Interesting article on www.ukgovabusesexpats.co.uk site which states that the BBC and ITV have anounced that all their programmes will be put on FREESAT TV shortly. I presume this includes Film Four. This is supposedly due to lobbying by the above organisation to stop the BBC and BSkyb trying to stop the broadcasting of their programmes in Spain. Now does that mean we have to buy another digital box or can we get it with our existing sky box?

You should not take too much notice of the organisation whose web site you mention as its information has proved to seriously flawed on many occasions in the past.

Freesat was first mooted over a year ago by BBC and ITV and is certainly not as a result of any pressure brought by these people. It is not intended to be a European service as transmission of programmes to Europe are dictated by copyright issues not the whim of any broadcaster. Furthermore, it may well be at least another year before the service is up and running according to Mark Thompson, the Director General of the BBC in an interview on Radio 4 last week.

BBC and ITV are currently free to air on the Astra satellite and are receivable on any Sky digibox or free to air digital satellite receiver, however, both BBC and ITV have to pay vast amounts of money to BSkyB to be included on the Electronic Programme Guide.

The idea of having their own Freesat service is to free them from this obligation. As a result BBC and ITV programmes will not be available on a Sky digibox via the EPG but may be able to be added as other channels provided they keep the same forward error correction and symbol rates (or at least ones which are programmable via the limited capabilities of the Sky digibox) Failing this a free to air satellite receiver will be required.

If you have the time to read it and the moderators of this forum allow me to post it you can read a long thread on this subject on the Digital Spy forum:

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/...d.php?t=424054

Quite right, most of the stuff on their site is a load of rubbish.

Film 4 goes free on Sunday. Will we be able to get it?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, as far as I know it will not be free to air via satellite until approx 2008.

Looks like I may be wrong, have a look at Film 4

Should be able to get Film Four on Sky Channel 315 from tomorrow night.

I do hope so, but we cannot get E4 or More4!! So will that be the same?

Have just gone into Film4 and it looks like we will get it. It was showing July previews, looking good!

Anyone can get the previews - they are not encrypted.

Yeah, but, try and get into E4 and it will tell you you have to upgrade! Anyway tomorrow will tell.

yep.................. we can get it, cant be bad....... i payed just £20 fm sky for the year on the free to air card, now free films on 4, yipppppeee

I just want to check that you mean 'free to view' card which gets you Channel 4, Five and Sky 3.

You do not need any card at all, or even a Sky digibox, for the free to air channels.

sorry, do get carried away...yep think it is the "free to view card" got it in uk for £20, bought it over to spain and was then told my smaller dish would be no good to pick up ITV etc, (we live in Barxeta) so had to buy one of those BIG dishes. we now get ITV,bbc,channel 4/5 and about 100 or so channels, not perfect I know but okay for me

Yes, we can now get Film4 up until about nine o´clock and then it all breaks up.
If we get a man in to look at the dish will he be able to do anything or are we wasting our money?

Hi Glynis
We have been able able to get Film4 without any break up, we do have problems with channel 5 and ITV on some regions later at night.

As we are so close to you I would have thought reception would be similar?? So maybe getting someone in may help. btw our dish is 1.3 metres.

Yvonne