Freesat, SD, HD, and Sky disk

[Quartz]

I currently have a Panasonic PW6, Inverto DVR, Freview-compatible aerial, and a Sky dish. I currently receive Freeview through the aerial, and the signal is not good. I do not have a Sky box or subscription.

So I'm excited about Freesat. Especially the HD. I've read the forums here and the Freesat website and the Astra 2 page. But I'm somewhat confused about Sky and Freesat. I know I'd be able to receive most of Freesat via Sky, but I don't want to subscribe to Sky, and I've read that some channels like ITV2 may not be available on Sky anyway.

Now for HD I know I'll have to replace the PW6 and the Inverto, but that's some months off - I'll wait for the HD DVRs to appear and come down in price. But in the interim, I've a few questions:

Can I receive Freesat SD directly on my Sky dish?

Will the dish need repointing?

What boxes do I need to fit?

Will my Inverto DVR work with Freesat SD?

[Stiggy]

Originally Posted by Quartz

But in the interim, I've a few questions:

Can I receive Freesat SD directly on my Sky dish? Yes

Will the dish need repointing? No

What boxes do I need to fit? For proper freesat, you will need a freesat box

Will my Inverto DVR work with Freesat SD? It will work with 'free to air (FTA)' channels, but won't be proper freesat. If you have a suitable input, you could record from the freeat box to the DVR.

You'll need to do some more reading on here, but basically, there are two different setups you can choose:
There are free satellite channels, which include all the BBC channels including HD, ITV, but not some channel 4 and channel 5 channels.
Then there is (BBC/ITV) freesat, which is a subset of these channels, but includes and easy-to-use program guide which you only get in the freesat boxes.

[davemurgatroyd2]

The Inverto DVR (unless it is an unusual freeview PVR and you can record on it from external sources) will not work with freesat at all, the only external recorders that will work with freesat are those that can record from external sources such as DVD/HDD recorders.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by davemurgatroyd2

The Inverto DVR (unless it is an unusual freeview PVR and you can record on it from external sources) will not work with freesat at all, the only external recorders that will work with freesat are those that can record from external sources such as DVD/HDD recorders.

Unless the Inverto DVR is a DVB-S device?

[Stiggy]

The OP has an Inverto 7000 DVR, which comes in DVB-T and DVB-S versions, but doesn't say which one. I kind of assumed it was the satellite version, but I could be wrong!

[gazmob]

I too am a little confused as to the differnce between the FTA channels I receive just now via my sky dish and Sky HD receiver(subs cancelled) and the new freesat. Will I be able reveive things like BCC HD with this setup without needeing to change anything. Do I need a differnt card ?

The freesat website does not tell us very much.

Thanks

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by gazmob

I too am a little confused as to the differnce between the FTA channels I receive just now via my sky dish and Sky HD receiver(subs cancelled) and the new freesat. Will I be able reveive things like BCC HD with this setup without needeing to change anything. Do I need a differnt card ?

The freesat website does not tell us very much.

Thanks

You will have a bigger line-up of channels in your EPG on a Sky HD FTV system than a freesat HD system - so there may be no reason to change.

The freesat EPG may be marginally better than Sky's for non-subscribers - as you'll only see the channels you can watch in it. Also freesat PVRs may be slightly better implemented than Sky+ when it comes to the details of recording shows. You also won't have to pay £10/month for the recording facilities of your PVR - as you would to record on an FTV Sky+ HD.

There is also a suggestion that Sky HD boxes won't (possibly just initially - who knows?) receive ITV HD because of the way ITV are implementing it.

freesat receivers don't require a viewing card.

You will be able to plug a freesat SD or HD receiver into one of your existing LNB feeds, or a freesat dual-tuner (when available) SD or HD PVR into both. You won't need a new dish, LNB or cable.

[Quartz]

Originally Posted by Stiggy

The OP has an Inverto 7000 DVR, which comes in DVB-T and DVB-S versions, but doesn't say which one. I kind of assumed it was the satellite version, but I could be wrong!

It's the one Boots were selling 2 years ago. IDL-7000 with a dual-channel freeview tuner.