FreeSat Review

Overall Rating

HD Picture Quality, Dolby Digital Out, Small Size

SD Picture Quality, On screen logo on HD picture

This is a review of the Free Sat HD service with the Humax foxsat-hd digital box ( £150)

Installation is easy, with the exception of the post code input (it refuses to accept correct ones, use London based code & it passes!!) Connections Are HDMI, component & composite on RCA & RGB/S-Video on 2xSCART plus spdif optical & analogue audio on RCA.. Note though that the HD only works on the HDMI as it gets disabled on the component during broadcast. Satellite signal input is on standard f-type, just needs dish pointed to sky @ 28.2E

Following set-up got 131 channels, including BBC & channel 4 channels but of less consequence no channel 5, of even less importance all the ITV channels are there, just no programming worth watching on them!! There is only one HD channel at present (Sep. 08).

Picture quality of SD broadcasts is poor, though seems to be standard for sky much better to use a freeview source for these. The HD channel is great except for the permanent BBC HD logo in the corner, since the freeview SD of the same is not that far off (On a pioneer plasma with integrated receiver) I would say don't bother with this unless you are one of the few that don't care about your viewing being permanently distracted by these abominations.

The unit provides an EPG (7 day) but you loose the current programme when you select it, overall not as good as the freeview one.

Overall, not worth the money unless you are unable to receive freeview broadcasts, pity it seems satellite SD broadcasts appear to be degraded to perhaps persuade satellite viewers to upgrade?

Members' Comments onFreeky's Review

• Freeky on 30th Sep 2008

  A few points I missed from the original review. Many other boxes (Bush, Goodmans and Grundig) are in fact made by Alba & require a hack (2846) to access manual tune, this Humax box has Manual tune as standard within the menu, with this you can access all FTA channels on Sky, including an extra HD channel. The box provides a menu switch to toggle between the 'freesat' set & the 'manual tune' set. There is no EPG on the latter.
  
  This makes this box a good choice for EUROPEAN viewers as it provides access to the channels without the hassle of a FTA 'Sky' card. Though you want get channel 5 currently.

• Freeky on 30th Sep 2008

  Another note to add:
  
  Although there is no ITV HD channel per say, when there is HD content available you get a 'press red for hd' option on the SD channel, pressing red then transfers you to the HD version, BUT again, not vastly better than the freeview version & the ITV HD logo is even worse than the BBC one, do they not know plasma's can burn??

• leewasp on 4th Mar 2009

  I found this review helpful because...I am considering either Freesat or Freeview Humax PVRs. I have standard Virgin which is good but I want a digital TV recorder . I can receive satellite and terrestial signals so am interested in quality of both systems.