freesat

[Bibio]

anybody on here using freesat?

looking at downgrading my virgin to just broadband so i can offset the price of a new tv with the saving. at the mo i'm paying £65 for virgin tv+broadband and if i take just broadband its £35 so saving £30 a month to put towards new tv.

so my question is.. whats it like for navigating the 'planner'. cant have it too confusing for Mrs Bibs, she cant get on with sky planner, been there tried that.

[pookie]

Have a look at boxes that use freetime
https://www.simplifydigital.co.uk/providers/freesat/freesat-freetime-guide/

I use an ageing humax hdr 1000 but the software does get updated.

[Blue Flame]

I have Freesat and view it with an old humax Foxsat box and the planner is fine and easy to navigate in my opinion (albeit a bit sluggish compared to SKY).

If your thinking of getting a new TV I think the LG's have a sat tuner built in which may be something for you to look at?

[Talking Heads]

Ive been using a Humax Foxsat HDR for years and am very happy with it.
My technophobe wife finds it really easy to navigate and use.

You can plug in a big USB hard drive at the back to increase the storage and can also transfer recordings easily using the front USB.

If you're feeling adventurous you can re-flash it to enable additional networking features.

These days I mostly use Netflix and other streaming options via a Roku Streaming Stick.

No idea what the current Humax boxes are like, they've probably moved on a fair bit since I got mine.

[Blue Flame]

I am the same as far as my viewing habits are concerned with streaming taking up most of my viewing these days. Mainly Netflix and Amazon Prime with an occasional dip into NOW TV(SKY).

I also reflashed the Foxsat for the additional networking capabilities but tend not to use those features much nowadays.

Having said that the Foxsat is still the default for recording all the series that are on the mainstream channels (BBC, STV etc).

[Bibio]

looking around it seems that the foxsat hd keep a decent price second hand which is a good sign. might just go for one of those and give it a try..

looked into getting a card for the computer but by all accounts they are very clunky.

[L3nny]

I don't know how much of an investment Freesat is but it's old technology and everything is now moving online so might be a waste of money. Soon you'll be able to get all sky channels without a dish.
Id recommend getting an Xbox one, you can use a universal remote, it's got a 4k blu ray drive, the apps are easy to use and regularly updated and if you fancy it, you can play games on it too.

[Talking Heads]

You raise an interesting point, if at some point in the future Sky stop using satellite altogether, will Freesat cease as well?

[SV650rules]

We have been using Freesat for many years, our Panasonic TV has a satellite input so only investment needed was a dish and a bit of cable (£40 dish from Maplin fitted by me) - but if you want ability to record stuff will need a set-top box - quality is good in our area and it has never failed (unlike Virgin V6 box which screws up every time internet fails or modem gets its knickers in a twist and needs a reboot - which is too often). Sky claim that offering TV over internet is just an option to get out to more customers, and satellites don't just fall out of the sky, so I guess freesat will be around for a while. Freesat is definitely much better than terrestial signal in our area.

Some areas don't have good internet connections and speed is not enough to stream TV, so it depends where you live - as Freesat may not have any plans to go online it is probably worth a dish and a bit of cable + cheap Humax
box. Humax box seems to have pretty good menu, we often get them in our holiday cottages and learning curve is not too daunting.

https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/guides/internet/freeview-freesat-youview

[Bibio]

the problem with 'online content' is the apps as they are all developed along the same lines as smart phones which require 'touch technology' which is difficult to navigate if you only have one hand you can use and part of your brain missing. its one of the reasons i put an HTPC 'kodi' in the living room as i could code the GUI to what was needed for the wife to be able to navigate it easily via remote control.

we had to get rid of the sky box as the wife got confused using it.

everything i introduce into into my wife's 'media experience' has to be controlled via easy menu and remote control e.g. 'scroll and click'.

dont even get me started on voice command..........

[Blue Flame]

the problem with 'online content' is the apps as they are all developed along the same lines as smart phones which require 'touch technology' which is difficult to navigate if you only have one hand you can use and part of your brain missing. its one of the reasons i put an HTPC 'kodi' in the living room as i could code the GUI to what was needed for the wife to be able to navigate it easily via remote control.

we had to get rid of the sky box as the wife got confused using it.

everything i introduce into into my wife's 'media experience' has to be controlled via easy menu and remote control e.g. 'scroll and click'.

dont even get me started on voice command..........If you want to see what the Foxsat box user interface looks like then give me a shout and you can pop in and have a play.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[Blue Flame]

On a side note... I have just found out that ch4HD is being withdrawn from the Freesat family tomorrow. SD is still being shown though.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[L3nny]

the problem with 'online content' is the apps as they are all developed along the same lines as smart phones which require 'touch technology' which is difficult to navigate if you only have one hand you can use and part of your brain missing. its one of the reasons i put an HTPC 'kodi' in the living room as i could code the GUI to what was needed for the wife to be able to navigate it easily via remote control.

we had to get rid of the sky box as the wife got confused using it.

everything i introduce into into my wife's 'media experience' has to be controlled via easy menu and remote control e.g. 'scroll and click'.

dont even get me started on voice command..........The Xbox actually has really good voice control via the kinect camera (although they're phasing out support for it)
I control my Xbox with a Logitech harmony remote. It's honestly no different to using a satellite box. All the apps are designed for use with the Xbox specifically and tested by Microsoft so there shouldn't be an issue.
You can also get a TV tuner but as far as I know this only supports aerials not satellite. I don't use mine though as all the channels are on sky go or iPlayer.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[Bibio]

If you want to see what the Foxsat box user interface looks like then give me a shout and you can pop in and have a play.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

might take you up on that ;)