FreeSat is the new service brought to you from the BBC and ITV. Offering an alternative to Digital TV, Freesat will be a UK-wide digital satellite TV service which is totally free to viewers.
Are you an avid FreeSat viewer? Can you get clear reception in your area? Send us your Freesat review and let us know if this is a worthwhile alternative to DIgital TV!
written by Anteny on 25/09/2013
I certainly would not recommend Freesat. However, if you are a company based in Luxembourg. This company does not pay its invoices to its dealers and installers in the Czech and Slovak Republic. It uses only small companies to install satellite television and then does not pay its obligations
written by on 19/05/2013
Since leaving my Sky package almost five years ago I have saved myself £1000 in TV bills. My Humax box did however crash this year but I was able to buy another one at half the price of my original one. Freesat has been terrific especially with the red button features on BBC which can be watched in HD. ITV is not so good a picture when watching catch up programmes but for me the best thing about my Freesat is that I can choose where I get my ITV from. I live in Scotland but I am tuned into Granada so I don't get STV . STV didn't have HD but they do now. Will I get the new BT Sport channels, who knows? Whatever happens I am still watching my Samsung TV and my Humax box free of charge, now that's The Real Deal!
written by on 03/12/2012
I had been looking for a decent replacement for sky for a while. I live in an area where digital coverage is poor and we have no access to cable so I thought the only option would be Sky. After very poor customer service and a hefty Sky bill each month that seemed to randomly fluctuate I decided to look at Freesat. I cancelled Sky and purchased a Bush Freesat HD box. Installation was a piece of cake! It just plugs straight into your existing satellite dish and after inputting your postcode you are good to go. My Bush box works very similar to Sky plus HD so you should have no trouble finding your way around. You are given access to over 150 channels and what was surprising to me was the fact that most of the channels were the ones I had been paying Sky to watch. With a quick google you will find several video tutorials showing you how to add even more free-to-air channels! I love it. I treated myself to a Netflix account to watch on my Playstation 3 and now not only am I spoiled for choice I now have no ties to Sky. One happy customer! I am glad I took the chance!
written by Malacath on 29/07/2012
Bought a freesat box after dumping sky. I live in an area where I can't get a decent freeview reception so this service is ideal. I get most channels available on freeview as well as some others that are not. Also you enter a postcode when setting up to make sure you get the correct tv region. The box I bought also has iPlayer and itv player support as well if you connect to the internet. Also has an optional movie service you can subscribe to.
written by deehcee on 17/05/2012
Although I live in a good Freeview area, 2 years ago I bought Humax freesat PVR,and Dish, cost me over £400, so I could get High Definition (over 3 years wait for Freeview HD !),and whilst the Humax box is great, the continued broken promises by Freesat over new channels is making me wonder if I did the right thing, as Freeview now has more HD channels !including ITV 2,3,4, even though Freesat is a joint BBC/ ITV project !! The higher bandwidth of freesat does give you an improved quality, but unless Freesat gets off its backside and gives us more HD channels soon, then many will disconnect and go to Freeview,(HD about to become available in my area) as this is where most new channels are going. Freesat has too many 1 and shopping channels just to make up the numbers. David
Written on: 29/06/2015
ITV 2,3 & 4 are only available on SKY as is Channel 5 - ITV entered an exclusivity deal with Sky when it had the only HD platform so will remain there presumably until the contract ends. Channel 5 had applied and granted a Freeview HD channel but dropped its bid after being unable to resolve "issues of commercial importance".
It will be easier to accommodate all HD channels on Freesat as the channels already exist but Freeview has to make the space available.
written by chaz500 on 07/02/2012
Its brilliant considering it came built in to my tv, it's slightly different to freeview(few more channels, more bandwidth for better picture quality) the hd channels are a bonus. BBC iPlayer came with an update to. I think 1 or 2 channels that are on freeview aren't available on freesat, I could be wrong though. Overall I'm very happy with it...
written by kimfryer on 29/01/2012
complete waste of money, refuses to record chosen program, records random programs that we have not chosen,90% of the time it refuses to record unless you are actually watching what you want to record, which defeats the reason for having the useless machine, and when you try recording it tells you there is no signal when the program is on in front of you.. its poo. dont waste your money...
written by on 05/11/2010
Basically my freesat is the worst thing in the world!!!!!!! Most of my channels don't work and the picture breaks up all the time and i've tried resetting it loads, but upstirs on my other TV we i have Sky and freesat and it works perfectly but when i want to watch something on any ITV or 4 based channed it messes up and it makes me angry because i paid £50, at first it was really good, even bbc one doesn't work!!!! it is the worst thing i've ever bought and such a waste of money. Everyone else i have read about loves it and thats great but mine really isn't even worth watching. Tbh weather has nothing to do with it it never ever works and if it's a little bit rainy or windy none of the channels work. It's making me so so so angry!!!!!!!1
Written on: 29/11/2010
I had the same problem, Bought a dish alignment meter from Maplins, Checked the readings which were low, Adjusted Dish to highest possible reading and now get all channels with no interference, Even in bad weather, may be worth checking you dish alignment
written by jasonx1 on 10/04/2010
this is a review off a freesat Bush BFSAT02SD i only had it for 4 days so far . i brought this for the bedroom as my videosender boxes are playing up at the new house .. first off this is a sd version and not hd . i have sky hd downstairs . but a older tv upstirs so sd version is needed .. the new bush freesat box is basic just a power button on the front thats it no other buttons .. on the back off the box is just a one scart socket for tv only nothing eles so bewarn .. the setup up is easy power on press ok at the signal level type in postcode select tv and thats it 10 seconds later you have all your channels easy ..picture is ok and sound is nice and clear for £29.99 its mostly for a child bedroom or someone trying it out before getting rid off sky .
written by on 04/02/2010
Bought a grundig freesat+ hd (500gb) box about a month ago and for free HD television it's excellent, although you don't get much choice (only itv and bbc) but to be honest it's far better than paying for an expensive sky package and for being FREE it isn't bad. You can also access BBC iplayer on it by plugging in an ethernet cable into the back which is again FREE. Sometimes the box has a mind of it's own and pleases itself if you flick channels to quickly or push it too hard, but on the whole it has worked very well. If it does go wrong a quick off and on at the plug and on is needed then it's fine. The quality of the picture and sound is superb and the system menus are clear, sharp and smooth edged when viewed through a hdmi cable to your television.
written by on 28/12/2009
Forget all the hype regarding how many HD programmes you will access as these are very very few and so I am disappointed but ever hopeful it will improve. The electronic programme guide is poor and when accessed the current programme switches off. The movie channels are worse than poor and definitely B minus. On the positive side reception is excellent and I have the Humax pvr which makes recording a pleasure. All I can now hope for is that the promise of the promised increase in HD programmes materialises!
written by on 15/11/2009
Got myself a Humax Freesat recorder about a year ago. Well. Not impressed really. Can't get that many channels and if you take away the plus channels you're not left with a lot. Freesat promise new channels are coming soon, but they don't, and as for HD - not a lot there either. If FREESAT could just give us the same as FREEVIEW this would make this box a real winner.
written by on 03/11/2009
Unable to get Freeview properly due to signal problems so a local TV shop installed a dish and Goodmans Freesat box. Have had no problems since with sound or picture quality. Paid approx. £200 to include installation, set up and instruction. However, we were unaware that some other products are NOT compatible with Freesat ie. DVD recorder, which is NOT shown on website descriptions nor even on Sony's website. Now have recorder unable to use as retailer will not exchange. Did not ask the right questions before buying! Beware!!
written by on 08/09/2009
Have just replaced one Sky package I have with a Umax foxstat HD box. I was really impressed with how easy it was to set up and how user friendly the programme listing screen and selections are to use, much better than the freview systems and comparable, if not better than Sky. The picture quality is fantastic even on a non HD TV.
I will now be changing all my Sky packages over to Freesat with an annual saving of £1008. The Freesat box will pay for its self in 6 months and I have the added bonus of not having to deal with Sky ever again!
written by garybrighton on 18/07/2009
Just brought myself a humax pvr Freesat box from Argos which cost me £288 which is a great buy and a one off fee and you dont have to pay a subscription like you do with Sky.
picture and sound quality is better then my skyhd box and easy to use and you have all the same features that you do with skyplus where you can record one programe and watch another and records a series link for you and gives you live pause and fast rewind which is much more smoother then skyplus and skyhd
i have just cancelled my skyhd service which i was paying £45.25 pcm so i have made myself a great saving
also i know have itvhd and bbchd for free
well done freesat keep it going tv should always be free seeing we are paying a huge tv licence fee every year that goes up and never comes down.
Written on: 07/04/2010
I found this review very helpful because...I am thinking of replacing my freeview box with freesat due to reception problems.
Written on: 07/08/2013
I dumped Sky about 3 years ago because of the ever rising cost and their appalling customer service and bought a Panasonic Freesat receiver to compliment my TV. Now I can record two Freesat channels at the same time, whilst either watching a third channel recorded earlier or one on Freeview. With Panasonic Viera Link, it's all so simple to use and FREE!!
written by on 30/04/2009
currently in process of cancelling my virgin tv account. I found many programmes repeated every month and sometimes twice in one weekend !!! then I thought why pay 49 quid a month for the use of a box where hd is on bbc, when I could have it free?. I now have top up tv for 9.99 giving me downloaded sky progs, and my hd and free channels on the freeesat box. my top up box also does what sky plus does. the cost? all in all £34.39 with my virgin phone and broadband.
this saves me15 quid a month and if I take setanta 1 for a fiver, I am still saving 10 quid per month, better in my pocket than bransons..
written by JohnLy on 17/02/2009
What a disappointment FREESAT has turned out to be. The initial advertising 'blurb 'promised a HD service to rival SKY. I spent £300 on a Humax PVR HD and a lot more on a 1018p television set in order to obtain lots of HD programmes without having to pay the Sky HD premium each month. All the non-HD programmes on Freesat I could already obtain through my Freeview or very basic non-HD Sky subscription.
What do I get from Freesat? A daytime BBC HD channel showing nothing but HD previews repeated endlessly time after time. Those of us who have gone for the Freesat HD already know what is on it and how good the definition is and those who have not got it cannot see the improved quality of the HD features anyway. After the preview comes two hours of children ' s TV. I ' m sure most of the children looking in could not care less whether the Tellytubbies are a bit fuzzy round the edges or not! After that there are usually some 'bits and pieces 'involving Jules Holland. I ' m sure he is quite a nice chap but there is only so much of anyone that one can take!
In the later evening there are usually one or two programmes which are actually worth watching in HD but even then some of them are only repeats of what we watched earlier in the week on HD! As to ITV1 ' s HD output " don ' t even go there " if you are lucky you might just find one of their HD programmes in the TV guide magazines!
What a wasted opportunity. The BBC HD channel could be putting out good programmes throughout the day which the HD PVRs could be recording to be watched in the evening.
Incidentally, I have nothing but good things to say about the Humax PVR HD. It boots up quite quickly from 'stand by 'and using it to record is simplicity itself. It is just a pity that it is given such a limited selection of programmes to record in HD.
I have taken part in the Freesat 'on line viewing survey 'and have made my views abundantly clear to those running it!
What am I about to do now? Well the Sky HD+ box is now being offered at £49 so I am going to upgrade my Sky subscription to HD and pay the £10 per month with a good grace! JohnL.
written by brunnery on 12/10/2008
It sets me free from the problems with standard aerials. Freeview doesnt work well in quite a few areas so Freesat is ideal.
written by Freeky on 24/09/2008
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?
Written on: 30/09/2008
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.
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<br/>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.
Written on: 04/06/2010
As a further update (June 2010)
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<br/>Channel 5 is now available as is a now permanent ITV HD channel, though with it annoying logo (or DOG).
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<br/>A bonus feature available now with the Humax is via the red button, you can select an I-Player option, allowing you to watch all those I-Player programmes without a PC and on your big screen instead of the tichy PC monitor. Of course you do need a broadband connection to use the I-Player service, just connect a LAN cable from your modem to the Humax box.
Written on: 04/03/2009
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.
Written on: 30/09/2008
Another note to add:
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<br/>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??
written by Steve Deecars on 05/07/2008
Picture quality on Freesat 1080i is excellent, cancelled my SKY+ which was awful and never worked from day one. I'm using the Bush HD box from Argos which was a good deal £119 + free HDMI lead.
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Mallo02's Response to Malacath's Review
Written on: 28/10/2012
i live in ireland and all was working well on my freesat. but i had to do an intial installation again and now i need a post code.