Freesat - Frequently Asked Questions

[rolfw]

UK and Western European residents

Question: Where can I order/buy a FREESAT system
Answer: In the UK, you can order FREESAT online through several national retailers, or by visiting their shop, or better still, some of our our supporting advertisers carry both standard and High Definition Freesat receivers. For those of you outside the UK, you can however use a standard digital receiver, or Sky digibox to receive the channels.
Question: Can I receive FREESAT through my normal Aerial?
Answer: No, you will need a small dish (45-70cm for the UK, maybe larger outside) pointing at Astra 28.2 East and a Digital reciver, FREESAT have launched dedicated receivers.
Question: I have a Sky minidish on the wall outside, will this be OK for receiving FREESAT?
Answer: Yes, providing it is aligned properly, it should be fine, you should simply be able to plug in the FREESAT box and connect to the dish.
Question: Will FREESAT give me all of the channels my Sky digibox and Free to View card gives me?
Answer: If you continue using your Sky digibox, then nothing will really change, if you change to a FREESAT receiver, then you will not receive Fiver, Five US or Sky 3.
Question: I have a standard digital satellite receiver and a dish pointing at Hotbird 13 East, will this be OK for receiving FREESAT?
Answer: Yes, the equipment will be fine, but you will need to either point your dish at Astra 28.2 East, or install an offset LNB in addition to your Hotbird feed.
Question: I have a Sky Digibox, can I use this to receive FREESAT?
Answer: At present, the Sky digibox can receive all of the available SD FREESAT channels, but there may be channels as time goes by, which will not be on the Sky EPG, so would have to be accessed through the "Other Channels" option
Question: Do I need to pay anything other than the price of the FREESAT receiver and possibly dish installation?
Answer: No, it is a free service
Question: There doesn't appear to be a huge selection of channels listed on the FREESAT site, is this all there is?
Answer: FREESAT will be adding channels during the course of the year, apparently up to 30 new channels per month.
Question: I've heard that I won't be able to watch ITV HD channel on my Sky High Definition Box, is there any way of getting around this?
Answer: If you have the latest firmware and EPG on your HD box, you can add ITV HD in other channels.
Question: I have a standard digital receiver, but can't find Channel 4 Free To Air, what am I doing wrong?
Answer: Channel 4 is there FTA, but may be added to your channel list as a number "8350", the frequency settings are 10728 Mhz, Vertical, 5/6, 22000. EDIT August 15th 2008 - C4 is now mainly fta on 10714H 22000 5/6

Fringe Reception Areas

Question: I live in Southern Spain and have heard that I will now be able to receive BBC and ITV channels through a standard sized dish, as they have moved to Eurobird, is this true?
Answer: No it isn't, the FREESAT EPG is transmitted from Eurobird, but the BBC and ITV channels will stay on the same satellite as they have been (Astra 2D), meaning you will still require a large dish to receive them.

______