freeview

moonfish

Hey I know absolutly nothing about satellites but i was just wonder can i use a sky dish which was installed 2 years ago for recieving free to air tv if i get the reciever and would i have to realign it.really trying to cut down on bills but need a little more than what is being offered by saorview

LordSutch

Yes is the short answer!

LordSutch

Now for the long answer

OK, lets start with terminology. Freeview is broadcast across the UK and may be picked up here (east coast & border areas) via a roof top aerial, signal strength in the Republic is patchy. Free To Air is probably what you want, and the chances are that the old Sky dish already installed will work for you, so all you now need is a box! but then there's Freesat which is a branded FTA box licensed by the BBC (You must provide a UK postcode), more structured than FTA with a 7 day EPG, but with less flexability in channel selection. Depending on what age your TV is you may or maynot need a 'combo box' a combo box receives the signal from your dish (UK channels) & combines these channels with your Irish channels which you will receive seperately from a roof (or loft) aerial, the Irish signal is called Saorview which is the Irish equivalent of Freeview, with seven or eight Irish TV channels + Irish radio channels. If your TV is brand spanking new then it may already have a Saorview receiver built in? in which case you will just need to buy a cheap UK FTA box, and if your TV is not Saorview equipt, then a combo box may be the way to go (combining UK & Irish channels) all in one STB (Set top Box). Alternatively just get yourself a cheap UK box, connect it to the dish & you will instantly have all the UK stations, no monthly charge ever again, one draw back with most FTA boxes is that the UK stations will only have a now & next EPG (electronic programme guide), wheras the BBCs Freesat box will give you a 7 day EPG )

Chances are you want a combo box (FTA + Saorview), which means you may want to have a read through the various reviews on boards.ie, see the Ferguson Ariva 120 bargain alert thread (for example), then see all the other Satellite box reviews, see terrestrial threads too . . . . . . .

Good luck.

moonfish

hey lordsutch thanks for taking time out to reply.. i will difinetly be going done that route.One other question the house im in seems to be over run with cable ive three running from the dish and a load going through the attic is there anything i could get to help trace these cables in the house like a conductivity tester or similiar

LordSutch

Three cables coming off the dish means that its all ready for three Set top boxes connected to three TVs (or Radios)! as regards tracing cables in the attic, well you can start by tracing colours, are the three cables from the dish brown, white, or black? then take it from there. I don't know about conductivity testers.

Peter Rhea

moonfish wrote: »

One other question the house im in seems to be over run with cable ive three running from the dish and a load going through the attic is there anything i could get to help trace these cables in the house like a conductivity tester or similiar

If these are coaxial cables, they're probably part of a tv distribution system & should all radiate from 1 point, maybe a distribution amplifier.
It should be relatively easy to see which cable(s) go to which room & in the case of multiple cables to a room, they may be labeled (at least on the distribution box outputs).

moonfish

yeah i have three coming off the dish but before i was in house there was sky and upc so in my living room there is a no of cables i just want an easy way of identify which is the one of the dish probably just trial and error so

moonfish

would the dish have to point in the same direction as sky

moonfish

oh yeah all the cables are white

Peter Rhea

moonfish wrote: »

yeah i have three coming off the dish but before i was in house there was sky and upc so in my living room there is a no of cables i just want an easy way of identify which is the one of the dish probably just trial and error so

There may be 2 cables from the dish for Sky+ in the main viewing room. Twin satellite tuners are necessary for decent recording flexibility; you could use these cables with a non-Sky twin-tuner box.

moonfish wrote: »

would the dish have to point in the same direction as sky

Yes

moonfish

cheers peter

Hotblack Desiato

There's no need to buy a new receiver to get free-to-air satellite TV, if you have (or can buy for about €20) a secondhand Sky box.