The Guy

And we are expecting the FTV sky card ITV1s on freq 12402 to go FTA soon also, so again available on Freesat, Sky and FTA boxes.

If you want a freesat box, and are in the UK, then see the left hand side of joinfreesat.co.uk, as it details the best deals and discounts for freesat boxes in the UK.

licinius

As stated before guy you don't understand the concept of plain English do you? You deliberately try to baffle people with tech talk in order to confuse them & that's just plain wrong.

Sky news is free to air, any budget FTA receiver will pick it up easily so stop trying to baffle folks with freesat/FTA or whatever other jargon you can get away with.

As demonstrated earlier in this thread when somebody asked you if a new 2m wall was affecting their BBC signal, or the other thread where somebody else lost BBC channels & you recommended dish realignment........ only for the channels to come back a few days later, or your dodgy ITV transponders (these are just the posts I bother to read, most are far too long winded). You are not on a forum offering help & advice, you're trying to baffled people into parting with cash.

The Guy

Is that the same thread where you said SPENDING money on a FTA receiver would solve the problem???
pot, kettle, black....3 words (short enough for you??) which i hope dont baffle you too much.

"if you have a sky box, then, even without a sky card, it will receive the same FTA channels as a Freesat box, or a FTA box. You have not needed a sky card for BBC channels for over 8 years now."
Which part of the statement you quoted do you think is confusing for people? I hope it is not the last sentance, as I dont think there is any way of saying that.

You would be surprise the number of people i have helped for free via email and forums, solving many problems without them even spending a penny.

Explanation was only as you were confusing FTA with Freesat.

Fred James

You may think that but I have not seen any other members suggest that they have been baffled by these posts.

If you wish to have a technical discussion about FTA then please do not let it get personal.

Mitzyboy

Well, I can personally tell you that the Guy has been around to my place 3 times to sort problems out and wouldnt accept payment. I had to force it on him the fourth time before he would take it.

Guy has given free advice here for years without taking any form of payment. His web site helps people, for free, with all kinds of problems without charging a cent.

I think you really ought to get your facts right before you open your mouth and start slagging valued members of this community off.

Thank you

lynnxa

isn't that exactly what TheGuy just said?

I'm not baffled.....and I baffle easily
I've never met him - I don't have Sky or any other kind of UK tele - but anyone can see that he gives advice freely & has been doing so for years

that would be why he is a respected member of the forum

guitareth

And I've never been baffled by TheGuy's advice either. On the contrary he explains things extremely clearly so us laymen can understand it. I can only assume licinius is a bit thick

yes "respected" as opposed to erm... guess who?!!

amideislas

I am not disputing you, and I have absolutely no doubts that you have far superior knowledge of this subject than I.

Still, if you go to ANY satellite specialist here, they will ALL tell you that to receive English television (of any kind), you need at least a 2M dish, some sort of expensive mega-LNB, ONLY a Sky box with a freesat card at the very least.

All I am pointing out (and apparently consistent with what the "bad" guy seems to be saying) is that we have a 1.4M dish, some kind of regular LNB, and a both a Sky box and a number of cheap FTE receivers which receive the freesat channels just fine (without a freesat card) all day and night, while the Sky box invariably loses many of those channels after 8:00pm.

tim1963

Perhaps the problem is not the message but the messenger. Out of interest what FTE receivers are you using?

The Guy

A freesatfromsky card currently (at Jan 2012) unlocks the following channels:
some ITV1 regions on freq 12402
Irish C4s on freq 12480
Five HD
Sony TV
Pick TV
Motors TV
Viva TV
LFCTV

Prior to December 2011, you needed it to unlock 4 regions of "Five", Five* and Five USA, and the ITV1s on freq 11973.

All BBC channals on UKTV have not needed a viewing card for the last 8plus years. Most ITV1 regions, and ITV2,3,4 have also not required a card for the last few years. If there are "satellite specialist" saying people need a card for BBC channels, then they do not know what they are talking about.

And as pointed out i agree that there are poor performing Sky boxes out there. They are not all the same.
It also depends which of the many regions of BBC and ITV1 you are using for comparisons, as some regions are better than others.

Its just the advice given that says "ditch sky boxes, they are all crap and get a 30euros FTA box instead" that is a) not always an option if the user wants to use a sky card as the FTA box will not be able to use the sky card ... b) not all sky boxes are "bad", some are and some are not and c) not all 30euro FTA boxes are better than sky boxes.

EDIT: just found an FTE S93 box in the van, so will pop it on tonight and run comparisons with some other FTA boxes and sky boxes that I have.

Domino

I have been in telecomms for over 50 years, seeing things go from very basic thru to satellites and internet, from valves to ic's. I have "got by" in many instances using government surplus and lash ups - the receiver I used to listen to Radio Caroline when it moved from North Sea to Irish Sea was older than me, the aerial was a piece of wire tied to a stone and thrown up over a tree.
Since then money constraints have pushed me into doing many things in a similar way over the years. But......
there can be no alternative to the use of good quality equipment, a decent antenna/dish, good quality cable, properly orientated and terminated professionally.

some people swear by a Hoover, some people swear at it.
some people swear by Nokia, some people swear at it.
some people swear by Microsoft, some people swear at it.

horses for courses, The Guy tells it as it is, the freqs, the dish information etc.
If you don't believe him then spend some time on searching the internet and take the answer(s) you like best - but in my experience they are the same.
By all means use the equipment you have found to work for you. But remember that not everyone is like you and can just pop out to the aerial farm and water it to get a bit of extra earth potential (and yes I have done that as well).

Jealousy is one thing but disrespecting a professional in the job they make their living from can in certain places end up in court. That shouldnt be necessary, just accept that some people will buy a Rolls Royce along with the engineer in the boot whilst you will get by with your Skoda......

rgds

amideislas

Thanks for that. I think I will have hubby do his tuning magic to try to get some of the new FTA channels that came unlocked this year. We don't have an HD box yet, but as more HD channels on FTA, we'll probably buy a few.

I never thought they knew what they were talking about. Most "professionals" around here are clueless. Which is why we took the advice of a neighbour and ended up with the kit we have.. We bought the dish second hand for €60 (instead of paying €500 for a new 2M dish).

Like many service businesses around here, I believe they simply have a specific "one size fits all package" they sell, and are unwilling or unable to be flexible about it. Besides, many people believe them and pay their price, so why bother to find a more economical solution?

Let me know what you find.. The FTE boxes are getting even cheaper now. My OH found a shiny new FTE receiver with Hi definition and hard disk recording (I don't care about) at a store in Palma on sale for €65.

EDIT: This makes me again wonder:
You seem to have your head on straight, so let me pose this question:
It may be different in your neighbourhood, but unlike in the UK, here, the least reputable and least knowlegeable firms seem to be able to maintain the most gainful business. I've never been able to figure that one out...

anna58

Is it possible to change the ITV region on the EPG for another. ITV Wales has great reception for me, but every time the leccy goes off, which is just about every day, I have to re add "Other channels" not a great hardship, but if I could change it permenantly it would be easier.

Mitzyboy

Why dont you buy a UPS and attach it to your Sat box. In that way you have less chance of damage and it wont lose power

VFR

Simple (IMO) they tell people what they want to hear !