Freesat box

Freesat box
Freesat was introduced into the United Kingdom 6th May 2008 and the first year has seen sales of 400,000 units.
Poor marketing has been a downside to sales, but is purely due to the platforms low advertising budget.
Freesat box is the generic name given to the satellite tv receivers capable of decoding transmitted signals (without any need for a cam (conditional access module)card) from the Freesat platform. Freesat is a 50/50 joint venture between the BBC and ITV television companies.
The receivers are manufactured by several companies, the market leader being Humax, who produce SD (standard definition) HD (high definition) and the HDR and PVR (personal video recorders)
The Freesat box manufacturers are Humax, Goodmans, Bush, and Grundig.
All manufacturers use the same software for the signal decoding and the EPG (electronic programme guide)
The signals are sent from an earth uplink satellite dish to the Astra and Eurobird satellites at 28 and 28.2 degrees east, then beamed back to earth through various transponders direct to your satellite dish
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TARGET AUDIENCE
The Freesat platform is targeted mainly to entice existing users of the BSKYB service. The existing BSKYB satellite dish can be used without adjustment to simply 'plug in and go' with your new freesat receiver.
HOW TO CHANGE FROM SKY TO FREESAT
To change from Sky to Freesat is simply a case of unplugging your Skybox and plugging in the Freesat box. Upon first switch on you are asked to enter your postcode (so that you will be receiving your own regional channel variants) an automatic scan is then carried out and the box is ready for use.
The advantage being is that no subscription nor 'card' will ever be required.
EXTRA CHANNELS
As of 9th May 2009, just over one year from launch, around 100 free channels are available to view. It is possible to extend this to over 300 by entering certain codes into the freesat set up menu.
The extra channels added have to be accessed from the 'non freesat' option and do not appear in the EPG
The autumn 2009 launch of the BBCi player BBCi player onto the platform should see a rapid rise in the Freesat customer base
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HD High Definition
The content one year from launch is poor to say the least.
BBC HD is the only HD content available as a stand alone channel. The ITV HD is only available at certain times through the 'red button, option
Channel 4 HD have announced a move to Freesat but as yet no confirmed date is given.
The non freesat menu can be use to gain additional HD from Luxe tv

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See Also

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