BBC/ITV FreeSat - will this be any different from FreeSatFromSky?

I understood that the BBC and ITV were going to launch their own free
sat package sometime "early" this year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4221722.stm

I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.

Any advice, insider news would be welcome.

Cheers,

David

Dave wrote:
I understood that the BBC and ITV were going to launch their own free
sat package sometime "early" this year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4221722.stm

I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.

Any advice, insider news would be welcome.

Cheers,

David

I think that the BBC is advertising the $ky offering for now, simply
because FreeSat isn't a going concern yet. I'd expect that to change
when they're ready to launch. However, trying to sell the idea to Joe
Punter as an alternative to Freeview when C4 & C5 are missing, let alone
E4, More4 etc. will be very entertaining.


Clem

Clem Dye wrote:
Dave wrote:

I understood that the BBC and ITV were going to launch their own free
sat package sometime "early" this year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4221722.stm

I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.

Any advice, insider news would be welcome.

Cheers,

David

I think that the BBC is advertising the $ky offering for now, simply
because FreeSat isn't a going concern yet. I'd expect that to change
when they're ready to launch. However, trying to sell the idea to Joe
Punter as an alternative to Freeview when C4 & C5 are missing, let alone
E4, More4 etc. will be very entertaining.

But they had to advertise Digital Satellite because Sky complained they
were putting too much bias on Freeview in their 'ads', and not enough on
Satellite.

D

Why not just get one of the inexpensive Aldi/Lidl sat receivers when next on
offer and fit it yourself and enjoy the current free offerings.

Alec


"David Hearn" wrote in message
...
Clem Dye wrote:
Dave wrote:

I understood that the BBC and ITV were going to launch their own free
sat package sometime "early" this year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4221722.stm

I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.

Any advice, insider news would be welcome.

Cheers,

David

I think that the BBC is advertising the $ky offering for now, simply
because FreeSat isn't a going concern yet. I'd expect that to change when
they're ready to launch. However, trying to sell the idea to Joe Punter
as an alternative to Freeview when C4 & C5 are missing, let alone E4,
More4 etc. will be very entertaining.

But they had to advertise Digital Satellite because Sky complained they
were putting too much bias on Freeview in their 'ads', and not enough on
Satellite.

D

"Clem Dye" wrote in message
...
Dave wrote:
I understood that the BBC and ITV were going to launch their own free
sat package sometime "early" this year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4221722.stm

I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.

Any advice, insider news would be welcome.

Cheers,

David

I think that the BBC is advertising the $ky offering for now, simply
because FreeSat isn't a going concern yet. I'd expect that to change
when they're ready to launch. However, trying to sell the idea to Joe
Punter as an alternative to Freeview when C4 & C5 are missing, let alone
E4, More4 etc. will be very entertaining.

It has never been very clear what the BBC and ITV will provide that is not
available now, given that the BBC and ITV channels are now all FTA on satellite.
I've always hoped that they would provide an EPG and 'Interactive' facilities
that do not use proprietary technology.

It would be nice if the BBC would tell us more of their plans for Freesat - and
HDTV.

If your parents can't receive CH5 on terrestrial analogue, then they would need
a Sky box to decode the satellite picture (Dragon CAMs apart.)

I am not a customer of Sky, but their 1 year contract for £157.50 is not such a
bad deal, particularly if DIY installation is not your/their scene.

--

Michael Chare

I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.


I am amazed at the widespread ignorance regarding (so-called) FreeSat
service

At present all BBC and ITV channels are available from the Astra 2 Satellite
free to air (FTA). With a FTA satellite receiver you can receive these
channels as well as some dozens of other TV channels and many radio channels
(including all the BBC channels, Classic FM etc. in top quality digital
stereo)

With a BSkyB digibox (available for about £30 from ebay) and a suitable dish
you can also receive Ch 4, and Ch 5 provided you purchase a 'Freesat' card
for £20.

For £150 you can buy a BSkyB dish, digibox, Freesat card and installation.

"Malcolm H" wrote in message
...
I was going to wait until this service was launched before getting
my
parents digital satellite TV (as they live in a non-freeview area
and
have a widescreen TV).

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be
any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

I'm not a big fan of Sky, hence was going to wait to buy the non-Sky
offering, but if this new service is not going to be any different I
guess I may as well get FreeSatFromSky now?

I notice BBC are effectively advertising FreeSatFromSky now as in
their
digial TV adverts they say "you can get digital satellite for a one
off payment of £150. Ask your retailer for details" on their recent
TV ads.


I am amazed at the widespread ignorance regarding (so-called)
FreeSat
service

At present all BBC and ITV channels are available from the Astra 2
Satellite
free to air (FTA). With a FTA satellite receiver you can receive
these
channels as well as some dozens of other TV channels and many radio
channels
(including all the BBC channels, Classic FM etc. in top quality
digital
stereo)

With a BSkyB digibox (available for about £30 from ebay) and a
suitable dish
you can also receive Ch 4, and Ch 5 provided you purchase a
'Freesat' card
for £20.

For £150 you can buy a BSkyB dish, digibox, Freesat card and
installation.



....and as somone else pointed out, for a few pounds more you can get
the Sky base pack for a year, albeit you have to have the box
connected to a phone line. At the end of the year you can cancel the
contract and keep the box/dish. The advantage of this route is that
should the box go wrong during the contract period Sky turn out to fix
it: if you go down the purchase route they do not. You will also get
the Freeview channels that are not yet on FreeSat - E4, More 4,
UKHistory, and Men & Motors.

I would not advise buying a Sky box on E-Bay: you have no guarantee
that it will work, and as you have to give the serial number when you
order the FreeSat card they should be able to see if it is stolen. Buy
a refurbished one from a dealer with a guarantee - a little more
expensive but worth it.

One thing to be wary of: FreeSat will 'force' you to watch the version
of ITV1 that supposedly serves your area. Here in Harrogate most
people get and watch Yorkshire, but Sky follow the ITV franchise
boundaries which say we must watch Tyne Tees. It is possible to watch
any ITV area, Yorkshire included, but it is a pain to get at through
the menu system.


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 18:21:20 GMT, Clem Dye wrote:

I think that the BBC is advertising the $ky offering for now, simply
because FreeSat isn't a going concern yet. I'd expect that to change
when they're ready to launch.

You're not suggesting that the BBC would give greater prominence to
their own 'preferred' platforms are you? That would be most
improper...

On 18 Feb 2006 09:28:37 -0800, "Dave"
wrote:

Does anyone know when this service will launch Will this service be any
different from http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ ?

It will have fewer channels, a less comprehensive EPG, and the
equipment will probably cost more.

For £150 you can buy a BSkyB dish, digibox, Freesat card and
installation.



...and as somone else pointed out, for a few pounds more you can get
the Sky base pack for a year, albeit you have to have the box
connected to a phone line. At the end of the year you can cancel the
contract and keep the box/dish. The advantage of this route is that
should the box go wrong during the contract period Sky turn out to fix
it: if you go down the purchase route they do not. You will also get
the Freeview channels that are not yet on FreeSat - E4, More 4,
UKHistory, and Men & Motors.

I agree this is a good course of action.