[conan]

Hi all, I'm trying to plan my setup in advance, working out what to get and how to connect it all up etc..

My question is is there any advantage to buying a TV with the freesat decoder built in (apart from having one less box)? From what I've looked at, it seems the premium you pay for this would fund a separate sat decoder such as a Humax. Or is there more to it than this?

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by conan

Hi all, I'm trying to plan my setup in advance, working out what to get and how to connect it all up etc..

My question is is there any advantage to buying a TV with the freesat decoder built in (apart from having one less box)? From what I've looked at, it seems the premium you pay for this would fund a separate sat decoder such as a Humax. Or is there more to it than this?

There's one major disadvantage. If you want to record Freesat on a DVDR you have to be watching the channel using a Panasonic TV

[Member 354643]

Originally Posted by conan

Hi all, I'm trying to plan my setup in advance, working out what to get and how to connect it all up etc..

My question is is there any advantage to buying a TV with the freesat decoder built in (apart from having one less box)? From what I've looked at, it seems the premium you pay for this would fund a separate sat decoder such as a Humax. Or is there more to it than this?

Get yourself a seperate box thats my opinion

[conan]

Not quite with you Graham, you mean if I have the decoder within the TV I have to be watching the channel I want to record, or if I have the decoder on a separate box?

[Broadz]

Originally Posted by conan

Not quite with you Graham, you mean if I have the decoder within the TV I have to be watching the channel I want to record, or if I have the decoder on a separate box?

If the TV is providing the satellite tuner, then the TV must be switched on, and tuned to the relevant satellite channel, before you can send the output from the TV to an external recorder (i.e. a DVD recorder or a VCR). With a STB, you don't need to have the telly switched on if you want to record a Freesat programme to DVD or video - as long as the Freesat box is switched on.

Imagine you are out for the night and there is something on at half past ten on Freesat that you want to record. With the Panasonic Freesat TV, the telly needs to be left on all night, and tuned to the correct channel for the output to be sent to DVDR. With an STB, you don't need to leave your TV switched on all night even though the house is empty.

Also with an external STB, you can be recording a Freesat signal to a DVDR while watching Freeview, a DVD, a video or playing a console game on your telly. The Panasonic may (note may) have to be tuned to the Freesat channel while recording, meaning you can't be watching anything else on the same TV while the recording is taking place.

[conan]

Great stuff, thanks for the help and explanations. So really it doesn't make any sense to get the freesat decoder in the TV. One more issue cleared up