee regardless of whichever platform we receive our signal. There are people out there who still receive only four or five channels from the analogue transmissions. They pay the same licence fee as those receiving multi channel satellite tv. As most channels on freesat receive no revenue from the licence fee payer whatsoever, I do not think it is unreasonable to claim it is free.
RussQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 2:22 am
Russ you are right it seems – I didn’t know CH4 just got a one -off payment and they are the only ones – so that £3.3bn goes even less distance!
I worked out that the BBC1 costs roughly £1.35bn per year (2008/2009) and BBC2 is £553m . If other channels are funded by advertising alone, how do they manage given that Sky’s ad revenue is just £300m in total?
Interestingly Sky’s movie costs last year were £278m while sports were £944m. I’m amazed that the license fee could arguably cover a movie service like Sky’s with cash to spare – or is that Sky fee based on the number of subscribers?
FYI – the BBC owns 50% of Freesat UK and 20% of Freeview as of March 2009.
Anyway I just don’t think it’s free and looking at some of the numbers I think they suggest poor value for money.
jasonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 4:15 am
We bought into the Freesat hype when it first came out, free HD channels, over 200 channels etc. It hasn’t materialised and i see no evidence of it materialising and while there is some HD programming, the content is mostly dire (i’ve no interest in great railway journeys or coastal walks or boring costume dramas) and i mostly don’t watch it. Also, the cost of Freesat equipment seems to attract a premium, i can get a Freeview PVR with double the storage for half the price and with upscaling, this is the route i will be taking.
VanQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Again @Admin or anyone
ever since the last Update Scan – 26/01/10, my Humax Foxsat-HDR has done a Update scan very morning, any body got this problem or is it time for a Factory reset???
Robert HudsonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Thats EVERY Morning (not very)
Robert HudsonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 9:44 am
@Richard Crichton
Technology tends to move forward much faster than advances in cancer treatment (unfortunately).
Give it 5 years and 3D TV without glasses will be here. ( for a £10 a month charge on your 3D $ky box of course !! )
PaulB007Quote
January 29th, 2010 at 9:57 am
@ Jason,
As a member of the older generation I can remember having only one bbc channel which was transmitted from london. To receive the signal you needed a huge H ariel on a 30ft pole with guy ropes in your rear garden. As well as paying a fee for your tv licence you also had to buy a radio licence, which is now incorporated into one licence. The running costs of at least 7 national radio stations not to mention numerous local stations need to be taken into your calculations. Also not let us forget all the regional variations and the studios needed to provide those services. It’s a far bigger picture than you would have us believe.
RussQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 10:33 am
@Robert Hudson, or anyone.
My Foxsat-HDR has started doing the same thing recently. Also I have lost the option to record a series on BBC-HD and a few other channels. Factory reset (twice) hasn’t made any difference. Seems to be since this last channel update.
FreddyQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 10:34 am
During the war, lol just kidding
Robert HudsonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 10:48 am
I too am getting the annoying re-tune on boot-up every morning now. Nothing added, moved or taken away. What’s going on?
Glyn SmithQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 11:08 am
re:- 51 Glyn
SNAP
MikeQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 11:32 am
re:- 51 Glyn and Mike
SNAP just what is going on? Can you assist Admin is this some sort of annoying new automatic update or a fault? Ta.
EDDie HeronQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
re: 51
The digital spy forums is a good place to look if you are having problems with your box.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=199
PaulB007Quote
January 29th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
This from HC3742 at digitalspy-
Just rang Humax and Freesat about this and they both said it is a known problem and should be sorted soon. The broadcaster is sending the wrong information out they said.
Hope this helps.
Glyn SmithQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
@48 PaulB007
By then you won’t need a box or even a tv set. It will be downloaded to special implants in your brain via ethernet.
@ Freeview HD boxes are priced similar to Freesat HD boxes.
Richard CrichtonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Glyn @56
Thanks.
EDDie HeronQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
@Glyn Smith
Yep Thanks
Robert HudsonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Had problem with contstant retuning but when turned on today I got no message re new/updated channels. Maybe broadcasters sorted it out?
NeilenormalQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Russ , just FYI the calculations for BBC One and Two are from the BBC license fee website where it say BBC1 takes £4.77 of the £11.63 – so that’s £3.3bn x 4.77 / 11.63 = £ 1.35bn
BBC Radio is apparently a different pot of £570m.
Good point about the regional variations, although their worth vs. burden (in tying up many Freesat transponders) is a debatable (done elsewhere on this forum).
jasonQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I FEEL VERY LET DOWN BY FREESAT.IS EASY TO SAY IF YOU DONT LIKE IT GO ELSEWHERE BUT ITS A BIT HARD ONCE YOU HAVE PAID UP FOR IT.AS FOR THE CHANNELS THEY JUST SEEM TO ADD THE ONES OTHERS DONT WANT TO PAD OUT THE CHANNEL LIST.JUST WAITING FOR THE INFLUX OF NON ENGLISH RELIGIOUS CHANNELS NOW.I HOPE THINGS GET BETTER AND WE DO GET A BIT MORE HD CONTENT YET I WILL NOT HOLD MY BREATH AS FREESAT NEVER DELIVERS ITS WORD
ajQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
@Admin #5
Freesat have a track record of an announcing product launches that invariably suffer delays. The BBC iplayer joins that list (again):
We are now well into the winter months and the “planned” autumn iplayer lauch still hasn’t happened.
Also see:
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/freesats-emma-scott-wins-media-award#comment-10976
p.s. I hadn’t realised I’d previously strongly disagreed with Denis in another thread!
John_MQuote
January 29th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Didn’t have Freesat before. Have just spent £30 on a Bush SD Freesat box for the TV in the spare room. Brilliant picture and better channels than Freeview. Bye Bye Ripoff SKY
Garry_RQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 1:09 am
@ Jason
Are you trying to argue that BBC 1 is bad value for money because it costs £1.35 bn as opposed to Sky movies being only £278 m? Does Sky movies commission any of the films it shows? I don’t think so!
Most of the content shown on the BBC is commissioned by the BBC and that is a very expensive business to be in. When Sky can produce shows like Doctor Who, Cranford, Torchwood, Life, The Tudors, Silent Witness etc. then I might believe that Sky believes in better! However if you commission programs you can also sell them to other broadcasters. I would not be surprised if they make a reasonable profit on shows like Doctor Who.
Kevin Ver1Quote
January 30th, 2010 at 10:54 am
@61 Jason
The Astra 2D frequencies are not “Freesat tp’s” The broadcasters contracted them long before Freesat started. They were just additional capacity which became available, and the various broadcasters grabbed them as & when they required extra capacity – I can remember some Icelandic channels testing on 10818V back in 2002 as there was plenty of capacity free
There will be plenty of spotbeam capacity available from late 2012 onwards once Astra 2E goes into service. By then the recession will be over and channels may be thinking of increasing their reach as the number of Freesat boxes steadily increases.
RossQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 11:08 am
@ jason,
We of course are all allowed our opinions and it is quite obvious you feel your £143 per annum is not value for money, thats fine. The figures you quote from the licence fee web site no doubt are correct and I would not disagree, however this is a freesat site and those figures no way relate to the running cost of freesat. I feel your complaints should be directed to the bbc. Yes I am aware that the bbc has a stake in freesat, I in fact made that point myself on a previous thread.
Admin will probably correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that freesat is in fact no more than an electronic radio times, it gives viewers a guide to 8 days viewing in advance. Each channel pays £30k per annum to be included. No doubt the idea was that with enough channels on board it would be self funding and not a drain on the licence fee payer.
I am also lead to believe that every channel is responsible for getting its own slot on the relevant transponder and incur all costs for running their service.
I agree that quite a large number of slots are taken up with regional variations and wether they are all needed is debatable, but if you are about to lose your analogue signal and cannot receive freeview the answer could well be yes. I think the biggest problem with spare capacity is the fact that sky are using narrow beam transponders for encrypted channels, if you visit the flysat site it gives channel lists for astra 2d amongst others.
RussQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 11:22 am
this retune pop up thing is starting to get on my nerves now ;( (happened again this morning)
darnall42Quote
January 30th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
re retune pop up;try a Freesat tune via the menu as advised by Freesat when I contacted them to day.it has worked on my Humax freesat box
alanQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
re retune pop up;the retune via the menu did work for a short time but the fault has returned, very annoying.i have e mailed Humax to see if there is cure.
alanQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Russ and Ross – thanks for your considered and uplifting responses.
This thread started to talk about things being free, and that we shouldn’t therefore get agitated when this site posts scan updates revealing one new channel that (I speculate) most people won’t watch. I just wanted people to hear the numbers and decide for themselves.
jasonQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
@PaulB007 – 39
3D TV without glasses has been about for quite some time. I personally watched a demo two years ago – only a 2 minute clip of a football match themed advert. Like listening to audiophile gear there was a sweet spot to sit in for it to work best (in fact there were a number of sweet spots) but if you move from one spot to the another the 3d effect disappeared.
The equipment used to display the picture looked like a normal plasma screen – possibly a bit thicker but pretty normal looking.
SimonSQuote
January 30th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Is this re-tune bug connected to the same pop up on the Humax 9300 Freeview box?
RodQuote
January 31st, 2010 at 8:05 am
All this talk of FreeviewHD is annoying. Hardly anyone has seen the output, the receivers are 2.5 times the cost of FreesatHD ones. All HD content is just the same as FreesatHD, just BBC & ITV with CH4 (&S4C) and Five promised.
None of these are likely till 2012, Freesat still has time to add those channels. Remember Freeview has problems delivering supposed SD PQ, so I imagine HD PQ will be on a relative perspective.
Steve JacksonQuote
January 31st, 2010 at 9:54 am
@ Steve Jackson
I agree with your comments. One other factor that could spell problems is the type of TV aerial currently being recommended for Freeview may not be suitable for the 2012 changeover. At the moment Freeview broadcasts in my area are no where as good quality as Freesat.
Don’t write off Freesat so easily!
Kevin Ver1Quote
January 31st, 2010 at 2:36 pm
At Steve Jackson
Frewview HD is coming to Devon this April, it will be a shame if FreeView gets more HD channels before FreeSat, But the freeview website seems to be saying this, BBC HD, ITV HD, CH4HD channels will be available. Five HD aims to launch on Freeview HD later this year. See http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/Services/Freeview-HD
The Official FreeSat website makes no mention of when CH4HD & CH5HD are coming, perhaps they are ashamed to say!
OyodiQuote
January 31st, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Humax still have not fixed the lost channels, I know Zone Horror and +1 is load of crap but i have not been able to get this channel since last year and i thought there suppose to be another software up-date for this or have i missed something.
monkeymaniacQuote
January 31st, 2010 at 5:03 pm
#76 Oyodi
Freeview broadcasts rarely (if ever) cross national boundaries so the Freeview people can do what the technology and their budget allows. It doesn’t matter if Freeview gets HD first – you will still have to buy a new STB to watch them. But it will all boost the interest and take-up of HD, and keep the pressure on Freesat to keep up. Freesat are constrained by the need to keep the unencrypted HD signals on Astra 2D and tightly focussed on the UK.
Choice is what it’s all about. $ky encrypt most of their HD content and charge the earth to unscramble it but a lot of people are willing to pay the price. Freeview and Freesat do not charge and are researching ways of bringing us more free HD content. If you’ve got to have it now, subscribe to $ky. If you’re prepared to work with the researchers, go with Freeview and/or Freesat.
JockQuote
January 31st, 2010 at 7:55 pm
@Oyodi (76)
I live in the Southeast and we will not get Freeview HD until the 2012 switchover. Even then I doubt if the signal quality will be up to scratch for many people. One other complication is that some people who currently get a good signal now may suffer because the type of aerial that is currently being recommended for the current transmissions could be unsuitable after the 2012 changeover.
For example for my local transmitter they recommend a group E aerial. After the 2012 changeover they recommend a group B aerial which is optimized for a more narrow bandwidth. The problem being when they up the power there is the danger of picking up signals from transmitters further away which might be given priority on the receiver leading to poor signal being received.
Kevin Ver1Quote
January 31st, 2010 at 8:18 pm
As I understand it most viewers who choose Freesat do so because they either cannot get Freeview (I believe this will only about 2% after change over) or to access HD content, with Freeview offering more HD content soon it’s hard to see where Freesats future growth is going to come from.
BarryQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 2:04 am
@ Barry
Where do you get the figure of 2% from? It seems very low. Where I live the signal from the local transmitter has always been low even before Freeview existed. Even when they up the signal strength I suspect I will be better off with Satellite. I do intend to put up a new aerial but it is difficult to position an aerial on my home but hopefully I would then be able to get a reasonable selection of channels.
The problem with digital TV is that it suffers from the cliff face reception issue. Every time it is windy the picture freezes periodically. If the air pressure is high reception is also problematic and it is very susceptible to electrical interference. Satellite seems to be more robust.
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 1st, 2010 at 7:06 am
I have the same problem with the retune every as well.
Re: over promising. I quite agree with this, a while ago freesat mentioned in a press release/interview on here that the roll out would include a few new channels per month. We arent seeing that yet, hence the over promising. I still think its a good service though, especially if you have the PVR. More channels please.
TWQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 9:09 am
The BIG arguement for Freesat is this.
You want Freeview but can’t get it in your area. That’s me.
You want a PVR set up that’s as easy to use as SKY. Fine. Go get Sky and then just have the free channels.
Oh dear. This is where you will find that Sky will charge you £10 per month for the piviledge of letting your Sky+ box get access to the EPG.
Why is no one mentioning this ?
I was paying sky £27 per month and when I looked at what I was recording it was all ‘free’ stuff. 6 months after paying for my Freesat box it is now paying for itself…
TheDukeOfHunsletQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 12:48 pm
@Barry
You were asking were the 2% comes from, it comes from the FreeView Website @ Oyodi 76 : It says “When is Freeview HD available?
By the 2010 World Cup almost 50% of the UK will be able to get Freeview HD and 98.5% by the end of digital switchover in 2012.”
OyodiQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 12:57 pm
@Oyodi #84
So the information can’t be biased!
I think it is more of a case that 2% do not have a chance in hell of getting Freeview. What would be the answer if you asked what proportion of the country should be able to receive decent reception? I am sure the answer would not be anywhere as high as 98%.
Oh by the way, I don’t care a fig about the 2010 World Cup.
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 1st, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Did you hear about the two freesat dishes that got married. The wedding service was nothing to write home about, but the reception was brilliant.
Sorry, I’m bored.
RussQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 3:51 pm
@ Russ #86
Nice one!
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 1st, 2010 at 4:32 pm
@admin – the channels page on here (http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/freesat-channels) still lists ITV1+1 as due Oct 2009 – I guess that’s all off now…
IanBQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 4:35 pm
@IanB
Yes, ITV announced their postponement of this channel some time back. The channel does seem to be allocated that slot for the future though.
adminQuote
February 1st, 2010 at 5:42 pm
As ITV has only just organized getting a new chairman and MD I would imagine it has put on the back foot changing the set up. It has been mooted that they are considering making ITV 3 and 4 subscription based in which case they would be removed from Freeview and Freesat.
Personally I think that would be a retrograde step as they will lose a large proportion of their audience and their advertising revenues would plummet. However since they recruited Archie Norman and Adam Crozier neither of which have experience in TV media it would not surprise me if ITV went down that cul de sac.
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 1st, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Ever since this update, both my Humax Freesat boxes insist on doing a full scan every day, every time i turn the boxes on!!
I have the HD PVR in the lounge and the standard HD in the bedroom (Non PVR).
Also, since the firmware update late last year, my Humax PVR randomly changes screen resolution. Very annoying!!!
I assume this is a software issue as it does it on both boxes. It’s getting rediculous now. Come on Humax, sort it out!
Darren WilemanQuote
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:25 am
@91 Hi Darren.
Don’t worry. I have the same problem [the full scan one]. And it seems we’re not the only ones….
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1207656
FrenchyQuote
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:59 am
@83
“Oh dear. This is where you will find that Sky will charge you £10 per month for the piviledge of letting your Sky+ box get access to the EPG.
Why is no one mentioning this ?”
Perhaps because it’s not correct???
Non subscribers get the EPG but not the Sky+ facilty. All subscribers get the Sky+ facility included in their subscription.
derek500Quote
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:44 am
@derek500 #93
So that seems to imply that you would lose the Sky+ facility if you cancel your Sky sub. In which case Freesat + is still an attractive alternative.
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:31 am
The little problem with the retune pop-up on my Humax seems to have have disappeared. However I have been unable to access non-freesat mode for quite some time. Has anyone else experienced the same problem or is it just my equipment ? I can still get other sat mode on my panny.
RussQuote
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:53 pm
@Derek 93
Yes, non subscribers do get the EPG,
an EPG full of channels that they cannot get.
(yes i know you can set up 50 favourites but its clunky and no where near as good as a dedicated EPG that shows info on just the channels that you can watch).
And as you pointed out, you cannot record anything on a $ky+ box without a subscription.
Which makes freesat+ a very very attractive alternative
PaulB007Quote
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
If you end a Sky package subscription and don’t pay £10 per month for the Sky+ facility, not only can you not record anything on the Sky+ box, but you can’t play back anything you recorded while you were subscribing! Even though the Sky+ box is your own paid-for property.
Laurence UptonQuote
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:10 pm
will freesat have the freeview channels on it? if not then freesat in my opinion is a load of rubbish apart from bbc hd channel, why can’t they put the freesat channels on there too like dave, virgin 1, sky 3, etc. to others who are looking into getting freesat don’t get bother.
alexQuote
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Clearly a lack of understanding! Freesat was designed to cover areas that Freeview can’t, and channels like those mentioned are tied into contract on DSAT.
adminQuote
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Well i`ve finally given up on Freesat.
I consider my £300 one of the worst buys i`ve ever made.
So i`ve got my free Sky HD+ box ordered.
Hopefully the economy and Freesat will have improved in 12 months time so i can cancel the sky subscription.
I do hope Freesat does improve, but i cannot see it happening anytime soon.
TonyQuote
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:41 pm
@ alex #98
Why rubbish Freesat because it is different to Freeview. There are channel on Freesat not on Freeserve and vice versa. Surely they can be viewed as complimentary. Also don’t forget with satellite you can also receive other channels which are not listed on the Freesat EPG.
@ Tony #100
I have to disagree with your view on Freesat. I find the range of channels extremely good. OK it could do with more HD material but at least it will not burn a large hole in my pocket. I presume that you purchased a Freesat + having spent £300. I just have a single receiver and only spent around £130 including the dish.
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Hi Kevin, i find now i am only watching BBC1 + HD and ITV.
I hope it did not sound like i was knocking Freesat in any way, had i known the recession was going to happen i never would have bought my box just as Freesat never would have announced 200 channels.
Hindsight is a great thing
What finally made my mind for me was that there was no sign of anything going to happening until there is enough space on the satallite anyway never mind the £30,000 fee to join the epg.
Anyway as i have already said, i do hope things change for the better for Freesat.
It has brought the attention of some excellent BBC programs such as silent witness that i most likely would never have got to see otherwise when i had just my Sky+ box plus subscription.
TonyQuote
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Have had Freesat since 2008, during which time I have enjoyed Football, Tennis, Olympics, Drama, Music, Wild Life, Historical and Geological Doc. in HD.
For the first time in 46 yrs., of paying TV licence, I feel on a par with other viewers, being amongst the last to receive:- FM, FM stereo, BBC2, Colour, Channel 4, still no Channel 5, So for people like me Freesat is a godsend.
ASKQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 6:24 am
I use both Freesat and Freeview at no cost apart from TV licence (which of course we all pay) There is more than enough choice for me. Yes you could go to SKY for more choice but at a cost. You really cannot compare SKY with the two free platforms, it is a completly different animal.
I had SKY once, spent a fortune and every time I watched a quality channel like any BBC channels felt I was wasting my subsription money. SKY is fine for those that want football and films, however beyond that most of the material is regularly repeated and was most likely originally on the terrestrial channels.
AlanQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 8:58 am
I keep coming back to this website to check out the latest news for freesat (which there seems to be non)
But I too have got Sky+ HD now, and you really do get what you pay for.
Freesat was wasting my time compared to my old sky+ package.
I am so glad i went back to sky + HD & with there talk and broadband package it dosnt seem to cost very much.
Unlike freesat, us sky customers are getting VOD this year and 3D TV, along with more HD channels.
AlexQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Which you pay for Alex!!!
adminQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 9:37 am
In defence of the people knocking freesat, its quite logical to expect all free channels to be available on freesat if you don’t understand the reasons for the differences between freesat, freeview and FSFS.
For a lot of people its a case of, i know this channel is a non-subscription channel so i should be able to get it on freesat.
Having said that, despite a few missing channels (which in my opinion are hardly worth having anyway), freesat provides a fantastic range of channels for FREE.
$ky+ is over priced (especially for the non premium channel package) which to be honest is total rubbish. A lot of people shell out the cash for $ky+ and then spend most of the time watching channels that are available without a subscription on freesat or freeview.
PaulB007Quote
February 4th, 2010 at 10:12 am
2010 Wishlist for freesat :
- Include Sky News
- Update teletext to be the same as that on Sky/freeview
- More HD channels
- Automatic HD programmes (no more pressing red buttons and changing channels)
SCMQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 10:36 am
@105 Alex
You need a special 3D television to get 3D. These are around £2000.
BBC i player is video on demand. Don’t see that on your beloved $ky.
Please don’t come on a Freesat site telling everyone how brilliant $ky is we don’t want to pay any more than the licence fee to watch television.
Richard CrichtonQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Just got the Humax Foxsat and kissing goodbye to Sky+. I have no interest in HD but in the end didn’t like the idea of paying £10 per month for Sky+ recording for the free channels, just for the privelege of recording onto a tiny (40gb hard disk). Yes it is over £200 for the Humax but it is 8 times the space, no monthly fee, pretty much the same channels (for me anyway), and additionally iplayer and the flexibility to store photos and music. On top of that Freeview is still not that good quality where I live and is unlikely to change soon. Freesat may lose out in the longer term, who knows but for me it works well and even if it is only around for a couple of years more its still the best option for me right now.
HarvQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 10:59 am
@105Alex
Looks like we got a sky rep worried coming on freesat to moan about us, As @109Richard said we have BBCi Player , Sky tried to block this I wonder why?..
Alan MQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 11:01 am
As regards 3D this fine if you have 20/20 vision. However a large number of people like myself have one lazy eye, which means whilst you have no problems watching TV and experience the full benefits of HD TV as far as 3D TV goes you can forget it. I for one will at least save money as it would be a a waste of £2000 for me to buy a 3D TV.
AlanQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 11:42 am
@104Alan
Agree about repeats from the main channels. I recall when sky started and many people at work were waxing lyrical about Sky Gold, etc. The people that had been moaning about repeats on BBC and ITV, were now trying to convince me how good these shows had become now that they were on Pay TV.
ASKQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Well the Humax took 15 minutes to setup and its oh so simple, fantastic. Now need to buy a long enough Cat-5 cable to reach the router and an SPDIF cable to go into the surround sound and I’m sorted. Today’s just released software update loaded all fine too. Very impressed.
HarvQuote
February 4th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
@ SCM # 108
One of the options on your wish list Sky News is obtainable on my Freesat receiver. I can access it via my non Freesat channel list. To get it you have to manually input the channel and it is not included on the EPG but do you really need the EPG for a news channel?
I think the majority would like to see more HD channels on Freesat. Hopefully this will be achievable in 2012 when the new satellite is operational.
Kevin Ver1Quote
February 4th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
so many here complain of a lack of content but freesat has been a godsend to my household where we are blessed with neither the terrestrial nor digital signals so we now have television after so many years it is the only time my three littleuns are quiet and sit still watching the animations of which they have endless choice now they have learnt to use the remote control and I can make progress with the chores unharrassed
TillTheSoilQuote
February 9th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Any idea when the Freesat info channel is going to have some info on it admin?
Richard CrichtonQuote