What gives? You wait blinkin' ages for a decent set-top box to show its interface, and then a whole bunch come along at once. The Humax Freesat+ HD with free time is the latest television service to pop up and is set to hit the shelves of major retailers up and down the land on 17 October -- that's this Wednesday -- for £279.
Freesat+ HD offers a similar service to the likes of Lord Sugar's YouView box and the Pure Avalon 300R, combining access to 150 free satellite channels with on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer and the ability to record programmes to watch later.
It sets itself apart from rival services, however, by making use of Sky dishes -- so if you live in out in the sticks and suffer from shoddy coverage, you won't have to shell out for a subscription-based service just to get a great picture. This is a great option for those who have reached the end of their contract with Sky and want to keep using their existing dish without continuing to pay an expensive subscription.
Bear in mind though, that if you don't already have a satellite dish clamped to your bricks and mortar, you'll have to shell out an extra £80 to have one installed. The unnecessary extra faff and expense means it's unlikely to win a place in the hearts and homes of the masses, especially as both YouView and the Avalon 300R are boxes that will work straight out of the... er, box, and are priced at a standard £300 apiece.
Unlike Pure and YouView, the service also currently lacks some pretty vital on-demand options such as 4oD and Demand 5 -- although they are scheduled to launch before Christmas. Talks are also in place with paid-for suppliers such as Netflix, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee that extra services will become available.
My colleague Andrew went hands-on with Freesat+ HD, and while he was impressed with the clean, simple interface -- dubbed 'free time' -- he was ultimately left unconvinced by its ability to persuade telly-watchers to upgrade.
Will you be rushing out on Wednesday to grab a Freesat+ HD box, or do your loyalties lie with a rival service? Record your opinions in the comments below or fast-forward to our Facebook page.
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Comments 6
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anonymous 16 October, 2012 07:55
Worth noting that Freeview and Freesat are independant offerings each with a different bouquet of channels around a core offering - they are not interchangeable terms as implied by the beginning of this article.
Not sure that 'the masses' (surely you don't mean this to read in as perjorative a manner as it does?) were put off by the 'faff and expense' of a dish - a glance around the streets will show this and that many people were willing to pay Sky through the nose for them. Some are no longer used and ripe for Freesat boxes if Freesat were wider known.
anonymous 16 October, 2012 08:49
Why not just get sky?
dougmet 16 October, 2012 10:49
You don't need to be in the sticks to get shoddy freeview signal. I've lived in several major towns where I can only get one multiplex. Bit annoyed to have to shell out for another expensive box, I really wish they'd make one with both receivers in so that you can switch between.
anonymous 16 October, 2012 13:11
If you've got a spare hour or so on your hands you can easily put up a satellite dish for under £35. I brought a kit off Amazon for about £20, a cheapo sat finder for about £5 and some coax for £10. You could probably do it even cheaper but I brought enough coax for multiple feeds, x2 downstairs, x1 upstairs.
There are some good resources out there including a satellite direction site, which uses Google maps to help align your dish according to your actual house location. But a quick glance out of your front door will probably give you the best idea, just look at your neighbours dishes!
Now you can spend that £50 you've saved on more gadgets! Result.
anonymous 17 October, 2012 10:29
Our "smart" tele takes freeview and satellite inputs, and with its dongle can see the internet as well; so we have no other boxes. To see an old programme, no need to record, just switch on the internet router and go to a TVplayer channel on the internet. All this chat about boxes is going to be out of date soon IMHO.
Freesat is the system of choice for us; we have not chosen to watch freeview for at least a year.
Enjoy your arguments about irrelevant systems you dinosaurs.
anonymous 26 October, 2012 08:37
'Why not just get Sky?' "Do the math", as our American cousins say. Unless 150 channels aren't enough why pay for your Sky box over and over again with your inflated subscription?
"...so if you live in out in the sticks and suffer from shoddy coverage..." Sloppy! Oddly enough most tv transmitters are 'out in the sticks'. Not sure why distance from an urban environment might be thought to produce poor terrestrial coverage?