FreeSat TV service goes live across the UK

We knew it was coming, and after waiting for quite some time for FreeSat to go from concept to reality, television viewers across the UK can finally indulge. If you'll recall, a recent survey found that just 5-percent of Europe's HDTV owners actually bothered to tune into HD programming, but now that number is likely to change. Effective today, 98-percent of the UK can fork out a one-time fee of £49 ($96) to £120 ($234) in order to acquire a FreeSat set-top-box, and after an £80 ($156) installation, users will have subscription-free access to BBC HD, ITV HD (coming soon), Channel 4's digital service and around 70 other TV / radio channels. Better still, that number is slated to rise to 200 before the year's end, and unsurprisingly, the launch is expected to boost available high-def offerings in the region. Anyone across the pond have their equipment set up already? How's the service?

[Thanks, Ivan]

[w00t @ May 6th 2008 10:17AM]

How does this compare with Sky freesat?

[PR @ May 6th 2008 10:22AM]

Apparently Freesat (not from Sky) has less channels however most of those 200 extra channels on Freesat on Sky are the usual drivel anyway.

I'm a SkyHD subscriber and I'd probably be more annoyed about ITV HD being Freesat only if ITV made shows worth watching.

[Enzei @ May 6th 2008 10:23AM]

Well for a start its free forever after the one off payment (no the yearly license fee doesn't count as you have to pay that even if u have sky).

ITV HD will be exclusive to Freesat for a start =]

[Michael Williams @ May 6th 2008 10:25AM]

This has HD channels like BBC and ITV and has also been thought out more.

[w00t @ May 6th 2008 10:55AM]

Hehe I don't pay the license at the moment because I have IPTV and it totally stumped both their call centre and inspection guy :)

No antenna, no reciever (I watch in VLC)

[haritori @ May 6th 2008 1:50PM]

@woot

If you have a PC and internet connection you are required to pay!regardless of IPTV you will have a hefty back pay dude id just pay if i were you your facing £1000 fine.

[E71 @ May 8th 2008 12:46AM]

LOL. Ah limeys, years behind us in HD...

Have fun with your one subscription-free HD channel.

[productsilike @ May 6th 2008 10:20AM]

My new Bravia has built in HDTV digital tunner... can I not get these channels through that?

[Enzei @ May 6th 2008 10:22AM]

That "Digital TV tuner" is simply a fancy name for Freeview built in.

You need a satellite dish (From anywhere) for this and an HDTV Decoder box from them.

[Cliff @ May 7th 2008 9:28AM]

Unfortunately even though the w3000 and x3000/3500 have built in HD tuners you will only be able to access HD broadcasts through your aerial (no HD content through this means as of yet) not via the freesat service, i.e. you will still need a set-top box.
Hope this helps.

[b0b @ May 6th 2008 10:26AM]

public boolean letsSee() {
return "Sky Freesat" == "Freesat";
}

[rickane58 @ May 6th 2008 7:00PM]

error, == used to compare string, .equals expected

[Charlie Mason @ May 6th 2008 10:31AM]

Most of it is not new to be honest. Most of the high profile channels on it were already free to air and could be picked up by most satalite set top boxes. For instance Freesat customers will use the same signal that Sky customers use when they tune to one of the BBC Channels.

What is new is the EPG which freesat is transmitting and more importantly the marketing and focus this will put on free to air satellite in the UK. Hopefully like Freeview (the digital terrestrial equivalent) it will prove to be very popular and the selection of good quality channels will increase over time.

Its also going to be the best place for channels to expand their HD offerings as Freeview is limited to 4 HD channels only after digital switch over. ITV has said ITV HD will be exclusively on Freesat.

Lets hope MythTV finds a way to use Freesats new EPG and interactive services since they arn't encrypted.

[Owen @ May 6th 2008 10:40AM]

> Lets hope MythTV finds a way to use Freesats new EPG and interactive services since they arn't encrypted.

Amen to that. And to hardware manufactures wising up to the market for HD tuners MythTV will create. Open up!

[GeekGirl @ May 6th 2008 10:35AM]

One geek across the pond thinks that ITV, BBC et al are far too behind to bother forking out that much dosh for, HD or no. If I get anything in HD it has to be new stuff, not the same old 80s Brat Pack movie in "all new" high-def!! I say get with the times folks. We don't pay our license fees for nothing ya know?Actually, at the moment, we pretty much do, unless BBC can get the iPlayer to work for more than five minutes at a time.

[Sandy @ May 6th 2008 5:57PM]

I've never had a problem with iplayer. Also, BBC HD will only show the HD shows that BBC make. So alot of their recent ones.

[Alex R @ May 6th 2008 1:01PM]

iPlayer works fine for me every time I use it..and that's pretty much everyday.

Are you at university? If so, I blame that. Resnet, and the likes, are pretty crappy most of the time.

[Alex @ May 6th 2008 10:54AM]

It appears ITV HD is going to be a red button application - so if the programme you're watching on SD is also available in HD you need to fire up an interactive app. It won't be a standalone HD or combi SD/HD channel. It's also a different encoding format so you can't pick it up on your existing Sky HD box.

I'll stick with my Sky HD ta - even more so now that FX has launched their HD channel. As for the SD stuff, is there enough extra content over Freeview to really tempt people? Personally I'd say no, but each to their own..

[mark @ May 6th 2008 10:54AM]

Anyone know if getting a bog standard satellite dish off ebay and then running it into a pci DVB-S tv tuner card would work?

Would be a much cheaper option for peeps with HTPC's

[Charlies Mason @ May 6th 2008 11:10AM]

Sort of. All the Freesat channels are Free to Air so you will pick up the channels. But the EPG is what makes it Freesat, so unitll an open source group like XMLTV create a ripper for their EPG you won't get the EPG data.

ITV HD is exclusive not because its encrypted but they are using an unusual encoding which is part of the Freesat spec but not Skys so the sky boxes can't decode it. There have been reports of people from the digitalspy.co.uk forums picking up the ITV HD Test Signal with a computer because the app they are using supports the format ITV HD is using. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a95312/confirmed-itv-hd-is-freesat-exclusive.html

I imagine FFMPEG would support it so hopefully Myth TV would will eventually.

[Bill @ May 6th 2008 11:24AM]

unfortunately no. There is 'special software' on the recievers for the epg.

Of course , almost all of these channels were already free on satelite before. Its just those exclusive channels like bbchd and itv hd that cannot be seen without the official freesat boxes.

[Ldbjr @ May 6th 2008 10:59AM]

There was a post here about a week ago re: satTV and the discussion trended into the area of FTA sat receivers (like Viewsat, Coolsat, etc.) Does anyone know if you can receive SkyTV UK programming on the east coast of the US using one of these receivers?

[Charlies Mason @ May 6th 2008 11:14AM]

Its unlikely but may be with a massive dish. Most of the good Free to Air channels (like the BBC ones) are on Astra 2D which has a deliberately small footprint so unless you are in the UK or Ireland (or northern France) you need a big dish to receive the signal. That's to get around the rights issues Free to Air satellite creates.

You can get maps of the satellite foot prints online, complete with the dish size needed.

[L.Rawlins @ May 6th 2008 11:01AM]

It's crucual to note that the channel line-up for Freeview and Freesat ARE NOT like-for-like. Current licensing agreements have rendered some of the Freeview line-up missing from Freesats initial offering.

All three 'Five' channels are currently MIA for example.

[shapey @ May 6th 2008 11:02AM]

i wonder if the ps3 playTV box will be able to pick freesat up using a sky dish seeing as the playTV tuners are HD ready...?

[sam @ May 6th 2008 11:24AM]

charles manson, please could you give me a link to those maps, i'd like to get HD sports channels from europe and dont know what size dish i'd need, i live in north west england.

[jeicrash @ May 6th 2008 11:29AM]

Before long freesat co. will force cable to follow, after that it will all be available online for free, Most large companies already offer many of their shows free online. I'm just waiting for the day when miro and the rest offer something worth watching.

Still waiting for the day when all internet and cable/sat is free here in the US, but I won't hold my breath.

[justin @ May 6th 2008 11:37AM]

As an American citizen...this depresses me.
BBC...just give me access to your iPlayer.
Your content on BBC America just isn't enough.
GIVE ME FRENCH AND SAUNDERS DAMN YOU!

I also like how you can say s*** and not f*** on the BBC. Real classy, London.

[w00t @ May 6th 2008 11:49AM]

They say fuck on BBC just really rarely, enhances the effect :)

[w00t @ May 6th 2008 11:49AM]

They say fuck on BBC just really rarely, enhances the effect :)

[AndyB @ May 6th 2008 12:04PM]

> As an American citizen...
> ...just give me access to your iPlayer.

We have to pay a licence fee to watch, how about they *SELL* you access?

[ssuk @ May 6th 2008 12:06PM]

No. Since us UK'ers pay TV Licensing to get that BBC content.

[Maff @ May 7th 2008 3:11AM]

typical American, thinks everything in the UK is based in London, never mind the other 3 capitals of the 3 other countries in the UK or the other major cities, or the major differences in accents and ways of life, no, it's all about London isn't it?
bet you also think we sit around in our bowler hats drinking tea and talking like an upper class snob (less than 1% of the population) or a 1920's cockney (0% of the population)

[ITRanger @ May 6th 2008 12:04PM]

I have Virgin's HD box and a HD tv, but I can honestly say that I am no longer bothered as much by these HD channels.

It was an annoyance that I had to physically change the definition of the tv on the remote just to watch HD, then back again for SD. I can't understand why it doesn't do it automatically by detection.

However, I now can't even change to HD definition, because the tv keeps reverting back to SD! Probably something with the HDMI connector or a faulty tv :-(.

At the moment I am not bothered enough to investigate this since there is effectively only the BBC HD channel at the moment, and only a few movies and the rest videos.

[Tom @ May 6th 2008 12:13PM]

Er, what? You're definitely doing something wrong. You should be setting the resolution in the config of the V+ box, which will then upscale any non-HD stuff to that resolution. You don't need to be changing the resolution of your TV at all.

[ITRanger @ May 7th 2008 4:00AM]

Sorry! You are correct, the remote in question was for the V+ box. It's the same config for getting widescreen etc. However, I'm intesrested in your upscaling comment. The Virgin technician mentioned none of that. Only that I would have to go through config everytime I wanted HD.

Maybe my V+ box is old?

[ssuk @ May 6th 2008 12:08PM]

Hope this puts pressure on Sky to lower the cost of it's HD box and subscription to compete. There's very little that broadcasts in HD to justify the cost they want us to pay.

[srw985 @ May 6th 2008 12:13PM]

Freesat = Sky for gypsies

Low rank me all you want, it IS the truth!

[The Monk @ May 7th 2008 4:44AM]

You are right on the money matey... If you want HD, get sky. What are you really going to get on FreeSat??

On sky, loads of Sport, Films, dramas, Nature in HD. I pay my money to sky, ok I aint happy with the total cost, but as the old saying goes...

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!

Some people need to take a reality check on life..

[sam @ May 6th 2008 12:23PM]

lol, people who cant afford to pay £25/month min + £10 for HD channels + SkyHD box are gypsies??

lots of the hd channels on sky are the sky sports channels which you have to pay more on top. So basically sky forces you to buy certain packages just to get the 1 channel you want in HD which is a joke. Virtually all premiership football on skyhd is on skyhd1 but they dont let you just buy that!

[mattclarkie @ May 6th 2008 12:56PM]

I'll stick with my SkyHD, and hopefully ITVHD will realise that Freesat only is a mistake, not that they ever have anything to watch, and the HD channel isn't even a full channel.

[Alex Yee @ May 6th 2008 1:56PM]

Doubt my hosue will be able to get it. We couldn't eve get Sky let alone Freeview. That's why we're with Virgin Media (cable)

[Haritori @ May 6th 2008 1:58PM]

Yeah and Gypsies are quite possibly more rich than you or me, (well in the uK at least). you know there are real gypsies and what makes them OK to offend?

[Haritori @ May 6th 2008 1:59PM]

Yeah and Gypsies are quite possibly more rich than you or me, (well in the uK at least). you know there are real gypsies and what makes them OK to offend?

[Haritori @ May 6th 2008 2:00PM]

that prev was for : srw985

[menz83 @ May 6th 2008 2:35PM]

Picked up a Humax Foxsat HD box today. Everything working great with a ttal of 76 channels. BBC HD appears to be the only HD channel so far but you can manual tune for all FTA channels and get the craptastic Luxe TV HD.

In total, I can tune into 460 FTA channels. Most arent worth watching and some are encrypted, but when its all free, I have no complaints at all!

[TBird1 @ May 6th 2008 2:38PM]

Would love to move from Sky+ HD to FreeSat - however I couldn't live without my Sky+ recorder !! Any news of a Sk+/TiVo style recorder for the new Freesat service in the UK ?

[Darren @ May 6th 2008 6:21PM]

I work for comet (uks biggest electrical store iirc) and its basically a solid freeview service, receiving bbc hd. the quality is amazing for free - im not complaing. we had it delivered last thursday and tried it out on our sky satalite and it works perfectly.

deffinatly worth it.

[Starkiller @ May 6th 2008 7:42PM]

Do you mean that particular store or as a retail chain?

If you're are referring to the chain then you are close, but actually Currys is bigger than Comet, compared to either just Currys or combined with the high street version Currys.digital.

That also is true for the parent companies as a whole, Kesa Electricals (Comet) is smaller than DSG International plc (Currys)

[Yeti @ May 7th 2008 8:36AM]

BBC, HTV & Channel 4 ..... i never watch those channels