Manhattan Plaza HD-S + Freesat Installation bundle £90

[daveh75]

http://www.tesco.com/direct/manhattan-plaza-hd-s-freesat-hd-installation-bundle/731-1041.prd?skuId=731-1041&pageLevel=sku&_requestid=569601#

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

That's very tempting- I hope you are getting a slice of the installation pie (if there is any money in it at that price)

What would a normal single LNB/dish plus fitting be?

 

[Big Aura]

In London cheapest I could get was £100 assuming it could be done in an hour. They guy took 1hr 45, so ended costing £180. I was a bit stuck as I needed someone prepared to climb on the roof of a victorian terrace (skylight and climb onto the flat roof of a loft extension) and most people wouldn't do it...

I'm guessing this is a "standard sky type" installation - i.e. only in a place that can be reached with a 9' ladder...

 

[daveh75]

That's very tempting- I hope you are getting a slice of the installation pie (if there is any money in it at that price)

We do do sub-contract work for a logistics firm that handle Freesat installations for retailers, but at that price for the bundle somebody must be losing money.

What would a normal single LNB/dish plus fitting be?

I/we charge £70 - £90 for single LNB/Dish install on our own jobs.

IIRC the Freesat Installation service offered by retailers is/was £100 for single and £120 for dual tuner (quad LNB + twin cable) install

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

In that case,since I understood freesat sales were slipping away (correct me if wrong) and the installers are unlikely to knowingly lose money, maybe it is Freesat subsidised.

 

[daveh75]

In that case,since I understood freesat sales were slipping away (correct me if wrong) and the installers are unlikely to knowingly lose money, maybe it is Freesat subsidised.

Not as far as i'm aware, 2.5 million sales last time i checked. There was an OFCOM sales tracker document released recently that suggested slipping sales IIRC, but the data it was based on was incredibly ambiguous at best.

It wont be Freesat subsidised, because they're a non-profit organisation and in the red, so have no money to subsidise anything.

I assume it's Tesco or Manhattan thats taking the hit, i'm wondering if there's a new model round the corner (with G2 Spec boxes due soon) and they're just clearing stock.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Edit- it looks a little like the installer's risk

 

[psurquhart]

This looks very tempting.

Couple of questions though.

1. Is this Manhatten freesat box any good ?

2. I need freesat in the kitchen and already have and use Sky in front main room and our bedroom which I would not want to change. Will they therefore install a second dish on the outside of my house or are their any restrictions to how many dishes you can have attached to your property ?

Anyone care to advise please - must mention Sky dish at present on chimney (Sky have to send their Specialist Height team round if any issues) however I have seen other houses with dishes on the rear of our terraced housing so presumably a dish could go there ?

 

[daveh75]

This looks very tempting.

Couple of questions though.

1. Is this Manhatten freesat box any good ?

Yes, it's an excellent budget Freesat receiver. Wotsat rated it 10/10 for value and 9/10 for performance and gave it an overall rating of 81%

I should point out, wotsat are aimed at the enthusiast market, not mainstream and review all types of receivers from mainstream platform specific (Sky/Freesat), to non-platform specific and all singing and dancing Linux boxes - The only thing the Manhattan got marked down for is features, but they're features (DiSEqC switching, etc) that wouldn't effect/concern the average Freesat user...

http://www.wotsat.com/news/article.asp?a=8958

Ian-d of join freesat was also impressed by it, giving 4.5/5

http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/review-manhattan-plaza-hd-s-freesat-hd-receiver

Don't think WHF have reviewed it.

2. I need freesat in the kitchen and already have and use Sky in front main room and our bedroom which I would not want to change. Will they therefore install a second dish on the outside of my house or are their any restrictions to how many dishes you can have attached to your property ?

Tescos Installation T&Cs:

* Standard installation by Freesat approved specialists, including all necessary cables, clips and brackets and satellite dish. * Quad LNB upgrade if a dish is already present. * Demonstration of the receiver.

You will already have a quad LNB as you have 2 Sky boxes, but are they both +/HD boxes? Or is one an SD or single tuner HD box and therefore have a spare port on your existing LNB?

If the later i'm guessing they'll just run an additional cable from your existing quad LNB, no idea if they'll carry/fit Octo LNBs or fit another dish if there's already a dish present, though doesn't look like it from the terms.

Under planning reg's you're allowed two dishes on a property (unless you live in a listed building, conservation area, etc). One can be no more than 60cm in diameter the other upto 1m in diameter.

Anyone care to advise please - must mention Sky dish at present on chimney (Sky have to send their Specialist Height team round if any issues) however I have seen other houses with dishes on the rear of our terraced housing so presumably a dish could go there ?

Can't speak for Tesco/Euro Aerials as had no dealings with them.

But Sky and the Logistics company i/we get our Freesat work from would consider it a 'non-standard' install.

As standard, the dishes are supplied with a wall bracket that allows the dish to fixed to a south facing wall. A chimney mount or an over the roof/gutter install for example (i'e LOS off the front of property, but dish pole mounted on back to look over the gutter/roof) requires extra bracketry which would be chargeable.

 

[psurquhart]

For daveh75

I have 2 x Sky HD boxes but no multiroom subscription.

1 in full use in main / front room.

The 2nd box is in our bedroom and although I have twin cables running to it - I only use the 1 cable in conjunction with a feesat Sky card in box.

Hence the question about getting a second dish installed.

Cheers for the info about the box though - its an excellent deal.