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FREESAT is 5 years old today!

  • 06-05-2013 10:29AM
    #1
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,968 ✭✭✭✭


    On this day in 2008 the joint venture between BBC and ITV to provide an alternative to Freeview which covered only 70% of the UK population when started. The most recent numbers suggest about 3.2 million Freesat EPG units sold so far in about 1.7 million homes and one imagines that number will climb as the income squeeze continues for so many and muiltroom viewing increases.

    Freesat works perfectly in Ireland of course with a bog standard "sky type" 60 cm dish (maybe 80 cm needed in the far north west).

    Do you have freesat? 114 votes

    yes
    0% 0 votes
    no
    89% 102 votes
    I'm thinking of switching to freesat
    10% 12 votes


«13

Comments

  • #2
    Ronnie Raygun
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,351 ✭✭✭Ronnie Raygun


    I wonder how many who hit the "yes" button will actually have epg-less FTA sat. boxes or combis?


  • #3
    excollier
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,576 ✭✭✭excollier


    A 60cm dish works well for Freesat in Donegal, especially since the new satellite went up.
    Personally, I am getting faultless reception from a TD88 with 28.2e on a 12 deg offset (16e on centre)
    Freesat is the best!!


  • #4
    Worple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 25 ✭Worple


    Ronnie Raygun wrote: »
    I wonder how many who hit the "yes" button will actually have epg-less FTA sat. boxes or combis?

    Yer right there Ronnie, confusion abounds, brought on by lots of false and misleading info during the DSO,

    I got stung by this https://www.freesat.ie/product-list.php?pg1-cid65.html

    Freesat me arse


  • #5
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Ronnie Raygun wrote: »
    I wonder how many who hit the "yes" button will actually have epg-less FTA sat. boxes or combis?

    No idea what that means. I have a box I bought around four years ago in Belfast; I think I was advised to give the address of Buckingham Palace in setting it up by the kindly staff in that area with its red-white-and-blue pavements, so I did.


  • #6
    Worple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 25 ✭Worple


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    No idea what that means. I have a box I bought around four years ago in Belfast; I think I was advised to give the address of Buckingham Palace in setting it up by the kindly staff in that area with its red-white-and-blue pavements, so I did.

    Maybe a ' don't know' should be added to the poll for the ignorant


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  • #7
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,968 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    If the EPG has the Freesat logo its Freesat!

    FreesatLogo460.jpg


  • #8
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Dunno what an EPG is (I'm allergic to acronyms, have been from a child) but the box has a Freesat logo, like that but in monochrome. Must be older http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/tongue.png (that was meant to be a sticky-out-tongue emoticon, dragged in from the side, but instead is a URL).


  • #9
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    Electronic Programme Guide.

    If you entered a postcode, it's a Freesat box. For UK users, entering their postcode means the box automatically finds the right regional variants of the PSB channels. Most users in ROI are happy with the London versions.


  • #10
    St Senan
    Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 3,591 Mod ✭✭✭✭St Senan


    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55948432
    Them 5 years flew by. I haven't supplied a generic FTA box since then.


  • #11
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    When I bought mine you couldn't legally buy them in Ireland - first time I was in Norn for decades. After that I went across a few times to the Outlet in Newry, when it was good value; haven't been back for ages now though. Must take a drive up and have a look at Carrig-a-Rede some day.


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  • #12
    Sam Russell
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 20,712 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sam Russell


    Originally got a Lidl comag receiver but replaced it with a Humax Foxsat HDR. Never looked back. Recently upgraded the 340MB drive to a 1 TB.


  • #13
    im invisible
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,372 ✭✭✭im invisible


    +1 to the 'dont know/ care' column, its satellite, its free...


  • #14
    excollier
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,576 ✭✭✭excollier


    Sam Russell wrote: »
    Originally got a Lidl comag receiver but replaced it with a Humax Foxsat HDR. Never looked back. Recently upgraded the 340MB drive to a 1 TB.
    Did you install Raydon's custom firmware too? A brilliant, simple upgrade.


  • #15
    Sam Russell
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 20,712 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sam Russell


    excollier wrote: »
    Did you install Raydon's custom firmware too? A brilliant, simple upgrade.

    No, but I would like to but have not the courage.

    I would like Freesat to allow a setting so that HD channels can be the default for BBC, ITV and Ch4. It is ridiculous that they do not do this.

    I]We do get it all for free so I do not want to complain![/I


  • #16
    LordSutch
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,069 ✭✭✭✭LordSutch


    mike65 wrote: »
    FREESAT is 5 years old today!

    Shame, FREE TO AIR (FTA) isnt an option in the poll too . . .

    I have FTA which is similar to Freesat, they both have their + and - points.


  • #17
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,968 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Well its Freesats anniversary not Free to Air which is as old as satellite :)


  • #18
    Muilleann
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 55 ✭✭Muilleann


    Used to have Free to Air satellite dish which we loved.

    Could get ITV & BBC straight from London and no UTV or BBC Norn Ireland thank you!

    Problem was we kept "losing" channels which was a pain.

    So got rid and got basic SKY package instead.

    Would still prefer Free to Air though.....if it worked!


  • #19
    Macy0161
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,990 ✭✭✭Macy0161


    Currently watching on an early freesat sd receiver as it happens. We've one combi and two freesat receivers in the house.


  • #20
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    Muilleann wrote: »
    . . . Would still prefer Free to Air though.....if it worked!

    It works just fine: surely it's not too much to ask that you'd learn how to retune your own receiver when channels change frequency?

    The ones that move around often could be deleted & forgotten about anyway, for all the good they are.


  • #21
    Schorpio
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Schorpio


    Muilleann wrote: »
    Used to have Free to Air satellite dish which we loved.

    Could get ITV & BBC straight from London and no UTV or BBC Norn Ireland thank you!

    Problem was we kept "losing" channels which was a pain.

    So got rid and got basic SKY package instead.

    Would still prefer Free to Air though.....if it worked!

    Yet another example of someone mixing up FTA with freesat. Freesat boxes never lose their channels, and there's no need to retune. It works just like Sky, except it's free. You had FTA (free to air) which is not freesat. FTA operates on generic boxes, and requires retuning and setting up of customised channel lists.


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  • #22
    Peter Rhea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    Where do you see a mix-up? Muilleann doesn't mention Freesat.

    Thread like this was always destined to fail, anyway.


  • #23
    Chrome Crusader
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3 ✭Chrome Crusader


    Stupid thread in the absence of any context. Lets all celebrate a UK tv initiative for some reason.


  • #24
    Play To Kill
    Closed Accounts Posts: 485 ✭✭Play To Kill


    Chrome Crusader wrote: »
    Stupid thread in the absence of any context. Lets all celebrate a UK tv initiative for some reason.

    Your first post on boards seems a bit agressive? I must have missed the celebrations in the thread!! It's hardly out of place in the satellite forum anyway to mention that Freesat has been going 5 years today is it?


  • #25
    snaps
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,138 ✭✭✭snaps


    Chrome Crusader wrote: »
    Stupid thread in the absence of any context. Lets all celebrate a UK tv initiative for some reason.

    and why not celebrate it? If your happy with 6 or so free channels, or want to pay hundreds of euro a year for channels then that's fine. Me? I'm glad we have all these free UK channels that has output which outshines a lot of the imported tripe broadcast by our media producers.


  • #26
    Schorpio
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Schorpio


    Peter Rhea wrote: »
    Where do you see a mix-up? Muilleann doesn't mention Freesat.

    Thread like this was always destined to fail, anyway.

    Since she/he finished with 'Would still prefer Free to Air though.....if it worked!', it would seem that the poster doesn't know the difference between FTA, and freesat - which is what this thread is supposed to be about. Hence, the mix-up.

    Anyway, I think we should celebrate freesat. It's a great system which we are pretty fortunate to get in the country. If only it had a bit more publicity in this country, I think it would have seriously taken off here rather than the bit-by-bit penetration it currently enjoys. I understand that any official freesat publicity was/is never going to happen, but it's a shame nonetheless.


  • #27
    Ronnie Raygun
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,351 ✭✭✭Ronnie Raygun


    OP could have done with a bit more background, e.g. could have mentioned the role Freesat must have played in getting some of these channels FTA in the 1st place.


  • #28
    Trevord
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 958 ✭✭✭Trevord


    Sam Russell wrote: »
    Originally got a Lidl comag receiver but replaced it with a Humax Foxsat HDR. Never looked back. Recently upgraded the 340MB drive to a 1 TB.

    Me too.

    The Lidl Comag box still gets a bit of use as a means of aligning a dish. The signal beeper feature is handy if you don't own a proper sat finder.

    Can't believe that Freesat is 5 years old already. It's a fantastic service.

    Still get people asking me if it's legal.

    Clearly, Sky have done a great job in marketing themselves as owners of all things satellite in this country.


  • #29
    Willby
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 137 ✭✭Willby


    Sam Russell wrote: »
    No, but I would like to but have not the courage.

    I would like Freesat to allow a setting so that HD channels can be the default for BBC, ITV and Ch4. It is ridiculous that they do not do this.

    I]We do get it all for free so I do not want to complain![/I

    Sam, I installed it a few weeks ago and I am a pensioner. I had absolutely no problems whatsoever with the installation.


  • #30
    excollier
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,576 ✭✭✭excollier


    Trevord wrote: »


    Clearly, Sky have done a great job in marketing themselves as owners of all things satellite in this country.

    Which is a real shame, people could save a fortune if Freesat were higher profile.
    It's all down to money, and we know who has most of that.


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  • #31
    Schorpio
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Schorpio


    excollier wrote: »
    Which is a real shame, people could save a fortune if Freesat were higher profile.
    It's all down to money, and we know who has most of that.

    It's partly that, but it's also to do with the fact that the owners of freesat (BBC and ITV) don't care about the Irish market. We don't pay them a license fee and their ads aren't targeted towards us. Hence they don't aim or market the service in Ireland. People aren't aware of it, and as you said, satellite tv = Sky in this country (at least in the minds of a lot of people).


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