Freesat: Free satellite TV by BBC and ITV tv to launch!

[the-cable-guy]

the UKTV channels are not UK terrestrial tv channels so wtf are you on about ?

[Losttheplot]

Originally Posted by the-cable-guy

the UKTV channels are not UK terrestrial tv channels so wtf are you on about ?

Right back at you! WTF?

I know UKTV are not terrestrial, I said that they were in Sky's Variety pack.

[the-cable-guy]

well why did you bring the UKTV channels into what i said then ?

[Losttheplot]

Originally Posted by the-cable-guy

well why did you bring the UKTV channels into what i said then ?

Ahem, Dagnamit!

OK I misread your post I apologise.

I wouldn't mind but I re-read it and still didn't notice till the third time.

[the-cable-guy]

not a problem i just didnt get what you meant from what i said anyways dont worry about it

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by Chris T

- Ethernet, therefore no possibility of a broadband return path and therefore nothing even close to VOD from the iPlayer or 4OD

My Sky HD box has an ethernet port...


Not yet enabled, but it's there for "future use" (VOD, IIRC).

Originally Posted by Chris T

Not very long ago, none of the 'main' UK channels, including the BBC, were FTA. All of them were paying Sky for encryption services and the *only* way to get any of them via satellite in the UK was to pay Sky for a subscription.

I thought that the "main" UK channels (BBC etc.) were FTV, not subscription-only, before they finally went FTA? Encrypted, but no need to pay...

[the-cable-guy]

Originally Posted by Matt D

I thought that the "main" UK channels (BBC etc.) were FTV, not subscription-only, before they finally went FTA? Encrypted, but no need to pay...

yes thats correct the UK terrestrial tv channels have never been pay tv, ppl are confusing them with the Irish channels which are pay tv channels on Sky

---------- Post added at 20:38 ---------- Previous post was at 20:34 ----------

Originally Posted by Matt D

My Sky HD box has an ethernet port...


Not yet enabled, but it's there for "future use" (VOD, IIRC).

thanks for the info i thought that i had red somewhere that they have an ethernet port, but i wasnt too sure. thanks for clearing that up

[Chris T]

Originally Posted by Matt D

I thought that the "main" UK channels (BBC etc.) were FTV, not subscription-only, before they finally went FTA? Encrypted, but no need to pay...

Originally Posted by the-cable-guy

yes thats correct the UK terrestrial tv channels have never been pay tv, ppl are confusing them with the Irish channels which are pay tv channels on Sky

Let's not confuse Free To View (FTV) and Free To Air (FTA). Until the BBC took the initiative and shifted its content to Astra 2D, it was impossible to see their channels on satellite without buying a Sky viewing card.

And until this month, with the launch of Freesat, you still have to have a viewing card from Sky if you want to watch any of the other 'FTV' channels - ITV, C4 and C5. Actually C5 still isn't broadcasting 'in the clear' due to outstanding rights issues.

In all these cases, it is action by the BBC, moving towards a Freesat service, that has brought about change. As of this month, I can view these channels by satellite without paying Sky a penny. Thanks to Freesat. Not thanks to Sky.

thanks for the info i thought that i had red somewhere that they have an ethernet port, but i wasnt too sure. thanks for clearing that up

Not much use when there's no software in the box to do anything with it, though. Unlike the Freesat spec, which has the complete package for manufacturers to build in if they choose - as they have done, and will be selling within 6 months. Like I said, you're really grasping.

[Losttheplot]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Let's not confuse Free To View (FTV) and Free To Air (FTA). Until the BBC took the initiative and shifted its content to Astra 2D, it was impossible to see their channels on satellite without buying a Sky viewing card.

And until this month, with the launch of Freesat, you still have to have a viewing card from Sky if you want to watch any of the other 'FTV' channels - ITV, C4 and C5. Actually C5 still isn't broadcasting 'in the clear' due to outstanding rights issues.

In all these cases, it is action by the BBC, moving towards a Freesat service, that has brought about change. As of this month, I can view these channels by satellite without paying Sky a penny. Thanks to Freesat. Not thanks to Sky.

Not much use when there's no software in the box to do anything with it, though. Unlike the Freesat spec, which has the complete package for manufacturers to build in if they choose - as they have done, and will be selling within 6 months. Like I said, you're really grasping.

ITV has been FTA for a long time now.
Sky had integrated TV's when they first launched digital - they didn't take off.

There are no channels currently available on Freesat which aren't currently available on a Sky box, without a smartcard. For now I'd stick with a Sky box cheap from ebay.

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Let's not confuse Free To View (FTV) and Free To Air (FTA). Until the BBC took the initiative and shifted its content to Astra 2D, it was impossible to see their channels on satellite without buying a Sky viewing card.

I'm not confusing anything


You said "the *only* way to get any of them via satellite in the UK was to pay Sky for a subscription."


I pointed out that before they went FTA, they were FTV - which meant that although they required a viewing card, due to being encrypted, they were still "free" & did not require a subscription.

Paying a one-off £20 for a viewing card - or simply using an expired viewing card - isn't the same as having to "pay Sky for a subscription".

[the-cable-guy]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Let's not confuse Free To View (FTV) and Free To Air (FTA). Until the BBC took the initiative and shifted its content to Astra 2D, it was impossible to see their channels on satellite without buying a Sky viewing card.

And until this month, with the launch of Freesat, you still have to have a viewing card from Sky if you want to watch any of the other 'FTV' channels - ITV, C4 and C5. Actually C5 still isn't broadcasting 'in the clear' due to outstanding rights issues.

In all these cases, it is action by the BBC, moving towards a Freesat service, that has brought about change. As of this month, I can view these channels by satellite without paying Sky a penny. Thanks to Freesat. Not thanks to Sky.

? how can anyone get confused ? its simple really FTA means that any receiver can view the channels, FTV means that a viewing card & a Videoguard receiver are required but you dont pay a subscription. aswell as getting five's channels you also get Setanta Sports News as it is FTV. the BBC & ITV have been FTA long before freesat ever came along so thats beside the point.

btw ITV is FTA not FTV & it has been for along time as have all of their channels.

Originally Posted by Chris T

Not much use when there's no software in the box to do anything with it, though. Unlike the Freesat spec, which has the complete package for manufacturers to build in if they choose - as they have done, and will be selling within 6 months. Like I said, you're really grasping.

again you cant compare equipment that isint even out yet as no one (other then testers/engineers etc) has used it.

[Chris T]

Originally Posted by the-cable-guy

? how can anyone get confused ? its simple really FTA means that any receiver can view the channels, FTV means that a viewing card & a Videoguard receiver are required but you dont pay a subscription. aswell as getting five's channels you also get Setanta Sports News as it is FTV. the BBC & ITV have been FTA long before freesat ever came along so thats beside the point.

btw ITV is FTA not FTV & it has been for along time as have all of their channels.

Again, you're - mistakenly - equating your own expert knowledge of this subject with that of the man in the street. The difference between free-to-air and free-to-view is not plain and obvious, unless you have a certain amount of background understanding in this area.

Sadly your expertise in the technical side of this subject doesn't extend to the communication of it to the non-technical public. But as I said earlier, that's why you're an installer, not a marketeer.

again you cant compare equipment that isint even out yet as no one (other then testers/engineers etc) has used it.

Again, you can. It's simple. It goes something like this:

The Freesat spec, as published to hardware manufacturers, includes both ethernet connection and software in the box to drive it.
The Sky spec, as published to hardware manufacturers, specifies an ethernet connection (for the HD box only, so far as we know) but there is currently no software to drive it.

And why are you speaking as if only a handful of developers have ever had their hands on this, when the Panasonic freesat-integrated HDTV, with ethernet, was demo'ed to a room full of journalists at the Freesat launch the other week? It's not still in development, it's a finished product that is being manufactured ahead of a launch that will begin with their plasma range as early as next month. As stated on their own website: http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_G...l#anker_711712

Oh, I'm forgetting, the option of an integrated TV set and a working ethernet port sort of blows your Freesat-offers-nothing-new argument out of the water, just a little bit. That'll be why you're scrabbling about for spurious reasons not to include those inconvenient facts in your comparison of the two services.

[the-cable-guy]

? how is knowing the difference between FTA & FTV expert knowledge ? iv already explained about comparing equipment that has not been released yet.

[Losttheplot]

I can't understand how having an ethernet port makes Freesat cutting edge?

[the-cable-guy]

me either but Chris T seems to think that its the best thing ever lol also the hardware is what enables it, not freesat & the ability have been available for some time, as its nowt to do with freesat its to do with the hardware.