Tuning in extra FREE channels: BBC, ITV, Ch4, E4, More4, Five, etc

[Charles Slane]

The BBC went free-to-air on the 10th of July 2003 and ITV on 1st of November 2005, so here's a handy thread for anyone who wants to add the free channels but doesn't know how.

Channel 4, E4, More4 and Five have went FTA in the meantime.

**Note to those savvy with how how to tune Skybox, there's a handy table of common channels created by Paddy C, below this post.

We'll begin with the frequency (10773H 22000 5/6) that Five, BBC3 and BBC4 are broadcast on, and you can repeat the process using the frequency table below to add the other channels of your choice (ie ITV1, ITV2 BBC Radio etc.)


To add channels to your "Other Channels" option, do the following -

With your digibox turned on, press the "Services" button (near the top of the remote).

Select number 4 (System Setup), and then 4 again ("Add Channels").

In the appropriate fields enter the following (you move through the fields using the up and down arrow keys).


In the Frequency field enter: 10.773,

The next three fields are toggle fields, i.e. using the left and right arrows will change the value.

Toggle Polarisation to : H
Toggle Symbol Rate to: 22000
Toggle FEC to : 5/6

Then select the last button - Find Channels.

After a few seconds the channels should appear. The channels on this frequency should be - BBC One London, BBC Two England, BBC News 24, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC Three, BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC Radio Cymru.

Use the Yellow button to place a tick beside each one you wish to store and when you've finished ticking press "Select". These channels will now be stored.

You can view them by pressing the "Services" button, then 7 "Other Channels" (Other Channels is option 9 on Sky+ and Sky+ HD), use the arrow keys to move to the channel you want and press "Select".



To add the channels below, repeat the procedure using the details provided. As suggested by Sceptre, I'd just like to make people aware that sometimes when too many channels are stored in "Other Channels" they can mysteriously all disappear ! This seems to be a bug in Sky's software that they've never bothered to fix. Different people seem to recommend different numbers of Other Channels to store, but I've never had a problem with anything up to 30. If they are deleted, don't panic - you just have to go through the hassle of storing them again. It may be best not to try to store all the BBC and ITV variations, but just the ones that you're particularly interested in.


MODEDIT [byte]
UPDATED: 26 January 2009.

With thanks to DMC for the lists (AGAIN)!



ITV Frequencies.

10.758 V 22.0 5/6

ITV 1 London
ITV 2
CITV (0700-1900)
ITV 4
Men & Motors
ITV 1 Granada
ITV 1 Anglia North
ITV 1 Central West


10832 H 22.0 5/6

ITV 4 +1
ITV 1 Thames Valley North
ITV 1 Central East
ITV 1 Wales
ITV 1 West
ITV 1 Westcountry South
ITV 1 Border England


10891 H 22.0 5/6

ITV 1 Border Scotland
ITV 1 Tyne Tees North
ITV 1 Meridian South
ITV 1 Meridian South East
ITV 1 Anglia South
ITV 1 Yorkshire West
ITV 2 +1


10906 V 22.0 5/6

Channel TV
STV North
STV West
STV East
Ulster TV
ITV 3
ITV 3 +1 (1900-0700)

Note ITV now uses 1 less transponder than it used to (10.714).

BBC Frequencies

10.773, H, 22.0, 5/6

BBC One London
BBC Two England
BBC Four (1900-0600)
CBBC (0600-1900)
CBeebies UK (0600-1900)
BBC Three (1900-0600)
BBC One Northern Ireland
Five (aka Channel 5)

10788 V 22.0 5/6

BBC One West Midlands
BBC One North West
BBC One East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
BBC One Yorkshire & North Midlands
BBC One East Midlands
BBC One East


10803 H 22.0 5/6

BBC One Wales
BBC Two Wales
BBC One Scotland
BBC Two Scotland
BBC Two Northern Ireland
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra


10818 V 22.0 5/6

BBC One West
BBC One South East
BBC One South
BBC One South West
BBC One North East & Cumbria
BBC One Oxford


10847 V 22.0 5/6

BBC One Cambridge
BBC One Channel Islands
BBC HD UK

11954 H 27.5 2/3

BBC News
BBC Parliament
BBC Alba
BBCi Stream 4 0
BBCi Stream 4 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 4 DAB
BBC Radio 4 LW
BBC Radio Scotland AM
BBC Radio Wales FM
BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Asian Network
BBC World Service UK
BBC Radio Cymru
BBC 1Xtra
BBC 6 Music
BBC Radio 7
BBC Radio nan Gaidheal
BBC London 94.9 FM

12441 V 27.5 2/3

BBC Stream 3 0
BBC Stream 3 1
BBC Stream 3 2
BBC Stream 3 3
BBC Stream 3 4
BBC Stream 3 5
BBC Stream 3 6


Happy viewing !!!

[watty]

Additional Sky Digibox Channels Points

• There is no such thing as a FTA (Free To Air) card. FTA channels can be received free without any card. If you cancel Sky PayTV you will still get all the free channels. Unlike Cable TV, you do own the set box from day1.
  
• A "Freesat from Sky" card = FTV (Free To View) card is a once off £21. It is only supplied by Sky to a UK/N.I. postcode address. It only adds C4, Five, Five Live and Five US and Sky3. The FTV card ONLY works in a Sky box unless you are very expert. A cancelled UK subscription card (not a cancelled card) works as a FTV card.
  
• An Expired Irish card should work for Sky3, but hides all the ITV and most of the BBC.
  
• You will get all BBC & ITV & C4. There are 200+ channels & 70+ radio. About 45 decent TV and 40 decent radio.
  
• NO Irish TV. Use an Aerial for them.

To get UK Program guide with missing UK free Channels

Go Sky News.
Press Interactive.
Wait till it loads
Pull out card and DO NOT REINSERT ANYTHING.
Press backup.
Browse channels. This is what you have for free.

Re-insert card to get back Pay TV.
Alternatively try unpluging box at mains and reconnecting without viewing card.
C4 & Five is missing from EPG without FTV card (see Other Channels Tuning, they do work) but More4 and E4 are on EPG.
This also shows what you would get without a subscription.
It's worth setting up Favorites in Setup and pressing Blue button after Program Guide to lose all the channels you don't get free.

[Eternal Wonderer]

The following channels are now all available via satellite FTA (Free To Air), meaning no card is required, just tune it in and you can watch away. (The many UK regional variations are also available and are found generally on the same frequencies as the Irish versions).

Channel Name	Frequency	Polarisation	Symbol Rate	F.E.C.
-
BBC ONE NI	10.773	H	22000	5/6
BBC TWO NI	10.803	H	22000	2/3
BBC THREE	10.773	H	22000	5/6
BBC FOUR	10.773	H	22000	5/6
BBC HD	10.847	H	22000	5.6
-
UTV	10.906	V	22000	5/6
ITV 2	10.758	V	22000	5/6
ITV 2+1	10.891	H	22000	5/6
ITV 3	10.906	V	22000	5/6
ITV 3+1	10.906	V	22000	5/6
ITV 4	10.758	V	22000	5/6
ITV 4+1	10.832	H	22000	5/6
ITV HD (see * below)	11.428	H	27500	2/3
-
Channel 4	10.714	H	22000	5/6
Channel 4 +1	10.729	V	22000	5/6
Channel 4 HD (see below)	11.798	H	29500	3/4
E4	10.729	V	22000	5/6
E4 +1	10.729	V	22000	5/6
More 4	10.729	V	22000	5/6
More 4 +1	10.714	H	22000	5/6
Film 4	10.714	H	22000	5/6
Film 4 +1	10.714	H	22000	5/6
-
FIVE	10.773	H	22000	5/6
FIVE USA (see below)	10.964	H	22000	5/6
FIVE USA +1 (see below)	10.964	H	22000	5/6
FIVER (see below	10.964	H	22000	5/6
FIVER +1(see below)	10.964	H	22000	5/6

Channels in bold cannot currently be viewed FTA and require a subscription or FTV viewing card, but there is a strong chance that they will become FTA in the future, when suitable space is found on the Astra 2D transponder. Their frequencies will almost certainly change so if and when they do become available for FTA viewing, their details can easily be amended on the table for all to easily find and the bold status will be removed so you will know when the frequency provided is for a working FTA version of the channel.

The FTV channels are listed here anyway for reference and also for people who are using a CAM and FTV card to watch so they can tune them in also. Note that FIVE USA and FIVER cannot be viewed on an Irish Sky card and will only work on a UK subscription or FTV card.

* For most STB's, ITV HD requires you to either tune in another channel and edit its details, (either on the STB itself or via a PC), in order to view or you can download a channel list for your STB, (again, depending on the STB's manufacturer), and load it this way by connecting your STB to your PC.

ITV HD is currently an interactive application broadcast on Eurobird 28.5, but may launch at some point in the future as a full channel that can be tuned in normally like the rest of the channels on the list. This will only happen when ITV have enough content.