Moving house - new television

[sonnetpete]

Most of you regulars may know, we are downsizing and moving house in August. It seems like a good opportunity to upgrade our main Freesat set up. I would like a TV with a built in Freesat tuner, however many that I've looked at online advertise Freesat but then on closer inspection it's only Free view. Any ideas? Recommendations?

 

[ozumo]

I've seen Freesat modes on Samsung QLED televisions. The one I tried had two tuners but there was only one feed into the room so couldn't say if they worked as a PVR. Any television might need to be a UK market model in order for it to have a Freesat EPG rather than a generic satellite mode.

 

[sonnetpete]

Wouldn't need a pvr feed. Was intending to source the TV from the UK, have a handy friend who travels back and forth frequently..

 

[SkyWatcher]

If you’re not opposed to shopping at John Lewis then they have a page of TV’s they say have Freesat built in.

HD TVs with Freesat | HD Freesat Televisions | John Lewis & Partners

Browse our collection of HD TVs with Freesat Included at John Lewis & Partners. Free UK mainland delivery when you spend £50 and over.

www.johnlewis.com

 

[jeallen01]

TBH, there's been a lot of adverse comment on the forum about the ability of - and certainly the ease with which - TV's with built-in sat tuners to actually work in any meaningful form.

Certainly, given my own experience with Tosh & LG sets up to about 2yrs ago, I won't buy any TV on the main basis that it has sat reception capability - if for no other reason than selecting and / or changing a sat TV channel always took more time and trouble than it was worth.

Just get a TV with general performance, picture & useability that you like and a sat set-top box that gives you the same sort of "feel" - and preferably connect them together via a AV amp (our's is a Denon, which works well but can take time to change HDMI inputs) that gives you a lot of other useful/pleasing functions

Old adage: "you pays your money and you takes your choice", and I'm more happy with what we've got than had I relied on a TV with a sat tuner!

 

[sonnetpete]

Firstly, I've looked at John Lewis and they also seem to confuse Freeview and Freesat in their online listings.

The TV would be mainly for SWMBO, so Freesat only required. I'd hoped that by buying a TV with integrated sat tuner not only would it be less complex, we'd cut down on the remotes.

 

[jeallen01]

I can only comment from our experiences here with a (not so smart!) 3 yr old LG TV with a sat tuner. After a few attempts to get the tuner "tuned in" with the "rather complicated" remote, I simply gave up because the damned thing has so many options that I can't even be assed to try to remember. And if I gave up on that then my wife would stand no chance of even starting to learn how to use that damned r/c - that's why, a few months ago, I asked forum members if anyone could point me to a current model TV with a simple & straightforward to operate r/c, but no-one could!
(did that in case I become incapacitated to the extent that I couldn't operate the current set and so she'd have to do that - which she almost certainly couldn't if anything went slightly wrong - like it changed "spontataneously" to another HDMI input or one of the DDT channels of it's own accord, as has been known to happen!)

That's why, almost since we got it, we've used the TV as just that, and get all the programming from the SKY+ HD box via the DENON, which also allows easy switching to one of the other sat receivers or get streaming content via a ROKU II box connected to the internet. My wife can deal with everything she needs via the SKY+ HD r/c and she never has to touch the actual TV r/c. Of course, this is in the UK, is only for UK-originated sat transmissions from 28E - your requirements may be slightly different??

However, to go back to your original question, I think you should take your wife to an actual TV shop/retailer and get them to show her various sets with sat tuners and how they are operated, and then get her to try those out to find one she likes and can "live with" - I certainly would not buy one mail-order and simply hope that she will then be able to operate it!!!

 

[SkyWatcher]

Firstly, I've looked at John Lewis and they also seem to confuse Freeview and Freesat in their online listings.

The TV would be mainly for SWMBO, so Freesat only required. I'd hoped that by buying a TV with integrated sat tuner not only would it be less complex, we'd cut down on the remotes.

Having looked into this in more detail I came to the question, are there actually any TVs with built in Freesat?

 

[sonnetpete]

However, to go back to your original question, I think you should take your wife to an actual TV shop/retailer and get them to show her various sets with sat tuners and how they are operated, and then get her to try those out to find one she likes and can "live with" - I certainly would not buy one mail-order and simply hope that she will then be able to operate it!!!

We do only need a TV, with a sat tuner for 28E. Living in rural France, chances are after locating an electronics retailer, they would only stock TV's with either French DTT or dedicated to Fransat. Now it may be possible to change satellites but only by complex menus, which is what I'd like to avoid. Short of popping over to an electronics retailer in the UK, mail order is my sole option.

More research needed I guess...

 

[jeallen01]

FWIW, Richer Sounds stock quite a few TV's and have a branch in Southampton and another in Brighton, so might be viable if you ever travel via Southampton by ferry??

If not, then it might be worth contacting them anyway for suggestions as their customer service is pretty good and I've found them very helpful.

 

[sonnetpete]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies, but.... It's been decided to keep what we have at least until next year. Expense is the main reason and after visiting the new abode today, I've realised that money can be better spent on a new bed, paint, etc. SWMBO had no influence in this.... honest

 

[jeallen01]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies, but.... It's been decided to keep what we have at least until next year. Expense is the main reason and after visiting the new abode today, I've realised that money can be better spent on a new bed, paint, etc. SWMBO had no influence in this.... honest

We'll believe you - most husbands wouldn't!

 

[Captain Jack]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies, but.... It's been decided to keep what we have at least until next year. Expense is the main reason and after visiting the new abode today, I've realised that money can be better spent on a new bed, paint, etc. SWMBO had no influence in this.... honest

In my older days, having a good comfortable bed is key to a happy life (amongst others ofc).

 

[jeallen01]

In my older days, having a good comfortable bed is key to a happy life (amongst others ofc).

But rather difficult if, like us, couples are considerably different weights and, perforce for medical reasons, have different sleeping patterns. (Results in separate beds in separate rooms so that each can sleep as/when needed)

 

[Captain Jack]

But rather difficult if, like us, couples are considerably different weights and, perforce for medical reasons, have different sleeping patterns. (Results in separate beds in separate rooms so that each can sleep as/when needed)

Separate beds and separate rooms works for me!

 

[jeallen01]

Separate beds and separate rooms works for me!

May I suggest that we are delving a bit "deep into members' "personal living arrangements" - and I apologise if I'm the one that started this !

 

[sonnetpete]

Our need for a new bed, instead of a TV, is more influenced by the fact that most nights the present sleeping platform is also occupied by an overweight cocker spaniel and two young cats with a penchant for recreating the Grand National...

 

[PaulR]

I've come to this thread rather late as it started just as I was setting off back to the UK and was closed as we got back. Anyway, I might be able to offer some opinions on this.

I had a similar idea regarding built-in Freesat TVs for our gaff in France two years ago. I had previously used big old CRT TVs with separate Digiboxes in the bedrooms upstairs and they had really reached their end. My research showed that Panasonic and LG did Freesat TVs and I went after a S/H Panasonic TX-L32G10B. From memory that as on Ebay and cost about £60 or so.

That one never made it to France as the 28" Freeview TV in our UK bedroom handed its notice in and had to be speedily replaced. It's Freesat HD but not Freeview HD but that didn't matter really. I then looked for another one and ending up bidding for two - both of which I won! One was actually a 37" model and came in at my best-buy price of £18.00! Somewhere along the line my brother needed a TV so I bought yet another 32" TX-L32G10B.

Out in France the 32" and 37" TVs are in position and working well on satellite. The satellite tuner appears to be quite sensitive. As good, or even slightly better, as my Humax HDR box which was supposed to be sensitive at its time.

Things to watch out for. There is a Panasonic (I think) TV with a satellite tuner built-in but it's not Freesat. Annoyingly it had Freeview HD. I had hoped that I could tune the terrestrial tuner into the French TNT services but only about 5 channels would resolve. Looking into this I think it's to do with most channels using a Dolby system and this ten year-old TV couldn't handle that even when changed to France for tuning in. Maybe later ones are more European compatible? - I don't know.

I never got very far investigating LG TVs.