Freesat – satellite TV with no subscription
In the past, the choice of platform was restricted to aerial or Sky. Nowadays we have a choice of two terrestrial platforms (Freeview and YouView) and two on satellite: Sky and Freesat.
Freesat offers around 200 channels completely free – essentially the same line-up you get with Freeview/YouView and Sky, but with no subscription channels. Link it to the Wi-Fi and there’s BBC iPlayer and its like², including Netflix (subscription required) as well as catch-up, where you scroll back through the Programme Guide.
Click here to see the channels you get with Freesat.
You don’t need to keep paying Sky if all you watch are free channels! Sky and Freesat use the same broadcasts and the same dish, so you can swap just by obtaining a different box. Purchase a Freesat box, connect the same cables as the Sky box, and you’re good to go. The new box would pay for itself in a few months. Just bear in mind that you lose access to your old recordings as soon as you stop your Sky subscription.
Freesat boxes come with different amounts of storage for recordings, so get a small size if you just time-shift a few programmes a week, and a large one if you like to store films you’ve enjoyed for a long time. The latest ones support 4K (ultra-high definition) on Netflix and YouTube. There’s a non-recording box too, if you always watch ‘live’, but I recommend a recorder – even if you don’t schedule recordings, being able to pause and rewind while watching is something you soon won’t know how you managed to live without!
If you still want access to some pay channels, e.g. sport, a NowTV box or Amazon Fire stick in addition to Freesat may be an economical solution.
Foreign broadcasts
The satellites also carry a few services that are not part of the Sky or Freesat Programme Guides, and the set-top boxes allow you to add such channels manually, though they will not show programme information in the Programme Guide. If you are interested in foreign broadcasts, you may be better off with a different kind of box, such as a free to air (FTA) receiver or a box suitable for any packages you wish to subscribe too. We have extensive experience of foreign TV and receiving from multiple satellite positions. Contact us to learn more.
Whether you need a new dish, to add a room or enable room to room distribution, GoggleboxTech offers a competitive service. All our equipment is of high quality and we use only CAI benchmarked cable (when available) to ensure problem-free reception for years to come.
Prices depend on the nature of the work and the size of the property, so the typical prices given here are for guidance only and subject to survey. Why not ring to discuss your requirements?
| Job | Details | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Re-align fixed dish | Existing dish on wall and cabling | £50.00 |
| Great value! | ||
| Single room (dual for PVR) | Wall mounted dish, quad LNB, bracket and up to 10m twin cable | £140.00 | Two rooms | As above, plus second twin cable run up to 15m | Add £60.00 |
| Three rooms | As above, two single cable runs up to 15m | Add £120.00 |
| Multiroom | Send picture from Sky or Freesat box to another room and control remotely. | See below |
| Multi satellite | Fixed dish: Depends on number of satellites and their positions. Contact us. | POA |
| Motorised dish | Please enquire for competitive quote. | POA |
| Chimney mount | (see below) Chimney bracket, lashing and up to 15m cable | Add £40.00 |
| Remove dish | Wall mounted ¹ | £25.00 |
| Remove dish | Chimney mounted ¹ | £40.00 |
The satellites are 36,000km away, so mounting on a chimney makes no difference. In fact, you can mount dishes on the ground. We install small dishes high up just to keep them out of harm’s reach.
Multiroom
Sky Q allows you to watch TV in multiple rooms using Sky mini-boxes. These connect to your main Sky Q box over Wi-Fi, so you get full access to all your subscription channels and recordings, no matter which room you’re in, and people can watch different things at the same time.
Freesat boxes aren’t as clever. You need a satellite cable and a Freesat box for each TV, so you can’t share recordings so easily.
² YouTube Kids, Prime Video, ITVX, BBC Sounds and BritBox are only available on Freesat 4K TV Boxes