In the caravan we use an LG television with built in satellite receiver, when connected via dish it goes straight to Freesat, so OH wants satellite TV in kitchen of house , so using the meter I use on caravan I fit dish and tune to Astra 28.2E,I am getting over 800 channels, many duplicated on random numbers on TV, but no mention of Freesat any where, It is watchable and crystal clear, but would just like Freesat,TV is LG again with built in receiver, and dish has single LNB any suggestions please?
Satellite TV
- Thread starter woodsieboy
- Start date
As one who uses a portable sky dish and box whilst touring you set me thinking, dangerous!
At home the TV in the kitchen is a smart one using an aerial and wifi . No free sat. But Free View. The main TVs are linked to the sky box giving the full sky package and via another cable direct to the x4 LNB ,deliver free sat.
I conclude that Freeview is delivered through the aerial whilst the Freesat comes via our satellite dish. The latter is arguably a better picture but the difference is hardly worth noting.
At home the TV in the kitchen is a smart one using an aerial and wifi . No free sat. But Free View. The main TVs are linked to the sky box giving the full sky package and via another cable direct to the x4 LNB ,deliver free sat.
I conclude that Freeview is delivered through the aerial whilst the Freesat comes via our satellite dish. The latter is arguably a better picture but the difference is hardly worth noting.
For Freesat [Trade Mark] presentation the satellite decoder in the TV has to have that licensed feature. Freesat [Trade Mark] is a proprietary form of presenting a set of gleaned satelite programmes. IMO, very nicely & conveniently.
Having a satellite decoder does not mean it can present you with Freesat.
Having said that a generic satellite decoder can access all the programmes Freesat does, just not present them in the Freesat way, along with that's programme guide feature.
Therefore I suspect the kitchen TV does not have Freesat, just a satellite decoder.
Adding a set top box with Freesat would solve it, but editing what you presently get would be a cheaper solution, albeit not bringing the programme guide, and the related features that the guide offers.
Having a satellite decoder does not mean it can present you with Freesat.
Having said that a generic satellite decoder can access all the programmes Freesat does, just not present them in the Freesat way, along with that's programme guide feature.
Therefore I suspect the kitchen TV does not have Freesat, just a satellite decoder.
Adding a set top box with Freesat would solve it, but editing what you presently get would be a cheaper solution, albeit not bringing the programme guide, and the related features that the guide offers.
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The apparent duplication of UK channels on your LG TV is because of the different BBC and ITV regions and the regionalisation (for advertising purposes) of Ch4. You will need to go through the lot finding the channels that pertain to your area and write down the related number. You will also need to do the same with the non-regional channels such as Drama, 5USA, Yesterday, and many others and put those down on your list as well. Then tabulate the lot by station name so that SWMBO can 'dial-up' the station she wants to watch.
Just to add some more into the mix, there are also a number of Sky FTA (Free-to-Air) channels such as the various news channels like CNN, France24, CCTV (China) etc, and the so-called 'God' channels if you want them. Occasionally Sky 'opens' some of their chargeable channels to make major events watchable in the UK which the BBC and ITV are not covering.
Frankly its a nightmare. It is simpler to get a Freesat box which are inexpensive, or there is a cheaper way. Troll along to you local Cash Converters and buy a second-room Sky box. These are very similar to the Sky+HD box but are much smaller as they have no recording capability. CC will probably sell you one with remote, mains lead, and guarantee for well less than £20. With luck it will have an expired viewing card in it which will place the channels for your area (specifically BBC1 and ITV1) in the right number slots (101 and 103 respectively.) If there is no card you can get a card from Freesat-from-Sky which will cost you a once-off £25. Freesat from Sky carries many more channels than Freesat and many of them are in HD. If you do go down this route be aware that as the box will not have been used for some time you may find that some stations are not available when you first use it - commonly ch4 and Five for example. All you need to do is leave the box switched on for 2-3 days and they will appear and remain.
This may sound a daft query, but why doesn't OH just use the TV on normal Freeview terrestrial channels. All you need do is plug in an aerial.
Oh, and one other point. Depending which version of LG TV you have it might be so-called HD Ready which means its resolution will be only 720p. If it is nominated as Full HD and has a green tick somewhere on the frame then it will be 1080p. Curry's were/are so-and-sos for doing this. If the TV is 32" or less it has a much greater chance of being only 720p. In optical terms, HD Ready will be 1366x768 pixels which is roughly 1 megapixel: a Full HD is 1920x1080 which is roughly 2 megapixels.
Just to add some more into the mix, there are also a number of Sky FTA (Free-to-Air) channels such as the various news channels like CNN, France24, CCTV (China) etc, and the so-called 'God' channels if you want them. Occasionally Sky 'opens' some of their chargeable channels to make major events watchable in the UK which the BBC and ITV are not covering.
Frankly its a nightmare. It is simpler to get a Freesat box which are inexpensive, or there is a cheaper way. Troll along to you local Cash Converters and buy a second-room Sky box. These are very similar to the Sky+HD box but are much smaller as they have no recording capability. CC will probably sell you one with remote, mains lead, and guarantee for well less than £20. With luck it will have an expired viewing card in it which will place the channels for your area (specifically BBC1 and ITV1) in the right number slots (101 and 103 respectively.) If there is no card you can get a card from Freesat-from-Sky which will cost you a once-off £25. Freesat from Sky carries many more channels than Freesat and many of them are in HD. If you do go down this route be aware that as the box will not have been used for some time you may find that some stations are not available when you first use it - commonly ch4 and Five for example. All you need to do is leave the box switched on for 2-3 days and they will appear and remain.
This may sound a daft query, but why doesn't OH just use the TV on normal Freeview terrestrial channels. All you need do is plug in an aerial.
Oh, and one other point. Depending which version of LG TV you have it might be so-called HD Ready which means its resolution will be only 720p. If it is nominated as Full HD and has a green tick somewhere on the frame then it will be 1080p. Curry's were/are so-and-sos for doing this. If the TV is 32" or less it has a much greater chance of being only 720p. In optical terms, HD Ready will be 1366x768 pixels which is roughly 1 megapixel: a Full HD is 1920x1080 which is roughly 2 megapixels.
If you already have Freesat in another room, get a HDMI splitter and suitable length of HDMI cable that you run through to the kitchen. I have done this and we have HDMI signal in the kitchen and the conservatory. The TV in the kitchen is a 14 year old normal LG TV.
Thanks for your replies, both TVs are LG bought about the same time caravan 19, kitchen 22 I was under the impression that LG fitted Freesat as standard, although neither TV has a Freesat logo on them or the boxes they came in, plan today is to swap them over and see what happens, thinking being if the caravan TV works off the kitchen satellite, the problem is with the kitchen TV,if it reproduces the same as kitchen TV then it is a dish problem. SWBO wants the regional choices and current terrestrial aerial is iffy in bad weather, Sky dish on other side of house is fine, but dont fancy running cables all around the house to connect to it.
If they are Smart TVs, why not stream the channels OH wants to watch? You can stream BBC, ITV etc.
To be clear I am using a new dish set up to serve just the kitchen, so now tried the caravan TV on new dish works fine, so think the problem is the existing television in kitchen has a satellite decoder but is clearly not Freesat, as suggested by JTQ in earlier post, so hav emoved the caravan tv into kitchen for now, and have an excuse to treat caravan to a new set, if I can find one offering Freesat via dish as most seem to be internet based smart TVs now
Look what I wrote in #4. You would be better to buy a simple Freeview TV, full HD if possible and including a HD tuner (or Freeview Play)rather than one with built-in sat which will always be a nightmare, and then get a sat receiver. Manhattan makes some good sat receivers, or as I suggested go buy a used Sky second room box from Cash Converters - that is what I did and I've used it way down France, in Belgium, NL and Germany, so the UK should be a cakewalk!
I would not subscribe to a generic satellite decoder being "always be a nightmare".
Yes a half hours one off pain in the rear whilst you identify the handful of channels, including those for your locality, likely to be of interest.
Once done and noted, then they hold good till something leads you to play about and set the system doing a tuning research.
Most of us I would think would quickly take on board BBCOne local is XX or XXX, and what have we just four or five more frequently used channel numbers to remember; IMO not the making of my nightmares.
I agree Freesat [Trade mark] is nicer, but largely comes into its own for easing setting up recording.
The generics loss of an Electronic programme guide, again IMO is no big issue, most times I simply look that up on my phone even before switching on the TV.
I would buy the TV far more focused on what it is like to watch and listen to, than if it has a generic or Freesat satellite decoder.
Yes a half hours one off pain in the rear whilst you identify the handful of channels, including those for your locality, likely to be of interest.
Once done and noted, then they hold good till something leads you to play about and set the system doing a tuning research.
Most of us I would think would quickly take on board BBCOne local is XX or XXX, and what have we just four or five more frequently used channel numbers to remember; IMO not the making of my nightmares.
I agree Freesat [Trade mark] is nicer, but largely comes into its own for easing setting up recording.
The generics loss of an Electronic programme guide, again IMO is no big issue, most times I simply look that up on my phone even before switching on the TV.
I would buy the TV far more focused on what it is like to watch and listen to, than if it has a generic or Freesat satellite decoder.
All sorted, considered new Avtex and Cello TVs but settled on new LG for caravan , built in Freesat,tuned in easily and added bonus the new set is lighter than the previous one which is now in kitchen SWBO happy for now. Thanks for all the suggestions
We have the 28" LG Smart TV for the caravan and no issues. Bought from Richer Sounds about 2 years ago and came with a 6 year warranty.
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