Satellite TV tuners

[Manbearpig77]

Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a Satellite TV tuner card for my PC. I just want the freeview channels but in the UK you still need a freeview card to insert into you're Sky Box to enable most of the freeview channels, which you have to pay for (which makes a mockery of calling it freeview imo) Do the Satellite tuners for the PC have a slot to insert the freeview card?

Any help/advice appreciated.

[NLS]

?

how do they stop free-to-air channels from being... free-to-air?

sure?

[Manbearpig77]

For satellite TV you still need a card to put in you're Skybox to view free to air, which they charge you for. If you take the card out, you loose nearly all the free to air channels. Its called a freeview card. You pay a one off payment for the card.
I agree its stupid, as I said before, makes a mockery of the whole thing !

Edit: Heres a link that explains the whole thing if anyone is interested:


http://www.wickonline.com/fta.htm

A bit confusing but it explains it better than I can.

[NLS]

if you used another DVB-S decoder though, you wouldn't need the card

this card (as I get it) is to enable FTA on THEIR box

[Manbearpig77]

You could well be right, not sure quite how it works, but I think Sky ownes the rights to all the satellite transmissions on the Astra satellite, so they still make you pay for some of the free to view stuff thats free on terrestrial, like Channel 4, 5, more4 and E4. I think I'll just have to bite the bullet and see.
I took out the card in my current Skybox earlier to see, and I still got the BBC channels but no channel 4 or 5.
Also I bought my skybox independantly from Sky a few years back, so although its still called a Skybox it was totally seperate from them if that makes any sense.

[surfermc]

I think there a bit of confusion :? and hopefully to clarify for others who may read this post. I believe there are 2 different "Free" services available in the UK

1. FREESAT "A new way to get free digital satellite TV for a simple one off payment of £150."

2. FREEVIEW is a free digital TV service offering over 30 TV channels and 20 radio stations for just a one-off payment and no contract. FREEVIEW is received through your normal rooftop aerial.

I just did not want Freeview and Freesat being confused as one is terrestrial and the other is satellite based.

[NLS]

I am talking about neither.

I am talking about FTA sat transmissions that cannot be controlled by Sky or anybody (other than the companies that send the transmissions themselves)...

Imagine being channel "NLS", making a deal with whoever owns the rights of the satelite, to broadcast for free and then some "X" Sky company, getting paid for YOUR (among others) channel.

Hmmmm...

FTA is FTA. You don't pay once you don't pay annualy, you don't pay monthly.

[Manbearpig77]

Thanks surfermc,

I didnt realise myself that the free to air stuff on satellite was called Freesat, I just thought they were both called freeview for sat and terrestrial, that may help me find out more info on my question.

[surfermc]

Originally Posted by NLS

FTA is FTA. You don't pay once you don't pay annualy,
you don't pay monthly.

What these payments are generally covering is the price of the tuner box and possibly the satellite dish, so yes they are free to air but you still need to buy something to decode the signal.

[NLS]

sure that is different