Quote:
Originally Posted by the-cable-guy
there is channels that i watch that aint on freesat that are on free sat from sky. thats not really the point tho, i cant see the point in having a 'new' service thats using the same satellites but gives less channels regardless of whether i watch them all or not. ppl keep saying that Sky are controlling well so are freesat as not all FTA channels are on their service, which clearly means that their dictating to ppl as to which channels they will get.
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Well, first off, Freesat state that they will be carrying upwards of 200 channels by year's end. So pretty soon there should be no appreciable difference between the channel line up on FreesatFromSky and Freesat. I understand that the lack of channels available right now is to do with the need to get them on the Freesat EPG and in some cases, due to existing, exclusive encryption deals some channels have with Sky. So the only person dictating what you can't see on Freesat at the moment is James Murdoch.
Secondly, the 'point' in this new service - or points, as there are several reasons - is this:
(a) Freeview will never be able to offer a full HD service. And even when it does begin to carry some HD content, its users will require a new STB. Freesat offers BBC-HD right now, ITV-HD shortly, and 4-HD to follow, all guaranteed unencrypted and subscription free. Which is not the case with Sky. It is inevitable that one day -admittedly still a decade away at least IMO, but nevertheless - all channels will be HD, just as inevitably all channels went from monochrome to colour. And when that happens, you won't get them all on Freeview because terrestrial broadcasting doesn't have the bandwidth available to do so.
(b) Even if Sky did offer HD content FTA without charging you for their 'free' viewing card, the BBC and ITV quite rightly have nothing to gain by placing their HD fortunes in the hands of Rupert Murdoch, and everything to lose. If you want proof, then consider this: FreesatFromSky was only launched
after the BBC and ITV announced their own Freesat service was being planned. That is the only reason it is possible today to get any kind of service from Sky without an ongoing subscription. So Freesat changed your viewing options, for the better, long before it even went live. Murdoch tried to head Freesat off at the pass by making it unnecessary but he has bargained without the HD effect. There are 10 million HD-ready homes in the UK, and a great many of them do not have Sky, and have no intention of subscribing to Sky. So where are they now able to go to get the most out of their new TVs?
Yup.
