Have your say & ask the experts

I think freesat will die a bad death.freeview hd will launch in oct 2010,and if you sum it up sky hd works out cheaper then freesat.freesat £280 for a pvr then £80 install fee for 1 and a half hd channels.sky hd £49 free install £30 min sub.then after a year cancal sub with sky and you still get more free hd content then freesat.bbc hd,itv hd c4 hd,luxe hd.then sky news hd,five hd says it all really.just my thoughts but we invest in all this great tech then skimp on content and cables.

I certainly hope not & i certainly won't be subscribing to sky however many HD channels they've got, the reason i got freesat is like it's title it's FREE, i'm hoping their will be more HD channels by next year 2010, but we'll have to wait & see.

Oh by the way i can also get the luxe channel on my panny PZ81 tv.

I'm not sure. There will certainly need to be a lot more manufacturer support for Freesat if it is going to survive long term, and with plans for Freeview HD taking root, the Freesat contingent must be getting a little concerned. Ultimately it depends whether Freeview coverage becomes more complete as signals are strengthened during switchover.

One of these free providers is going to have to succeed. The problem with Sky is that it is a big investment to make every month. Even those who subscribe to more basic Sky packages are often reluctant, or unable, to pay the extra for HD. I currently pay £18 per months for the bits of Sky that we actually watch (and quite a lot we don't) and there is no way I'd be prepared to pay for the extra channels AND the £10 a month surcharge to make having Sky HD worthwhile.

slewis:

Oh by the way i can also get the luxe channel on my panny PZ81 tv.

Yes,in "other sat" mode or whatever it's called.But you wont be able to watch it in freesat mode.

I hope it improves, I got the non-freesat-logo'ed Fortec Star kit from maplins in the hope of more HD content. ITV's efforts are a joke, at least the beeb is always running something. Freeview is no use to me, I live in a disused quarry with lousy reception and I pay more than enough to Sky without shelling out extra for HD. oh, and I dont think the quality difference is as great as they bang on about, better yes but..

Phew! Glad I read this thread - thanks for insight, folks.

Was considering a Humax Foxsat-HDR as a swap/return for a Pioneer BDP-320 (which is not compatible with my 18-month-old non-24fps HD Ready TV).

Hell, next I'll get a fax from my Nigerian web-based recruitment agency saying that my new job at Lehman Bros doesn't include a parking slot for my Ssangyong Rodius.

MMMMMMMMM,just read something scary about freesat,might just be hearsay,lg and panasonic are apparently re-thinking about the postion in the freesat market.Itv have made huge losses due to falling advertizing revenues,and are looking at cutting more costs.2010 we will be paying an extra £5.00 a month on our tv licence to subserdise itv loss.3 other tv mana****taers are including freeview hd in next years models,and this could pose a threat to freesat.looks like theay will just keep the 1 and a half channels they have.And also looks like sky may have upset them with it now commen place that people can recive itv hd through the new epg guide.even though sky have no control over this.so itv hd is not exclusive through just freesat.i cannot say where i read this.but i sat in amazement.looks like there are bigger and better things in the pipeline.

Sorry but without providing some sort of source for this information you are simply sharing speculation and, even though Sony don't currently support Freesat, I don't think speculation about the unpredictable nature of TV broadcasting does the industry any favours at all.

Yeah we could do with some meat to the bones by you revealing the source of this rumour, or else it remains an unsubstantiated rumour which as Matthew points out does nobody any favours.

Hi matthew,Sorry i cannot comment on where i read the article.As you know we are not allowed to post details on this forum.By the way sony is relesing new tvs next march/april with freesat/freeview hd tuners built in to the new range of sets 26" and above.think freesat will find a home but will have very limited hd channels,as we all know it cost a fortune to launch more satalites into orbit,then paying for staff to learn how it all works,i guess itv just dont have the funds to pour more money into freesat at this moment in time.but at least a couple of channels is better then none.It is a shame there are no more hd channels on freesat,so people can see what it has to offer.But i have always belived that you do have to pay for a premium product such as sky hd.it may not be for everyone,but i think its well worth the extra £2.50 a week.LOL thats less then a pint of beer!!!

I'd heard about the upcoming freesat Sonys off the record a couple of weeks ago, but I'm in the middle of a couple of weeks off, so hadn't realised they'd been announced until I read the WHF news story on it. I'm glad. It gives us more options in terms of sales and it gives the customer more choice. I also think having another major manufacturer behind it will help Freesat. I'm excited about the triple tuner models as well. Some shrewd moves from Sony I think.

BTW I do agree with you about the much better choice on Sky and about the advantages of paying a bit extra for a premium product but like you say its not for everyone. TV just isn't a major priority in my home (music and blu-ray/dvd based movies come far higher up the pecking order) so I'm not willing to pay the extra myself.

sonycentre:

Hi matthew,Sorry i cannot comment on where i read the article.As you know we are not allowed to post details on this forum.By the way sony is relesing new tvs next march/april with freesat/freeview hd tuners built in to the new range of sets 26" and above.think freesat will find a home but will have very limited hd channels,as we all know it cost a fortune to launch more satalites into orbit,then paying for staff to learn how it all works,i guess itv just dont have the funds to pour more money into freesat at this moment in time.but at least a couple of channels is better then none.It is a shame there are no more hd channels on freesat,so people can see what it has to offer.But i have always belived that you do have to pay for a premium product such as sky hd.it may not be for everyone,but i think its well worth the extra £2.50 a week.LOL thats less then a pint of beer!!!

Much as though you want to be independant and make your own views clear  ,I would really suggest you change your forum name if you go down this road,particularly if people are reading for the first time.Repeating comments from elsewhere which you cannot cite due to house rules is going to give a false impression no matter how many times you say it is your own opinion.I  would also add  ,and this is going to sound extremely picky and pretentious, but if you must comment on this forum using the name Sonycentre , I suggest you do a spell/syntax check to make sure you uphold the name.And I apologise if English is not your first language.

Ravey Gravey Davy:

sonycentre:

Hi matthew,Sorry i cannot comment on where i read the article.As you know we are not allowed to post details on this forum.By the way sony is relesing new tvs next march/april with freesat/freeview hd tuners built in to the new range of sets 26" and above.think freesat will find a home but will have very limited hd channels,as we all know it cost a fortune to launch more satalites into orbit,then paying for staff to learn how it all works,i guess itv just dont have the funds to pour more money into freesat at this moment in time.but at least a couple of channels is better then none.It is a shame there are no more hd channels on freesat,so people can see what it has to offer.But i have always belived that you do have to pay for a premium product such as sky hd.it may not be for everyone,but i think its well worth the extra £2.50 a week.LOL thats less then a pint of beer!!!

Much as though you want to be independant and make your own views clear  ,I would really suggest you change your forum name if you go down this road,particularly if people are reading for the first time.Repeating comments from elsewhere which you cannot cite due to house rules is going to give a false impression no matter how many times you say it is your own opinion.I  would also add  ,and this is going to sound extremely picky and pretentious, but if you must comment on this forum using the name Sonycentre , I suggest you do a spell/syntax check to make sure you uphold the name.And I apologise if English is not your first language.

Have to say I agree. You at least need a disclaimer in your signature like the one I have. Otherwise, and particularly with your chosen forum name, people will think you are posting/speaking on behalf of Sony Centres. Given the nature of Sony Centres, and the fact that several different companies run them, you can't speak on their behalf, so I think you need to think about this.

Also, the Freesat launch is a big change for Sony and, given your forum name, I'm not sure your comments about the technology would go down too well at Weybridge.

I would have to agree there are better things in the pipeline , if you look at america which we are always behind once we have this fast broadband that we are promised then even sky is in the poo  as there are now company's online you can watch nearly everything in HD and what you want when you want all through the net for a smaller subscription than sky . The net has changed so much in the last 10 years and its going to continue to do so over the next further 10 years , so all this worrying about now and whats going to be , its all going to be forgotten about in 12 months and we will be worrying / moaning about new issues