This is article about FreesatFromSky and Freeview.
There are a few differences between Freesat and Freeview, including the availability of the service, the TV & Radio channel lineups, the required equipment, and finally costs. All of these factors will have an impact on which system is the best for you.
Availability
The main difference between the two is that Freeview is terrestrial digital TV, whereas Freesat is satellite digital TV.
With terrestrial digital TV, the signal comes from broadcasting antennas positioned at strategic geographic locations. The advantage of this system is that you can pick up the signal from anywhere, even inside the house (although limited) as long as you are within a good signal range. The disadvantage is that the signal varies significantly across the country, even to the point where it becomes insufficient or not present at all. Currently, Freeview covers 73% of the population.
With satellite TV, the signal is sent from a satellite in space. The advantage of such transmission is that it can cover a large area – as big as a country or even a continent – with just one beam. The disadvantage is that there must be a clear line-of-sight between the satellite and the satellite dish, and that the satellite dish must be pointing exactly at the satellite. Freesat covers 98% of the population.
So, what does this mean in practice?
You cannot get Freeview if your area is not covered by the signal. You can check this easily with your postcode at http://www.freeview.co.uk/.
You cannot get Freesat if you are unable to mount a satellite dish, or if the direction in which you point your sateliite (south-east) does not have a clear line-of sight. Any trees, big buildings etc. which are in the way will hinder satellite TV reception. If you are living in a flat and don't have access to the south-east or permission from your landlord to install a satellite dish, the Freesat option will also not be available to you. The exact location for where to point your dish can be calculated with the online-calculator on this site.
If you want to be flexible about where to watch TV, Freeview is the better option as you would only need to take a receiver and a small antenna with you. That way you can watch telly at work, at your mate's house or even on your laptop. With satellite-based Freesat, it's not that easy as you would need to take the dish (large and heavy) with you and then mount it properly (right direction, stable, fixed to something).
TV & Radio Channel Lineups
Although Freesat offers more channels than Freeview, the main channels are available on both systems. The key difference is that on Freeview the following channels are available for free, but not on Freesat:
Sky Sports News
E4
E4 +1
More 4
More 4 +1
ftn
UKTV History
abc1
The Hits
TMF
You can also get Top Up TV on Freeview for a monthly charge and add a few more channels to the line up. On the other hand, Freesat has a lot more shopping and special interest channels as well as more radio channels.
Note that on Freesat, C4, Five, Five Life, Five US and SKY3 are encrypted and require a FTV card, but more on this later.
Equipment and Costs
Freeview: All you need is a digital terrestrial set-top box (also called Freeview box or receiver), available from high street stores or online at Amazon, Currys, eBay etc., and an aerial. A very good price comparison with user reviews of the boxes can be found here. Your existing rooftop aerial should be fine, unless it's very old. You can also get an indoor aerial but reception might be limited and is therefore not recommended as a permanent solution. You can also get a Freeview PVR receiver to record and pause programmes (similar to Sky+ but without the additional charges).
Freesat: You'll need a satellite dish with an LNB and a satellite receiver to watch all channels except C4, Five, Five Life, Five US and Sky3. If you want these channels as well, you will need an additional FTV card, and the satellite receiver must be a Sky digibox (though there is an exception for the tech-savvies). The FTV card can be obtained from www.freesatfromsky.com for £20. They also offer a complete package with dish, LNB, Sky Digibox and standard installation for £150. If you don't already have many of these items and are also not keen on getting them second-hand and doing a DIY installation, it's well worth getting the whole package. Having said that, it might be better to get a basic 12 month Sky subscription with free installation for about £180 or even less with a special offer (e.g. £5 off when you buy online) . The benefit would be additional channels from the Sky Entertainment Mixes and the option to order pay-per-view movies and sport events from Sky Box Office (this is not possible with just Freesat). You must not forget to cancel your subscription ahead of time within the year. Once the subscription has ended, the Sky card will automatically be converted into a Freesat FTV card.
Again, what does this mean in practise?
Freeview is the cheaper option. It also allows for more flexibility. For example, if you want to watch different channels simultanously in different rooms, you only need an additional receiver. With freesat, you would need a multi-LNB such as Twin, or Quad LNB, and additional receivers. Using a Freeview box is also more convenient, as you can delete channels from the EPG you don't want and re-order the lineups. You can also record programmes with a PVR box. In order to do the same with Freesat, you would need to get a non-Sky receiver but then can't watch the encrypted C4, Five, Five Life, Five US and SKY3 channels unless you are getting a special NDS cam. As you can see, it's getting quite complicated.
Overall, there are some differences between the two systems. The key is, though, the availability of the service in your area. If you can get both, then getting both might be an option. This way you would have the best of both worlds.
Entries (RSS)
February 5th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Freesat is not what you say it is! Freesat is a new concept and nothing to do with Sky. It is a collaboration between BBC and ITV and will be available from Spring 2008. Apart from showing the normal FTA/FTV it will also be showing ITV and BBC HD content. The real beauty of it is, as I understand it, is it’s free! After the initial purchase of the decoder which is rumoured to be £105. Perhaps you will check out the internet and then correct your misleading information,
Regards, J. Dove
February 5th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Oh Dear, Jeff. Have you been abroad or so for a while? Freesat from Sky exists for some time now, check out the links above. Freesat from BBC is still to come. Will write about that soon.
Alan
February 16th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
If any what are the differences in reception qualities and the drawbacks.
Regards,
John
February 16th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
John:
The reception qualities are similar – they directly relate to the bitrates and these are roughly the same. On some channels, the bitrates are higher on Freesat and on some they are higher on Freeview.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:23 am
this site needs updating
May 6th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Dear Sir / Madam, Please supply details where I can purchase FREESAT and whether it is compatable with SKY Dish etc
Royston Spalding
May 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
half of the channels that you listed as being on Freeview are no longer broadcasting.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Jeff Dove BBC HD is FTA so you dont need freesat to receive it.
May 26th, 2008 at 6:38 am
freesat is compatible with sky dish just get yourself a dvb-s card hook it up and your good to go, tv picture is the same, sound i think is better than dvb-t, and i can get channel 4 but as yet none of the five’s or sky three, and i have 325 tv/radio channels that are watchable and listenable there is more but these i have excluded from my line up as pure dross, most of what you can watch/listen comes under just dross
September 28th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Can someone tell the technical stuff? Why do I need a “special” freesat receiver? Would it work with my old Humax CI-5100? Basically will it work with any FTA or CI receiver that are used to receive Hotbird or Astra signals? Thanks, Robert
September 28th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Robert: Any FTA receiver will let you watch the Freesat channels (except ITV HD which is exclusive). But you wouldn’t get a proper EPG and no interactive services. That’s all.
October 25th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
On freeview you get about 10 good channels such as Dave,tmf,bbc 3,the hits,film four, itv2,more 4,E4,uktv history and all of the plus one channels. Do you get all of these channels with sky free sat for free after the 4 months with the 2 mixs is finished and you have the standard 200 free channels as advertised by sky. Do you get these channels for free and if possible a list of channels that come for free (not including the sky mix channels you get for four months)with sky free sat.Thanks
October 26th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Joe:
One way to see which channels you get for free with Sky is to just pull out the Sky card from the digibox.
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:31 am
My TV has freeview built in. Can I install freesat? If, yes, will I be able to switch between the two?
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Peter:
Sure, why not. Freeview is terrestrial and Freesat is satellite based, two different things. You can switch between them without a problem.
November 12th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Lol Thanks for the help im going to get both freeview and freesat for my tv =] cant wait and ill have best of both . If You can affored both and can recivie both get both you will be best off.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Dear sir/madam, I live in Nigeria and wanted to ask if the freesat will work with our sat. dish here in Nigeria. If yes how can i get one to buy.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Clifford: No, don’t think so – the footprint is quite tight on the UK. Maybe with a very very large dish, several meters in size but that’s just speculation.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
at the moment i get terrestial tv through an aerial and sky tv through a dish
i am about to buy a plasma screen tv
do i need to buy set top boxes to recieve freesat or freeview or do some tv,s
already have them incorporated in them
November 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
will i or can i recieve hd programs on freeview
November 25th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
can anyone help please
I have just had freesat installed and lovely it is too, but I have been told that I can get freeview but I don’t know how. I want to get NFL and Five US
Anyone tell me how to do this please
November 26th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
mike m: yes some tv’s have inbuilt receivers, for freeview and freesat.
pete b: There are plans to launch hd programs on freeview, can’t remember now when.
sheila: freeview has nothing to do with freesat. freeview is a terrestrial service, i.e. the roof aerial rather than a satellite dish. You would need a different set top box for freeview. Check that you can get it by visiting http://www.freeview.co.uk and then try borrowing a freeview receiver first and see if you can actually receive it.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Good article, I’m intriguied as to why you need an additional item to watch channels such as Ch4 etc. And another thing, the wrong spelling of ‘practise’ is used in its second instance. I think you mean ‘practice’.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
We live in an area where we cannot receive freeview. At present we have a tv connected to a sky plus box in one room and in another smaller room we have a tv connected to a sky box only and subscribe to sky multi room. The tv in the smaller room is going to be replaced and we are thinking about buying a tv with freesat built in. We hope to be able to use freesat and keep the ordinary sky box but cancel the sky multi-room. Would there be any advantage in this and would we be able to watch different programs at the same time in the two rooms
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
This is so out of date it should be deleted (posted – Aug 2007)! Freesat is now available in HD quality with built in recorders (Freesat+), though I doubt they will be freely available in stores until early 2009 due to high demand. At the time of writting there is only model available in external receiver box form.
Linda – if you cancel Sky multiroom the 2nd Sky box will still recieve the free to view digital channels via the satellite. I assume you would keep the sky+ box so as to be able to record etc. But the 2nd box could still recieve the free channels.
If you buy a Panasonic TV with inbuilt FreeSat, this will to my knowledge receive the Freesat & Freesat HD channels for free – as the only TVs currently having inbuilt freesat are Panasonic HD models – 32″ & above. Bear in mind though that you cannot record and also that you would probably prefer HD viewing in your main room.
4 options:
1) Sky+ and freesat TV in main room, will require an additional satellite cable fed into room to feed TV to ensure full functionality of all channels. Sky (non recording, Non HD in second room for freeview channels.) cost – cabling & possibly a new LNB on your satellite dish if doesn’t already have 4 ports for cables.
2) Freesat TV in second room, allowing HD viewing in second room – using existing satellite cable. Main room having Sky+ only.
3) Non recording Sky box in front room with Freesat HD TV – 1 cable each. Insufficient satellite cables for use of Sky+ anywhere in household (requires 2 cables in order to record and watch second program).
4) Simply buy a Freesat / Freesat HD (non recording) box for the second room and buy a cheaper TV. Keeping Sky+ in the main room. Note the box with inbuilt recorder requires 2 satellite cables just as Sky+ does.
I am no expert, but this is the way I understand it having trawled the net for information today, asd I like many am exploring possibilities of getting rid of Sky in favour of Freesat+ HD.
Try these links http://www.pvrjunction.co.uk and http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/711712/index.html
January 18th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
[...] boat) On Sat, 24 May 2008 17:29:28 +0100, Richard Tanner wrote: > Freesat Have look here: http://www.uksatellitehelp.co.uk/200…t-vs-freeview/ By all accounts, "Freesat and Sky are broadcast from the same satellite. So the same dish [...]
January 29th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
How many channels are there on Freesat?
Are there any EXTRA channels which you have to pay a subscription for?
Are there any EXTRA channels which you can get but are not available on the Freesat box when you buy it?
What is an FTV Card?
Can I buy it from Currys, Comet etc…?
Would you need an FTV card to recieve extra/more channels?
Would you need an FTV card to recieve HD channels?
Are Sky Sports News, E4, E4 +1, More 4, More 4 +1, ftn, UKTV History, abc1, The Hits, TMF available on the freesat box once i’ve bought it?
Is it worth buying for?
Is it better than freeview?
February 15th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I live 4 months per year in Belgium (Brussels area), will I be able to view Freesat over there ?
Thanks
March 12th, 2009 at 9:18 am
We’ve [March 2009] got Freesat in the S of France via a Humax Foxsat HRD. It’s GREAT, it’s free, it’s v simple [inc. to install ourselves] & Freesat is [now] nothing to do with SKY. We much prefer it to SKY and much prefer the Humax to the SKY digibox. So we are – whoppee – going to get rid of our SKY back in Scotland. Well done Freesat, we think.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:42 am
This is a request for advice rather than a comment :
I am moving to a rented house which only has a Sky dish rather than a conventional aerial.
I am not interested in Sky’s packages – all I want to do is get a free digital signal fed into my Freeview box, so that I can watch Freeview channels.
Can this be done ?
I’d be very grateful for any advice you could give me.
Thanks
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:34 pm
S Bishop:
Freeview requires an aerial. So if you have a freeview box, you either get an aerial on the roof or an indoor aerial (if the signal is strong enought, this might be enough).
You could also get a Freesat Satellite receiver and hook it up to the cable coming from the dish. Would cost you about 50 pounds for a standard one.
Last alternative would be to get a Sky digibox with a card and hook that one up – no subscription necessary.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Hi,
Sorry if this has already been asked and answered.
I’ve currently got Sky but going to cancel due to everything always being on repeat.
So I want to get Freeview & Freesat.
I’ve got one cable coming out of my wall which comes from our communal satellite.
Can I use my Sky (normal) box for anything? Do I have to buy another card for it and what service would I then get?
Can I have both Freeview and Freesat?
Thanks,
Nicholas
May 6th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Once you cancelled Sky, you can use the box to watch all the free channels. Not sure if Freeview or Freesat will give you more choice.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Why is the industry going down the twin roads of Freeview and Freesat. It seem to me we are repeating previous “dual” electronic schemes which left the customer confused and financially at a loss. The main article, and replies, seem to give the impression that there is only one player on the Freesat field; and that is Sky. My understanding is that people can go it alone.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
May 18th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
A digital novice I’m afraid-but have been reading comments to learn some more.
But would like some help-have seen the new panasonic tv with freesat and freeview. Does this mean that if I install a freesat dish and digital aerial I will receive both freesat and freeview at the same time. Reason why I have not ventured into digital yet is with problems with location/trees/in a dip etc-not sure yet which is the best option for me. Anyone have any information/experience of this? Thanks.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Alan
I want to receive Freesat touring in our motorhome in France. I am thinking of buying a Maxview B2554 (54cm) dish and couple it to a suitable 12v digibox – either the Maxview MXL020 or Grundig HD freesat receiver.
However I am confused by the statement on the Conrad Anderson website re the Grundig digibox that “coverage is available in UK”. I thought that freesat was generally available across Europe (exactly where depending on the size of dish).
So my question please is – will I be able to receive freesat in France using either of the above combinations?
Thanks in advance, Tony
August 2nd, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I want to buy a 42″ full HD LCD t/v for my living room, and still unclear as to which one i should buy?
Should I buy one with built in FREEVIEW? or FREE SAT?
I do have an existing dish on the wall outside, from a previous Sky subscription and i am thinking about suscribing to sky again for HD t/v, Broadband and phone.
Can anyone pls help me to decide? and advise me on the pro’s and cons ??
Many thanks, Brian.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:39 am
As of right now, anything (free) worth watching is available on both freeview and freesat. Additionally, channels Dave & Virgin1 are only available on freeview, and these are probably worth having as part of a free package. Freesat from Sky boasts more channels than freeview, but the list is well padded with unwatchable dross (shopping, gambling etc.). I’d say go for freeview if you can get a good signal, have a decent aerial, and are on a limited budget.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Another consideration is the number of radio channels available on Freesat, but not on Freeview, ie. all the BBC including regional variations and all the Irish (RTE) radio channels.
September 25th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
hi i need some advice ,i have a caravan in gourock,which my tv areil points to dunoon i have freeview at present ,when the weather bad i loss signal,would i be better getting free sat or a portable satlite dish ,or mybe something else
September 30th, 2009 at 11:15 am
This digital switchover has my head in a spin….i can do without this when i have more pressing things going on, but i guess i have got to choose something and soon! It seems like swings and roundabouts to me. My daughter wants Freesat because one of her fave music channels is on the list, but i think Freeview is enough for a simple soul like myself! What to do, what to do!!!
October 29th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Giselle:
You have my sympathy! If you get good TV reception, Freeview seems to be by far the simpler option for you. Just find a cheap set-top-box, plug it in, tune it (simple), and away you go.
Can anyone help with MY problem?? We live in South Cumbria (Grizedale Forest) and for the past 28 years have had to put up with Welsh Telly, because the only terrestrial transmitter we can receive is on Anglesey North Wales!! Needless to say, because of this, we don’t watch much telly at all!
However, yesterday we lost analogue BBC2 for good, and in 3 weeks time the rest goes off, so we’ve got to get our skates on. In order to say ‘goodbye’ to Welsh Telly completely, our only option is Freesat, which seems expensive for ‘minimal viewers’ like my wife and I. But we let two self-catering apartments next to our house and my main question is, “What sort of set-up would we require for our own house and our two apartments?” Would we need 1,2 or 3 separate systems? I realise that we would need 3 Freesat boxes, but what are the alternatives at the dish end? Could we get away with just one dish and have some sort of multiplex splitter or something? Or do we have to have three separate dishes?
Any help would be much appreciated!
November 12th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I have a TV with freeview integrated. I have moved house to a place where we can’t receive Freeview. I am going to get a dish, etc for Freesat, will the TV work ok with freesat?
November 18th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
All of your comments are very helpful, certainly the one’s I can understand.
I have a problem which I would appreciate help with:- I have a sky dish and box from which I receive free channels (I do not subscribe to sky now) I am currently getting messages frequently on screen saying I need to renew my card (this is the original sky card which i was advised to leave in to get the free channels) Can any body advise me on best action, preferably for free?
I am not sure which service I am receiving with my setup, I assume freesat?
Any advice appreciated. Regards Ron
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:12 pm
EKJ: You could get away with one dish and a quad lnb but be careful of long cable runs. Depending on how far the apartments are from your house, it could be easier to have two dishes, one for your house and for the apartments with a twin lnb.
Richard: You need to get a freesat box and a dish installed outside your house, the telly alone won’t pick up the signal as it’s the case with freeview. The freesat box will feed the signal into your telly via scart or hdmi cable, depending on box and connections.
Ron: Check out this one: https://mysky.sky.com/replacecard/faq
November 25th, 2009 at 9:00 am
can i watch sky sports news on my laptop abroad
May 27th, 2010 at 12:54 am
@Richard. No, Freesat and Freeview require very different receivers. So a TV with a Freeview receiver built in cannot receive Freesat signals. You would need to get a separate Freesat receiver box which then connects to your TV.
Some manufacturers are starting to make TV’s with both types of receiver built in but it’s far from being the norm.
September 18th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Hi Brian, I have recently purchased a 42″ Panasonic plasma tv,with
built in freesat and freeview. Fantastic so pleased with it all,and such
a joy to watch.Installed near dish and aerial myself, cheap from
Amazon, which is where I got the TV at the cheapest price.
Good luck.
September 20th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
You say ‘the satellite receiver must be a Sky digibox (though there is an exception for the tech-savvies)’. Can you explain. I have Sky freesat(fsfs) and am thinking of getting Freesat for the couple of HD channels but dont want to loose a few of the fsfs channels not on Freesat. I would prefer to just have the one satellite receiver.
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:57 am
On Freesat GHD you will get BBCHD and ITV1HD – and soon BBC1HD.
You will lose Fiver, Five USA, Sky 3, Viva TV, Liverpool FC TV, which are freetoview and require freesatfromsky card.
September 22nd, 2010 at 8:58 am
@satandpcguy:
I dropped you an email sometime ago, did you not get that?
September 24th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Alan:
If I did receive it I would have replied. Unless my ultra sensitive spam locked decided to block it. If you send again, I will check the spam blocked folder today and tomorrow.
September 29th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
I have a 60 inch LED television… works best with Sky HD.
What is freesat or freeview? One thing I can guarantee you is you don’t get anything for free in this world. Free to buy? No. Free to watch. No you pay a TV license. Free sports? No. You go to the pub, and spend £20 on drinks. Free movies? Not unless they’re on channel 4. Free tv channels. Yes, until you’re hooked, they pull them and you pay for Sky HD.
Moral of the story is, don’t beat around the bush. There’s no compromise, BSKYB Own this country.
November 12th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Hi Alan. Don’t know if this discussion is still open? I’m not very techy but have been trying to follow all above. Could we now have an update? I purchased a Panasonic with built-in Freesat some time ago with the intention of upgrading with the dish to receive HD and also replace my old Pioneer hard drive recorder with a Panasonic twin Freesat.
At the time of purchase John lewis told me you wouldn’t be able to get HD thro Freeview but obviously now you can. Problem is one John Lewis tells me not to now b other with Freesat and buy twin Freeview, but another tells me to go for Freesat. I think ordinary non-techy people are getting well p—-d off with this. Please, I would be grateful for your latest input
Glyn
November 15th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
On Freesat HD there are:
BBC One HD
BBC HD
ITV1 HD
On Freeview HD there are
BBC One HD
BBC HD
ITV1 HD
C4HD
but some reception of these will depend which Freeview transmitter / area you are in.
November 17th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Thanks for that but have been talking to a techy at work who tells me that as I want to record on to DVD also I would have to go for Freeview at the present because Panasonic appear to have now withdrawn their twin Freesat recorder opting for Freeview only. On the other hand I won’t be able to receive Freeview HD in my area until this time next year! So, looks like I will be waitng to see what happens in another twelve months unless you guys know something different?
November 18th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Why not go for a Freesat HDR from Humax?
Or another Freesat HD receiver with a DVDR connected to it?
November 18th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Didn’t know Humax made one. And I hadn’t thought of having a seperate DVDR. As I say I’m not very techy which is why you guys are so handy! I’ll definitely look into that. Thanks again
December 6th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
would love to know more info on getting freesat hd+ and audio output in 5.1 optical. so inbuilt aac decoder is it? and beable to get c4 (freesatfromsky) ? all in one box?
December 7th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Most HD boxes have a optical or coax digital 5.1 output, you just need to plug into a 5.1 digital amp / AV system.
C4 is already available on Freesat boxes, and Sky boxes without a sky card.
C4 HD is only available with a sky card and Sky HD box (or on Freeview HD), not on Freesat HD (yet…..)
April 14th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
planning on buying a ross freesat system. want to install myself but a bit unsure as to how difficult it is to install. any help would be great.
April 18th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
hi steve.
Installing the dish should be no problem. locate the best place for the dish, drill a few holes, put up the support, put up the dish. Many people fail at the dish alignment stage. Using the dishpointer.com tool may help. Get at least a basic “beeper” satellite finder, connect it between the LNB and receiver, make sure you can see a TV , and align.
September 9th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
I have a house in the Algarve Portugal, what would be the best sysyem to take over there from the UK Freview or Freesat?
September 12th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
As the main post says “The main difference between the two is that Freeview is terrestrial digital TV, whereas Freesat is satellite digital TV. ”
Som you cannot receive Freeview outside the UK, as it is a terrestrial based system (ie via a TV aerial) and the signals from the UK based masts just do not reach that far.
In fact, using a UK Freeview in Portugal, connected to a TV aerial will only receive the Portuguese terrestrial channels
So you would be looking at a dish and Freesat or Sky box.
December 31st, 2011 at 10:19 am
Hi
I’m a very confused sky customer who wants to cancel her subscription. Is it as simple as I cancel sky and after my notice period sky will stop, however I can just use the same box (without doing anything to it) to receive freesat?? And can I still record etc as I’ve got the sky hd box?? Or do I need to buy a new freesat box and pay for installation etc??
Many thanks
January 4th, 2012 at 10:50 am
To cancel a Sky subscription, you need to call sky. The account will be closed after the 31 days notice has elapsed and your payments are finalised.
Your Sky box will be able to receive all the channels that are available via Freesat.
However, to use the record function on a Sky box, you will need to continue your subscritpion. Or go for a Humax HDR – a HD box that allows recording for free.