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At the moment I subscribe to Sky + HD, but I am looking at switching to a free option, I would like to keep the ability to record/pause TV and HD. I am not sure what is the best way to go and what is the best kit (if any) to buy, so if you good people in EPZ land have any opinions please pass them on.
Thank you.
If you unsubscribe you will not be able to access your old recordings or record new unless you pay a £10 per month recording fee as they are encrypted and scrambled. They do leave you with a good Freeview list (for free). If you threaten to unsubscribe they often will reduce your fee to half for about 6 months but, you have to give the customer service advisor a reason, ie affordability.
Virgin media do good packages (if you have cable) but a freeview reciever with built in recorder is in my opinion is as good as anything if you are happy with the content.
I sometimes get really bad reception on the freeview service, pictures go all blocky and sound is squeeky.
Freesat will provide a box to plug into your existing satellite dish for a one-off fee, but the programme choice is extremely limited even compared to Freeview, and some of the content is tacky to say the least!. There are a few threads on here ( see thread here for HD ), but the Humax Foxsat generally gets the best reviews, and I see it has come down in price quite a bit since I bought mine to watch the World Cup in HD!
Quote: but the programme choice is extremely limited even compared to Freeview
We use Freesat and haven't noticed it being much more limited than Freeview. The Humax Foxsat is an excellent box and fully HD. I know HD programming is limited anywhere other than Sky, but it's also a damn sight cheaper. Just think of all the BluRay DVDs you could buy yourself each month with the savings.
Ian
We have freeview and freesat (I picked up a low cost HD box from ALDI when the local transmitter went up in flames plus we have a lot of freeview reception problems even with an amp) and to be honest the Freeview channels are better, Dave and quest get occasional viewing in our house. But to be honest there are an awful lot of channels that are well awful. we have decided to wait till the digital switch over occurs and they have the intended not backup freeview transmitter in place where we live before we decide.
We have our original freeview Box which is an old HUMAX hard disk recorder and it gives all the functionality we want apart from lacking HD.
Quote: If I decide to go with Freesat can I just plug the box into my existing Sky dish and cables or does it need rewiring and pointing to a different satellite?
Just connect up the box; follow the on-screen set up instructions and start viewing. No need to re-cable or re-align you dish - easy. If you get a Humax or Sony box you get the added advantage of being able to access BBC iPlayer on your TV (if you run an ethernet cable from the set top box to your router). Happy Murdoch-free viewing.
Quote: If I decide to go with Freesat can I just plug the box into my existing Sky dish and cables or does it need rewiring and pointing to a different satellite?
You have to put in a postcode to determine which of the channels you get. If you put in your north Scotland postcode you get BBC Scotland and STV, but you can also get the English versions of these channels up amongst the 900s, so you can get the programmes that STV have chosen not to show. This would have helped for things like Downton Abbey and the FA Cup games last year, but I'm not sure who is showing the cup games this year.
another Humax Foxsat user here - we have 3 HD channels now!
WARNING
Dave is not on Freesat...
it is on Freeview
SO those hungover sundays watching repeats of Top Gear have gone for me...
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