using a Freesat receiver with Sky-installed dish

[Paul Danon]

We're with Sky and want to move to Freesat. Our Humax Foxsat HDR worked fine through a communal installation in Buckinghamshire. Now that it's connected to our Sky dish down here in Surrey, the TV output is fine but the programme-guide takes longer and longer to download, resulting in what's effectively a system-hang. We've done all the restarting and reformatting, and our software is current.

Humax say it could be that the dish isn't positioned correctly to get Freesat; Sky engineers reportedly do it differently. My aerial-contractor disagrees and says that the positioning for Sky and Freesat is indentical.

• have other folks had this problem with slow EPG download?
• who is right about where the dish points?

Thanks to all.

 

[rolfw]

Same satellite, same alignment, a well aligned dish on Astra 28.2 East will serve Sky and freesat equally well.

 

[Paul Danon]

Most helpful. I wonder about the slow EPG download?

 

[Lazarus]

It's always been slow.

Far quicker to use the cached version obtainable by pressing Schedule then Red. That's instant and is almost invariably accurate.

 

[Paul Danon]

All very helpful. The EPG download stalls the whole receiver and you have to reboot. The aerial-guy suggests the dish may have been blown around.

 

[Lazarus]

^^^^ Never press the Guide button - as stated, use Schedule then Red instead.

 

[A nonymous]

Most receivers have a signal strength meter that showns signal strength and quality. If your receiver has one that may well answer your question regarding dish alignment.

I've had to correct some installations made by Skys so called engineers and beleive me some have been shocking regarding neatness and alignment. I prefer to call employees of Sky technicians, calling them engineers is just offensive and incorrect.

Nano