Freesat
View Freesat Receivers and Freesat Recorders, read reviews and compare prices >>
What is Freesat?
Freesat is a Digital UK television service provided by the BBC and ITV.
What is the difference between Freeview and Freesat?
There are a couple of main differences. For one, Freesat needs a satellite dish rather than an aerial. Secondly, the Freesat service carries High Definition (HD) channels, although you will need a Freesat HD box and of course an HD Ready tv to take advantage of this!.
Similarly to Freeview, there is no subscription fee and providing you buy a Freesat HD box, you can also receive the free High Definition channels from BBC and ITV.
Why choose Freesat over Freeview?
There are a couple of situations where Freesat is an obvious choice over Freeview:-
- if you wish to make the most of your new HD Ready tv but don’t want to (or for some reason) can’t sign up to Sky HD with a monthly subscription
- if you live in an area with poor Freeview reception
- if you are an early-adopter of new technology. Freesat is widely tipped to make inroads in to the Freeview market share in 2009 and 2010 as more HD channels are launched.
Is it an HD only service?
No – you can buy a plain and simple Freesat box or a Freesat HD box – both are free once you have bought the equipment. Non-hd Freesat boxes start at around £40 – the same as an equivalent Freeview receiver.
What Channels are there?
Freesat claims to offer over 140 different channels, but this number includes both televison and radio stations. In reality, the channel line-up is very similar to that of Freeview with the addition of BBC HD and ITV HD for those with a Freesat HD box. One noticeable channel missing is Sky Sports News (which, ironically, is free on Freeview yet you must pay for it on Sky!)
Do I need different equipment & specialist installation?
In most cases you will at least need a Freesat box. In addition to this, because the signal is received using a satellite dish, you will need one of these if you don’t already have one. If you have already subscribed to Sky digital and have since terminated your contract, moved in to a property with a dish in place, or if you live in a block of flats which has a communal satellite dish, you may be able to use the existing satellite dish and cable in to your living room.
If you are intending using the feed from a communal dish, it is worth checking that it is configured to work, as older installation may not be configured properly.
Also bear in mind that if you want to buy a Freesat Recorder (Freesat PVR) then you will need two feeds from your dish.
If you don’t have a dish already, most retailers are now offering a nationwide installation service either free of charge or at minimal cost, when you buy a Freesat box. If you do this, but aren’t intending to buy a Freesat Recorder just yet, it may still be worth getting a dish with two LNBs (the little black or grey receiver modules that stick out from your satellite dish) and two feeds to where your Freesat box will be, to save any future costs. The cost to upgrade from a single LNB installation to a double or quad LNB installation could be as little as £20-30 extra – whereas the cost for an engineer to call back in the future and add the extra LNB and feed is likely to be in the hundreds.
In any case, you will almost certanily require a Freesat box – the Freeview box equivalent only designed
Freesat Recorder / PVR
As with Freeview, you can also buy a Freesat Recorder. Humax was the first company to launch a Freesat HD Recorder and you can read the review and compare prices here. Because the HD pictures require more storage, you will find that it’s not possible to compare the storage space of a non-HD Freeview Recorder (or Freesat recorder) to that of a HD equivalent. However, you shouldn’t find it too much of an issue for the time being considering there are currently only 2 HD channels to record!
