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Freesat From ITV And The BBC – High Definition

27.01.2010 | Author: Armadeus Cornelius | Posted in Home Improvement

What is Freesat from the BBC and ITV.

Freesat is another means of receiving digital tv and radio by way of a single payment, and then it is subscription free forever and without a contract. It’s a service that is provided by the BBC and ITV and offers in excess of 140 Television and radio channels of fantastic programmes in crystal clear digital sound and picture quality, and should not to be confused with Freesat from Sky. Also there are going to be additional channels added over the next few months. There is also an 8 day on-screen programme guide, to effect choosing programmes easier, and there is sophisticated teletext.

What equipment is required to receive Freesat ?

To receive Freesat you will need to purchase a set top box that is either standard or high definition for use with your existing television. The set top boxes are also obtainable with or without a built in PVR for recording programmes on the internal hard drive. Alternatively you can buy a TV with a Freesat receiver built in in which case you won’t need a set top box. At present Panasonic is the only manufacturer of televisions with Freesat. The models that have Freesat built in are the following LCD television models TX32LZD81 and TX37LZD81 and the following plasma TV models TH42PZ81B, TH46PZ81, and TH50PZ81B.

Whether you use a Freesat set top box or a TV with Freesat built in you will also need a satellite mini dish. If you already have an existing sky satellite mini dish that is unused, or if have one being used for sky and it has an unused connector on the LNB, then you won’t need to instal another dish. If you don’t have any spare connectors on the LNB then a Satellite dish installer may be able to upgrade it so that it has two or four connectors. A satellite dish installer will also be required to instal a satellite dish if you don’t have one, or you need an additional one, or if you require additional cable runs from an unused LNB connector. Obviously the installation of a satellite dish is dependant on the dish having no obstructions such as trees, and also subject to limitations such as planning issues or high rise buildings.

Which areas of the country can receive Freesat ?

In the region of 98% of houses in the UK can receive Freesat – so almost every household can get Freesat even if they don’t receive terrestrial freeview.

What types of programme channels are offered ?

All of the best channels from the BBC and ITV are available for the entire family including Entertainment, Lifestyle, Children, Special Interests, Music, Movies, Radio, Shopping and Regional TV, Dating and Gaming. The channels available include BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, BBC News, BBC Parliament, CBBC, CBeebies, Channel 4, E4, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, Zone Romanitica, Zone Reality, Zone Thriller, CITV, Tiny Pops, Pop, Pop Girls, Aljazera, KiX, Overseas Property TV, Film 4, Movies 4 Men 2, True Movies, True Movies 2, , B4U Music, Bubble Hits, Scuzz, Zmusic, QVC, JML, Price-Drop TV etc. Additional to these there will be additional channels available shortly.

What about high definition TV ?

High definition TV is available if you have a High definition Freesat set top box together with a TV that is HD Ready. On the other hand you can receive High definition from Freesat if you buy a high definition television that has Freesat built in such as the ones offered by Panasonic e.g. TX32LZD81, TX37LZD81, TH42PZ81B, TH46PZ81, and TH50PZ81B. The benefit of receiving the HD broadcasts on a HD Ready TV is that the image resolution is in the region of five times that of a standard TV.

At Present there are two high definition television channels on Freesat – BBC HD and ITV1. Both of these channels offer high definition programmes for a proportion of the time every day but the number of hours will increase during 2009.

If you possess a HD Ready television and you haven’t subscribed to Sky HD or Virgin’s HD cable service , and you don’t intend to, it follows that Freesat represents a logical option otherwise the added cost of your high quality HD television is wasted.

Interactive Television at the touch of a button.

The red button on the remote control makes available access to information about business news, lottery results, you can even see the results for your favourite team. This information is effortlessly accessible through easy to use menus.

You can also access the benefits of video based multi-screen interactive television services such as Wimbledon, the Olympics, the Proms, Snooker, etc. With more events to be had in the future. The red button allows you the choice of viewing events from different cameras and at different camera angles where you select which one. So you can switch to different stages, or tennis courts, or events when you choose.

Conclusion

It is doubtful that high definition will be available from any other broadcaster in the next few years with out subscription. So if you would like to be subscription and contract free high definition television then Freesat is the obvious choice. Similarly if you don’t receive freeview and don’t want to pay a monthly charge then Freesat is worth bearing in mind. If you aren’t interested in high definition channels then also look at the free channels available from Sky.

For almost 20 years Armadeus Cornelius has built a wealth of knowledge in the electrical industry. For more details on high definition TV go to HD Ready TV. If you would like to know more about Freesat then go to Freesat