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BarryS

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Hello all,

My house is on the side of a steep hill and normal analogue reception can sometimes be so bad that the picture is unwatchable. I have considered using freeview, but my neighbour up the hill had such appalling reception that he's gone Sky digital.

I'm very happy simply to receive the channels that I would get on freeview, is there a way of getting these channels via satellite? If so, can someone explain to a numpty like me exactly what's required?

Naturally, I'm willing to invest in some equipment, but for some perverse reasons I don't really want to give any money to Sky, nor frankly, do I want to pay a subscription to receive what I could get for free if only the reception was better.

A supplementary question is; my telly can (apparently) automatically adjust the picture to the right size and proportions, will using a digibox allow the telly to do this properly, or will I still get incorrectly proportioned people on the screen?

Many thanks

Barry
 

prof

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Hi BarryS
1. Have a look here www.lyngsat.com/28east.html
Basically everything in cream colour is free, unfortunately you won't be able to receive
itv, or ch4/5,(unless you get sky digibox and free to view card.) but there are quite a few other channels.
2. I don't think you will have any probs with your tv.
 

prof

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Sorry, I forgot to answer what's required bit.
You can either buy a second hand sky digibox and skyminidish, or buy a free to air sat receiver, + dish , the latter would give you more options, especially if you get a bigger dish.
 

Llew

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BarryS said:
Hello all,

My house is on the side of a steep hill and normal analogue reception can sometimes be so bad that the picture is unwatchable. I have considered using freeview, but my neighbour up the hill had such appalling reception that he's gone Sky digital.

I'm very happy simply to receive the channels that I would get on freeview, is there a way of getting these channels via satellite? If so, can someone explain to a numpty like me exactly what's required?

Naturally, I'm willing to invest in some equipment, but for some perverse reasons I don't really want to give any money to Sky, nor frankly, do I want to pay a subscription to receive what I could get for free if only the reception was better.

A supplementary question is; my telly can (apparently) automatically adjust the picture to the right size and proportions, will using a digibox allow the telly to do this properly, or will I still get incorrectly proportioned people on the screen?

Many thanks

Barry

Hi Barry

With the exception of ITV, CH4 and 5, most of the channels that are available on Freeview can be found on the Astra 2 satellite using a small dish and cheap satellite receiver. See this site and check the channels shown with a yellow background:-

http://www.lyngsat.com/28east.html

The only other option is to wait until later this year when Sky should introduce its 'no subscription' package with a one-off payment of about £150, which will include ITV and some other channels now only available with subscription.
Not sure about the screen size problem as I only have ordinary TV.
 

Llew

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prof said:
Sorry, I forgot to answer what's required bit.
You can either buy a second hand sky digibox and skyminidish, or buy a free to air sat receiver, + dish , the latter would give you more options, especially if you get a bigger dish.

Sorry Prof, didn't see your answer - two minds thinking alike. O-Ha
 

BGonaSTICK

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As long as you connect your new sat box to your telly with an RGB scart lead (and your telly is capable of auto-format switching) then the picture should switch between 4:3 and 16:9 automatically. You may have to enable the 16:9 output format in the sat box setup menu.

STICK
 

BGonaSTICK

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Llew said:
Sorry Prof, didn't see your answer - two minds thinking alike. O-Ha
Yeah, but one of you is colourblind! ;)
 

BarryS

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Thanks for the replies everyone, do you have any recommendations as to which digibox to buy? Will a fta receiver allow me to get ITV CH4 & CH5?

From what I've read on here I don't believe that you can get a ftv card for the Sky digibox any more.

The house is a small cottage dating from 1631, as it is, the dish is going to look rather incongrous stuck on the side of the house, so I'm not keen to get a large one. There is, however, a shed a little way away, are there any restrictions on cable lengths from dish to receiver?
 

rolfw

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The Sky Freesat deal should be launched soon, a receiver, dish and card installed for £150, so perhaps your problem will be solved.

The dish can be around 25 metres away and still provide enough signal for the receiver, any further and a bigger dish will be required.
 

BarryS

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Thanks Rolfw, I've just done a bit of reading about the Freesat offering, and it seems that it's only guaranteed to be available for 24 months. The other objections that I have to it are the permanent telephone link requirement, and the fact that I will have to give money to Sky.

Looks like I'll just have to hope that ITV, CH4 and CH5 eventiually go fta.

However, a larger dish on the shed might be a good idea, can you get signal amplifiers for longer distances?
 

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BarryS,
If you just want to go for astra2 fta channels, and don't want to put a dish on the house there are some alternatives www.digicams-uk.com/category20_1.htm
You can also get one with a boulder cover, great if you have a rockery.
 

rolfw

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BarryS said:
Thanks Rolfw, I've just done a bit of reading about the Freesat offering, and it seems that it's only guaranteed to be available for 24 months. The other objections that I have to it are the permanent telephone link requirement, and the fact that I will have to give money to Sky.

Looks like I'll just have to hope that ITV, CH4 and CH5 eventiually go fta.

However, a larger dish on the shed might be a good idea, can you get signal amplifiers for longer distances?

You are hardly going to make Sky rich by giving them £150 for a dish, receiver, card and installation, and it may be the best game in town.

You can use a signal amp, but it is no substitute for a larger dish. Cable has a pretty predictable loss per metre factor, so you can work out how big the dish needs to be for whatever cable run.
 
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