Freesat feedback thread - Non Testers: what would you do with an extra £360 a year? You could win a Freesat+ box NOW CLOSED

First impressions - lovely sleek black box

Fitting - Engineer completed the whole set-up. Only slight niggle was that I was ensuring bouncy dogs and little DGC did not get underfoot and so OH was shown how to use box in my absence. Not really a problem but it is MY box after all ; ) Its a man thing : (

Siting - Connected to a TV in my kitchen

Ease of use - I love the Programme Guide, like the 'list' facility which means I can narrow down choice by type eg Lifestyle, News etc. It is very easy to navigate.

Used by - to date, mostly OH in the mornings, he likes reruns of old programmes. I like it for the radio as well as cookery programmes. DGC too young to use it.

Not yet tried - OH needs to connect it to the broadband so that we can use the iplayer facility. I plan to record programmes that OH not interested in so that I can watch whilst baking.

Be aware - we went away for a few days and as nothing was set to record and being energy conscious, we switched off box at the wall. On our return the TV said it had no signal (via freesat box). Cables all attached. OH fiddled around with remote and it began to work - he doesn't know how or what he did to get it working unfortunately.

Overall - very impressed and really looking forward to using iplayer : )

I WOULD USE IT TO GIVE TO MY SON WHOS JUST ABOUT TO BE A DAD AND WE ALL KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE BABYS ARE SO THIS WOULD BE GREAT TO TREAT HIM TO BUY SOMETHINK FOR OUR NEW GRANDCHILD

I'd use it to buy my Grandson his first bike, and safety helmet

I would just save it and be glad I'm not wasting my money unnecessarily!

I would use the £360 to have a decent outdoor aerial installed as we rely on a variety of indoor aerials and the picture quality depends on the weather!

I would treat myself for a change, I would buy the odd book, the odd hot choc with whipped cream, treat myself to the newest blockbuster, maybe a cheeky bottle of wine now and again!

I'd save up to buy the grandchildren a lovely birthday present each

I'd buy some bits and pieces for my Grandson to take to University with him

I won a freesat box so my wish doesn't count - but seeing oznan's reply, I would start savings accounts for my grandchildren and pay it in every month. I am thinking of doing it anyway, but only for £5 a month each.

First impressions - Very smart and modern

Fitting - Engineers installed a new satellite dish and set-up the box. They said the had no knowledge of connecting to Broadband. They left very quickly before we could ask any questions. The picture was very dark on all channels but we could not find a means to up the brightness, not on the box, the TV or the screen nor was the pamphlet or the on-line help 'helpful'. Dh then committed the cardinal sin of trying to adjust the brightness using the old remote and lost both picture and sound. Later that evening (we were out for a family meal) SIL retuned the box and DD2 showed us how to increase brightness via buttons on TV set. The picture, however, remains poor with a greenish tinge.

Siting - Connected to our only TV in the living room.

Ease of use - We can both find and navigate around the channels with ease.

Used by - Mainly DH as he is the addicted viewer in our home. He has been pleased to find that all his favourite channels and programmes are available via Freesat. We had more channels available via SKY but only watched a fraction of them. We have been afraid to let the DGC loose with the remote after our initial experience but will introduce them to it next week. I am sure they will master it more quickly than we did!

Not yet tried - Unable to connect it to our broadband because our router has only one ethernet cable socket, currently in use for the computer. We are trying to decide whether to upgrade the router or go for a wireless connection instead. Relative's and on-line advice is confusing us.

Overall - So far so good. Hope this means we can get rid of SKY and their ever increasing bills.

I would spend it on extra treats like a takeaway

Hello again,

I think I already answered the follow up questions, sorry, here they are again with additions.

My Grandson hasnt been to try it out, but I have seen him use a remote with no bother at my Sons house and think he will manage the Freesat very easily.
I will record some of the childrens programmes for him to watch here, if he wants to sit down after all the playing he does. There are quite a few to choose from which is good.

I love the choice of movie and news channels plus the travel and holiday programmes, I dont think I will ever say, "there is nothing on tv".
I do like the HD channels too.
I cant find two programmes that are on Freeview, Dave and Yesterday?

Its only me that watches this tv or GS when he comes.

The most useful things have been the catch up, recording, pausing and there is always something to watch, as I do love having my tv on when I am indoors, plus there are lots of music channels.
I still cant get ITV catch up, but get the others, as I said before maybe its because I am in an STV area. That is a shame as I do like a lot of programmes on STV , but I will record them.

I am very happy with the Freesat box as I wouldnt want to pay a monthly fee, and this gives me extra channels with recording, pause and On Demand.

Had my freesat box for a fortnight now. I was away last week, but set the box to record my favourite soaps, Strictly, and Downton
With trepidation I sat down to catch up on yhem all today, and hey presto I really impressed myself Evrrything I wanted had been recorded.
Also used catch up tv. Grandchildren love all thecchildrens programmes, most of them can use the remote themselves. I have been really delighted with evefything about the box, connection and facilities...all I had to buy was the plug in thingys one to go into box and socket in living room and one to go in router and socket in study. Cost be £20. Thank you Gransnet and Humax.

I would book a week in Morecambe

I already answered them way back too and it's hard to see the questions from here!

It only took minutes to understand freesat, I think due to having used things like teletext and ceefax years ago. The remote is very good too.
Children also found it very easy to use. 2 year old likes youtube and found peppa pig far too soon for my liking.
I have been watching films and thrillers, DBH has been watching sport and comedy and was very happy to find ancient Startreks.
We love the recording facility and being able to record future episodes and three programmes all being shown at the same time. Fantastic.
We watch it pretty equally, I am just about to go and catch up with Montalbano. After a few years of me only watching iplayer on the computer and no tv at all.
I love the pause facility, so does DBH. Son loves all the channel-hopping.

We love it, I have to say. The males miss Dave but that's about it.

I liked the look of the box from the outset, it's a nice neat size and is very stylish looking. Installation was quick and simple and using the box is so easy. We have paused live sports coverage which was great but for us as a family the best feature, along with easy broadband connection,is the simplicity of recording programmes and how easy they are to access once recorded. The HD stations are really good to watch as quality is noticeably superior. I have been able to record so many programmes for my 2 year old grandson which has been fantastic especially as CBeebies finishes so early in the evening but now he can watch some of his favourite programmes again and again. I find the only minor annoyance is the clicking noise that the remote controlled box makes but other than that I really can't imagine life without it now. It's been a real boon for myself and my family. A truly great box.

I would spend it save it and put it towards a holiday

I would use the extra money to help my lovely daughter and her 2 children, lifes once again is getting tough for young mums

Congrats to all of GNers who where lucky to win a Freesat Box,the saving we would make would go towards the cost of the Christmas Lunch that I organise for the residents here at our Supported Housing Development,many of who don't have family close by to them and to give them a day where they can all congregate together for a few hours as some of them are unable to meet up on a regular basis.

Been today to purchase a long Ethernet cable and an Ethernet switch which allows more then one connection to broadband. Instructions were clear as mud but a bit of logic and trial and error led me to a successful connection. Strangely there is a better picture on the on-demand channels than on the live channels, which still have a greed cast. I can navigate the channels well but DH who is a bit older and set in his ways, claims it is very complicated and that the channel numbers are wrong (i.e. not the same numbers as Sky). I shall report again when I get a chance to investigate all the options without interference help from DH.

I'd buy a season ticket for swimming at the Leisure Centre.

I'd spend it on curtains for the conservatory

I imagine this box is an improvement on the one I bought.My box is satisfactory, but, the controls are "jumpy" a delay then a rapid change, meaning I have to revert . My main problem is with the remote. The size of the , what I call the essential buttons, the ones most used. ie stop, pause, return forward, and Play. These buttons are so small, and in a darkened room, half the programme has gone before you can stop it.I imagine that these problems have been addressed, as to date I have read no complaints?

I am still learning; Yesterday, for some inexplicable reason - and I didn't touch anything, promise - a notice came up on the screen saying that unless I pressed OK, the TV would turn off automatically in 47 seconds; well I pressed OK and guess what - it turned itself off in 47 seconds. I have also 'recorded' the whole series of a programme I didn't want to record and I still can't find out how to stop/delete it . I enjoy being able to listen to a selection of radio programmes but I mostly watch live TV and also have caught up with a few missed programmes. I find the TV Guide writing rather smaller than on Sky which I could read easily from my viewing chair. I wonder if there is any way to enlarge it? I have good long sight, so I don't think it is me! I am the only one who watches - hopefully DD will help me out on the few problems I have when she visits in November - until then I will just press on and I am sure I will figure things out for myself eventually. I am going to acquire the necessary Ethernet switches so I can connect to the router. Like Granny23, the engineers merely connected the box and then left. I really could have done with a preliminary lesson before being abandoned to my own devices - but perhaps it will help the grey matter if I have to do it on my own On the whole it is an improvement and I know once I have got to grips with it, I will really enjoy all that it offers.

I would save the money up and treat myself to a lovely weekend away somewhere every year.