Free Digital TV FAQ

[Stuart Wright]

Folks, let's kick off a FAQ for free digital TV in the UK.
Please reply to this thread with your suggestions.

What is Freesat? (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=679044)

[mrbleu]

Q. I already have a Sky dish, can I use it for Freesat?

A. Yes, they use the same satellites and you do not need to move the dish.

Q. Will I need to add a new cable for Freesat or can I just use the existing Sky cable?

A. You can just swap the existing coax cable from the old Sky box to the new Freesat one.

Q. I have Sky+ will I be able to simply remove the Sky+ box and install a Freesat PVR when they are available?

A. Yes.

Q. I have a Sky quad LNB with spare connections, can I simply use one of these connections and route a new cable to a Freesat box?

A. Yes.

[Simon Kemp]

Dear Stuart,
Here's a suggestion for an FAQ for Freesat Television -
"Can you connect a Freesat set top box with an LNB Out socket directly to the LNB In socket of a Sky TV SD box and expect both boxes to work properly? If not then what's the point of manufacturers putting a LNB Out port on their boxes?"
I don't want to pay someone £80 to install a seperate cable from my Sky dish to my lounge if it can be avoided. I'm sure this question must be asked by many people who already own Sky SD boxes.
Best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Kemp
S. KEMP BSc

[mikehol]

The FAQ for Free Sat TV is a good idea :thumbsup:as i am already needing advice and realise that I have a lot to learn. my question would be" I understand that Freesat uses 2 Satellites Astra 2D and Eurobird 1, do I need to have a dish with a twin LNB to receive these signals?" I am assuming that the answer is no but although I have set up my dish following the info that I have managed to find, I cannot find the freesat signal that comes from the Eurobird sat but can get a lot of the channels. Another question could be "how can I be sure that my dish in receiving from the correct Satellite?"

[johnandmel]

What is the difference between using a standard Sky Box to receive only free to air channels and say a Humax Freesat Box. Is the EPG the same, is the channel line up the same?

Thanks.

[Mister Anderson]

10 years ago I ripped the RM dish of mind control from my wall, cast RM's box onto the nearest skip and vowed never be controlled again by the Aussie dictator, recently I became aware that RM free service would become available so purchased an hd tv.
Heres the hard part, What is the best value freesat digi box.
What size of dish and components should i purchase.
By going freesat will this limit the amount of channels i can receive
:lesson: the ways of the matrix