Freeview for numpties please
Author
Discussion

farmer

Original Poster:

1,287 posts

304 months

Wednesday 16th February 2005
quotequote all
Simple question , If I buy a second hand satalite dish and digibox . am I right in thinking I can set it up to recieve all the free channels (BBC etc)without having to sign contracts and pay subscriptions etc, I don't want Expensive Cr@p, just got kids pestering for Freeview which is not very good in this area

cheers

meeja

8,290 posts

278 months

Wednesday 16th February 2005
quotequote all
You will need a viewing card to slot into the reciever.

Many of the channels that are actually freeview, will still require a card in the machine to make them viewable.

I'm sure *somewhere* that freeview cards must be available.

Ah. Edited to add:

www.bbc.co.uk/digital/howtoget.shtml#satellite

>> Edited by meeja on Wednesday 16th February 18:56

sjg

7,677 posts

295 months

Wednesday 16th February 2005
quotequote all
The BBC's stuff is free-to-air, so doesn't need a viewing card. However, the ITV ones (and I believe stuff like C4) may not be subscription but are encrypted. If you're a former Sky subscriber, try your old card as it's likely to work (if it's not too old) for all the free-to-view channels.

If it doesn't, or you don't have a card, you can apparently get one for £20 from Sky - www.freesatfromsky.com. If you don't have any equipment and don't fancy installing it yourself, they can provide a dish and box (with that card) for £150.

>> Edited by sjg on Wednesday 16th February 19:31

hugoagogo

23,437 posts

263 months

Wednesday 16th February 2005
quotequote all
excellent, this also means euro-exiles like me can get all the uk tv (bbc is available without a card) in all it's glory(!) for only 20 quid

buy an old digibox, get your granny to phone up for a card, bingo!

_Dobbo_

14,619 posts

278 months

Wednesday 16th February 2005
quotequote all
I wouldn't fancy trying to install the satellite though - you need to know what bit of the sky to point it at!

hugoagogo

23,437 posts

263 months

Wednesday 16th February 2005
quotequote all
i did it myself but you can find a bloke to do that, ask your local irish pub that has sky for football

farmer

Original Poster:

1,287 posts

304 months

Thursday 17th February 2005
quotequote all
looks like I can do it legit for 20 quid plus equipment . cheers for the links and info

malman

2,258 posts

289 months

Thursday 17th February 2005
quotequote all
_Dobbo_ said:
I wouldn't fancy trying to install the satellite though - you need to know what bit of the sky to point it at!



Waggle it about (the dish that is) until you get a picture. How difficult can it be

jmorgan

36,010 posts

314 months

Thursday 17th February 2005
quotequote all
If you are playing with dishes, get your elevation right and Bob's your mothers brother. Easy to find the right part of the sky with no compass and a dish on next door.

Edited to add, make sure you can "see" the sat before you spend money on it.

>> Edited by jmorgan on Thursday 17th February 13:15

vex

5,259 posts

276 months

Friday 18th February 2005
quotequote all
malman said:

_Dobbo_ said:
I wouldn't fancy trying to install the satellite though - you need to know what bit of the sky to point it at!




Waggle it about (the dish that is) until you get a picture. How difficult can it be


That used to be true for analogue satellite TV systems, it is a little harder with digital systems as (iirc) brand new systems need a signal before they will activate fully.

Sky are the people you need to contact for a card.

WRT making sure you can 'see' the satellite, avoid looking through trees, fine in the winter, crap in the summer as the leaves are out and water blocks the signal!

jacko lah

3,297 posts

279 months

Friday 18th February 2005
quotequote all
farmer said:

just got kids pestering for Freeview


What do they want to watch : CEEBEEBIES ??? FFS?

I've told mine that they can save up to buy a set top box, themselves, but that I will still limit their viewing time as now, and NO they can not have a telly in their room.

Or a mobile phone
Or access to the internet unless it's for homework and only then if they have been to the library and got out all the books on the subject.

My own parents would not allow us to watch ITV as 'it has adverts' and when C4 was launched my dad tried to pretend we could not get it. They chilled out recently and seem to have a 1000 channel digital plus plus pay through the nose system. But then IF you live in Wales You might want to watch ENGLISH BBC.

simpo two

92,829 posts

295 months

Friday 18th February 2005
quotequote all
_Dobbo_ said:
I wouldn't fancy trying to install the satellite though - you need to know what bit of the sky to point it at!

You mean to fire it into... I think the propellant costs would be prohibitive.

farmer

Original Poster:

1,287 posts

304 months

Sunday 20th February 2005
quotequote all
jacko lah said:

farmer said:

just got kids pestering for Freeview



What do they want to watch : CEEBEEBIES ??? FFS?

I've told mine that they can save up to buy a set top box, themselves, but that I will still limit their viewing time as now, and NO they can not have a telly in their room.

Or a mobile phone
Or access to the internet unless it's for homework and only then if they have been to the library and got out all the books on the subject.

My own parents would not allow us to watch ITV as 'it has adverts' and when C4 was launched my dad tried to pretend we could not get it. They chilled out recently and seem to have a 1000 channel digital plus plus pay through the nose system. But then IF you live in Wales You might want to watch ENGLISH BBC.



bah humbug

ps whats a "Library"?

ThatPhilBrettGuy

11,810 posts

270 months

Sunday 20th February 2005
quotequote all
simpo two said:

_Dobbo_ said:
I wouldn't fancy trying to install the satellite though - you need to know what bit of the sky to point it at!


You mean to fire it into... I think the propellant costs would be prohibitive.

Burns the lawn too

vex

5,259 posts

276 months

Monday 21st February 2005
quotequote all
I fancied a job as a satellite tv installer and service engineer.

But it was the travelling that put me off

Oh, and the ugly uniform