need help on what to do about free satellite tv

[emm4]

Hi all,
I have been trying to figure out the cheapest way to have freeview tv for the house.I dont have a lot of money so need to make every penny stretch
I have had a look at getting sky etc,but cant afford the monthly payments so thought that freeview would be the best way forward.Not knowing anything about it,i thought i would come and ask here first.
What i wanted to do was buy 3 freeview boxes (1 for the lounge,and 1 for in each of the childrens bedrooms).Our normal picture from the aerial is really poor so is it possible to buy a satellite dish and have all 3 freeview boxes wired up to it?If so,does this mean that whatever is being watched in 1 room will have to be watched in another,or do i have to buy 3 dishes?
Also,i would need them all fitting and setting up,so how much should i be looking at paying for this to be done?Would it be just as cheap to ring someone (although im not sure who to ring.lol) and ask them to supply and fit all the bits that i need,or would it be cheaper to buy the freeview boxes from a shop and just ask for the dish(s) to be supplied.I live in stourport on severn and next door has a satellite dish up,so we can get it.
Sorry if im not asking the right questions or am talking rubbish,but i really dont know much about this stuff.Any help would be most appreciated
many thanks,
emma..x

[Robbo]

Hi emm4, welcome to the forum.

It is possible to run three receivers from one dish, instead of a single LNB you get a Quad, which allows up to 4 receivers to run off it.

At the moment there are three main routes to satellite TV:-

1. Subscribe to Sky-min £19 per month.

2.Buy a "Pay once watch forever package from Sky" its about £70 from Argos at the moment. With that you get the dish put up and a box for free I think. Check the details on the Argos Website.
Here is a link to it:-
Buy Sky Pay Once Watch Forever Pack. at Argos.co.uk

3. Buy your own dish, buy your own receivers, and either self install or get an installer.

To get an installer, just go through the yellow pages and ask for a few quotes.


At this moment in time, I think option 2 would be your best bet. Then go and buy a Quad LNB from the net, and a couple of extra receivers (
from £30 each I think). At the moment you could not watch channel 4 or 5 on the extra two receivers.

Once a dish is up, it is relatively easy to add more receivers, you just need to run extra coax cables and swap the LNB for a quad.
( Hey if you slip the Sky man a few quid, he might even do this for you, who knows?)

In March, Freesat from the BBC is being launched. There are no cost details at the present, but it might be worth hanging on to see what they are offering. I think they are going to do an install package with it as well.

I have no idea of install costs for a single satellite dish, but it wouldn't be too much, less than £100 i should have thought.

Robbo

[emm4]

Hi Robbo,
many thanks for the lengthy and very informative reply
I have taken a look at the argos link,but they require a credit card,which i dont have.I will have to pay cash for whatever i decide to go with.I think that the other idea you gave me of buying the quad lmb (does this come on the dish?) and buy my own freeview boxes and get someone in to fit them all would be the best route for me.It has made things a lot clearer for me and i think i know what to ask for when i get the yellow pages out.
Thanks again and best wishes,emma..x

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by emm4

Hi Robbo,
many thanks for the lengthy and very informative reply
I have taken a look at the argos link,but they require a credit card,which i dont have.I will have to pay cash for whatever i decide to go with.I think that the other idea you gave me of buying the quad lmb (does this come on the dish?) and buy my own freeview boxes and get someone in to fit them all would be the best route for me.It has made things a lot clearer for me and i think i know what to ask for when i get the yellow pages out.
Thanks again and best wishes,emma..x

You can go and pay cash at the till at argos I presume.

Ok right, just one thing, they are not called freeview boxes, they are Free To Air satellite receivers. Yes the LNB goes on the dish, the signals bounce off the dish and into the LNB, which amplifies the signal and converts it ready to go down the cable to the receiver. The LNB is the black box on the end of the arm.

Here is a picture:-



Have a look at Maplin, they were doing some really cheap FTA sat kits recently, or try southernsatellite.

I got my first kit from Maplin for £70, inc dish +receiver + wall bracket, you can get extra receivers from about £30, I think quad LNBs are about £20. So in total you may get the whole kit from around £150 plus the cable + fitting.

[emm4]

Hi Robbo,
i can pay for the item at argos,but for it to be set up,it says on the description page that i have to ring sky to arrange fitting and to have credit card at ready.It says that i get 4 months of free sky channels and then have to cancel if i do not want it to continue.All seems a bit weird
Anyway,i do have a maplin store a few miles from me in kidderminster,so i will go down there tomorrow and see what they have.Will post again when i get back...god,hope i dont come back with all the bits to make a radio.lol
many thanks,emma..x

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by emm4

Hi Robbo,
i can pay for the item at argos,but for it to be set up,it says on the description page that i have to ring sky to arrange fitting and to have credit card at ready.It says that i get 4 months of free sky channels and then have to cancel if i do not want it to continue.All seems a bit weird
Anyway,i do have a maplin store a few miles from me in kidderminster,so i will go down there tomorrow and see what they have.Will post again when i get back...god,hope i dont come back with all the bits to make a radio.lol
many thanks,emma..x

Yes, Sky are trying to reel us in. They think that after 4 months of watching, you will get addicted or won't bother cancelling.

Some of the stuff at Maplin is way overpriced, but the kits are not too bad value. I think their quad LNBs are a bit pricy. Come back here before actually buying anything, as sometimes the guys in the store talk rubbish, judging by a couple of posts I have read from other members.

It might also be worth having a look in the Yellow pages for a local satellite shop, there are not that many of them around though, but they may be able to do you a better deal and arrange installation.