 digital boxes
Freesat It is owned by BBC and ITV. Freesat is exactly what is say Free. Once you have paid for the set-top box there are no further charges and no monthly subscriptions to pay.
Freesat boasts:
- HD (High Definition) TV now with both ITV-HD and BBC-HD already in place (whereas Freeview's HD is yet to come)
- 140 Television a Radio channels including movie and children's cartoon broadcasts
- Full UK coverage
Freesat boxes come in three types (see 1, 2 below):
- Standard Freesat including all the channels listed below (except HD channels)
- Freesat HD HD channels BBC and ITV at present (not available in Northern Ireland and Scotland link). You can even connect a Home Theatre System to it for Dolby 5.1 surround sound
- Freesat HD + digital TV Recorder. Which includes all the facilities of the Freesat HD (see above) and pause, rewind and record live TV
You can also purchase Televisions with Freesat built-in with any of the combinations mentioned above from Digital Direct, even the large plasma televisions
The EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) is easy to use and very similar to the Freeview menu.
NOTES
1 Most manufactures include all the necessary cables, but it is well worth checking. How many SCART connectors it has? If you want to connect this directly to a TV and do not have a Video Recorder or DVD player/Recorder then one SCART will suffice. However if you have several items already connected, then go for one that has two SCART connectors so you can 'daisy chain' them.
2 You need to be aware a Freesat box with built-in DVD recorder / player comes in various formats some are able to play virtually any format of video or audio and others fewer types. When it comes to recording some are very selective as to the make or format of the recordable media (disk)- so when you purchase ask what types and makes the one you choose will take. |
