Is Freesat from Sky good value for money

[seawright]

At under £100 I always thought that Sky's Pay Once Watch Forever package was a good deal for anyone without an existing satellite dish who did not want to be tied into a twelve month subscription. Unfortunately this package is no longer available.

The only alternative from Sky is their Freesat package at £175 which I consider to be rather expensive albeit it does allow HD reception of 6 channels which were not available with the previous package. There are many Freesat packages available from high street retailers and other sources covering a range of prices from around £100 to considerably more than Sky are charging.

I am just wondering from the point of view of value for money whether to advise a retired relative to purchase Freesat from Sky or whether they should be looking elsewhere. Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

[Scubbie]

To be fair if I wanted a Satellite service without a subscription I would just buy a Freesat STB.

The Humax range is probably the best on the market at the moment. Get one which can record too.

Check Wikipedia for a list of the available channels to see if this is what he wants. Search for "list of freesat channels".

Sent from my Galaxy SII using Forum Runner

[dms05]

Why won't the Freeview service suffice? It's built into most modern TV's, it uses an existing aerial and is free. It's also a single remote control!

No matter how you look at it Freesat involves some expense. The cheapest Freesat HD box and installation will be over £200. If you go for a Freesat HD recorder and installation then it's £300.

Of course if you already have a dish installed then the costs can be lower. But what extra over Freeview would you get for the money?

[seawright]

Why won't the Freeview service suffice? It's built into most modern TV's, it uses an existing aerial and is free. It's also a single remote control!No matter how you look at it Freesat involves some expense. The cheapest Freesat HD box and installation will be over £200. If you go for a Freesat HD recorder and installation then it's £300.Of course if you already have a dish installed then the costs can be lower. But what extra over Freeview would you get for the money?

Freeview reception with the existing aerial is not very good so a new TV with new aerial sounds like a very expensive option if the only advantage is a single remote control.

If the cheapest Freesat HD box and installation will be over £200 then £175 for Freesat from Sky sounds like an attractive proposition where there isn't an existing dish.

[Prestige]

Freesat is basically two words merged into one. "Free", so no price involved after installation (free to air). Then, "sat" for satellite (a method of communicating to receiving TV). If you already have a satellite dish installed, you can simply get a Freesat box, and hook it up and you're good to go. You pay for the box, but not the channels; as it's free to air (it actually is free, if you understand where the costs are going + ignoring TV License)!

However, since you do not have an existing dish, Sky would probably be your most cheapest and best bet. Freesat from Sky gives you way more channels than any other provider, plus provided additional HD channels. Furthermore, since you don't already have a dish, Sky will set that up for you.

Since you do not have a satellite dish, Sky seems very promising, and I would probably go down that road. For £175, you would get a Sky satellite dish installation (+ coax cables), Sky HD box, and HDMI/Scart cables to hook up with your TV. The engineer will either install a HDMI or Scart cable based on your TV setup. You will also get a whole range of channels: FREESAT from Sky - What can I watch?

I'm not trying to promote Sky in anyway, but since you don't have a dish installed, Sky would be the best method. If you don't want Sky, you would need to purchase a Freesat box, and install a dish yourself (or pay someone else to do it). Since Freesat boxes are quite expensive, it seems better to go with Sky.

However, you need to consider few factors. Let me start off with a positive, I just need to get this thought out my head. With Sky you get a much more pleasant, branded EPG (Electronic Programme Guide). It's a beautiful interface. Additionally, you will receive 1 year warranty; and if anything at all goes faulty (dish/cables/sky box); they will replace it at no additional cost. If you're outside your warranty, they will offer the same service for £65 (they will fix your setup; so if there is a problem with a dish, box, cables or all, they will replace it). After the repair, they then provide another 3 months warranty. So if your setup becomes faulty within 3 months of the repair, they will again repair your setup for free once again (provided you're within the first 3 months after repair).

Freesat on the other hand, you would probably have to manage yourself.

I don't want to go into too much detail of Freesat, as I don't have much experience with it; and from my searching, it seems as if it's all DIY. Of course, you can look into it yourself and see which suites you; but from my perspective, and price, it seems Sky is a much better deal for you.

All the best!

[Ned Ludd]

One big difference not yet mentioned - the ability to record costs another £10 per month with Sky whilst it is free with FreeSat and an appropriate box!

[Isitme]

I think Sky will supply their basic box for Freesat, ie, one that does not have any recording functions. A similar HD box from other sources will be around £65, £35 for the SD version. Fitting a dish would cost around £120 with a local installer, so the Sky price is very attractive.