Which HD

[SteveR750]

I would like to upgrade to HD for the world cup along with billions of others no doubt...

I have been using the Freeview SD built in tuner in my samsung 32" 1080 HDTV - cant remember the model name its a typical sammy forgettable moniker..

I was going to get a humax foxsat box, as I don't like the idea of subscription, but I have been reading posts about lowered HD quality from BBC and ITV, which given that Freesat and I assume Freeview HD is based upon at the moment, they would appar to not be the value for money they once were; so am reconsidering Sky again.

My question is what are the relative picture qualities of the three formats in HD. I already have a problem with pixellation and break up / loss pof signal on SD Freeview which is another reason to consider a satellite option....

 

[The_Lhc]

BBC and ITVHD will look exactly the same through Sky as they do through Freesat. The only difference is you'll be paying Sky for the privilege.

 

[SteveR750]

I suspected this was the case, I guess given BBC1 HD is BBC1 HD wherever you view it

 

[professorhat]

WHF's reviews in their UG to Televisions suggest that the Freeview HD picture is slightly softer than the Freesat picture. On the other hand, for Freesat you have to go to the expense of getting a dish installed and you also won't get Channel 4 HD yet which you do on Freeview HD.

Of course, do make sure your area is able to receive Freeview HD at freeview.co.uk/freeview/HD before choosing!

 

[SteveR750]

Thanks for the comments.

I can see the attraction of sky - so many more HD channels on offer, but £40+ a month is taking the pee. The other thing is the cost of a freeview HD box - about £50 more than the freesat box (I am basing this one the Humax boxes as the other cheaper alternatives appear to be inferior).

 

[SteveR750]

How does a sky HD box compare to a Humax Foxsat box when run in non sky sub mode? I gather the PVR bit doesnt work, only the sky box is cheaper to buy used than the humax box is

 

[daveh75]

A SkyHD box without a sub,as you rightly say doesn't record etc.It has more channels on the EPG that you can watch (around 250) though a large proportion aren't worth watching, plus the EPG is cluttered with all the channels you dont have access to.

Without a viewing card, you wont have the correct BBC and ITV regions on their 101 and 103 slots-it defaults to BBC London and ITV midlands without a card.

You also wont have access to FIVE on the EPG as it's encrypted on Sky, though you can watch your BBC regions further up the EPG, and you can add/watch both your correct ITV region and the un-encrypted Freesat version of FIVE via the "Other Channels" menu.

Or you can pay Sky £20 for a "Freesat From Sky" card, which will regionalise your box (i.e correct BBC and ITV regions on the 101 and 103 slots) plus give you access to FIVE,FIVER,FIVE USA and their +1s,Sky3,4HD and a handful of extra music.shopping and "chat line" channels which are free but encrypted (FTV).

A Freesat PVR will mean you can record,live pause/rwd etc, you'll have access to BBC iplayer now, and ITVplayer later in the year and possibly "project canvas" VOD service in the future.

It only has 140 channels on the EPG, but no 4HD as yet,and you can view the other 100 or so FTA channels available on Sky in non freesat mode should you feel the need.

Lastly,IMO,the Freesat boxes are better quality/more reliable( well the Humax and Technisat models are anyway) and you get better SD PQ than you do with SkyHD boxes.