Freesat outside the UK? (beginner alert!)

[drüben]

Hi folks (and BGonaSTICK) 

I'm planning to move to Austria within the next year and basically need to know what equipment I need to receive Freesat over there (or even if it's possible) 

I can lay my hands on a standard "Sky dish" and old (good few years) Sky box for free but understand I'd need a Sky card for this and would rather avoid this course of action. Would this dish be too small anyway? I currently have a Topfield 5800 PVR and would also like to know if it's possible to record from a receiver to this (I'm guessing no EPG anyway even if it is possible to pass through).

If I buy a Freesat PVR to take over will this also be able to pick up European satellite channels? Would a standard decoder bought over there be Freesat compatible? Apologies if these are daft questions but I really have no clue about all this apart from what I've been able to glean online (not much at that).

Cheers everyone 

[BGonaSTICK]

Hi drüben, welcome to Nosky 

It's certainly a bit confusing isn't it?

Well, let's try and break this down.

Freesat isn't really anything new in terms of satellite signal(s), but the hardware is different because it handles the new Freesat EPG properly.

The good news is that you could probably just about receive some - if not all - of the 'Freesat channels' - the bad news is that you would need a large dish. Just how large I'll check for you when I've finished typing this. So no, a Sky minidish would be no good at all.

Getting a card for an old Sky box isn't tough. There's no contract, and no link to a UK address. A one-off payment of £20 for the card, and you're done. No further contact with Sky is required. As I said before though, it's the self-same signal as the Freesat signal, so the reception capability is much the same as any other satellite receiver.

The Sky box doesn't really handle any other satellites, but the Freesat boxes can. Well, when I say that, I can vouch personally for the Humax Foxsat HD box. Flicking between Freesat mode and non-Freesat mode is a bit of a pain, but if you don't do it too often, it's fine. Not sure if all Freesat boxes are the same. I suspect not.

You could almost certainly record to your Topfield from either a Sky box or a Freesat box if you're happy to use the RF or Scart outputs.

A non-Freesat badged receiver will be able to receive the 'Freesat channels' just as well as a Freesat box or a Sky digibox, but it won't give you the nice EPG, and HD stuff or any of the forthcoming interactive features.

Please feel free to ask if any of that is unclear. I'll go check what size dish you'd need, but I don't think you're going to like it! 

STICK

[BGonaSTICK]

You'll probably get some channels (those not on Astra 2D) with maybe an 80cm - 1m dish, but to get semi-reliable reception of those on the 2D spotbeam (see http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/astra2d.html), a Gibertini 1.5m dish or preferably a good quality dish around the 1.8m range would be better.

I believe that the Freesat EPG is carried on the fixed beam of Eurobird 1 (http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/eb1_fixed.html), which gives you a good chance of getting that.

Results have been achieved with 1.5m dishes, but it will really depend on exactly where you'll be located. Local satellite installers may push you toward the 2.4m range, which is probably overkill as long as you don't expect 100% perfect reception at all times of day and night and in all weathers.

Hope this helps! 

STICK

[drüben]

Thanks STICK, I really appreciate your help and taking the time to respond 

I think I'll look at the Freesat PVRs nearer the time I actually go to Austria as this is ideally what I'd like (the EPG etc). I can't see having a larger dish as a problem at this stage as long as it's not of Jodrell Bank proportion! 

Once again, many thanks  I'll report back with my progress... whenever that may be!

[BGonaSTICK]

Sounds good. As far as dishes go, you should probably shop around once you get there and see what deals you can get locally. Think carefully before being persuaded to go for a monster 2.4m dish though, as they start getting really pricey at that size!

Good luck and let us know how it goes. The PVR's from Humax should be available around September-time 

[drüben]

I'm not "easily persuaded" with regard to purchases (not that I'm tight you understand ), that's why I research anything I plan buying! I will certainly bare in mind all your helpful advice and let you know how it works out.

Thanks again