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Humax's 320GB Freesat+ Foxsat-HDR now on sale
Humax told us that its awfully cute 320GB Freesat+ Foxsat-HDR would be on sale this month, and sure enough, it's filtering into quality retailers across the UK. According to T3, users looking for "free" high-def via Freesat+ can waltz on into John Lewis, Comet, Argos or Dixons in order to trade £299 for the box you see pictured above. From there, you'll also need to grab a dish, an HDTV and an installer, but those are just details, right?
Humax announces 320GB Freesat+ Foxsat-HDR for UK market
Humax's FOXSAT-HD FreeSat receiver was perfectly fine for those with no need for timeshifting, but for the throngs of others who just can't live without some sort of DVR functionality, your day has finally come. The aforementioned company has today launched its Freesat+ Foxsat-HDR, which packs two FreeSat HD digital TV tuners (which can also access analog channels), support for radio / interactive channels, a 320GB hard drive for storing up to 80 hours of HD material or 200 hours of SD content and an HDMI port to boot. The downright sexy set-top-box also includes Dolby Digital audio output, two SCART sockets, a bundled remote, radio recording, split recording and the ability to "live pause" with instant rewind. Get ready to grab yours next month for £299 ($487).[Via Digital Spy]
FreeSat sells 100,000 boxes -- can we get some more HD content now?
Alright -- what's a bloke got to do to get some more HD? Clearly the demand is growing, as evidenced by the 100,000th FreeSat box being gleefully picked up and used to catch a meager amount of free HDTV material. Since launching just five months ago, the free-to-air satellite service has captivated quite a few citizens, though we're left wondering what it will really take to get more content providers to push their material on the service. 500,000 subs? A million?
Panasonic's FreeSat-tuning VIERA TH-46PZ81B gets reviewed
Back in May, we passed along a look at one of Panasonic's earliest FreeSat-enabled VIERAs. Fast forward a few months, and here we are staring down the barrel of a full-fledged review. Pocket-lint recently got ahold of Panny's 46-inch TH-46PZ81B, a 1080p plasma with a built-in FreeSat tuner. Obviously, the bulk of the review focused on how well that latter inclusion performed, and we're happy to share that it did well. Images from FreeSat HD sources were dubbed "sharp with superb detail," and Blu-ray flicks were also a treat to watch. The biggest downer in the whole writeup wasn't about the set at all -- the reviewer bemoaned the fact that so little HD content was available through FreeSat, and given just how excellent it looked, he was left yearning for more. Couldn't agree with you more, brother.
Humax FOXSAT-HD Freesat receiver gets reviewed
Earlier this summer, CNET's UK branch was able to get a few precious moments of hands-on time with the high-end Humax FOXSAT-HD set-top, and now, the good lads over at Pocket-lint are following up with a full-blown review. The HDD-less receiver was dubbed "breathtaking," ensuring that it'll look quite fine underneath your tele. As for setup, it was coined "a breeze," and the very informative on-screen guide was seen as a pleasure to use. As expected, high-definition quality was "sensational," though we can't help but shed a tear at the lowly amount of HD channels available at the moment. At any rate, those content with just a receiver (or simply unwilling to wait for a DVR version) should be plenty pleased with this one, but you can tag the read link below if you're interested in the full review.
SelfSat's H21D antenna morphs dish into a plate, spoon left bewildered
Hey diddle diddle -- ATSC antennas aren't the only pieces of HD gear getting the steamroller treatment. If you're dying to bring FreeSat programming into your UK abode, but can't bear hanging a dish on the side of your home, you (and your neighbors) might like this. Zoning must be run with a tighter fist in the UK than here in the US, because according to the linked blurb, mounting a dish can be outright forbidden by local building codes. Either way, you can hang the H21D Flat Antenna on the side of the home and even paint over it. Then just sit back and enjoy the new HD programming so stealthily flowing into your digs! Your wallet will notice the £150 hit, but your neighbors will be none the wiser.
ITV HD set for Saturday launch, just in time for Euro 2008
ITV HD already poked its head out during FreeSat trials in mid-May, but now it seems the channel is finally set to go. According to reports, the aforementioned channel will go live on FreeSat this Saturday, just in time to head up coverage of the highly-anticipated Euro 2008. The first HD match that will be shown on the station is Portugal vs. Turkey at 7:45PM, which will coincidentally mark ITV HD's first-ever high-def transmission. Here's to hoping for no issues come this Saturday -- if you think Americans get upset with botched SuperBowl broadcasts, you can't imagine the collective rage coming from across the pond when a football event gets mishandled.
ITV HD test broadcasts hit FreeSat a little early, official launch next week?
Now that FreeSat is actually on the air, a few lucky viewers have gotten a taste of ITV HD ahead of the official launch. Yesterday Digital Spy forum members using their own free-to-air satellite hardware tuned into ITV HD test feeds consisting mostly of upconverted footage, although they noted the PQ was considerably better than the SD feed available. An official launch could come as soon as next Wednesday's footy match between Manchester united and Chelsea or the kickoff of the Euro 2008 tournament June 7. Either way, fans looking for a little subscription-free HD sports can thank forum poster Snoods for the capture above, and hit the read link for a few more.[Via Digital Spy]
Panasonic's FreeSat-enabled VIERA TH42PZ81 gets inspected
In case you've haven't seen enough of Panny's VIERA side lately, here comes another fresh face: the FreeSat-enabled TH42PZ81 plasma. Particularly for those who call the UK home, you've likely heard that model number before, but according to Tech Radar, 46- and 50-inch versions are landing in July with FreeSat tuners built right in. Other specs include a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, V-Real Pro 3 Processor and an obligatory EPG that was said to get the job done without a lot of glitz. Based on early reports, we're hearing that BBC HD looked astounding on the set, while SD images seemed fairly ghastly after seeing content in glorious high-def. Sadly, mum's the word on pricing at the moment, but those with an aging HDTV may just want to hold off on picking up that standalone set-top-box -- if you catch our drift.
FreeSat gets hands-on treatment
That's the way to show your dedication for high-def! Just a day after FreeSat went live across the pond, CNET's UK branch has already had a chance to check out a £150 Grundig HD box, top-of-the-line Humax FOXSAT-HD set-top, the EPGs on both and of course, BBC HD. From way over here, the snaps sure look fine, and we couldn't be happier for blokes / dames halfway across the world to have a new alternative for fetching HD content. Tap the read link and have a look, won't you?
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]
FreeSat launch details emerge, service begins May 6
You patient folks over in the UK have waited a long time for FreeSat to become a reality, and it seems as if that wait will come to an end this Friday. According to an anonymous source across the pond, his store has received a memo stating that the service will go live on April 25th May 6th. Additionally, professional installation is set to run customers around £80, while receivers will set citizens back £40 to £100 depending on which box you choose. We're also told that both SD and HD set-top-boxes will be available, and even though they're expecting a rush of orders from day one, installation should be taken care of within a week or so at the latest. Hopefully this little birdie isn't too far off -- guess we'll find out soon enough.Update: It's looking like May 6th now.
Hauppauge reveals WinTV Nova-S USB2 Freesat tuner
For those in the UK looking for a travel-friendly way to pick up free-to-air satellite TV (including Freesat), Hauppauge has just the thing. The not-exactly-cute WinTV Nova-S USB2 gives users the ability to watch full-screen programming on their laptop or PC, and better still, it can be "linked to a card reader [the optional WinTV-CI, we assume] to give access to subscription channels." Per usual, users will be able to pause, rewind and record live TV for watching back later, and considering that a remote and WinTV software are already bundled in, you should be all set right out of the £79.99 ($158) box.[Via PC Advisor]
Bell ExpressVu considering FreeSat service for delivering OTA networks
Canada's own Bell ExpressVu is currently mulling an interesting plan that could bring "free" OTA networks to folks faraway from towers and terrified of paying a cable provider for TV service. Dubbed FreeSat, the proposed service would give Canadians "free access to a limited number of high-definition channels," all of which would be local OTA (read: not pay-TV) networks. It wasn't revealed how much the receiver itself would cost, nor was it clear if broadcasters would be kosher with the idea. Bell Canada argues that the plan would give the aforementioned networks a way to get their content to more customers without "huge investments" in new transmission towers, but of course, there is always more than one side to the story. Needless to say, we can't imagine this being the last time we hear of this endeavor.
BBC Trust approves mixed-genre HD channel
Just a month after we heard that the BBC was mulling the decision to add a dedicated HD channel comes word that the BBC Trust has given the all-important thumbs-up to the idea. Reportedly, the "mixed genre" channel will show programs from across all of the BBC's stations and will air on cable / satellite "as soon as possible." Additionally, the channel should launch on Freesat just as soon as that goes live, but proposals for viewing it via Freeview were put on hold "because viewers might have been required to buy two new set-top boxes to receive the channel." So, for all you Brits out there, let us know how splendid the channel is when it becomes available -- hopefully your patience will pay off.[Via Guardian]
BBC, ITV to launch free satellite HDTV in UK by 2008
Although there's a lot of grumbling in the UK about that £135 ($270) yearly television license fee (only $87 for a black and white set!), it's hard to complain that the BBC doesn't try to use all that money in cool ways. Adding to their already-ambitious plans to distribute HDTV through torrent, datacasting, and IPTV, the Beeb announced today that, after years of delays, they've been approved to pair up with ITV and launch a free 200-channel HD-capable satellite service called Freesat in the spring of 2008. The move is designed to provide digital service to the estimated 25% of the British public that can't get the successful Freeview DVB-T service, but it'll also be free to any license payer who ponys up for one of the several available interactive receivers. Hmm, that's an interesting version of "free," must be the British spelling.[Via TechDigest]
Celrun's Freesat do-it-all handles GPS / DMB / PMP
While the PMP / GPS market continues to converge and pop out more and more jack-of-all-trades devices, Celrun is looking to join the ever-growing fray by dishing out an (admittedly impressive) all-in-one unit of its own. Starting with the sleek black / silver design scheme and ultrathin frame, this Windows CE-powered conglomerate does a fine job of packing the features in a sexy enclosure, and offers up a 520MHz Intel PXA270 processor, navigation, DMB, a text viewer, MP3 player, video playback, and a seven-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen to boot. Moreover, all the buttons are of the side and top-mounted variety, and while it doesn't appear to house any type of internal storage, SD / CF cards are more than welcome here. Although we're sure you saw this coming, only folks camped out in Korea will be receiving this here luxury, but we're not sure just how long they'll have to wait, nor how much coinage it'll end up demanding.
